1974 British League Division Two season explained

Competition:British League Division Two
Competitors:19
Domesticcup1:Champions
Domesticcup1 Winners:Birmingham Brummies
Domesticcup2:Knockout Cup
Domesticcup2 Winners:Birmingham Brummies
Domesticcup3:Individual
Domesticcup3 Winners:Carl Glover
Highest Average:Phil Herne
League Above:British League (Div 1)
Prevseason:1973
Nextseason:1975

The 1974 British League Division Two season was the second tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain. It was the final season of British League Division Two before it was renamed as the New National League.[1]

Summary

The league was again expanded by one team from 18 to 19 teams. Weymouth Wizards were the new addition to the league, returning to action after five years out. Additionally there were two in and two out; Hull Vikings had moved up to the British League swapping places with Coatbridge Tigers and also swapping their top riders. Rayleigh Rockets closed down but the promotion, riders and nickname moved to Rye House. It was the first season of league speedway at Rye House since the 1959 Southern Area League.[2] [3]

There were a few changes of nicknames; the Chesterton Potters changed their team name to the Stoke Potters, Bradford became the Barons, Sunderland became the Gladiators and Long Eaton raced as the Archers.[4]

Birmingham Brummies won their first title, completing a league and cup double.[5] [6] Australian Phil Herne improved his average by over 3 points from the 1973 season and Arthur Browning also exceeded a 10 average, the two factors proved to be the catalyst for Birmingham's success. John Hart and George Major both scored heavily throughout the season too.[2]

Final table

PosTeamPLWDLPts
1Birmingham Brummies35263655
2Eastbourne Eagles36243951
3Boston Barracudas362321148
4Workington Comets362231147
5Crewe Kings362201444
6Teesside Tigers361911639
7Bradford Barons361911639
8Peterborough Panthers341811537
9Coatbridge Tigers361801836
10Canterbury Crusaders361801836
11Berwick Bandits361611933
12Barrow Bombers361521932
13Stoke Potters361602032
14Ellesmere Port Gunners351431831
15Long Eaton Archers361422030
16Rye House Rockets361302326
17Scunthorpe Saints361022422
18Sunderland Gladiators361102522
19Weymouth Wizards361002620

Top Five Riders (League Averages)

RiderNatTeamC.M.A.
1Phil HerneBirmingham10.78
2Carl GloverBoston10.44
3Mitch GrahamWorkington10.29
4Arthur BrowningBirmingham10.17
5John JacksonCrewe10.07

British League Division Two Knockout Cup

The 1974 British League Division Two Knockout Cup was the seventh edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Birmingham Brummies were the winners of the competition.[7]

First round

width=80Datewidth=250Team onewidth=80Scorewidth=250Team two
02/04Barrow 36-42 Stoke
29/04Crewe 43-35 Workington
04/04Stoke 46-31 Barrow
12/04Sunderland37-41 Teesside
18/04Teesside55-22 Sunderland
03/05Workington46-32 Crewe
Second round
width=80Datewidth=250Team onewidth=80Scorewidth=250Team two
25/05Berwick29-49 Workington
20/05Birmingham47-31 Long Eaton
19/05Boston49-28 Weymouth
22/05Bradford43-34 Ellesmere Port
04/05Canterbury44-34 Eastbourne
03/05Coatbridge55-23 Scunthorpe
05/05Eastbourne47-31 Canterbury
21/05Ellesmere Port52-26 Bradford
13/06Long Eaton37-40 Birmingham
24/05Peterborough52-26 Rye House
05/05Rye House36-42 Peterborough
27/05Scunthorpe44-34 Coatbridge
17/05Stoke51-27 Teesside
23/05Teesside32-45 Stoke
14/05Weymouth44-34 Boston
24/05Workington50-28 Berwick
Quarter-finals
width=80Datewidth=250Team onewidth=80Scorewidth=250Team two
01/07Birmingham48-30 Boston
14/07Boston39-39 Birmingham
02/08Coatbridge48-30 Stoke
14/07Eastbourne50-28 Workington
18/06Ellesmere Port40-38 Peterborough
21/06Peterborough46-31 Ellesmere Port
18/07Stoke40-38 Coatbridge
26/07Workington43-35 Eastbourne
Semi-finals
width=80Datewidth=250Team onewidth=80Scorewidth=250Team two
09/09Birmingham58-20 Peterborough
23/08Coatbridge48-29 Eastbourne
01/09Eastbourne56-21 Coatbridge
06/09Peterborough41-37 Birmingham

Final

First leg

Second leg

Birmingham were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 81–74.

Leading final averages

RiderNatTeamC.M.A.
1Phil HerneBirmingham10.48
2Carl GloverBoston10.29
3Arthur BrowningBirmingham10.14
4Mitch GrahamWorkington10.00
5John JacksonCrewe9.95

Riders' Championship

Carl Glover won the Rider's Championship, held at Wimbledon Stadium on 28 September.[8]

width=25pxPos. width=180pxRider width=100pxPts width=50pxTotal
1 2 3 3 3 2 13+3
2 3 3 3 2 2 13+2
3 3 1 2 3 3 12
4 3 2 2 2 1 10
5 1 2 2 3 2 10
6 1 0 3 3 3 10
7 2 2 2 2 1 9
8 2 2 3 fx 7
90 0 1 2 3 6
10 Brian Havelock (res) 1 3 4
11 1 3 fx 4
12 1 3 fx 4
13 2 1 0 0 0 3
14 0 1 1 1 0 3
15 1 1 f 1 r 3
16 3 0 f fx ex2
17 Bob Hughes (res) 1 1 1
18 Willie Templeton (res) 0 1 f ex 1 0
19 0 ex 0

Riders & final averages

Barrow

Berwick

Birmingham

Boston

Bradford

Canterbury

Coatbridge

Crewe

Eastbourne

Ellesmere Port

Long Eaton

Peterborough

Rye House

Scunthorpe

Stoke

Sunderland

Teesside

Weymouth

Workington

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Historic league tables. Speedway Archive.
  2. Web site: teams. wwosbackup. 19 September 2021.
  3. News: Lightning ban lifted just in time . South Eastern Gazette . 26 March 1974 . 24 May 2024. British Newspaper Archive. subscription .
  4. Web site: BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - BRITISH LEAGUE ERA (1965-1990). Official British Speedway website. 11 September 2021.
  5. Book: Rogers, Martin. The Illustrated History of Speedway. 1978. 129. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. 0-904584-45-3.
  6. Book: Oakes, Peter. 1981 Speedway Yearbook. 1981. 101. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. 0-86215-017-5.
  7. Web site: 1974 British League Division Two Knockout Cup. Speedway archive.
  8. News: Crash ends Graham's title hopes . Hull Daily Mail . 30 September 1974 . 17 June 2023 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription .

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