1962 Speedway National League Explained

Competition:	National League
Competitors:	7
Domesticcup1:	Champions
Domesticcup1 Winners:	Southampton Saints
Domesticcup2:	National Trophy
Domesticcup2 Winners:	Wimbledon Dons
Highestaverage:	Ronnie Moore
Leagues Below:	1962 Provincial League
Prevseason:	1961
Nextseason:	1963

The 1962 National League was the 28th season and the seventeenth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.^[1]

Summary

With the withdrawal of New Cross Rangers and with Leicester Hunters moving down to the Provincial League, the entry list was 8 teams and so home and away fixtures were raced twice. Southampton Saints broke the domination of Wimbledon Dons by winning their first National League title.^[2] ^[3] ^[4]

Ipswich Witches' season was a complete disaster. Their new signing Olle Nygren did not even start the season due to ill-health and then Jack Unstead was killed in the first recorded fatal crash at Foxhall Stadium, on 13 April 1962.^[5] The club later withdrew from the league due to financial issues and their results were expunged.^[6]

Final table

Pos	Team	PL	W	D	L	Pts
1	Southampton Saints	24	18	0	6	36
2	Wimbledon Dons	24	14	1	9	29
3	Coventry Bees	24	13	0	11	26
4	Belle Vue Aces	24	12	0	12	24
5	Norwich Stars	24	12	0	12	24
6	Swindon Robins	24	9	2	13	20
7	Oxford Cheetahs	24	4	0	20	8

Ipswich Witches resigned in mid-season.

Top Ten Riders (League only)

	Rider	Nat	Team	C.M.A.
1	Ronnie Moore		Wimbledon	10.14
2	Björn Knutson		Southampton	9.89
3	Olle Nygren		Swindon/Norwich	9.86
4	Peter Craven		Belle Vue	9.75
5	Barry Briggs		Southampton	9.64
6	Ove Fundin		Norwich	9.30
7	Ron How		Wimbledon	9.30
8	Peter Moore		Ipswich/Swindon	9.02
9	Bob Andrews		Wimbledon	8.82
10	Ron Mountford		Coventry	8.74

National Trophy

The 1962 National Trophy was the 24th edition of the Knockout Cup. Wimbledon were the winners.^[7]

First round

width=80	Date	width=250	Team one	width=80	Score	width=250	Team two
25/06	Wimbledon	49-35	Belle Vue
23/06	Belle Vue	46-38	Wimbledon
23/06	Swindon	51-33	Ipswich
22/06	Ipswich	42-40	Swindon
19/06	Southampton	56-28	Coventry
16/06	Norwich	33-51	Oxford
14/06	Oxford	47-37	Norwich
16/06	Coventry	41-43	Southampton

Semi-finals

width=80	Date	width=250	Team one	width=80	Score	width=250	Team two
23/08	Oxford	45-39	Swindon
18/08	Swindon	59-25	Oxford
14/08	Southampton	42-42	Wimbledon
13/08	Wimbledon	50-33	Southampton

Final

First legSecond leg

Wimbledon were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 94–74.

Riders & final averages

Belle Vue

9.75
8.23
7.95
7.33
4.44
4.00
3.67
3.60
3.27
3.17
2.50
2.33

Coventry

8.74
8.63
8.20
7.61
6.33
6.11
5.33
4.47
3.35

Ipswich (resigned mid season)

8.73
6.63
6.06
6.00
5.85
5.17
4.44
2.24
Trevor Blokdyk 3.33
1.33
n/a

Norwich

9.80
9.30
6.78
6.49
6.07
5.56
5.48
4.67
4.39
2.74
2.67

Oxford

6.91
6.88
5.84
5.56
5.20
5.20
4.93
4.42
2.73

Southampton

9.89
9.64
7.49
7.33
7.10
6.54
6.37

Swindon

9.71
8.27
8.00
6.94
6.21
6.00
5.62
5.30
4.45
2.67

Wimbledon

10.14
9.30
8.82
7.03
6.50
6.00
5.14
4.82
3.35

Notes and References

Web site: Historic league tables. Speedway Archive.
Web site: Year by Year. Speedway Researcher. 12 August 2021.
Book: Rogers, Martin. The Illustrated History of Speedway. 1978. 129. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. 0-904584-45-3.
Web site: BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964). Official British Speedway website. 12 August 2021.
News: Rider killed in Speedway crash . Birmingham Daily Post . 14 April 1962 . 1 January 2024 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription .
News: Close-Down at Ipswich . Daily Mirror . 27 July 1962 . 1 January 2024 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription .
Web site: 1962 National Trophy. Speedway archive.