1952 Speedway National League Explained

Competition:	National League Division One
Competitors:	10
Domesticcup1:	Champions
Domesticcup1 Winners:	Wembley Lions
Domesticcup2:	National Trophy
Domesticcup2 Winners:	Harringay Racers
Domesticcup3:	London Cup
Domesticcup3 Winners:	Harringay Racers
Highestaverage:	Ronnie Moore
Leagues Below:	National League (Div 2) 1952 Southern League
Prevseason:	1951
Nextseason:	1953

The 1952 National League Division One was the 18th season of speedway in the United Kingdom and the seventh post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.^[1]

Summary

Norwich Stars joined the league. Wembley Lions won their fourth consecutive title and their seventh overall. Birmingham recorded their highest league finish to date by taking the runner-up spot.^{[2] [3] [4]}

While riding for Wimbledon, on 22 July 1952 the American Ernie Roccio was killed after crashing into the fence at high speed at West Ham Stadium, it has been reported that he died instantly but the newspaper report states he died in hospital.^[5]

Final table

Pos	Team	PL	W	D	L	Pts
1	Wembley Lions	36	28	1	7	57
2	Birmingham Brummies	36	23	0	13	46
3	Harringay Racers	36	21	3	12	45
4	West Ham Hammers	36	18	2	16	38
5	Wimbledon Dons	36	17	2	17	36
6	Belle Vue Aces	36	18	0	18	36
7	New Cross Rangers	36	15	1	20	31
8	Bristol Bulldogs	36	13	0	23	26
9	Bradford Tudors	36	11	1	24	23
10	Norwich Stars	36	10	2	24	22

Top Ten Riders (League only)

	Rider	Nat	Team	C.M.A.
1	Ronnie Moore		Wimbledon	11.27
2	Jack Young		West Ham	10.88
3	Bob Leverenz		Norwich	10.29
4	Alan Hunt		Birmingham	10.00
5	Split Waterman		Harringay	9.96
6	Freddie Williams		Wembley	9.76
7	Tommy Price		Wembley	9.31
8	Cyril Brine		Wimbledon	9.00
9	Eddie Rigg		Bradford	8.82
10	Bert Roger		New Cross	8.79

National Trophy Stage Three

The 1952 National Trophy was the 15th edition of the Knockout Cup. The Trophy consisted of three stages; stage one was for the third tier clubs, stage two was for the second tier 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. Harringay won the third and final stage and were therefore declared the 1952 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
19/07	Norwich	74-34	Poole
12/07	Birmingham	79-29	Bristol
04/07	Bristol	46-62	Birmingham
05/07	Bradford Odsal	67-40	West Ham
01/07	West Ham	66-42	Bradford Odsal
Poole	34-74	Norwich

Second round

width=80	Date	width=250	Team one	width=80	Score	width=250	Team two
11/08	Birmingham	69-39	Belle Vue
26/07	Belle Vue	59-49	Birmingham
26/07	Bradford Odsal	58-50	Wembley
26/07	Poole	72-36	New Cross
23/07	New Cross	75-33	Poole
21/07	Wimbledon	57-51	Harringay
18/07	Harringay	57-50	Wimbledon
17/07	Wembley	66-41	Bradford Odsal

Semifinals

width=80	Date	width=250	Team one	width=80	Score	width=250	Team two
21/08	Wembley	59-49	Birmingham
16/08	Birmingham	69-39	Wembley
15/08	Harringay	57-51	New Cross
13/08	New Cross	43-64	Harringay

Final

First leg

Second leg

Harringay were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 123–92.

London Cup

First round

width=250	Team one	width=120	Score	width=250	Team two
West Ham	63–45, 49–58	New Cross

Semi final round

width=250	Team one	width=120	Score	width=250	Team two
Wembley	49–59, 53–55	Wimbledon
Harringay	56–51, 54–53	West Ham

Final

First leg

Second leg

Harringay won on aggregate 113–100

Riders & final averages

Belle Vue

• Henry Long 8.63
• 8.37
• 7.40
• 6.89
• 7.16
• 6.63
• 6.15
• 6.69
• 5.28
• 5.25
• 2.60
• 2.00

Birmingham

• 10.00
• 8.00
• 7.78
• 7.77
• 7.33
• 7.28
• 6.08
• 5.93
• (James Goldingay) 4.86
• 4.00
• 3.50

Bradford

• 8.82
• 8.36
• 7.75
• 6.29
• 6.27
• 5.50
• 4.65
• 4.27
• 3.84
• 3.50
• 2.82
• 2.53

Bristol

• 8.29
• 6.85
• 6.36
• 6.11
• 5.87
• 5.50
• 5.23
• 5.00
• 5.04
• 4.55

Harringay

• 9.96
• 8.47
• 8.37
• 7.25
• 6.78
• 6.28
• 5.85
• 5.66
• 5.52
• 2.80

New Cross

• 8.79
• 8.60
• 7.66
• 7.61
• 7.26
• 5.66
• 5.18
• 4.53
• 4.49
• 4.15

Norwich

• 10.29
• 8.20
• 7.41
• 7.05
• 4.70
• 5.09
• (James Goldingay) 4.82
• 4.24
• 4.00
• 3.22
• 3.11
• 2.71

Wembley

• 9.76
• 9.31
• 8.23
• 7.74
• 7.41
• 7.32
• 6.79
• 4.92
• 1.60

West Ham

• 10.88
• 8.56
• 7.75
• 6.37
• 5.49
• 5.00
• 4.26
• 2.86
• 2.46
• 1.40

Wimbledon

• 11.27
• 9.60
• 9.00
• 8.68
• 6.84
• 5.74
• 5.66
• 5.25
• 4.20
• 3.58
• 3.12
• 1.71
• 1.23
• 0.83

See also

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

Notes and References

1. Web site: Historic league tables. Speedway Archive.
2. 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: Speed Track Star Dies . Western Daily Press . 23 July 1952 . 13 August 2021 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription .
6. Web site: 1952 National Trophy. Speedway archive.