1957 Speedway National League
| League | National League |
|---|---|
| No. of competitors | 11 |
| Champions | Swindon Robins |
| Highest average | Peter Craven |
| Division/s below | 1957 Southern Area League |
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]
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.
