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1939 Speedway National League

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British speedway league season

1939 Speedway National League
LeagueNational League Division One
ChampionsNone
No. of competitors7
National TrophyBelle Vue Aces &
Wembley Lions
London CupWimbledon Dons
Highest averageCordy Milne
Division/s belowNational League (Div 2)

The 1939 National League Division One was an eleventh and unfinished season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.

Summary

Southampton Saints had moved up from Division Two and Bristol Bulldogs moved back down after just one season.

Belle Vue Aces were leading the championship ahead of Wimbledon Dons when the league was abandoned due to the outbreak of World War II .

Table at the outbreak of war

Team PL W D L Pts
Belle Vue Aces 16 12 1 3 25
Wimbledon Dons 18 12 0 6 24
Wembley Lions 19 11 1 8 23
West Ham Hammers 19 9 0 10 18
Harringay Tigers 16 7 1 8 15
Southampton Saints 17 5 0 12 10
New Cross Rangers 19 4 1 14 9

Fixtures & results

A fixtures

Home \ Away BV HAR NC SOT WEM WH WIM
Belle Vue 46–35 54–30 61–23 57–27 45–39 44–40
Harringay n/a 43–40 53–31 36–48 44–40 48–36
New Cross 42–42 34–50 56–28 42–40 41–42 38–45
Southampton 38–45 39–45 48–35 46–38 47–37 n/a
Wembley 50–34 42–42 52–31 57–27 55–29 53–30
West Ham 40–42 44–39 50–33 54–30 36–48 44–39
Wimbledon 50–34 46–37 52–32 53–31 51–33 48–36
Source:
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

B fixtures

Home \ Away BV HAR NC SOT WEM WH WIM
Belle Vue 54–30 56–27 n/a n/a 63–21 n/a
Harringay n/a n/a 55–29 n/a 37–46 39–44
New Cross n/a n/a n/a n/a 43–40 35–49
Southampton 40–44 55–29 51.5–32.5 n/a n/a n/a
Wembley 43–41 n/a 59–24 61–22 58–26 39–45
West Ham n/a n/a 45–38 n/a 53–31 44–38
Wimbledon n/a n/a 41–42 56–26 44–40 n/a
Source:
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top Ten Riders at the outbreak of war

Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Cordy Milne United States Southampton 11.29
2 Wilbur Lamoreaux United States Wimbledon 11.06
3 Bill Kitchen England Belle Vue 10.88
4 Vic Duggan Australia Wimbledon 10.67
5 Arthur Atkinson England West Ham 10.62
6 Lionel van Praag Australia Wembley 10.62
7 Jack Milne United States New Cross 10.00
8 Jack Parker England Harringay 9.6
9 Eric Langton England Belle Vue 9.5
10 Jimmy Gibb Canada West Ham 8.58

National Trophy

The 1939 National Trophy was the ninth edition of the Knockout Cup. Wembley and Belle Vue were declared joint winners following the abandonment of the final fixture due to the outbreak of the war.

Qualifying rounds

Sheffield Tigers won the Division Two final and therefore secured a place in the quarter-finals.

Quarterfinals

Date Team one Score Team two
22/07 Belle Vue 67-40 Wimbledon
17/07 Wimbledon 51-56 Belle Vue
26/07 New Cross 57-51 Harringay
22/07 Harringay 52-54 New Cross
13/07 Wembley 64-45 West Ham
11/07 West Ham 62-46 Wembley
20/07 Sheffield 61-46 Southampton
26/07 Southampton 68-36 Sheffield

Semifinals

Date Team one Score Team two
26/08 Belle Vue 80-28 New Cross
16/08 New Cross 44-64 Belle Vue
31/08 Wembley 74-33 Southampton
30/08 Southampton 62-46 Wembley

Final

Date Team one Score Team two
16/09 Wembley not held Belle Vue
21/09 Belle Vue not held Wembley

London Cup

First round

Team one Score Team two
Wimbledon 71–37, 42–64 Harringay

Semi final round

Team one Score Team two
West Ham 56–50, 50–57 New Cross
Wembley 55–52, 49–59 Wimbledon

Final

First leg

New Cross
Jack Milne 11
Ron Johnson 10
Ray Duggan 7
Joe Francis 6
Bill Longley 5
Stan Greatrex 4
Crocky Rawding 2
Goldy Restall 1		46–62Wimbledon
Wilbur Lamoreaux 15
Vic Duggan 13
Eric Collins 11
Geoff Pymar 10
Wally Lloyd 8
Nobby Key 2
Eric French 2
Norman Evans 1
New Cross Stadium

Second leg

Wimbledon
Wilbur Lamoreaux 18
Eric Collins 14
Geoff Pymar 11
Vic Duggan 10
Nobby Key 7
Wally Lloyd 6
Norman Evans 5
Eric French 1		72–36New Cross
Jack Milne 13
Ron Johnson 9
Joe Francis 4
Bill Longley 2
Stan Greatrex 2
Goldy Restall 2
Crocky Rawding 2
Ray Duggan 2
Plough Lane

Wimbledon won on aggregate 134–82

Riders & final averages

Belle Vue

Harringay

New Cross

Southampton

Wembley

West Ham

Wimbledon

See also

References

  1. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 6 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 - PRE-WAR ERA (1929-1939)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  5. "1939 fixtures & results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
  6. "1939 fixtures & results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
  7. "1939 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  8. "1939 Cup". Speedway GB.
  9. "Speedway Comedy in Dons Cup Win". Daily Herald. 11 July 1939. Retrieved 16 September 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
Speedway in the United Kingdom
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See also
United Kingdom Speedway Seasons
Tier One League
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Second division
Tier Three League
Third division
Champions
National League seasons 1932–1964
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