1984 National League season explained

Competition:National League
Competitors:16
Domesticcup1:Champions
Domesticcup1 Winners:Long Eaton Invaders
Domesticcup2:Knockout Cup
Domesticcup2 Winners:Hackney Kestrels
Domesticcup3:Individual
Domesticcup3 Winners:Ian Barney
Domesticcup4:Pairs
Domesticcup4 Winners:Stoke Potters
Domesticcup5:Fours
Domesticcup5 Winners:Mildenhall Fen Tigers
Highest Average:Steve Lawson
League Above:1984 British League
Prevseason:1983
Nextseason:1985

The 1984 National League was contested as the second division of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom.

Summary

A new team called the Arena Essex Hammers, promoted by Wally Mawdsley joined the league.[1]

The title was won by the Long Eaton Invaders who finished just one point clear of the Mildenhall Fen Tigers.[2] [3]

Final table

PosTeamPLWDLPts
1Long Eaton Invaders30211843
2Mildenhall Fen Tigers30194742
3Stoke Potters301731037
4Hackney Kestrels301601432
5Berwick Bandits301511431
6Boston Barracudas301511431
7Milton Keynes Knights301411529
8Rye House Rockets301401628
9Middlesbrough Tigers301321528
10Scunthorpe Stags301321528
11Glasgow Tigers301321528
12Canterbury Crusaders301311627
13Weymouth Wildcats301301726
14Arena Essex Hammers301131625
15Peterborough Panthers301201824
16Edinburgh Monarchs301011921

Top Five Riders (League Averages)

RiderNatTeamC.M.A.
1Steve LawsonGlasgow10.41
2Martin YeatesWeymouth10.35
3Steve WilcockMiddlesbrough9.89
4Tom OwenStoke9.77
5Steve McDermottBerwick9.74

National League Knockout Cup

The 1984 National League Knockout Cup was the 17th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Hackney Kestrels were the winners of the competition.[4]

First round

width=80Datewidth=250Team onewidth=80Scorewidth=250Team two
08/06Peterborough 48-30 Arena Essex
31/05Arena Essex 41-37Peterborough
11/05Peterborough42-36 Arena Essex
26/04Arena Essex42-36 Peterborough
26/04Middlesbrough52-26 Scunthorpe
22/04Boston 40-38Edinburgh
21/04Berwick 44-34 Glasgow
21/04Stoke 39-38 Long Eaton
20/04Edinburgh46-32 Boston
20/04Glasgow33-44 Berwick
18/04Long Eaton 45-33Stoke
17/04Weymouth34-44 Canterbury
16/04Scunthorpe43-35 Middlesbrough
15/04Mildenhall44-34 Milton Keynes
15/04Rye House36-42 Hackney
14/04Canterbury39-39 Weymouth
13/04Hackney 53-25 Rye House
10/04Milton Keynes41-37 Mildenhall
Quarter-finals
width=80Datewidth=250Team onewidth=80Scorewidth=250Team two
28/07Canterbury44-34 Peterborough
20/07Edinburgh35-43 Berwick
20/07Peterborough47-30 Canterbury
18/05Hackney51-27 Mildenhall
17/05Middlesbrough55-23 Long Eaton
13/05Mildenhall44-34 Hackney
05/05Berwick 43-35Edinburgh
02/05Long Eaton48-30 Middlesbrough
Semi-finals
width=80Datewidth=250Team onewidth=80Scorewidth=250Team two
07/09Peterborough53-25 Hackney
27/08Hackney 54-24 Peterborough
26/07Middlesbrough41-37 Berwick
21/07Berwick46-31 Middlesbrough

Final

First legSecond leg

Hackney were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 83–72.

Riders' Championship

Ian Barney won the Riders' Championship. The final was originally held at Wimbledon Stadium on 23 September but was abandoned after eight heats due to rain. The Championship was restaged on 13 October at East of England Arena.[5]

width=25pxPos. width=180pxRider width=50pxTotal
1 14+3
2 14+ef
3 12+3
4 12+2
5 10
6 8
7 8
?
?
?
? Barry Thomas
? 4
?
?
?
?

Pairs

The National League Pairs was held at Hackney Wick Stadium on 30 June and was won by Stoke Potters.[6] [7]

Top 4 Qualifying
width=20Poswidth=80Teamwidth=20Ptswidth=200Riders
1Stoke 20Owen T 12, Crabtree 8
2Berwick18Cribb 11, McDermott 7
3Weymouth 18Yeates, Biles 6
4Mildenhall18Blackbird, Bales 7

Semi finals

Final

Fours

Mildenhall won the fours championship final, held at the East of England Showground on 22 July.[8]

Semi finals

Final

width=25pxPos width=150pxTeamwidth=50pxPts width=400pxRiders
1 19Bales 6, Henry 5, Blackbird 5, Baldwin 3
2 15Crabtree 5, Thorp 4, Owen 4, Evitts 2
3 11White 4, Blackburn 4, Payne 2, De'Ath 1, Framingham 0
4 3Burton 2, Wilson 1, Cook 0, Hollingworth 0

Leading averages

width=200Riderwidth=200Teamwidth=40Average
Steve LawsonGlasgow10.38
Martin YeatesWeymouth10.35
Steve McDermottBerwick9.97
Stoke9.86
Steve WilcockMiddlesbrough9.71
Stoke9.56
Bobby BeatonEdinburgh9.30
Bruce CribbBerwick9.24
Alun RossiterWeymouth9.23
Carl BaldwinMildenhall9.11
Mark FioraEdinburgh9.10

Riders & final averages

Arena Essex

Berwick

Boston

Canterbury

Edinburgh

Glasgow

Hackney

Long Eaton

Middlesbrough

Mildenhall

Milton Keynes

Peterborough

Rye House

Scunthorpe

Stoke

Weymouth

See also

References

Notes and References

  1. News: New Speed track for Essex . Harlow Star . 13 October 1983 . 16 May 2024. British Newspaper Archive. subscription .
  2. Web site: Historic league tables. Speedway Archive.
  3. Web site: BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - BRITISH LEAGUE ERA (1965-1990). Official British Speedway website. 11 September 2021.
  4. Web site: 1984 National League Knockout Cup. Speedway archive.
  5. News: Barney wins title . Sunday Sun (Newcastle) . 14 October 1984 . 21 June 2023 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription .
  6. Web site: 1984 fixture list . Speedway Researcher . 24 May 2023.
  7. News: Stoke stars take title . Sunday Sun (Newcastle) . 1 July 1984 . 24 May 2023 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription .
  8. News: Red hot Tigers takes fours crown at last . Cambridge Daily News . 23 July 1984 . 8 May 2023 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription .