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]
| League | National League |
|---|---|
| No. of competitors | 10 |
| Champions | Wimbledon Dons |
| National Trophy | Southampton Saints |
| Highest average | Ove Fundin |
| Division/s below | 1961 Provincial League |
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 |  | Norwich | 11.51 |
| 2 | Ronnie Moore |  | Wimbledon | 11.17 |
| 3 | Peter Craven |  | Belle Vue | 10.95 |
| 4 | Björn Knutson | | Southampton | 10.79 |
| 5 | Arne Pander |  | Oxford | 10.60 |
| 6 | Barry Briggs | | Southampton | 10.13 |
| 7 | Ron How | | Wimbledon | 10.05 |
| 8 | Ron Johnston | | Belle Vue | 10.00 |
| 9 | Ken McKinlay |  | Leicester | 9.57 |
| 10 | Bob Duckworth | | 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 – 29 | Swindon Robins Tadeusz Teodorowicz 7 Neil Street 6 Ian Williams 5 Brian Brett 4 George White 4 Mike Broadbank 2 Brian Meredith 1 |
|---|---|---|
| [6] |
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 – 43 | Southampton Saints Björn Knutson 15 Barry Briggs 13 Chum Taylor 8 Peter Vandenberg 4 Dick Bradley 3 Cyril Roger 0 Alby Golden 0 |
|---|---|---|
| [6] |
Southampton were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 98–70.
Riders & final averages
Belle Vue
-
Peter Craven 10.95 -
Ron Johnston 10.00 - Bob Duckworth 9.48
- Dick Fisher 7.30
- Jack Kitchen 5.90
- Slant Payling 3.60
- Jim Yacoby 3.25
- Bryce Subritzky 3.21
- Bill Powell 2.67
- Peter Kelly 2.00
Coventry
- Nigel Boocock 7.84
-
Jack Young 7.73 - Les Owen 7.44
- Nick Nicholls 6.00
- Ron Mountford 5.97
-
Kazimierz Bentke 5.10 - Maury Mattingley 4.00
- Jim Lightfoot 4.15
Ipswich
- Peter Moore 8.90
- Ray Cresp 8.39
- Jimmy Squibb 6.36
- Les McGillivray 6.34
- Colin Gooddy 5.85
- Jack Unstead 5.07
Trevor Blokdyk 4.12- Len Silver 4.00
- Dennis Day 2.29
Leicester
-
Ken McKinlay 9.57 - Paweł Waloszek 6.92
- Jack Geran 6.47
- Bryan Elliott 5.39
- Charlie Barsby 5.33
- Alf Hagon 4.12
- Guy Allott 3.24
- Dave Hankins 2.72
- Neil Mortimer 2.61
New Cross
- Split Waterman 8.06
- Tommy Sweetman 8.00
- Doug Davies 6.96
-
Eric Williams 6.54 - Jimmy Gooch 6.44
- Leo McAuliffe 6.17
- Reg Luckhurst 4.96
-
Bengt Brannefors 4.00 -
Johnny Fitzpatrick 4.33 - Bobby Croombs 3.75
Norwich
- Ove Fundin 11.51
- Johnny Chamberlain 7.77
- Billy Bales 7.67
- Dennis Newton 5.48
- Derek Strutt 4.80
- Reg Trott 4.37
- John Debbage 3.90
-
Kurt W. Petersen 3.45 - Terry Betts 2.50
- Harry Edwards 2.40
- Trevor Hedge 0.00
Oxford
- Arne Pander 10.60
- Jack Biggs 8.72
- Ronnie Genz 8.16
- Gordon McGregor 6.56
- Howdy Byford 5.33
- Danny Dunton 5.27
- Reg Duval 3.72
- Jim Tebby 3.48
- George Major 1.85
- Roy Bowers 1.68
Southampton
- Björn Knutson 10.79
- Barry Briggs 10.13
- Jack Scott 8.80
- Chum Taylor 7.83
- Cyril Roger 6.73
- Dick Bradley 5.59
- Ross Gilbertson 5.00
- Alby Golden 4.55
-
Peter Vandenberg 4.29
Swindon
- Neil Street 7.83
- George White 7.82
- Tadeusz Teodorowicz 7.52
- Mike Broadbank 6.96
- Ian Williams 6.22
- Arne Carlsson 6.00
- Martin Ashby 6.00
- Brian Meredith 5.39
- Brian Brett 4.85
- Bob Roger 1.00
Wimbledon
- Ronnie Moore 11.17
- Ron How 10.05
- Bob Andrews 9.04
- Jim Tebby 7.33
- Cyril Maidment 7.17
- Cyril Brine 7.14
- Gerald Jackson 5.58
- Gil Goldfinch 5.10
- Roy Trigg 0.00
See also
References
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