1956 Speedway National League Division Two
League | National League Division Two |
---|---|
No. of competitors | 7 |
Champions | Swindon Robins |
National Trophy (Div 2 final) | Southampton Saints |
Highest average | Per Olof Söderman |
Division/s above | National League (Div 1) |
Division/s below | Southern League |
1956 was the final season of the Speedway National League Division Two.[1]
Summary
[edit]With the number of sides competing at national level diminishing from 37 at the start of 1951 to just 14 in 1956, only a single national division would be in existence by 1957. Poole Pirates had been promoted to Division One and Exeter Falcons had closed leaving seven entrants.[2][3]
Swindon Robins captured the title by a single point.[4][5]
Southampton's 34-year-old captain Ernie Rawlins died in Southampton Hospital on 22 September 1956, following an accident in the match against Birmingham on 18 September.[6]
Final table
[edit]Pos | Team | M | W | D | L | Pts |
1 | Swindon Robins | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 32 |
2 | Southampton Saints | 24 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 31 |
3 | Rayleigh Rockets | 24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 29 |
4 | Ipswich Witches | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 26 |
5 | Coventry Bees | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 24 |
6 | Leicester Hunters | 24 | 6 | 1 | 17 | 13 |
7 | Oxford Cheetahs | 24 | 6 | 1 | 17 | 13 |
Top Five Riders (League only)
[edit]Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
1 | Per Olof Söderman | ![]() |
Coventry | 11.74 |
2 | Ken McKinlay | ![]() |
Leicester | 10.25 |
3 | Dick Bradley | ![]() |
Southampton | 10.22 |
4 | Bob Roger | ![]() |
Swindon | 9.53 |
5 | Ian Williams | ![]() |
Swindon | 9.52 |
National Trophy Stage One
[edit]- For Stage Two - see Stage Two
The 1956 National Trophy was the 19th edition of the Knockout Cup. The Trophy consisted of two stages; stage one was for the second tier clubs, stage two was for the top tier clubs. Southampton won stage one and qualified for second and final stage.[7]
Division Two First round
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
21/04 | Coventry | 55-53 | Ipswich |
21/04 | Rayleigh | 74-34 | Oxford |
21/04 | Swindon | 65-43 | Leicester |
20/04 | Leicester | 65-43 | Swindon |
19/04 | Ipswich | 68-40 | Coventry |
19/04 | Oxford | 40-68 | Rayleigh |
05/05 replay |
Swindon | 51-56 | Leicester |
04/05 replay |
Leicester | 76-32 | Swindon |
Division Two semifinals
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
26/05 | Rayleigh | 68-39 | Southampton |
25/05 | Leicester | 67-40 | Ipswich |
22/05 | Southampton | 69-39 | Rayleigh |
21/05 | Ipswich | 46-62 | Leicester |
Division Two final
[edit]First leg
Southampton Saints Dick Bradley 15 Brian Hanham 13 Ernie Rawlins 12 Johnny Hole 7 Frank Bettis 6 Alby Golden 5 Maurie Mattingley 4 Ron Sharp 2 | 64 – 43 | Leicester Lions Ken McKinlay 14 Ron Phillips 11 Charlie Barsby 5 Len Williams 5 Bryan Elliott 3 Barrie East 3 Gordon McGregor 2 Ivor Brown 0 |
---|---|---|
[8] |
Second leg
Leicester Lions Len Williams 12 Ken McKinlay 9 Ron Phillips 8 Gordon McGregor 7 Charlie Barsby 6 Barrie East 4 Ivor Brown 4 Dennis Parker 4 | 54 – 54 | Southampton Saints Ernie Rawlins 14 Dick Bradley 13 Brian Hanham 9 Maurie Mattingley 7 Alby Golden 5 Johnny Hole 2 Frank Bettis 2 Ron Sharp 2 |
---|---|---|
[8] |
Riders & final averages
[edit]Coventry
-
Per Olof Söderman 11.74
-
Bob Mark 7.50
-
Charlie New 8.04
-
Reg Duval 6.53
-
Nick Nicholls 6.40
-
Jim Lightfoot 5.98
-
Eric Hockaday 5.05
-
Les Tolley 4.41
Ipswich
-
Bert Edwards 9.21
-
Bob Sharp 8.93
-
Junior Bainbridge 8.70
-
Tich Read (George Snailum) 6.40
-
Ken Adams 5.31
-
Danny Dunton 4.56
-
Larry Lazarus 3.54
-
Bill Bryden 3.05
-
Ken Last 2.76
-
Len Silver 2.33
Leicester
-
Ken McKinlay 10.25
-
Gordon McGregor 8.21
-
Derick Close 6.
-
Johnny Green 5.
-
Charlie Barsby 5.92
-
Len Williams 5.89
-
Ron Phillips 5.61
-
Les McGillivray 4.73
-
Barry East 3.61
-
Bran Elliott 2.42
-
Vic Hall 2.09
-
Dennis Parker 1.33
-
Ivor Brown 1.33
Oxford
-
Ronnie Genz 8.53
-
Peter Robinson 6.20
-
Bob Baker 5.90
-
Dennis Newton 5.60
-
Howdy Byford 5.55
-
Pat Clark 5.07
-
Terry Courtnell 4.70
-
Tommy Miller 4.29
-
Bill Thatcher 4.00
-
Roy Bowers 4.00
-
Jim Tebby 3.69
-
Maury Courtnell 2.46
Rayleigh
-
Jack Unstead 9.50
-
Gerry Jackson 8.25
-
Les McGillivray 7.78
-
Pete Lansdale 7.17
-
Alan Smith 6.99
-
Maury McDermott 6.40
-
Johnny Fitzpatrick 5.38
-
Eric Ebbs 5.33
Southampton
-
Dick Bradley 10.22
-
Bill Holden 8.48
-
Ernie Rawlins 8.41
-
Brian Hanham 8.36
-
Ron Sharp 5.75
-
Alby Golden 5.43
-
Maury Mattingley 5.25
-
Johnny Hole 5.17
-
Charlie May 4.59
-
Frank Bettis 3.20
Swindon
-
Bob Roger 9.53
-
Ian Williams 9.52
-
George White 9.15
-
Ernie Lessiter 5.69
-
Ray Harris 4.76
-
Ron Swaine 4.13
-
Danny Malone 3.83
-
Al Sparrey 3.58
-
Glyn Chandler 3.08
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Home". speedwayresearcher.org.uk.
- ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
- ^ "Speedway Star Dies". Sunday Sun (Newcastle). 23 September 1956. Retrieved 13 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "1956 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
- ^ a b "1956 Southampton results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 13 October 2022.