| League | National League Division Three |
|---|---|
| Season | 1950 |
| No. of competitors | 10 |
| Champions | Oxford Cheetahs |
| National Trophy (Div 3 final) | Oxford Cheetahs |
| Riders' Championship | Pat Clark |
| Highest average | Ken Middleditch |
| Division/s above | Division One Division Two |
The 1950 National League Division Three was the fourth season of British speedway's National League Division Three
The league was reduced from 13 teams to 10. Halifax Dukes, Plymouth, Yarmouth and Hanley had all moved up to Division Two whilst Hastings Saxons dropped out. The two new sides were Aldershot Shots and St Austell Gulls whilst Tamworth changed their nickname from 'Hounds' to 'Tammies'.
Oxford Cheetahs, who had finished bottom of the table during their inaugural league season in 1949, rose spectacularly up the league to win the title. The Oxford team was made up from an entirely new set of riders including Harry Saunders, signed as captain from Tamworth for £750, Pat Clark from Rayleigh for £250, Bill Osborne from Walthamstow, Raymond Buster Brown from Wembley and Eric Irons from Cradley.
Ken Middleditch of Poole topped the averages.
Final table
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oxford Cheetahs | 36 | 26 | 2 | 8 | 54 |
| 2 | Poole Pirates | 36 | 23 | 3 | 10 | 49 |
| 3 | Leicester Hunters | 36 | 21 | 0 | 15 | 42 |
| 4 | Swindon Robins | 36 | 19 | 1 | 16 | 39 |
| 5 | Aldershot Shots | 36 | 18 | 1 | 17 | 37 |
| 6 | Tamworth Tammies | 36 | 17 | 0 | 19 | 34 |
| 7 | Exeter Falcons | 36 | 16 | 1 | 19 | 33 |
| 8 | Liverpool Chads | 36 | 14 | 1 | 21 | 29 |
| 9 | Rayleigh Rockets | 36 | 12 | 0 | 24 | 24 |
| 10 | St Austell Gulls | 36 | 9 | 1 | 26 | 19 |
Leading Averages
| Rider | Team | C.M.A. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ken Middleditch | Poole | 10.53 |
| 2 | Basil Harris | Aldershot | 9.90 |
| 3 | Pat Clark | Oxford | 9.78 |
| 4 | Trevor Redmond | Aldershot | 9.64 |
| 5 | Don Hardy | Exeter | 9.57 |
National Trophy Stage Three
- For Stage Two - see Stage Two
- For Stage Three - see Stage Three
The 1950 National Trophy was the 13th edition of the Knockout Cup. The Trophy consisted of three stages; stage one was for the third division clubs, stage two was for the second division clubs and stage three was for the top tier clubs. The winner of stage one would qualify for stage two and the winner of stage two would qualify for the third and final stage. Oxford won stage one and therefore qualified for stage two.
Third Division Qualifying First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10/04 | Liverpool | 50-57 | Oxford |
| 06/04 | Oxford | 76-32 | Liverpool |
Third Division Qualifying Second round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22/04 | Swindon | 60-47 | Oxford |
| 20/04 | Oxford | 62-46 | Swindon |
| 10/04 | Exeter | 65-41 | Leicester |
| 07/04 | Leicester | 66-42 | Exeter |
| 19/04 | Tamworth | 71-37 | St Austell |
| 18/04 | St Austell | 48-58 | Tamworth |
| 20/04 | Poole | 51-57 | Aldershot |
| 19/04 | Aldershot | 61-45 | Poole |
| 21/04 replay |
Leicester | 53-55 | Exeter |
| 17/04 replay |
Exeter | 62-45 | Leicester |
Third Division Qualifying semifinals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 05/05 | Exeter | 54-53 | Oxford |
| 27/04 | Oxford | 83-24 | Exeter |
| 03/05 | Tamworth | 67-41 | Aldershot |
| 01/05 | Aldershot | 63-44 | Tamworth |
Qualifying final
First leg
| Tamworth Tammies Brian Wilson 11 Eric Boothroyd 10 Dick Tolley 6 Lionel Watling 4 Brian Shepherd 3 Laurie Schofield 2 Ivor Davies 2 John Hitchings 0 | 38 – 70 | Oxford Cheetahs Pat Clark 14 Ernie Rawlins 13 Frank Boyle 13 Eric Irons 11 Bob McFarlane 11 Bill Kemp 5 Buster Brown 3 Jim Wright R/R |
|---|---|---|
Second leg
| Oxford Cheetahs Pat Clark 14 Frank Boyle 13 Bob McFarlane 10 Ernie Rawlins 9 Eric Irons 8 Bill Kemp 7 Buster Brown 6 Jim Wright R/R | 67 – 41 | Tamworth Tammies Eric Boothroyd 8 Brian Shepherd 7 Brian Wilson 7 Lionel Watling 7 Dick Tolley 6 Ivor Davies 4 Laurie Schofield 2 John Hitchings 0 |
|---|---|---|
Riders' Championship
Pat Clark won the National League Division Three Rider's Championship, in front of 28,000 spectators. The final was held at Walthamstow Stadium on 23 October.
| Pos. | Rider | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Pat Clark |
15 |
| 2 |  Trevor Redmond |
13 |
| 3 | Ken Middleditch |
11 |
| 4 | Gerry Jackson |
9 |
| 5 | Norman Street |
9 |
| ? | Harwood Pike |
6 |
| ? | Alex Gray |
6 |
| ? |  Hugh Geddes |
3 |
| ? | Jack Unstead |
? |
| ? | Basil Harris |
? |
| ? | Reg Duval |
? |
| ? | Cyril Quick |
? |
| ? | Harold Jackson |
? |
Riders & final averages
Aldershot
- Basil Harris 9.77
- Trevor Redmond 9.72
- Doug Ible 7.27
- Ivor Powell 6.69
- Bob Harrison 5.75
- Joe Rodwell 5.65
- Doug Papworth 5.17
- Pat Flanagan 4.14
- Bob Bunney 4.00
- Ron Burnett 3.52
- Ken Smith 3.36
- Bill Grimes 3.09
Exeter
- Don Hardy 9.69
- Hugh Geddes 8.20
- Arthur Pilgrim 7.56
- Ken Walsh 6.87
- Ted Moore 6.20
- Vic Gent 6.56
- Jack Bedkober 5.93
- Johnny Sargeant 5.19
- Johnny Myson 3.57
- Goog Hoskin 5.67
Leicester
- Lionel Benson 8.77
- Jock Grierson 8.39
- Harwood Pike 8.32
- Cyril Page 7.52
- Les Beaumont 7.45
- Johnny Carpenter 7.09
- Joe Bowkiss 6.86
- Vic Pitcher 6.78
- Ron Wilson 6.63
- Sid Hipperson 6.21
- Ernest Palmer 5.33
- Jack Watts 3.47
Liverpool
- Bill Griffiths 7.27
- Harry Welch 7.00
- Reg Duval 6.92
- Doug Serrurier 6.73
- Angus McGuire 6.13
- Arthur Bush 6.03
- Percy Brine 5.94
- Derek Glover 5.90
- Alf Webster 5.67
- Stan Bedford 3.64
- Buddy Fuller 3.62
- Brian Craven 1.54
Oxford
- Pat Clark 9.99
- Frank Boyle 9.12
- Bob McFarlane 8.35
- Bil Kemp 7.32
- Eric Irons 7.22
- Bill Osborne 7.20
- Jimmy Wright 7.16
- Harry Saunders 7.10
- Buster Brown 6.40
- Ernie Rawlins 6.07
- Brian Wilson 5.10
Poole
- Ken Middleditch 10.53
- Cyril Quick 9.44
- Ticker James 7.42
- Tony Lewis 7.30
- Dick Howard 6.46
- Terry Small 6.28
- Charlie Hayden 6.09
- Frank Wheeler 5.00
- Alan Kidd 4.75
- Allan Wall 4.00
Rayleigh
- Les McGillivray 7.06
- Gerry Jackson 7.03
- Jack Unstead 7.01
- Ron Howes 6.87
- Vic Gooden 5.29
- Frank Bettis 5.19
- Charlie Mugford 4.15
- Tom O'Connor 4.06
- James Osborne 3.96
- Mike Wood 2.88
St Austell
- Harold Bull 7.68
- Ray Ellis 7.48
- Norman Street 7.30
- Ken James 5.89
- Maury McDermott 5.62
- John Yates 5.53
- Bill Sobey 5.33
- Rusty Wainwright 4.74
- Larry Young 4.50
- Ed Williams 4.00
- George Gower 2.91
Swindon
- Mick Mitchell 8.21
- Hugh Geddes 8.44
- Alex Gray 8.18
- Bill Downton 6.88
- Bob Jones 6.74
- Frank Evans 6.34
- Ron Clark 6.28
- George Craig 6.26
- Reg Lambourne 6.09
- Danny Malone 5.98
- Tom Wilson 2.20
Tamworth
- Brian Wilson 8.78
- Lionel Watling 8.14
- Eric Boothroyd 8.00
- Dick Tolley 7.43
- Ivor Davies 7.21
- Brian Shepherd 5.84
- Harry Bastable 5.39
- Cecil Hookham 5.21
- Laurie Schofield 4.40
- Ray Beaumont 3.21
- James Hitchings 2.95
- Geoff Newman 0.24
See also
References
- "Home". speedwayresearcher.org.uk.
- "Speedway is in Third Division". Aldershot News. 17 March 1950. Retrieved 20 October 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "Major League Competitions". Speedway Archive.
- Bamford/Shailes, Robert/Glynn (2007). The History of Oxford Speedway. Tempus Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7524-4161-0.
- "National League Division 3 1950" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
- "1950 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
- "New Cross missed Ron Johnson". Daily Herald. 19 May 1950. Retrieved 4 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Oxford 1950 results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
- "Tamworth beaten". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 19 May 1950. Retrieved 4 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "Div. III riders' title". Daily Herald. 24 October 1950. Retrieved 13 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "1950 fixtures" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
- "CLUB HISTORY: 1950S". Swindon Speedway. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
| Speedway National League Division Three seasons | ||
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| Speedway in the United Kingdom | |
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