1985 National League season explained

Competition:National League
Competitors:19
Domesticcup1:Champions
Domesticcup1 Winners:Ellesmere Port Gunners
Domesticcup2:Knockout Cup
Domesticcup2 Winners:Eastbourne Eagles
Domesticcup3:Individual
Domesticcup3 Winners:Neil Middleditch
Domesticcup4:Pairs
Domesticcup4 Winners:Ellesmere Port Gunners
Domesticcup5:Fours
Domesticcup5 Winners:Middlesbrough Tigers
Domesticcup6:London Cup
Domesticcup6 Winners:Wimbledon Dons
Highest Average:Gordon Kennett
League Above:1985 British League
Prevseason:1984
Nextseason:1986

The 1985 National League was contested as the second division of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom.[1]

Team changes

A new team called the Barrow Blackhawks entered the league but only staged a handful of fixtures. The team failed to meet the minimum points limit resulting in the league authorities stopping their participation.[2] [3] Scunthorpe Stags withdrew from the league in May.[4] [5]

Weymouth Wildcats promoters Peter Ansell and Mervyn Stewkesbury, moved their team to Poole for the start of the 1985 season, following the closure of the Poole Pirates due to financial debts. The team raced as the Poole Wildcats.[6]

Boston Barracudas promoter Cyril Crane withdrew the team from the league just days before the start of the season when Crane relinquished his interests.[7] [8]

Summary

The league title became a dramatic three horse race between Poole Wildcats, Middlesbrough Tigers and Ellesmere Port Gunners. All three teams entered October with only away matches left. Poole were two points ahead of Middlesbrough but had one meeting left, with Middlesbrough having two matches in hand. Ellesmere Port were two points behind Middlesbrough but had four meetings left. The Gunners won away at strugglers Long Eaton and Edinburgh to draw level with Poole, and Middlesbrough won at Stoke to leave all three level. Ellesmere Port drew their penultimate fixture at Peterborough who had previously won every home match whilst Poole lost heavily at Berwick to rule them out of the running. Then tragedy struck Ellesmere Port at Birmingham, having lost the KO Cup final only two days previous. With Middlesbrough losing at Eastbourne on the same night, a victory would have given the Thornton Road outfit the title. Leading by 6 points after 8 heats, top scorer Joe Owen crashed and suffered a severe back injury which was to leave him paralysed. The subsequent 0-5 and loss of their best rider saw Birmingham fight back to win leaving Middlesbrough needing a win at Glasgow to snatch the title. It wasn't until November in the last meeting of the year that the showdown took place. Glasgow were second bottom due to their dreadful away record, but were not a bad outfit at home and kept the scores level after 10 heats. Disaster struck for the away side as Steve Wilcock crashed out and Glasgow took the 5-1. Trailing by four points going into the last heat, Martin Dixon bit the dust and the title was lost. Ellesmere Port Gunners were champions.

Barrow Blackhawks and Scunthorpe Stags withdrew in May and had their results expunged.[9] [10] Ellesmere Port Gunners closed after the fateful night in Birmingham, never to return.

Final table

PosTeamPLWDLPts
1Ellesmere Port Gunners362521952
2Poole Wildcats362511051
3Middlesbrough Tigers362511051
4Wimbledon Dons362311247
5Hackney Kestrels362201444
6Arena Essex Hammers362021442
7Peterborough Panthers361921540
8Stoke Potters362001640
9Berwick Bandits361911639
10Eastbourne Eagles361821638
11Milton Keynes Knights361611933
12Exeter Falcons361602032
13Rye House Rockets361502130
14Birmingham Brummies361412129
15Mildenhall Fen Tigers361402228
16Canterbury Crusaders361402228
17Glasgow Tigers361022422
18Long Eaton Invaders36922520
19Edinburgh Monarchs36902718

Top Five Riders (League Averages)

RiderNatTeamC.M.A.
1Gordon KennettEastbourne Eagles10.46
2Joe OwenEllesmere Port Gunners10.46
3Mike FerreiraWimbledon Dons10.03
4Stan BearPoole Wildcats9.89
5Carl BlackbirdMildenhall Fen Tigers9.82

National League Knockout Cup

The 1985 National League Knockout Cup was the 18th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Eastbourne Eagles were the winners of the competition.[11]

First round

width=80Datewidth=250Team onewidth=80Scorewidth=250Team two
24/04Wimbledon 62-16Poole
23/04Poole 38-40Wimbledon
06/05Canterbury 45-33 Eastbourne
03/05Peterborough 45-33 Arena Essex
28/04Eastbourne 47-31 Canterbury
26/04Edinburgh 38.5-38.5 Ellesmere Port
25/04Ellesmere Port43-35 Edinburgh
23/04Barrow 18-24a Exeter
22/04Exeter 58-20 Barrow
21/04Birmingham50-28Glasgow
19/04Glasgow42-36 Birmingham
18/04Arena Essex55-23 Peterborough
a=Abandoned (power failure, result stood)

Second round

width=80Datewidth=250Team onewidth=80Scorewidth=250Team two
26/06Wimbledon43-35Arena Essex
24/06Exeter 50.5-27.5 Berwick
20/06Arena Essex40-38 Wimbledon
08/06Berwick57-21 Exeter
26/05Eastbourne50-28 Milton Keynes
21/05Milton Keynes36-42 Eastbourne
06/05Birmingham38-39 Ellesmere Port
05/05Mildenhall42-35 Hackney
04/05Stoke33-45 Middlesbrough
03/05Hackney44-34 Mildenhall
02/05Middlesbrough48-30 Stoke
Quarter-finals
width=80Datewidth=250Team onewidth=80Scorewidth=250Team two
18/08Berwick33-45 Ellesmere Port
16/08Ellesmere Port 56-22Berwick
11/08Eastbourne44-33 Wimbledon
07/08Wimbledon39-39 Eastbourne
14/07Middlesbrough45-33 Rye House
12/07Hackney47-31 Long Eaton
05/06Long Eaton33-45 Hackney
02/06Rye House37-41 Middlesbrough
Semi-finals
width=80Datewidth=250Team onewidth=80Scorewidth=250Team two
27/09Hackney 49-29 Ellesmere Port
26/09Ellesmere Port 50-28 Hackney
12/09Middlesbrough 48-30Eastbourne
25/08Eastbourne 49-29Middlesbrough

Final

First legSecond leg

Eastbourne were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 83–73.

Riders' Championship

Neil Middleditch won the Riders' Championship. The final was held on 10 August at Brandon Stadium.[12]

width=25pxPos. width=180pxRider width=100pxPts width=50pxTotal
1 3 3 2 3 3 14
2 2 3 2 3 3 13
3 3 2 3 2 2 12
4 3 fx 2 2 3 10
5 3 3 0 0 3 9
6 2 3 3 ef 0 8
7 0 1 3 2 2 8
8 0 2 0 3 2 7
92 ex 1 3 1 7
10 1 1 3 0 16
11 2 2 0 1 0 5
12 0 0 1 2 2 5
13 1 0 2 1 1 5
14 1 1 1 1 1 5
15 1 2 0 1 t 4
16 0 1 1 0 0 2
17 Mike Bacon (res) 00

Pairs

The National League Pairs was held at Hackney Wick Stadium on 15 September and was won by Ellesmere Port Gunners.[13]

width=20Poswidth=120Teamwidth=20Ptswidth=180Riders
1Wimbledon 20Ferreira 11, Johns 9
2Ellesmere P20Carr L 11, Owen J 9
3Poole 18Yeates 12, Bear 6
4Peterborough15Hawkins 11, Poole 4
5Middlesbrough 15Dixon 9, Wilcock 6
6Hackney 15Galvin 10, Banks 5
7Rye House14Silver 8, Stevens 6
8Arena Essex13Middleditch 11, Cheshire 2
width=20Poswidth=120Teamwidth=20Ptswidth=180Riders
9Canterbury 13Mullett 10, Tilbury 3
10Exeter12Cook 10, Maxfield 2
11Mildenhall 11Taylor 8, Baldwin 3
12Stoke 10Thorp 8, Owen T 2
13Berwick 10McDermott 8, McMillan 2
14Birmingham9Wyer 9, White P 0
15Eastbourne9Kennett 9, Richardson 0
16Milton Keynes8White K 8, De'ath 0

Semi finals

Final

Fours

Middlesbrough Tigers won the fours championship final, held at the East of England Arena on 21 July.[14] [15]

Semi finals

Final

width=25pxPos width=150pxTeamwidth=50pxPts width=400pxRiders
1 Middlesbrough Tigers17 Havelock 7, Fiora, Pusey, Wilcock, Dixon
2 12Barney 8
3 10 Banks 5
4 9 Crabtree 5, Thorp 2, Owen 1, Wilding 0, Sumner 0

Leading averages

width=200Riderwidth=200Teamwidth=40Average
Gordon KennettEastbourne10.47
Joe OwenEllesmere Port10.47
Mike FerreiraWimbledon9.82
Stan BearPoole9.79
Carl BlackbirdMildenhall9.64
Roger JohnsWimbledon9.64
Neil MiddleditchArena Essex9.47
Steve LawsonGlasgow9.39
Louis CarrEllesmere Port9.37
Kevin SmithPoole9.32

London Cup

Wimbledon won the London Cup but the competition consisted of just Wimbledon and Hackney. It was also the first time that the competition had been competed for by second tier teams.[16]

Results

width=100Teamwidth=70Scorewidth=100Team
Hackney 42–35 Wimbledon
Wimbledon 43–35Hackney

Riders & final averages

Arena Essex

Barrow (withrew from the league)

Berwick

Birmingham

Canterbury

Eastbourne

Edinburgh

Ellesmere Port

Exeter

Glasgow

Hackney

Long Eaton

Middlesbrough

Mildenhall

Milton Keynes

Peterborough

Poole

Rye House

Scunthorpe

Stoke

Wimbledon

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Historic league tables. Speedway Archive.
  2. Web site: A Short History . Defunct Speedway . 29 January 2023.
  3. News: Dve leads charge on Army line-up . Kentish Express . 10 May 1985 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription . 26 October 2024 .
  4. Web site: 1985 fixtures and results . Speedway Researcher. 14 February 2023.
  5. Web site: British League Tables - British League Era (1965-1990). Official British Speedway website. 31 August 2021.
  6. News: Sports briefs . Leicester Daily Mercury . 14 March 1985 . 2 May 2024. British Newspaper Archive. subscription .
  7. News: Speedway boss plans takeover talks . Lincolnshire Standard and Boston Guardian . 20 December 1984 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription . 29 September 2024.
  8. News: Cudas' future hangs in balance . Lincolnshire Standard and Boston Guardian . 28 February 1985 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription . 29 September 2024.
  9. Web site: 1985 fixtures. Speedway Researcher. 31 August 2021.
  10. Web site: BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - BRITISH LEAGUE ERA (1965-1990). Official British Speedway website. 11 September 2021.
  11. Web site: 1985 National League Knockout Cup. Speedway archive.
  12. News: Great, Neil . Sunday Mirror . 11 August 1985 . 21 June 2023 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription .
  13. Web site: 1985 Ellesmere Port results . Speedway Researcher . 24 May 2023.
  14. News: Speedway . Daily Mirror . 22 July 1985 . 11 May 2023 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription .
  15. Book: Oakes, Peter . Speedway Yearbook 1990 . 1990 . 46 . Front Page Books . 0-948882-15-8.
  16. Web site: 1985 fixtures and results . Speedway Researcher . 1 October 2023.

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