The 1957 National League was the 23rd season and the twelfth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1]
| League | National League |
|---|---|
| No. of competitors | 11 |
| Champions | Swindon Robins |
| Highest average | Peter Craven |
| Division/s below | 1957 Southern Area League |
Summary edit
The closure of Wembley Lions, Bradford Tudors and Poole Pirates left the league with only four teams, so the seven sides in Division Two merged to make an eleven-team first tier and so Division Two became defunct.[2][3]
Bradford Tudors returned to replace Birmingham Brummies mid-season (in early August)[4][5] and Swindon Robins followed up their Division Two title in 1956 with the Division One title in 1957.[6]
Final table edit
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Swindon Robins | 20 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 31 |
| 2 | Belle Vue Aces | 20 | 15 | 0 | 5 | 30 |
| 3 | Wimbledon Dons | 20 | 12 | 0 | 8 | 24 |
| 4 | Norwich Stars | 20 | 11 | 0 | 9 | 22 |
| 5 | Leicester Hunters | 20 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 21 |
| 6 | Southampton Saints | 20 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 18 |
| 7 | Bradford Tudors* | 20 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 18 |
| 8 | Coventry Bees | 20 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 18 |
| 9 | Oxford Cheetahs | 20 | 7 | 1 | 12 | 15 |
| 10 | Ipswich Witches | 20 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 12 |
| 11 | Rayleigh Rockets | 20 | 5 | 1 | 14 | 11 |
- Bradford Tudors replaced Birmingham Brummies mid-season.
Top Ten Riders (League only) edit
| Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
| 1 | Peter Craven | 
|
Belle Vue | 11.18 |
| 2 | Ove Fundin | 
|
Norwich | 10.38 |
| 3 | Bob Roger |
|
Swindon | 10.27 |
| 4 | Ron Johnston | 
|
Belle Vue | 10.27 |
| 5 | Barry Briggs |
|
Wimbledon | 10.00 |
| 6 | Ken McKinlay | 
|
Leicester | 9.77 |
| 7 | Brian Crutcher |
|
Southampton | 9.76 |
| 8 | Aub Lawson | 
|
Norwich | 9.73 |
| 9 | Peter Moore |
|
Ipswich | 9.64 |
| 10 | Dick Bradley |
|
Southampton | 9.48 |
National Trophy edit
The National Trophy was not held during 1957.
Riders & final averages edit
Belle Vue
-
Peter Craven 11.18 -
Ron Johnston 10.27 - Bob Duckworth 6.92
- Eddie Rigg 6.78
- Dick Fisher 6.00
- Tink Maynard 5.60
- Peter Williams 4.71
- Slant Payling 3.73
- Brian Craven 3.24
- Lew Grepp 0.73
Bradford/Birmingham
-
Dan Forsberg 9.42 - Nigel Boocock 7.92
- Ron Clarke 7.84
- Eric Boothroyd 7.37/6.78
- Ron Mountford 7.23
- Arthur Forrest 7.15
- Al Allison 5.21
- Guy Allott 5.19/4.93
- Jim Tolley 5.05
- Trevor Redmond 4.76
- Harry Bastable 4.00
- Derrick Tailby 3.20
Coventry
- Per Olof Söderman 8.43
- Ron Mountford 8.07
- Jim Lightfoot 6.53
- Charlie New 6.34
- Reg Duval 6.04
- Les Owen 4.00
- Nick Nicholls 3.35
- Jim Tolley 3.31
- Eric Hockaday 3.07
- Arthur Wright 2.81
-
Bob Mark 2.30
Ipswich
-
Peter Moore 9.64 - Cyril Roger 9.13
-
Aage Hansen 8.17 - Bob Sharp 6.04
- Bert Edwards 5.36
- Junior Bainbridge 4.67
- Jimmy Gooch 4.09
- Wal Morton 3.79
- Danny Dunton 3.84
-
Johnny Fitzpatrick 3.03 - Len Silver 2.82
- Ken Last 1.00
Leicester
- Ken McKinlay 9.77
- Rune Sörmander 8.40
- Jack Geran 8.04
- Alf Hagon 6.71
- Harry Bastable 6.47
- Al Allison 4.67
- Charlie Barsby 3.88
- Bryan Elliott 3.31
- Reg Fearman 3.25
- Vic Hall 1.54
- Des Haswell 0.62
Norwich
- Ove Fundin 10.38
- Aub Lawson 9.73
- Phil Clarke 9.41
- Billy Bales 7.60
- Harry Edwards 5.87
- Geoff Pymar 3.91
- Derek Strutt 3.68
- Dave Hankins 2.75
- Reg Trott 2.58
- Barry East 2.33
- Wal Morton 2.05
Oxford
- Jack Biggs 8.38
- Gordon McGregor 6.92
- Ronnie Genz 7.81
- Dennis Newton 6.29
- Roy Bowers 5.51
- Howdy Byford 5.10
- Ray Cresp 5.00
- Maury McDermott 4.00
- Frank Johnson 3.64
Rayleigh
- Les McGillivray 8.00
- Jack Unstead 6.93
- Birger Forsberg 6.38
- Ken Adams 5.98
-
Eric French 5.97 - Peter Clark 5.91
- Pete Lansdale 5.40
- Maury McDermott 3.72
Southampton
- Brian Crutcher 9.76
- Dick Bradley 9.48
- Brian Hanham 7.17
- Alby Golden 6.00
- Maury Mattingley 5.68
- Bill Holden 5.54
- Jimmy Squibb 5.03
- Johnny Hole 5.06
Swindon
- Bob Roger 10.27
- George White 8.61
-
Ian Williams 8.17 - Ken Middleditch 7.54
- Neil Street 6.70
- Ernie Lessiter 6.44
- Al Sparrey 6.40
- Mike Broadbank 5.21
Wimbledon
- Barry Briggs 10.00
- Ron How 8.31
- Ronnie Moore 8.00
- Gerald Jackson 7.29
- Cyril Maidment 6.52
- Cyril Brine 6.04
- Split Waterman 5.86
- Gerry King 4.00
- Ivan Mauger 4.00
- Bob Andrews 3.76
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ "This was Birmingham Speedway". Sports Argus. 3 August 1957. Retrieved 5 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Norwich depleted". Leicester Evening Mail. 1 August 1957. Retrieved 5 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.