1959 Speedway National League

The 1959 National League was the 25th season and the fourteenth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1]

1959 Speedway National League
LeagueNational League
No. of competitors9
ChampionsWimbledon Dons
National TrophyWimbledon Dons
Highest averageOve Fundin
Division/s below1959 Southern Area League

Summary

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With Ipswich Witches dropping down to the Southern Area League, only 9 teams competed with Wimbledon Dons continuing their domination of British speedway with their fifth title in six years.[2][3][4]

Final table

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Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Wimbledon Dons 16 13 0 3 26
2 Leicester Hunters 16 8 1 7 17
3 Coventry Bees 16 8 1 7 17
4 Norwich Stars 16 8 0 8 16
5 Southampton Saints 16 8 0 8 16
6 Poole Pirates 16 8 0 8 16
7 Oxford Cheetahs 16 7 0 9 14
8 Swindon Robins 16 6 0 10 12
9 Belle Vue Aces 16 5 0 11 10

Top Ten Riders (League only)

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Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Ove Fundin   Norwich 11.00
2 Peter Craven   Belle Vue 10.84
3 Ken McKinlay   Leicester 10.75
4 Brian Crutcher   Southampton 10.65
5 Ronnie Moore   Wimbledon 10.52
6 Peter Moore   Wimbledon 10.08
7 Ron How   Wimbledon 9.92
8 Mike Broadbank   Swindon 9.40
9 Ron Johnston   Belle Vue 9.05
10 Arne Pander   Oxford 8.90

National Trophy

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The 1959 National Trophy was the 21st edition of the Knockout Cup. Wimbledon were the winners.[5]

First round

Date Team one Score Team two
30/05 Swindon 55-52 Oxford
28/05 Oxford 59-49 Swindon

Second round

Date Team one Score Team two
16/07 Oxford 57-51 Southampton
14/07 Southampton 61-47 Oxford
27/06 Belle Vue 67-41 Leicester
27/06 Coventry 69-39 Wimbledon
26/06 Leicester 59-49 Belle Vue
22/06 Wimbledon 71-37 Coventry
20/06 Norwich 65-43 Poole
19/06 Poole 46-62 Norwich

Semifinals

Date Team one Score Team two
08/08 Norwich 53-55 Southampton
04/08 Southampton 73-35 Norwich
03/08 Wimbledon 75-33 Belle Vue
01/08 Belle Vue 54-54 Wimbledon

Final

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First leg

Wimbledon Dons
Barry Briggs 18
Ronnie Moore 13
Bob Andrews 12
Ron How 11
Jim Tebby 8
Cyril Maidment 4
Cyril Brine 2
Gil Goldfinch 0
67 – 41Southampton Saints
Geoff Mardon 11
Brian Crutcher 9
Björn Knutson 7
Alby Golden 5
Chum Taylor 4
Jack Scott 2
Brian Hanham 1
Dick Bradley 0
[6]

Second leg

Southampton Saints
Geoff Mardon 11
Björn Knutson 9
Chum Taylor 8
Alby Golden 8
Brian Brett 8
Brian Crutcher 4
Dick Bradley 2
Brian Hanham 2
52 – 56Wimbledon Dons
Barry Briggs 17
Ron How 16
Ronnie Moore 10
Bob Andrews 6
Gil Goldfinch 3
Jim Tebby 3
Cyril Brine 1
Cyril Maidment 0
[6]

Wimbledon were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 123–93.

Riders & final averages

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Belle Vue

Coventry

Leicester

Norwich

Oxford

Poole

Southampton

Swindon

Wimbledon

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  3. ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  4. ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  5. ^ "1959 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  6. ^ a b "1959 National Trophy". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 12 August 2021.