1935 Speedway National League Explained

Competition:	National League Division One
Competitors:	7
Domesticcup1:	Champions
Domesticcup1 Winners:	Belle Vue Aces
Domesticcup2:	National Trophy
Domesticcup2 Winners:	Belle Vue Aces
Domesticcup3:	A.C.U Cup
Domesticcup3 Winners:	Belle Vue Aces
Domesticcup4:	London Cup
Domesticcup4 Winners:	Harringay Tigers
Highestaverage:	Bluey Wilkinson
Prevseason:	1934
Nextseason:	1936

The 1935 National League Division One was the seventh season of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.^{[1] [2] [3]}

Summary

Walthamstow relocated to Hackney Wick Wolves. Plymouth Tigers and Birmingham dropped out so there were only 7 teams, 6 of which were located in London. Bluey Wilkinson of West Ham Hammers topped the rider averages.

The only non-London club, Belle Vue Aces, won their third consecutive national title and Knockout Cup and second treble after winning the A.C.U Cup.^[4]

British champion Tom Farndon of the New Cross Lambs was fatally injured in a scratch race at New Cross Stadium, on 28 August. He was involved in a crash with Ron Johnson, who clipped the safety fence and fell causing Farndon to crash into Johnson's bike. Farndon suffered a fractured skull and spine injury and was unconscious when he was transferred to the Miller General Hospital in Greenwich. He died two days later on 30 August.^{[5] [6] [7]}

Final table

Pos	Team	PL	W	D	L	Pts
1	Belle Vue Aces	24	17	2	5	36
2	Harringay Tigers	24	13	0	11	26
3	West Ham Hammers	24	12	1	11	25
4	Wembley Lions	24	11	0	13	22
5	Hackney Wick Wolves	24	10	1	13	21
6	New Cross Lambs	24	10	0	14	20
7	Wimbledon Dons	24	8	0	16	16

Top Ten Riders

	Rider	Nat	Team	C.M.A.
1	Bluey Wilkinson		West Ham	10.57
2	Dicky Case		Hackney	10.12
3	Tom Farndon		New Cross	9.74
4	Max Grosskreutz		Belle Vue	9.57
5	Bill Kitchen		Belle Vue	9.18
6	Jack Parker		Harringay	9.13
7	Eric Langton		Belle Vue	9.10
8	Ron Johnson		New Cross	8.78
9	Jack Ormston		Harringay	8.75
10	Tommy Croombs		West Ham	8.74

National Trophy

The 1935 National Trophy was the fifth edition of the Knockout Cup.^[8]

First round

width=80	Date	width=250	Team one	width=80	Score	width=250	Team two
13/07	Belle Vue	55-52	New Cross
13/07	Harringay	70-35	Hackney Wick
11/07	Wembley	55-52	West Ham
10/07	New Cross	54-54	Belle Vue
09/07	West Ham	67-41	Wembley
08/07	Hackney Wick	47-61	Harringay
	Wimbledon	Bye

Semifinals

width=80	Date	width=250	Team one	width=80	Score	width=250	Team two
10/08	Belle Vue	64-34	West Ham
06/08	West Ham	54-53	Belle Vue
05/08	Wimbledon	41-64	Harringay
03/08	Harringay	69-39	Wimbledon

Final

First leg

Second leg

Belle Vue were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 126-88.

A.C.U Cup

The 1935 Auto-Cycle Union Cup was the second edition of the Cup and was won by Belle Vue for the second time.^[9]

First round

Group 1

Team	PL	W	D	L	Pts
Belle Vue Aces	4	3	0	1	6
Wembley Lions	4	2	0	2	4
Wimbledon Dons	4	1	0	3	2

Group 2

Team	PL	W	D	L	Pts
Harringay Tigers	6	5	0	1	10
West Ham Hammers	6	3	0	3	6
New Cross Lambs	6	3	0	3	6
Hackney Wick Wolves	6	1	0	5	2

Final

width=80	Date	width=250	Team one	width=250	Team two	width=120	Score
31/08	Belle Vue	Harringay	73–34
31/08	Harringay	Belle Vue	54-54

London Cup

First round

width=250	Team one	width=120	Score	width=250	Team two
Hackney Wick	48–57, 39–69	West Ham
Wimbledon	39–64, 32–75	Harringay

Semi final round

width=250	Team one	width=120	Score	width=250	Team two
Wembley	50–55, 41–66	Harringay
West Ham	63.5–41.5, 47–58	New Cross

Final

First leg

Second leg

Harringay won on aggregate 120–97

Riders & final averages

Belle Vue

• 9.57
• 9.18
• 9.10
• 8.34
• 7.19
• 5.41
• 4.95
• 3.23
• 2.29
• 2.18
• 1.89

Hackney

• 10.12
• 7.89
• 6.23
• 6.16
• 5.62
• 4.89
• 4.78
• (John Glass) 4.62
• 4.44
• 3.50
• 3.00

Harringay

• 9.13
• 8.75
• 6.86
• 6.21
• 5.97
• 5.00
• 5.33
• 4.78
• 3.16

New Cross

• 9.74
• 8.78
• 7.17
• 6.80
• 6.02
• 4.86
• 4.53
• 4.00
• 4.00
• 3.86
• 3.37
• 1.23

Wembley

• 8.60
• 8.33
• 7.79
• 6.35
• 6.11
• 6.11
• 5.74
• 5.04
• 4.73

West Ham

• 10.57
• 8.74
• 6.67
• (John Glass) 6.50
• 6.44
• 4.76
• 4.27
• 4.22
• 3.70
• 3.13

Wimbledon

• 8.71
• 6.37
• 5.91
• 5.66
• 5.52
• 5.46
• 5.07
• 4.74
• 3.83

See also

• List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions
• Knockout Cup (speedway)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Historic league tables. Speedway Archive.
2. Book: Rogers, Martin. The Illustrated History of Speedway. 1978. 129. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. 0-904584-45-3.
3. Web site: BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - PRE-WAR ERA (1929-1939). Official British Speedway website. 6 August 2021.
4. Web site: Year by Year. Speedway Researcher. 6 August 2021.
5. News: Tom Farndon still unconscious in hospital . Hartlepool Northern Daily Mail . 29 August 1935 . 6 August 2021 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription .
6. News: Tom Farndon and Johnson injured . Daily Mirror . 29 August 1935 . 6 August 2021 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription .
7. News: Farndon dies form injuries . Daily Herald. 31 August 1935 . 6 August 2021 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription .
8. Web site: 1935 National Trophy. Speedway archive.
9. Web site: 1935 ACU Cup. Speedway Researcher. 6 August 2021.