1975 New National League season
League | New National League |
---|---|
No. of competitors | 20 |
Champions | Birmingham Brummies |
Knockout Cup | Eastbourne Eagles |
Individual | Laurie Etheridge |
Pairs | Newcastle Diamonds |
Highest average | Joe Owen |
Division/s above | 1975 British League |
The 1975 New National League was contested as the second division/tier of Speedway in the United Kingdom when British League Division Two was renamed. It was subsequently named the National League.[1]
Summary
The league increased by one team for the fourth season in a row, despite the loss of three teams; the Barrow Bombers, Long Eaton Archers and Sunderland Gladiators.[2] Sunderland closed for good but in November 1974, Ian Thomas bought the defunct Sunderland licence and transferred it to re-form the Newcastle Diamonds.[3][4] Three other new teams entered, in addition to the Newcastle Diamonds and they were Crayford Kestrels (returning for their first season since 1970), while Mildenhall Fen Tigers and Paisley Lions both competed in their inaugural seasons.[2]
Birmingham Brummies, winners of the last British League Division Two, retained their title[5] and were promoted to the British League for 1976.[6][7] Birmingham won the league by 5 points despite losing their leading rider Phil Herne to Newport in division 1. Birmingham relied heavily on Arthur Browning, Alan Grahame and Keith White, improved performances by Ricky Day and Carl Askew and solid seasons once again from John Hart and George Major.[2]
Newcastle finished runner-up on their return to league action, with the Owen brothers Joe Owen and Tom Owen topping the league averages.
Final table
Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Birmingham Brummies | 38 | 29 | 1 | 8 | 59 |
2 | Newcastle Diamonds | 38 | 27 | 0 | 11 | 54 |
3 | Stoke Potters | 38 | 26 | 0 | 12 | 52 |
4 | Eastbourne Eagles | 38 | 25 | 0 | 13 | 50 |
5 | Boston Barracudas | 38 | 24 | 2 | 12 | 50 |
6 | Workington Comets | 38 | 23 | 2 | 13 | 48 |
7 | Berwick Bandits | 38 | 21 | 3 | 14 | 45 |
8 | Crayford Kestrels | 38 | 20 | 2 | 16 | 42 |
9 | Ellesmere Port Gunners | 38 | 19 | 1 | 18 | 39 |
10 | Canterbury Crusaders | 38 | 19 | 0 | 19 | 38 |
11 | Bradford Barons | 38 | 17 | 2 | 19 | 36 |
12 | Coatbridge Tigers | 38 | 17 | 1 | 20 | 35 |
13 | Scunthorpe Saints | 38 | 17 | 0 | 21 | 34 |
14 | Rye House Rockets | 38 | 13 | 2 | 23 | 28 |
15 | Paisley Lions | 38 | 14 | 0 | 24 | 28 |
16 | Crewe Kings | 37 | 13 | 1 | 23 | 27 |
17 | Teesside Tigers | 38 | 13 | 0 | 25 | 26 |
18 | Peterborough Panthers | 37 | 13 | 0 | 24 | 26 |
19 | Mildenhall Fen Tigers | 38 | 11 | 1 | 26 | 23 |
20 | Weymouth Wizards | 38 | 8 | 2 | 28 | 18 |
Top Five Riders (League Averages)
Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Joe Owen | ![]() |
Newcastle | 10.89 |
2 | Tom Owen | ![]() |
Newcastle | 10.78 |
3 | Alan Molyneux | ![]() |
Stoke | 10.10 |
4 | Paul Gachet | ![]() |
Eastbourne | 10.08 |
5 | Les Rumsey | ![]() |
Canterbury | 10.01 |
National League Knockout Cup
The 1975 National League Knockout Cup was the eighth edition (first under its new name) of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Eastbourne Eagles were the winners of the competition.[8]
First round
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
15/04 | Ellesmere Port | 43-35 | Coatbridge |
11/04 | Coatbridge | 50-28 | Ellesmere Port |
14/04 | Newcastle | 44-34 | Berwick |
05/04 | Berwick | 40-38 | Newcastle |
21/03 | Peterborough | 42-36 | Boston |
16/03 | Boston | 40-38 | Peterborough |
14/04 | Birmingham | 51-27 | Crayford |
15/04 | Crayford | 37-40 | Birmingham |
Second round
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
05/05 | Scunthorpe | 38-40 | Teesside |
01/05 | Teesside | 45-32 | Scunthorpe |
30/05 | Coatbridge | 39-39 | Newcastle |
19/05 | Newcastle | 50-27 | Coatbridge |
10/05 | Paisley | 43-34 | Workington |
30/05 | Workington | 45-33 | Paisley |
05/05 | Crewe | 38-40 | Bradford |
14/05 | Bradford | 48-30 | Crewe |
09/05 | Peterborough | 49-29 | Weymouth |
29/04 | Weymouth | 50-28 | Peterborough |
11/05 | Rye House | 31-46 | Birmingham |
05/05 | Birmingham | 60-18 | Rye House |
10/05 | Canterbury | 40-37 | Eastbourne |
11/05 | Eastbourne | 49-29 | Canterbury |
Quarter-finals
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
07/08 | Teesside | 32-46 | Newcastle |
28/07 | Newcastle | 54-24 | Teesside |
24/08 | Workington | 47-31 | Stoke |
21/08 | Stoke | 42-36 | Workington |
23/09 | Weymouth | 42-36 | Eastbourne |
09/07 | Bradford | 47-31 | Weymouth |
14/07 | Birmingham | 41-37 | Eastbourne |
06/07 | Eastbourne | 45-33 | Birmingham |
Semi-finals
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
19/09 | Workington | 48-30 | Newcastle |
15/09 | Newcastle | 48-30 | Workington |
23/09 | Weymouth | 42-36 | Eastbourne |
21/09 | Eastbourne | 60-18 | Weymouth |
29/09 replay |
Newcastle | 37-41 | Workington |
26/09 replay |
Workington | 51-27 | Newcastle |
Final
First leg
Workington Comets Mike Newton 11 Taffy Owen 11 Lou Sansom 10 Roger Wright 8 Robbie Gardner 5 Terry Kelly 1 Steve Lawson 1 | 47 – 31 | Eastbourne Eagles Neil Middleditch 12 Paul Gachet 7 Mike Sampson 5 Eric Dugard 3 Pete Jarman 2 Colin Richardson 2 Mike Pither 0 |
---|---|---|
[9] |
Second leg
Eastbourne Eagles Neil Middleditch 10 Mike Sampson 10 Pete Jarman 10 Paul Gachet 8 Eric Dugard 7 Mike Pither 4 Colin Richardson 3 | 52 – 25 | Workington Comets Lou Sansom 13 Robbie Gardner 6 Taffy Owen 4 Terry Kelly 1 Steve Lawson 1 Mick Newton 0 Roger Wright 0 |
---|---|---|
[9] |
Eastbourne were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 83–72.
Riders' Championship
Laurie Etheridge won the Riders' Championship, held at Wimbledon Stadium on 27 September.[10]
Pos. | Rider | Pts | Total |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
3 2 2 3 3 | 13+3 |
2 | ![]() |
3 3 3 3 1 | 13+2 |
3 | ![]() |
2 2 3 1 2 | 10+3 |
4 | ![]() |
2 3 0 2 3 | 10+2 |
5 | ![]() |
1 1 3 2 3 | 10+1 |
6 | ![]() |
3 1 3 1 1 | 9 |
7 | ![]() |
0 2 2 1 3 | 8 |
8 | ![]() |
2 0 1 3 2 | 8 |
9 | ![]() |
3 3 fex 2 0 | 8 |
10 | ![]() |
2 2 2 0 1 | 7 |
11 | ![]() |
0 1 2 3 f | 6 |
12 | ![]() |
1 1 1 0 2 | 5 |
13 | ![]() |
0 f 1 2 2 | 5 |
14 | ![]() |
1 0 1 1 | 4 |
15 | ![]() |
0 3 0 0 0 | 3 |
16 | ![]() |
1 0 0 0 0 |
- f=fell, r-retired, ex=excluded, ef=engine failure
Pairs
The National League Pairs was held at Hyde Road on 17 May and was won by Newcastle Diamonds.[11]
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Semi finals
- Ellesmere Port bt Eastbourne
- Newcastle bt Crayford
Final
- Newcastle bt Eastbourne
Leading final averages
Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Joe Owen | ![]() |
Newcastle | 10.65 |
2 | Tom Owen | ![]() |
Newcastle | 10.65 |
3 | Alan Molyneux | ![]() |
Stoke | 10.14 |
4 | Les Rumsey | ![]() |
Canterbury | 9.90 |
5 | Paul Gachet | ![]() |
Eastbourne | 9.87 |
Riders & final averages
Berwick
- Dave Gifford 8.58
- Graham Jones 7.65
- Colin Farquharson 7.41
- Steve Finch 6.75
- Willie Templeton 6.34
- Denny Morter 4.89
- Dave Trownson 4.86
- Bernie Hornby 4.85
Birmingham
- Arthur Browning 9.35
- Alan Grahame 8.38
- Keith White 8.22
- John Hart 8.00
- Keith Anderson 7.58
- Ricky Day 7.34
- George Major 7.31
- Carl Askew 6.91
Boston
- Michael Lee 9.04
- Bruce Forrester 8.22
- David Gagen 7.83
- Rob Hollingworth 7.30
- Billy Burton 7.19
- Les Glover 6.95
- Dave Piddock 6.17
- Rob Mouncer 6.13
- Trevor Whiting 4.53
Bradford
- Tony Featherstone 8.34
- Colin Meredith 7.92
- Dave Baugh 7.42
- Tony Boyle 7.11
- Steve Wilcock 5.75
- Andy Cowan 5.55
- Alan Knapkin 5.48
- Mick Fielding 4.49
- Brenton Langlois 4.34
- Dave Parkin 3.06
- Barry Weaver 1.82
Canterbury
- Les Rumsey 9.90
- Dave Gooderham 8.63
- Barney Kennett 8.23
- Graham Clifton 5.31
- Bob Spelta 5.11
- Jimmy Squibb 5.00
- Gerald Purkiss 4.85
- Terry Casserley 3.77
Coatbridge
- Brian Collins 9.46
- Mitch Shirra 8.37
- Jimmy Gallacher 7.54
- Grahame Dawson 6.39
- Mick McKeon 5.64
- Doug Templeton 4.94
- John Wilson 4.73
- Paul Heller 4.00
- Eddie Argall 3.90
- Derek Richardson 3.71
- Barry Booth 1.68
Crayford
- Laurie Etheridge 9.74
- Alan Sage 8.51
- Trevor Barnwell 7.72
- Pete Wigley 6.26
- Bob Young 5.86
- Les Ott 5.78
- Alan Johns 5.68
- George Barclay 5.34
- Dave Shepherd 4.92
- Bill Archer 4.11
Crewe
- Graham Drury 8.70
- Chris Turner 8.13
- Nigel Wasley 7.75
- Chris Emery 6.3
- Ricky Day 6.06
- Stuart Cope 5.83
- Les Collins 5.25
- Max Brown 4.99
- Geoff Ambrose 4.96
- Cliff Anderson 4.90
- Ian Robertson 3.27
Eastbourne
- Paul Gachet 9.87
- Neil Middleditch 9.62
- Steve Weatherley 8.07
- Pete Jarman 7.32
- Mike Sampson 7.28
- Eric Dugard 5.49
- Colin Richardson 5.24
- Terry Barclay 3.78
Ellesmere Port
- John Jackson 9.78
- Colin Goad 7.13
- Wayne Hughes 6.76
- Nicky Allott 6.41
- Duncan Meredith 5.78
- Mick McKeon 4.86
- Steve Casey 4.52
- Gerald Smitherman 4.37
- Barry Booth 4.00
- Andy Reid 3.68
Mildenhall
- Bob Coles 8.82
- Chris Julian 6.74
- Stan Stevens 6.02
- John Gibbons 5.93
- Kevin Jolly 5.76
- John McNeill 4.77
- Paul Clipstone 3.59
- Paul Gilbert 3.43
- Fred Mills 2.97
Newcastle
- Joe Owen 10.65
- Tom Owen 10.65
- Brian Havelock 6.72
- Ron Henderson 5.81
- Mike Watkin 5.59
- Robbie Blackadder 5.45
- Tim Swales 5.23
- Phil Micheledies 5.05
Paisley
- Sid Sheldrick 8.00
- Mike Fullerton 7.20
- Alan Bridgett 7.12
- Chris Roynon 6.00
- Tom Davie 5.26
- Bernie Foot 5.20
- Stuart Mountford 4.47
- Mick Sheldrick 4.00
- Geoff Snider 4.00
Peterborough
- Brian Clark 9.00
- Russ Osborne 7.14
- Roy Carter 6.67
- Ken Matthews 6.66
- Mike Cake 5.53
- Jack Walker 4.70
- Ian Clark 4.36
- Roy Sizmore 4.33
- Steve Taylor 3.52
- Phil Cornwell 1.33
Rye House
- Brian Foote 8.39
- Hugh Saunders 7.46
- Bob Cooper 6.75
- Kelvin Mullarkey 6.25
- Tiger Beech 5.69
- John Gibbons 5.25
- Bob Young 4.73
- Dingle Brown 4.62
- Karl Fiala 4.58
- Barry Duke 4.33
- Steve Clarke 3.87
Scunthorpe
- Tony Childs 8.35
- Keith Evans 7.52
- Ken McKinlay 6.46
- Andy Hines 5.99
- Colin Cook 5.91
- Tony Gillias 5.55
- Andy Sims 5.38
- Ray Watkins 4.24
- Chris Emery 4.13
- Ian Silk 2.09
Stoke
- Alan Molyneux 10.14
- Steve Bastable 8.04
- Steve Holden 7.92
- Andy Cusworth 7.52
- Jack Millen 6.96
- Phil Bass 6.93
- Jim Wells 6.55
- Mick Handley 6.09
- Alan Bridgett 4.62
Teesside
- Tom Leadbitter 9.40
- Doug Underwood 8.34
- Alan Emerson 8.33
- Roger Wright 7.68
- Dave Durham 6.05
- Pete Reading 5.69
- Harry Maclean 5.25
- Trevor Stead 3.44
- David Levings 3.08
- Colin Pestell 2.83
- Ian Silk 2.29
Weymouth
- Martin Yeates 8.31
- Brian Woodward 7.77
- Vic Harding 6.82
- Chris Robins 5.15
- Geoff Swindells 4.77
- Nigel Couzens 4.73
- Melvin Soffe 4.24
- Tony Freegard 3.59
- Ricky Owen 3.09
- Roger Stratton 2.86
Workington
- Lou Sansom 8.81
- Taffy Owen 8.37
- Robbie Gardner 7.38
- Kym Amundson 6.94
- Mick Newton .6.63
- Roger Wright 6.24
- Terry Kelly 6.07
- Steve Watson 4.42
- Steve Lawson 3.64
See also
References
- ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ^ a b c "teams". wwosbackup. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
- ^ "Ian Thomas buys out Sunderland". Hull Daily Mail. 28 November 1974. Retrieved 4 May 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Sunderland Speedway". Defunct Speedway. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
- ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
- ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - BRITISH LEAGUE ERA (1965-1990)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- ^ Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 101. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
- ^ "1975 National League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
- ^ a b "1975 KO cup final" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
- ^ "Lee's title bid fails". Cambridge Daily News. 29 September 1975. Retrieved 17 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "1975 season results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 20 May 2023.