| League | Northern League |
|---|---|
| No. of competitors | 6 |
| Champions | Middlesbrough Bears |
| A.C.U Cup | Norwich Stars |
| Highest average | Jeff Lloyd |
| Division/s above | 1946 Speedway National League |
The 1946 Northern League was a season of speedway racing in the United Kingdom for Northern British teams in 1946. With a National League in place and no Southern counterpart, it was effectively a second tier.
Four of the six entrants were previously members of National League Division Two before war broke out. Glasgow and Birmingham were new entrants.
Middlesbrough Bears won their first trophy. The Bears only lost four league fixtures and had three riders in the leading averages; Frank Hodgson, Fred Curtis and Will Plant all contributed significantly during the season.
During a fixture on 7 October at Brough Park the Birmingham Brummies Canadian rider Charlie Appleby crashed. A rider had fallen in front and in an effort to avoid the fallen rider, Appleby swerved and hit the machine instead. He was thrown into the air and suffered a fractured skull. He was taken to Newcastle Infirmary but died during the early hours of 8 October.
Northern League Final table
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middlesbrough Bears | 20 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 28 |
| 2 | Sheffield Tigers | 20 | 11 | 1 | 8 | 23 |
| 3 | Norwich Stars | 20 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 21 |
| 4 | Birmingham Brummies | 20 | 9 | 1 | 10 | 19 |
| 5 | Newcastle Brough | 20 | 8 | 1 | 11 | 17 |
| 6 | Glasgow Tigers | 20 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 12 |
Fixtures & results
A fixtures
| Home \ Away | BIR | GLA | MID | NEW | NOR | SHE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham | 46–37 | 42–42 | 45–38 | 43–41 | 48–35 | |
| Glasgow | 40–42 | 34–50 | 40–44 | 44–38 | 58–26 | |
| Middlesbrough | 55–28 | 54–30 | 40–44 | 49–34 | 46–38 | |
| Newcastle | 40–41 | 44–4 | 42–42 | 48–36 | 49–34 | |
| Norwich | 58–26 | 41–43 | 50–32 | 51–33 | 42–40 | |
| Sheffield | 39–44 | 45–39 | 43.5–39.5 | 50–34 | 45–39 |
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
B fixtures
| Home \ Away | BIR | GLA | MID | NEW | NOR | SHE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham | 39–45 | 33–51 | 44–39 | 28–55 | 46–38 | |
| Glasgow | 58–26 | 37–47 | 52–32 | 40–44 | 37–47 | |
| Middlesbrough | 65–18 | 52–30 | 57–26 | 42–42 | 52–32 | |
| Newcastle | 52–31 | 46–38 | 33–49 | 51–33 | 41–43 | |
| Norwich | 52–32 | 51–32 | 44–40 | 51–32 | 40–44 | |
| Sheffield | 45–39 | 48–36 | 42–42 | 49–35 | 45–38 |
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
A.C.U. Cup (Div 2)
On account of the small number of teams in the league the ACU Cup was run in a league format. Norwich Stars came out on top on points difference.
Final table
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norwich Stars | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 14 |
| 2 | Middlesbrough Bears | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 14 |
| 3 | Sheffield Tigers | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 12 |
| 4 | Birmingham Brummies | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 9 |
| 5 | Glasgow Tigers | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 6 |
| 6 | Newcastle Brough | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 5 |
Top Five Riders (League only)
| Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeff Lloyd | 
|
Newcastle | 10.38 |
| 2 | Frank Hodgson |
|
Middlesbrough | 10.38 |
| 3 | Bert Spencer | 
|
Norwich | 10.15 |
| 4 | Tommy Allott |
|
Sheffield | 10.00 |
| 5 | Stan Williams |
|
Sheffield | 9.75 |
Riders & final averages
Birmingham
- Tiger Hart 9.42
- Doug Wells 9.04
- Stan Dell 8.73
- Roy Dook 8.00
- Laurie Packer 6.40
- Bob Lovell 5.46
- Percy Brine 4.19
- Ernie Appleby 3.67
- Cyril Page 3.29
Charlie Appleby 3.12- Jimmy Wright 2.93
- Dick Tolley 2.22
Glasgow
- Will Lowther 9.67
- Wal Morton 8.65
- Joe Crowther 7.90
- Gruff Garland 7.57
- Maurice Stobbart 6.30
- Eddie Lack 4.12
- Charlie Oates 4.00
-
Bill Baird 3.57 - Wally Thomson 2.91
- Jack Tidbury 2.67
- Bert Shearer 0.89
Middlesbrough
- Frank Hodgson 10.38
- Kid Curtis 9.68
- Wilf Plant 9.45
- Tip Mills 7.27
- Geoff Godwin 6.95
- Jack Hodgson 6.51
- Ed Pye 6.45
- Jack Gordon 6.29
- Doug McLachlan 5.50
- Len Tupling 4.71
- Alex Peel 2.33
Newcastle
- Jeff Lloyd 10.38
- Norman Evans 8.90
- Charlie Spinks 7.77
- Doug McLachlan 6.86
- Syd Littlewood 6.79
- Alec Grant 4.51
- Leo Lungo 4.11
- Terry Tight 3.70
- Stan Pennell 2.00
- Harry Modral 1.33
Norwich
- Bert Spencer 10.15
- Wilf Jay 9.00
- Paddy Mills (Horace Burke) 8.20
- Ted Bravery 7.59
- Roy Duke 6.22
- Sid Hipperson 5.71
- Harwood Pike 4.52
- Len Read 4.00
- Don Houghton 3.94
-
Paddy Hammond 1.60 - Bluey Thorpe 1.14
- Charlie Challis 1.00
Sheffield
- Tommy Allott 10.00
- Stan Williams 9.75
- Tommy Bateman 8.00
- Jack Bibby 6.56
- Dick Geary 5.64
- John Duncan White 4.84
- Stan Hodson 3.79
- Reg Lambourne 3.75
- Alf Elliott 3.49
- Bruce Semmens 3.27
See also
References
- The Speedway Researcher Speedway Researcher. Retrieved December 30, 2011.
- "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
- "Northern League 1946" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
- "Speedway crash". Lincolnshire Echo. 8 October 1946. Retrieved 11 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "1946 fixtures & results". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
- "1946 fixtures & results". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
| Speedway National League Division Two seasons | ||
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| National League Division Two: |  | |
| Northern League: | ||
| National League seasons 1932–1964 | ||
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