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]
| League | National League |
|---|---|
| No. of competitors | 9 |
| Champions | Wimbledon Dons |
| National Trophy | Wimbledon Dons |
| Highest average | Ove Fundin |
| Division/s below | 1959 Southern Area League |
Summary
editWith 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
edit| 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)
edit| 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
editThe 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
editFirst 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 – 41 | Southampton 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 – 56 | Wimbledon 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
editBelle Vue
-
Peter Craven 10.84 -
Ron Johnston 9.05 - Bob Duckworth 7.24
- Dick Fisher 6.57
- Peter Williams 5.54
- Arthur Wright 5.33
- Slant Payling 4.21
- Tink Maynard 3.64
- Jack Kitchen 3.00
- Danny Dunton 2.73
- Graham Beattie 2.50
- Tony Robinson 1.20
- Graham Coombes 0.29
Coventry
- Nigel Boocock 8.65
- Ron Mountford 7.61
- Arthur Forrest 7.28
- Nick Nicholls 5.51
- Maury Mattingley 5.44
- Brian Meredith 5.33
- Jim Lightfoot 4.98
- Les Owen 4.94
-
Antti Pajari 4.32 -
Graham Warren 2.00
Leicester
-
Ken McKinlay 10.75 - Jack Geran 8.50
-
Marian Kaiser 7.80 - Eric Boothroyd 5.95
- Charlie Barsby 4.10
- Bryan Elliott 4.00
- Guy Allott 3.80
- Alf Hagon 3.70
- Harry Bastable 2.67
- Dave Hankins 2.10
Norwich
-
Ove Fundin 11.00 - Aub Lawson 8.56
- Billy Bales 7.78
- Cyril Roger 6.25
- Reg Trott 5.76
- Phil Clarke 5.63
- Johnny Chamberlain 5.58
- Derek Strutt 4.55
- Harry Edwards 4.76
- Clive Featherby 4.00
Oxford
-
Arne Pander 8.90 - Gordon McGregor 8.32
- Ronnie Genz 7.07
- Nick Nicholls 7.00
- Roy Bowers 5.96
- Arthur Wright 5.70
- Ken Adams 5.37
- Colin Gooddy 5.02
- Howdy Byford 3.52
- Dave Still 0.00
Poole
- Ray Cresp 7.37
- Les McGillivray 7.14
- Jack Unstead 7.08
- Birger Forsberg 6.85
- Jack Biggs 6.34
- Jimmy Squibb 5.70
Trevor Blokdyk 4.88- Reg Duval 4.50
- Terry Small 4.34
- Norman Strachan 3.73
Southampton
- Brian Crutcher 10.65
- Geoff Mardon 8.73
- Björn Knutson 8.40
- Jimmy Squibb 6.67
- Chum Taylor 6.22
- Dick Bradley 6.22
- Alby Golden 5.33
- Jack Scott 4.86
- Johnny Hole 5.70
- Brian Hanham 4.09
- Brian Brett 4.85
Swindon
- Mike Broadbank 9.40
- George White 7.89
-
Ian Williams 7.22 - Tadeusz Teodorowicz 6.58
- Neil Street 6.57
- Trevor Redmond 3.71
- John Board 3.60
- Glyn Chandler 2.18
- Ray Harris 1.56
- Roy Moreton 0.94
- Leo McAuliffe 0.00
Wimbledon
- Ronnie Moore 10.52
- Peter Moore 10.40
- Ron How 9.92
- Barry Briggs 8.80
- Gerald Jackson 7.14
- Jim Tebby 6.55
- Bob Andrews 6.49
- Cyril Maidment 6.35
- Gerry King 5.00
- Cyril Brine 4.07
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
- ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ "1959 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
- ^ a b "1959 National Trophy". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 12 August 2021.