1963 Speedway National League

1963 Speedway National League
League	National League
Season	1963
No. of competitors	7
Champions	Belle Vue Aces
National Trophy	Norwich Stars
Highest average	Ove Fundin
Division/s below	1963 Provincial League
	← 1962; 1964 →;

The 1963 National League was the 29th season and the eighteenth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.^[1]

Summary

The seven entrants were the same as those that had finished the previous season and matches were ridden home and away twice. Belle Vue Aces won their first title in 27 years.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

Belle Vue's successful season was soured by a tragedy and the speedway world was in shock when the double world champion Peter Craven died following a challenge match at Edinburgh's Old Meadowbank stadium, on 20 September 1963.^[6]^[7] Just six days after he lost world crown, Craven swerved to avoid hitting fallen race leader George Hunter and hit the safety fence. Craven was rushed to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, where he died on 24 September.^[8]^[9]

Final table

Pos	Team	PL	W	D	L	Pts
1	Belle Vue Aces	24	17	0	7	34
2	Norwich Stars	24	13	2	9	28
3	Wimbledon Dons	24	12	1	11	25
4	Coventry Bees	24	11	2	11	24
5	Swindon Robins	24	10	2	12	22
6	Southampton Saints	24	11	0	13	22
7	Oxford Cheetahs	24	6	1	17	13

Top Ten Riders

The top ten riders are listed by their points average and only applies to the league.^[10]

	Rider	Nat	Team	C.M.A.
1	Ove Fundin		Norwich Stars	10.71
2	Dick Fisher		Belle Vue Aces	10.19
3	Ronnie Moore		Wimbledon Dons	10.17
4	The late Peter Craven		Belle Vue Aces	10.13
5	Nigel Boocock		Coventry Bees	9.84
6	Ron How		Wimbledon Dons	9.68
7	Björn Knutson		Southampton Saints	9.27
8	Barry Briggs		Southampton Saints	9.13
9	Ken McKinlay		Coventry Bees	8.99
10	Peter Moore		Swindon Robins	8.98

National Trophy

The 1963 National Trophy was the 25th edition of the Knockout Cup. Norwich were the winners.^[11]

First round

Date	Team one	Score	Team two
22/06	Norwich	60-24	Wimbledon
17/06	Wimbledon	38-46	Norwich
20/06	Oxford	39-45	Swindon
15/06	Swindon	53-31	Oxford
18/06	Southampton	46-37	Coventry
15/06	Coventry	54-30	Southampton