1961 Speedway National League
LeagueNational League
ChampionsWimbledon Dons
No. of competitors10
National TrophySouthampton Saints
Highest averageOve Fundin
Division/s below1961 Provincial League

The 1961 National League was the 27th season and the sixteenth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1]

Summary

The entry list was identical to the previous year and although Wimbledon Dons won their seventh title in eight years, it would be their last.[2][3][4]

Final table

Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Wimbledon Dons 18 15 0 3 30
2 Southampton Saints 18 13 2 3 28
3 Coventry Bees 18 10 1 7 21
4 Belle Vue Aces 18 10 0 8 20
5 Swindon Robins 18 8 0 10 16
6 Ipswich Witches 18 7 1 10 15
7 Norwich Stars 18 7 0 11 14
8 New Cross Rangers 18 7 0 11 14
9 Oxford Cheetahs 18 6 1 11 13
10 Leicester Hunters 18 4 1 13 9

Top Ten Riders (League only)

Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Ove Fundin Sweden Norwich 11.51
2 Ronnie Moore New Zealand Wimbledon 11.17
3 Peter Craven England Belle Vue 10.95
4 Björn Knutson Sweden Southampton 10.79
5 Arne Pander Denmark Oxford 10.60
6 Barry Briggs New Zealand Southampton 10.13
7 Ron How England Wimbledon 10.05
8 Ron Johnston New Zealand Belle Vue 10.00
9 Ken McKinlay Scotland Leicester 9.57
10 Bob Duckworth New Zealand Belle Vue 9.48

National Trophy

The 1961 National Trophy was the 23rd edition of the Knockout Cup. Southampton were the winners.[5]

First round

Date Team one Score Team two
15/06 Oxford 43-40 Southampton
13/06 Southampton 58-26 Oxford
10/06 Belle Vue 55-28 New Cross
07/06 New Cross 46-37 Belle Vue

Second round

Date Team one Score Team two
17/08 Ipswich 44-40 Coventry
09/08 Norwich 43-40 Swindon
08/08 Southampton 52-32 Belle Vue
29/07 Belle Vue 47-37 Southampton
24/07 Wimbledon 46-38 Norwich
22/07 Norwich 52-32 Wimbledon
22/07 Swindon 66-18 Leicester
21/07 Leicester 38-45 Swindon

Semifinals

Date Team one Score Team two
09/09 Swindon 56-28 Norwich
29/08 Southampton 57-27 Coventry
26/08 Coventry 49-35 Southampton
09/08 Norwich 43-40 Swindon

Final

First leg

Southampton Saints
Björn Knutson 15
Barry Briggs 14
Dick Bradley 9
Alby Golden 6
Peter Vandenberg 4
Cyril Roger 4
Chum Taylor 3		55 – 29Swindon Robins
Tadeusz Teodorowicz 7
Neil Street 6
Ian Williams 5
Brian Brett 4
George White 4
Mike Broadbank 2
Brian Meredith 1
[6]
Banister Court Stadium

Second leg

Swindon Robins
Tadeusz Teodorowicz 9
Mike Broadbank 8
George White 8
Brian Meredith 5
Ian Williams 4
Brian Brett 4
Neil Street 3		41 – 43Southampton Saints
Björn Knutson 15
Barry Briggs 13
Chum Taylor 8
Peter Vandenberg 4
Dick Bradley 3
Cyril Roger 0
Alby Golden 0
[6]
Abbey Stadium

Southampton were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 98–70.

Riders & final averages

Belle Vue

Coventry

Ipswich

Leicester

New Cross

Norwich

Oxford

Southampton

Swindon

Wimbledon

See also

References

  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. ^ "1961 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  6. ^ a b "1961 National Trophy". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
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