Competition: | Southern League |
Competitors: | 11 |
Domesticcup1: | Champions |
Domesticcup2: | National Trophy |
Domesticcup2 Winners: | Wembley Lions |
Domesticcup3: | London Cup |
Highestaverage: | Tommy Croombs |
League Other: | 1931 Northern League |
Prevseason: | 1930 |
Nextseason: | 1932 |
The 1931 Southern League was the third season of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom for Southern British teams, and its final season before amalgamation of the Southern and Northern Leagues.[1] The Northern teams also had their third season known as the 1931 Speedway Northern League.[2] [3] [4]
Both Birmingham teams based at Perry Barr and Hall Green had left, as had Coventry but the latter returned mid-season to replace Leicester Stadium who were liquidated in late May.[5] [6]
Harringay Canaries resigned in June to be replaced by a Belle Vue team, who then rode both in the Northern and Southern Leagues, the latter as Manchester. Nottingham closed in July but they were not replaced and their results stood. The league season was the longest in the short history of the competition as teams met each other four times instead of twice.[7]
The Wembley Lions won their second consecutive title[8] finishing three points clear of 1929 champions Stamford Bridge. The league suffered a fatality during the match between Belle Vue and Wembley at Hyde Road. James Allen (known as Indian Allen) was thrown from his bike and hit his head on a fence, trying to avoid a rider who had fallen in front of him. He died three days later in hospital on 12 September 1931.[9] Another rider Noel Johnson of Plymouth had been killed in a challenge match against Coventry reserves on 25 August. [10]
Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts | |
1 | Wembley Lions | 37 | 28 | 1 | 8 | 57 | |
2 | 38 | 27 | 0 | 11 | 54 | ||
3 | West Ham Hammers | 38 | 23 | 0 | 15 | 46 | |
4 | Crystal Palace Glaziers | 38 | 22 | 0 | 16 | 44 | |
5 | Wimbledon Dons | 38 | 19 | 1 | 18 | 39 | |
6 | High Beech | 38 | 19 | 1 | 18 | 39 | |
7 | Southampton Saints | 38 | 18 | 0 | 20 | 36 | |
8 | Harringay Canaries + Manchester (Belle Vue) | 38 | 14 | 0 | 24 | 28* | |
9 | Lea Bridge | 38 | 11 | 0 | 27 | 22 | |
10 | Leicester Stadium + Coventry | 37 | 8 | 1 | 28 | 17** | |
11 | Nottingham | 20 | 8 | 0 | 12 | 16 |
* Harringay scored 12 points from 14 matches, Belle Vue scored 16 from 24 ** Leicester scored 1 point from 8 matches, Coventry scored 16 from 30
Team | C.M.A. | |||
1 | Tommy Croombs | West Ham | 10.41 | |
2 | Dicky Case | Wimbledon | 10.14 | |
3 | Jack Parker | Southampton | 10.02 | |
4 | Frank Arthur | Stamford Bridge | 9.97 | |
5 | Vic Huxley | Harringay/Wimbledon | 9.87 | |
The 1931 National Trophy was the first edition of the Knockout Cup. It was contested between teams from the Southern and Northern Leagues.[11]
First round
width=80 | Date | width=250 | Team one | width=80 | Score | width=250 | Team two |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
11/05 | Wimbledon | 67-26 | Hall Green | ||||
12/05 | West Ham | 51-45 | Southampton | ||||
13/05 | Lea Bridge | 59-33 | Nottingham | ||||
14/05 | Exeter | 34-59 | High Beech | ||||
14/05 | Leicester Stadium | 39.5-54.5 | Stamford Bridge | ||||
15/05 | Hall Green | 42.5-49.5 | Wimbledon | ||||
16/05 | High Beech | 61-33 | Exeter | ||||
16/05 | Southampton | 42-49 | West Ham | ||||
16/05 | Stamford Bridge | 59-35 | Leicester Stadium | ||||
21/05 | Nottingham | 46-47 | Lea Bridge |
Second round
width=80 | Date | width=250 | Team one | width=80 | Score | width=250 | Team two |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
25/05 | Belle Vue | 73-22 | Wombwell | ||||
25/05 | York | 42-53 | Leicester Super | ||||
26/05 | Glasgow White City | 43-52 | Preston | ||||
28/05 | Sheffield | 54-40 | Leeds | ||||
30/05 | Leeds | 39-52 | Sheffield | ||||
30/05 | Leicester Super | 69-26 | York | ||||
30/05 | Wombwell | 27-64 | Belle Vue | ||||
04/06 | Preston | 70-26 | Glasgow White City | ||||
08/06 | Wimbledon | 60-36 | Crystal Palace | ||||
09/06 | Harringay | ? | Stamford Bridge | ||||
09/06 | West Ham | 44-52 | Wembley | ||||
10/06 | Lea Bridge | 52-38 | High Beech | ||||
11/06 | Wembley | 56-37 | West Ham | ||||
13/06 | Crystal Palace | 48-48 | Wimbledon | ||||
13/06 | High Beech | 55-39 | Lea Bridge |
Quarterfinals
width=80 | Date | width=250 | Team one | width=80 | Score | width=250 | Team two |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
02/07 | Preston | 65-31 | High Beech | ||||
11/07 | Belle Vue | 50-46 | Wimbledon | ||||
11/07 | Sheffield | 41-55 | Wembley | ||||
16/07 | Leicester Super | 44-50 | Stamford Bridge | ||||
18/07 | High Beech | 48-42 | Preston | ||||
23/07 | Wembley | 70-25 | Sheffield | ||||
27/07 | Wimbledon | 55-41 | Belle Vue | ||||
19/08 | Stamford Bridge | 61-31 | Leicester Super |
Semifinals
width=80 | Date | width=250 | Team one | width=80 | Score | width=250 | Team two |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10/09 | Preston | 43-51 | Stamford Bridge | ||||
17/09 | Wembley | 48-47 | Wimbledon | ||||
21/09 | Wimbledon | 46-49 | Wembley | ||||
26/09 | Stamford Bridge | 66-30 | Preston |
First leg
Second leg
Wembley were declared National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 120-69.
First round
width=250 | Team one | width=120 | Score | width=250 | Team two |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wimbledon | 46–50, 45–49 | Wembley | |||
West Ham | 41.5–53.5, 36–58 | Stamford Bridge | |||
Lea Bridge | 60–35, 48–46 | High Beech | |||
Crystal Palace bye |
width=250 | Team one | width=120 | Score | width=250 | Team two |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lea Bridge | 41–55, 27–69 | Crystal Palace | |||
Stamford Bridge | 50–46, 41.5–35.5 | Wembley |
First leg
Second leg
Crystal Palace won on aggregate 114–76
Crystal Palace
Harringay (withdrew)
High Beech
Lea Bridge
Leicester/Coventry
Manchester (Belle Vue)
Nottingham
Southampton
Stamford Bridge
Wembley
West Ham
Wimbledon