1958 Speedway National League

1958 Speedway National League
LeagueNational League
No. of competitors10
ChampionsWimbledon Dons
National TrophyBelle Vue Aces
Highest averageOve Fundin

The 1958 National League was the 24th season and the thirteenth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1]

Summary

Bradford Tudors who had dropped out at the start of the previous season only to return in mid-season, had dropped out again along with the bottom side Rayleigh Rockets. Poole Pirates returned after a one-year absence. Wimbledon Dons won their fourth title in five years.[2][3][4]

Final table

Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Wimbledon Dons 18 12 2 4 26
2 Norwich Stars 18 12 0 6 24
3 Southampton Saints 18 11 0 7 22
4 Leicester Hunters 18 11 0 7 22
5 Belle Vue Aces 18 10 0 8 20
6 Swindon Robins 18 10 0 8 20
7 Coventry Bees 18 9 1 8 19
8 Oxford Cheetahs 18 5 2 11 12
9 Poole Pirates 18 6 0 12 12
10 Ipswich Witches 18 1 1 16 3

Top Ten Riders (League only)

Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Ove Fundin Sweden Norwich 11.60
2 Peter Craven England Belle Vue 11.00
3 Ken McKinlay Scotland Leicester 10.82
4 Barry Briggs New Zealand Wimbledon 10.43
5 Brian Crutcher England Southampton 10.03
6 Jack Young Australia Coventry 10.02
7 Peter Moore Australia Ipswich 9.73
8 Jack Biggs Australia Poole 9.69
9 Ron How England Wimbledon 9.47
10 Ronnie Moore New Zealand Wimbledon 9.09

National Trophy

The 1958 National Trophy was the 20th edition of the Knockout Cup. Belle Vue were the winners.[5]

First round

Date Team one Score Team two
30/05 Leicester 65-54 Southampton
29/05 Oxford 58-61 Poole
27/05 Southampton 84-36 Leicester
26/05 Poole 60-60 Oxford

Second round

Date Team one Score Team two
03/07 Ipswich 42-77 Swindon
30/06 Poole 49-71 Belle Vue
30/06 Wimbledon 67-53 Norwich
28/06 Belle Vue 80-40 Poole
28/06 Coventry 57-63 Southampton
28/06 Norwich 72-48 Wimbledon
28/06 Swindon 78-42 Ipswich
24/06 Southampton 78-42 Coventry

Semifinals

Date Team one Score Team two
16/08 Norwich 69-51 Swindon
12/08 Southampton 60-59 Belle Vue
09/08 Belle Vue 77-43 Southampton
09/08 Swindon 60-60 Norwich

Final

First leg

Belle Vue Aces
Peter Craven 16
Ron Johnston 11
Dick Fisher 9
Eddie Rigg 8
Bob Duckworth 7
Bob McHugh 7
Slant Payling 6
Tink Maynard 4
Graham Beattie 4
Jack Kitchen 2		74 – 45Norwich Stars
Ove Fundin 16
Phil Clarke 8
Billy Bales 8
Aub Lawson 5
John Chamberlain 3
Clive Featherby 2
Dennis Newton 2
Jimmy Heard 1
Tommy Sweetman 0
Harry Edwards 0
[6]

Second leg

Norwich Stars
Ove Fundin 16
Billy Bales 10
Aub Lawson 5
Phil Clarke 4
Harry Edwards 4
John Chamberlain 8
Clive Featherby 4
Jimmy Heard 3
Tommy Sweetman 3
Dennis Newton 1		58 – 62Belle Vue Aces
Ron Johnston 10
Bob Duckworth 7
Peter Craven 15
Slant Payling 10
Dick Fisher 10
Tink Maynard 4
Eddie Rigg 2
Jack Kitchen 0
Graham Beattie 3
Bob McHugh 1
[6]

Belle Vue were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 136–103.

Riders & final averages

Belle Vue

Coventry

Ipswich

Leicester

Norwich

Oxford

Poole

Southampton

Swindon

Wimbledon

See also

References

  1. ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  3. ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  4. ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  5. ^ "1958 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  6. ^ a b "1958 National Trophy". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 12 August 2021.