The 1964 Provincial Speedway League was the fifth and final season of the Provincial League in the United Kingdom.[1] Twelve speedway teams took part. A second division of British speedway would not return until 1968.[2][3][4]
| League | Provincial League |
|---|---|
| No. of competitors | 12 |
| Champions | Newcastle Diamonds |
| Knockout Cup | Newport Wasps |
| Individual | Ivan Mauger |
| Highest average | Ivan Mauger |
| Division/s above | 1964 National League |
Season summary
The 1964 season started in controversy which led to the Provincial League running 'black'. Officially the 1964 Provincial League season did not exist.
Wolverhampton Wolves refused to move up to the National League after winning the Provincial League title in 1963. The two leagues could not agree about the situation which led to the Provincial League being outlawed by the Speedway Control Board.
All National League riders were forbidden to ride on Provincial League tracks. Provincial League riders were warned by the Speedway Control Board that they were in breach of ACU regulations and could be suspended from all competitive racing. They were also barred from the Speedway World Championship.
The Stoke Potters, St Austell Gulls and Rayleigh Rockets all withdrew from the league for various reasons before the season started. The Sunderland Stars joined the league but then withdrew after riding only three matches. However Glasgow Tigers and the Newport Wasps joined and completed the season.
Newcastle Diamonds won the final Provincial League and their first title.[5]
Final table
| Pos | Team | M | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Newcastle Diamonds | 22 | 17 | 0 | 5 | 34 |
| 2 | Hackney Hawks | 22 | 15 | 1 | 6 | 31 |
| 3 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 22 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 25 |
| 4 | Newport Wasps | 22 | 11 | 1 | 10 | 23 |
| 5 | Edinburgh Monarchs | 22 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 22 |
| 6 | Exeter Falcons | 22 | 10 | 1 | 11 | 21 |
| 7 | Poole Pirates | 22 | 10 | 1 | 11 | 21 |
| 8 | Sheffield Tigers | 22 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 20 |
| 9 | Middlesbrough Bears | 22 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 20 |
| 10 | Cradley Heath Heathens | 22 | 8 | 1 | 13 | 17 |
| 11 | Long Eaton Archers | 22 | 8 | 0 | 14 | 16 |
| 12 | Glasgow Tigers | 22 | 6 | 2 | 14 | 14 |
M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points
- Sunderland Saints withdrew after three matches - record expunged.
Top Five Riders (League only)
| Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
| 1 | Ivan Mauger |  | Newcastle | 11.54 |
| 2 | Charlie Monk |  | Glasgow | 10.88 |
| 3 | Ivor Brown |  | Cradley | 10.39 |
| 4 | George Hunter |  | Edinburgh | 10.31 |
| 5 | Colin Pratt | | Hackney | 10.19 |
Provincial League Knockout Cup
The 1964 Provincial League Knockout Cup was the fifth edition of the Knockout Cup for the Provincial League teams. Newport Wasps were the winners.[6]
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18/05 | Cradley Heath | 51–45 | Edinburgh |
| 15/06 | Newcastle | 53–43 | Poole |
| 16/06 | Long Eaton | 54–42 | Middlesbrough |
| 17/06 | Glasgow White City | 59–37 | Sheffield |
Second round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 03/07 | Hackney | 50–46 | Exeter |
| 13/07 | Newcastle | 62–34 | Wolverhampton |
| 17/07 | Glasgow White City | 46–49 | Newport |
| 18/07 | Cradley Heath | 51–45 | Long Eaton |
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21/08 | Newport | 56–40 | Hackney |
| 19/09 | Cradley Heath | 54–42 | Newcastle |
Final
first leg
| Newport Wasps Peter Vandenberg 13 Dick Bradley 13 Jon Erskine 10 Alby Golden 8 Bob Hughes 5 Vic White 5 Geoff Penniket 4 | 58–38 | Cradley Heath Ivor Brown 12 Harry Bastable 7 George Major 6 John Hart 6 Alan Totney 4 Eric Hockaday 3 John Edwards 0 |
|---|---|---|
| [7] |
second leg
| Cradley Heath Ivor Brown 15 John Edwards 13 John Hart 12 Harry Bastable 7 Eric Hockaday 5 Alan Totney 5 Matt Mattocks 0 | 57–39 | Newport Wasps Peter Vandenberg 11 Dick Bradley 9 Alby Golden 8 Jon Erskine 4 Geoff Penniket 4 Bob Hughes 3 Vic White 0 |
|---|---|---|
| [8] |
Riders' Championship
Ivan Mauger won the Riders' Championship for the second successive year. The final was held at Hyde Road on 26 September.[9]
| Pos. | Rider | Pts | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivan Mauger | 2,3,2,3,3 | 13+3 |
| 2 | Charlie Monk | 1,3,3,3,3 | 13+2 |
| 3 | Roy Trigg | 3,2,2,2,3 | 12+3 |
| 4 | Peter Kelly | 3,3,2,2,2 | 12+2 |
| 5 | Peter Jarman | 1,2,3,2,3 | 11 |
| 6 | Ivor Brown | 1,1,3,3,1 | 9 |
| 7 | Ken Sharples | 2,3,1,1,2 | 9 |
| 8 | Bill Andrew | 3,0,2,3,0 | 8 |
| 9 | Colin Pratt | 3,0,0,2,2 | 7 |
| 10 | Jimmy Squibb | 2,1,0,1,2 | 6 |
| 11 | Trevor Redmond | 0,2,1,1,1 | 5 |
| 12 | Peter Vandenberg | 1,0,3,1,0 | 5 |
| 13 | George Hunter | 0,2,1,0,1 | 4 |
| 14 | Norman Storer | 2,0,0,0,1 | 3 |
| 15 | Bluey Scott | 0,1,1,0,0 | 2 |
| 16 | Jon Erskine | 0,0,0,0,0 | 0 |
Riders & final averages
Cradley Heath
-
Ivor Brown 10.39 - George Major 9.01
- John Hart 8.06
- Eric Hockaday 7.37
- Harry Bastable 5.33
- Alan Totney 4.44
- John Edwards 4.57
- Derek Timms 3.27
- Glyn Chandler 3.00
- Fred Priest 2.29
-
Ivor Hughes 1.00 - Frank Holmes 0.57
Edinburgh
-
George Hunter 10.31 - Doug Templeton 9.19
-
Wayne Briggs 8.62 - Willie Templeton 6.17
- Alf Wells 5.25
- Bill Landels 5.07
- Jimmy Tannock 4.48
-
Kevin Torpie 4.08 - Bert Harkins 4.00
- Alec Hughson 3.43
Exeter
- Jimmy Squibb 9.71
- Len Silver 9.55
- Tim Bungay 8.71
- Alan Cowland 8.24
-
Chris Blewett 7.33 - Cliff Cox 6.57
- David Crane 6.15
- Des Lukehurst 5.49
- Maury McDermott 5.36
- Terry Stone 5.33
- Howdy Byford 5.03
- Ray Wickett 4.50
- Pat Flanagan 3.41
Glasgow
- Charlie Monk 10.88
- Trevor Redmond 7.74
- Maurie Mattingley 7.53
- Chris Julian 6.67
- Red Monteith 4.00
- Graham Coombes 3.64
- Bill McMillan 3.59
- Bruce Ovenden 3.05
- Terry Stone 2.70
- Vic Ridgeon 2.12
Hackney
- Colin Pratt 10.19
- Roy Trigg 10.04
- Les McGillivray 8.84
- Len Silver 8.57
- John Poyser 6.57
- Jimmy Heard 4.80
- Brian Davies 4.68
- Peter Jackson 4.50
- Dennis Day 3.78
- Sandy McGillivray 3.40
- Malcolm Brown 2.00
Long Eaton
- Eric Boothroyd 8.82
- Eric Boocock 8.80
- Slant Payling 8.00
- Ray Wilson 7.17
- Norman Storer 7.02
- Ken Adams 6.59
- Howard Cole (Kid Bodie) 6.05
- Ron Sharp 4.28
- John Mills 4.10
- Ken Vale 3.67
Middlesbrough
- Dave Younghusband 9.07
- Eric Boocock 8.50
- Bluey Scott 7.37
- Clive Hitch 5.68
- Ray Day 4.84
- Kevin Torpie 4.00
- John Butterfield 3.95
- Ken Handscombe 2.91
- Slant Payling 2.83
- Fred Greenwell 2.57
- Jack Swales 1.47
Newcastle
- Ivan Mauger 11.54
- Ken Sharples 8.66
- Peter Kelly 8.64
- Bill Andrew 8.36
- Mike Watkin 6.84
- Russ Dent 5.52
- Goog Allan 4.65
- Jack Winstanley 3.78
- Maury Robinson 2.67
Newport
- Alby Golden 9.20
-
Peter Vandenberg 8.85 - Dick Bradley 8.23
- Jon Erskine 7.28
- Geoff Penniket 6.60
- Bob Hughes 5.30
- Vic White 4.31
- Fred Powell 4.00
- Ray Harris 2.70
Poole
- Ross Gilbertson 8.22
- Geoff Mudge 8.39
- Chum Taylor 8.13
- Norman Strachan 6.34
- Tony Lewis 6.20
- Tim Bungay 5.74
- Pete Smith 4.96
- Pete Munday 4.69
- Brian Leonard 3.50
Sheffield
- Jack Kitchen 9.96
- Clive Featherby 9.07
- John Dews 8.59
- Dent Oliver 6.56
- Tommy Roper 6.43
- Alan Jay 5.37
- Ron Bagley 4.23
- Ken Handscombe 3.74
Wolverhampton
- Pete Jarman 9.54
- Tommy Sweetman 8.71
- Cyril Francis 7.60
- Dave Hemus 7.43
- Jim Airey 5.81
- Gordon Guasco 5.76
- Colin McKee 5.57
- James Bond 5.20
- Harry Edwards 3.51
- Chris Harrison 3.00