1950 Speedway National League Explained

Competition:	National League Division One
Competitors:	9
Domesticcup1:	Champions
Domesticcup1 Winners:	Wembley Lions
Domesticcup2:	National Trophy
Domesticcup2 Winners:	Wimbledon Dons
Domesticcup3:	London Cup
Domesticcup3 Winners:	Wembley Lions
Highestaverage:	Graham Warren
Leagues Below:	National League (Div 2) National League (Div 3)
Prevseason:	1949
Nextseason:	1951

The 1950 National League Division One was the 16th season of speedway in the United Kingdom and the fifth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.^[1]

Summary

Bristol Bulldogs joined the league. Wembley Lions won the National League for the fifth time.^{[2] [3] [4]}

The Odsal Boomerangs became the Odsal Tudors during the season, the name change came at the end of July, possibly as a consequence of the events of 1 July. On 1 July 1950, 47-year-old Joe Abbott was killed instantly following a crash at Odsal Stadium in a league match against West Ham Hammers. After falling and hitting the safety fence he was hit by a rider behind. Jock Shead, a second rider was killed on the same night in a division 2 fixture.^[5]

Final table

Pos	Team	PL	W	D	L	Pts
1	Wembley Lions	32	24	0	8	48
2	Belle Vue Aces	32	19	0	13	38
3	Wimbledon Dons	32	17	1	14	35
4	New Cross Rangers	32	16	1	15	33
5	West Ham Hammers	32	16	0	16	32
6	Bradford Tudors	32	16	0	16	32
7	Bristol Bulldogs	32	15	0	17	30
8	Birmingham Brummies	32	12	0	20	24
9	Harringay Racers	32	8	0	24	16

Top Ten Riders (League only)

	Rider	Nat	Team	C.M.A.
1	Graham Warren		Birmingham	10.55
2	Norman Parker		Wimbledon	10.17
3	Tommy Price		Wembley	9.79
4	Jack Parker		Belle Vue	9.42
5	Vic Duggan		Harringay	9.30
6	Alec Statham		Wimbledon	9.21
7	Cyril Roger		New Cross	9.21
8	Louis Lawson		Belle Vue	9.19
9	Bert Roger		New Cross	9.04
10	Eric French		New Cross	8.81

National Trophy Stage Three

The 1950 National Trophy was the 13th edition of the Knockout Cup. The Trophy consisted of three stages; stage one was for the third division clubs, stage two was for the second division clubs and stage three was for the top tier clubs. The winner of stage one would qualify for stage two and the winner of stage two would qualify for the third and final stage. Wimbledon Dons won the third and final stage and were therefore declared the 1950 National Trophy champions.^[6]

• For Stage One - see Stage One
• For Stage Two - see Stage Two

First round

width=80	Date	width=250	Team one	width=80	Score	width=250	Team two
29/07	Belle Vue	80-28	New Cross
26/07	New Cross	48-60	Belle Vue
01/08	Halifax	50-58	Harringay
28/07	Harringay	68-39	Halifax

Second round

width=80	Date	width=250	Team one	width=80	Score	width=250	Team two
12/08	Belle Vue	55-52	Wimbledon
14/08	Wimbledon	67-41	Belle Vue
10/08	Wembley	53-51	Birmingham
05/08	Birmingham	79-29	Wembley
12/08	Bradford	80-28	Bristol
11/08	Bristol	66-42	Bradford
11/08	Harringay	62-46	West Ham
08/08	West Ham	62-46	Harringay
01/09 replay	Harringay	49-59	West Ham
29/08 replay	West Ham	59-49	Harringay

Semifinals

width=80	Date	width=250	Team one	width=80	Score	width=250	Team two
12/09	West Ham	56-51	Bradford
09/09	Bradford	70-38	West Ham
28/08	Wimbledon	61-47	Birmingham
26/08	Birmingham	42-66	Wimbledon

Final

First leg

Second leg

Wimbledon were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 119–97, the trophy was presented by Vera Lynn.

London Cup

First round

width=250	Team one	width=120	Score	width=250	Team two
New Cross	45–62, 33–74	Wimbledon
West Ham	66–42, 46–62	Walthamstow

Semi final round

width=250	Team one	width=120	Score	width=250	Team two
Wembley	58–50, 51–56	Harringay
Wimbledon	56–50, 54–54	West Ham

Final

First leg

Second leg

Wembley won on aggregate 108–107

Riders & final averages

Belle Vue

• 9.42
• 9.19
• 8.42
• 8.00
• 7.02
• 6.58
• Henry Long 5.88
• 5.44
• 5.34
• 4.90
• Gerry Hickson 1.33

Birmingham

• 10.55
• 8.19
• 7.07
• 6.46
• 4.73
• 4.44
• 3.92
• 3.61
• 3.33
• 2.61

Bradford

• 8.78
• 8.35
• 7.89
• 5.95
• 5.53
• 7.54
• 5.66
• 4.61
• 4.85
• 4.08
• 1.67

Bristol

• 7.15
• 6.78
• 6.36
• 5.94
• 5.93
• 5.73
• 5.51
• 4.91
• 4.64
• 4.57
• 3.20

Harringay

• 9.28
• 8.22
• 7.71
• 6.33
• 6.08
• 5.43
• 5.25
• 4.82
• 4.00
• 4.12
• 3.78
• 3.40
• 3.13
• 3.10

New Cross

• 9.21
• 8.81
• 9.04
• 7.17
• 7.00
• 5.88
• 5.60
• 5.13
• 3.82
• 3.40
• 0.80

Wembley

• 9.79
• 8.75
• 8.44
• 7.88
• 7.37
• 7.33
• 7.22
• 6.16
• 4.17
• 3.70
• 3.11
• 2.67
• 1.45

West Ham

• 8.79
• 8.03
• 7.66
• Eric Chitty 7.52
• 5.70
• 5.53
• 5.14
• 5.00
• 4.75
• 3.43
• 2.52

Wimbledon

• 10.17
• 9.21
• 8.66
• 7.23
• 6.88
• 5.98
• 5.94
• 4.89
• 4.30
• 4.16
• 3.08

See also

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

Notes and References

1. Web site: Historic league tables. Speedway Archive.
2. Web site: Year by Year. Speedway Researcher. 12 August 2021.
3. Book: Rogers, Martin. The Illustrated History of Speedway. 1978. 129. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. 0-904584-45-3.
4. Web site: BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964). Official British Speedway website. 12 August 2021.
5. News: Twod Riders Killed . Weekly Dispatch (London) . 2 July 1950 . 12 August 2021 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription .
6. Web site: 1950 National Trophy. Speedway archive.