1977 National League season explained

Competition:National League
Competitors:19
Domesticcup1:Champions
Domesticcup1 Winners:Eastbourne Eagles
Domesticcup2:Knockout Cup
Domesticcup2 Winners:Eastbourne Eagles
Domesticcup3:Individual
Domesticcup3 Winners:Colin Richardson
Domesticcup4:Pairs
Domesticcup4 Winners:Boston Barracudas
Domesticcup5:Fours
Domesticcup5 Winners:Peterborough Panthers
Highest Average:Tom Owen
League Above:1977 British League
Prevseason:1976
Nextseason:1978

The 1977 National League was contested as the second division of Speedway in the United Kingdom.[1] [2]

Summary

Newport had moved down from the British League. Their riders were transferred to Bristol Bulldogs but they acquired new riders and were renamed Newport Dragons. Paisley Lions dropped out so the league had 19 teams, the same as the previous season. Part way through the season, Coatbridge Tigers relocated and changed name to Glasgow Tigers after being kicked out of Cliftonhill.[3]

Eastbourne Eagles won the National League title, completing a league and cup double.[4] [5] Eastbournes's star rider was Colin Richardson, who won the Riders' Championship and averaged 10.70 for the season. He was backed up by Mike Sampson, who also surpassed a 10 average and Dave Kennett (8.37 average) and a member of Eastbourne's 1971 winning team.[6]

Joe Owen, the leading rider of 1976 had moved from champions Newcastle Diamonds to join British League side Hull Vikings. Newcastle were unable to compensate for the loss and finished in 6th place, despite Joe's brother Tom Owen finishing top of the averages.[6]

Final table

PosTeamPLWDLPts
1Eastbourne Eagles36290758
2Rye House Rockets36243951
3Ellesmere Port Gunners362221246
4Canterbury Crusaders362301346
5Peterborough Panthers362201444
6Newcastle Diamonds362111443
7Boston Barracudas362001640
8Mildenhall Fen Tigers361641636
9Teesside Tigers361711835
10Crayford Kestrels361701934
11Glasgow Tigers361602032
12Newport Dragons361602032
13Oxford Cheetahs361512031
14Scunthorpe Saints361512031
15Edinburgh Monarchs361502130
16Workington Comets361412129
17Weymouth Wizards361132225
18Berwick Bandits361112423
19Stoke Potters36902718

Top Five Riders (League Averages)

RiderNatTeamC.M.A.
1Tom OwenNewcastle11.01
2Colin RichardsonEastbourne10.70
3Martin YeatesOxford10.59
4John JacksonEllesmere Port10.22
5Mike SampsonEastbourne10.18

National League Knockout Cup

The 1977 National League Knockout Cup was the tenth edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Eastbourne Eagles were the winners of the competition.[7]

First round

width=80Datewidth=250Team onewidth=80Scorewidth=250Team two
03/04Eastbourne55-23 Canterbury
23/04Canterbury26-52 Eastbourne
14/04Oxford44-34 Rye House
17/04Rye House44-34 Oxford
22/04Edinburgh48-30 Scunthorpe
25/04Scunthorpe43-34 Edinburgh
02/06
replay 		Oxford45-32 Rye House
29/05
replay		Rye House 42-36 Oxford
Second round
width=80Datewidth=250Team onewidth=80Scorewidth=250Team two
15/05Eastbourne54-23Crayford
03/05Crayford35-43Eastbourne
22/05Newcastle49-29Glasgow
29/04Glasgow 47-30 Newcastle
17/05Ellesmere Port 46-32 Workington
03/06Workington 42-36 Ellesmere Port
12/06Oxford 50-28 Newport
23/06Newport 41-37 Oxford
28/05Berwick 46-32 Teesside
02/06Teesside44-34Berwick
27/05Edinburgh44-34 Stoke
21/05Stoke40-38 Edinburgh
22/05Boston43-34 Weymouth
24/05Weymouth35-43 Boston
20/05Peterborough44-34 Mildenhall
22/05Mildenhall38-40 Peterborough
Quarter-finals
width=80Datewidth=250Team onewidth=80Scorewidth=250Team two
10/07Eastbourne 54-24Newcastle
08/08Newcastle 34-43 Eastbourne
26/07Ellesmere Port46½-31½ Oxford
14/07Oxford 37-41 Ellesmere Port
25/06Berwick46-32 Edinburgh
15/07Edinburgh41-37 Berwick
17/07Boston45-33 Peterborough
01/07Peterborough40-38 Boston
Semi-finals
width=80Datewidth=250Team onewidth=80Scorewidth=250Team two
25/09Eastbourne57-21 Ellesmere Port
02/09Ellesmere Port50-28 Eastbourne
27/08Berwick45-33 Boston
19/08Boston38-40 Berwick

Final

First leg

Second leg

Eastbourne were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 98–57.

Riders' Championship

Colin Richardson won the Riders' Championship, sponsored by Gauloises and held at Wimbledon Stadium on 24 September.[8]

width=25pxPos. width=180pxRider width=100pxPts width=50pxTotal
1 3 3 3 3 3 15
2 3 3 2 3 2 13+3
3 3 3 3 3 1 13+2
4 3 2 3 2 2 12
5 2 3 1 2 3 11
6 2 3 1 2 3 10
7 1 2 1 2 3 9
8 2 1 0 2 2 7
90 0 2 1 2 5
10 1 1 1 1 1 5
11 0 0 0 1 3 4
12 0 2 2 0 ex 4
13 2 0 1 1 0 4
14 0 1 2 0 0 3
15 1 1 0 ef 0 3
16 1 0 f 0 12
17 Ian Clark (res) 0 0

Pairs

The National League Pairs was held at Hyde Road on 4 June and was won by Boston Barracudas.[9]

Group A
width=20Poswidth=80Teamwidth=20Ptswidth=100Riders
1Oxford10Yeates 9
Handley 1
2Eastbourne 9Richardson 5
Dugard 4
3Weymouth9Kennedy 6
Harding 3
4Mildenhall8Coles 7
Gibbons 1
Group B
width=20Poswidth=80Teamwidth=20Ptswidth=100Riders
1Canterbury 12Koppe 6
Banks 6
2Stoke10Mountford 6
Nunan 4
3Workington10Lawson 8
Havelock 2
4Berwick4Jones 3
Gifford 1
Group C
width=20Poswidth=80Teamwidth=20Ptswidth=100Riders
1Newport13Brett 8
Woodward 5
2Ellesmere P12Jackson 9
Finch 3
3Newcastle8Owen T 4
Henderson 4
4Edinburgh3Millen 2
Harkins 1
Group D
width=20Poswidth=80Teamwidth=20Ptswidth=100Riders
1Boston13Hollingworth 8
Cook 5
2Coatbridge13Collins B 8
Dawson 5
3Peterborough7Clark I 5
Couzens 2
4Teesside2Wilcock 2
Emerson 0

Semi finals

Final

Fours

Peterborough won the fours championship final, held at the East of England Arena on 7 August.[10] [11]

Semi finals

Final

width=25pxPos width=150pxTeamwidth=50pxPts width=400pxRiders
1 17Clark I 6, Hawkins 5, Hines 5, Flatman 1, Clark B 0
2 14Banks 6, Koppe 3, Spelta 3, Kennett 2
3 13 Richardson 5, Sampson 5, Dugard 2, Abel 1
4 4 Mountford 2, Nunan 1, Gledhill 1, Robertson 0

Leading final averages

RiderNatTeamC.M.A.
1Tom OwenNewcastle10.82
2Colin RichardsonEastbourne10.63
3Martin YeatesOxford10.53
4Mike SampsonEastbourne10.09
5John JacksonEllesmere Port10.07

Riders & final averages

Berwick

Boston

Canterbury

Coatbridge/Glasgow

Crayford

Eastbourne

Edinburgh

Ellesmere Port

Mildenhall

Newcastle

Newport

Oxford

Peterborough

Rye House

Scunthorpe

Stoke

Teesside

Weymouth

Workington

See also

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. News: Greyhounds beat Tigers . Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser . 10 February 1977 . 25 April 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: Oakes, Peter. 1981 Speedway Yearbook. 1981. 101. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. 0-86215-017-5.
  6. Web site: Teams. wwosbackup. 14 October 2021.
  7. Web site: 1977 National League Knockout Cup. Speedway archive.
  8. News: Stuart's five . Staffordshire Sentinel . 26 September 1977 . 17 June 2023 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription .
  9. Web site: 1977 season results . Speedway Researcher . 20 May 2023.
  10. News: Speedway . Lincolnshire Free Press . 9 August 1977 . 9 May 2023 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription .
  11. Book: Oakes, Peter . 1978 Speedway Yearbook . 1978 . 39 . Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd . 978-0904584509.

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