1960 Speedway National League

1960 Speedway National League
LeagueNational League
No. of competitors10
ChampionsWimbledon Dons
National TrophyWimbledon Dons
Midland CupCoventry Bees
Highest averageOve Fundin
Division/s below1960 Provincial League

The 1960 National League was the 26th season and the fifteenth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1]

Summary

The number of competitors increased from nine to ten with New Cross Rangers returning after a seven-year absence, and Ipswich Witches returning after one year away replacing Poole Pirates who moved down to the newly formed Provincial League.[2][3]

Wimbledon Dons won their sixth title in just seven years.[4]

Derek 'Tink' Maynard of the Belle Vue Aces was fatally injured in a crash at The Firs Stadium, on 23 July 1960. Maynard was competing in the second leg of the National Trophy against Norwich when Slant Payling lost control of his bike and it hit Maynard. Both riders were taken to Norwich Hospital but Maynard died the following morning.[5]

Final table

Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Wimbledon Dons 17 13 0 4 26
2 Belle Vue Aces 18 11 1 6 23
3 Oxford Cheetahs 18 11 0 7 22
4 Ipswich Witches 18 10 0 8 20
5 Norwich Stars 17 8 1 8 17
6 Leicester Hunters 18 7 2 9 16
7 Southampton Saints 18 7 1 10 15
8 New Cross Rangers 18 7 1 10 15
9 Coventry Bees 18 7 0 11 14
10 Swindon Robins 18 5 0 13 10

Top Ten Riders (League only)

Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Ove Fundin Sweden Norwich 11.41
2 Peter Craven England Belle Vue 10.75
3 Ronnie Moore New Zealand Wimbledon 10.72
4 Björn Knutson Sweden Southampton 10.08
5 Arne Pander Denmark Oxford 10.06
6 Ken McKinlay Scotland Leicester 9.98
7 Barry Briggs New Zealand New Cross 9.93
8 Peter Moore Australia Ipswich 9.89
9 Ron Johnston New Zealand Belle Vue 9.88
10 Olle Nygren Sweden Southampton 9.40

National Trophy

The 1960 National Trophy was the 22nd edition of the Knockout Cup. Wimbledon were the winners.[6]

First round

Date Team one Score Team two
17/05 Southampton 55-53 Oxford
12/05 Oxford 54-54 Southampton
06/05 Leicester 52-56 Ipswich
05/05 Ipswich 64-44 Leicester

Second round

Date Team one Score Team two
29/06 New Cross 61-46 Norwich
27/06 Wimbledon 73-34 Coventry
25/06 Belle Vue 71-37 Ipswich
25/06 Coventry 54-54 Wimbledon
25/06 Norwich 67-41 New Cross
25/06 Swindon 66-42 Southampton
23/06 Ipswich 52-56 Belle Vue
21/06 Southampton 55-52 Swindon

Semifinals

Date Team one Score Team two
25/07 Wimbledon 71-36 Swindon
23/07 Norwich 65-41 Belle Vue
16/07 Belle Vue 66-42 Norwich
16/07 Swindon 48-60 Wimbledon
17/08
replay		 Norwich 61-47 Belle Vue
26/08
replay		 Belle Vue 53-55 Norwich

Final

First leg

Norwich Stars
Ove Fundin 17
Aub Lawson 14
John Chamberlain 10
Dennis Newton 10
Reg Trott 5
Derek Strutt 3
Harry Edwards 3
Cyril Roger 0		62 – 46Wimbledon Dons
Ronnie Moore 12
Bob Andrews 10
Cyril Maidment 9
Gerry Jackson 6
Cyril Brine 4
Gil Goldfinch 3
Jim Tebby 2
Ernie Baker 0
[7]

Second leg

Wimbledon Dons
Cyril Maidment 15
Bob Andrews 13
Gil Goldfinch 12
Cyril Brine 11
Gerry Jackson 9
Jim Tebby 7
Ronnie Moore 2
Ernie Baker 0		69 – 39Norwich Stars
Ove Fundin 18
John Chamberlain 5
Reg Trott 5
Dennis Newton 4
Harry Edwards 4
Cyril Roger 2
Derek Strutt 1
Billy Bales 0
[7]

Wimbledon were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 115–101.

Midland Cup

Coventry won the Midland Cup, which consisted of four teams.[8]

First round

Team one Team two Score
Coventry Swindon 58–31, 32–58
Oxford Leicester 45–45, 36–54

Final

First leg

Leicester
Stefan Kwoczala 15
Ken McKinlay 14
Guy Allott 6
Charlie Barsby 4
Jack Geran 3
Bryan Elliott 2
Dave Hankins 2
Alf Hagon 2		48–41Coventry
Jack Young 10
Nigel Boocock 9
Henryk Zyto 9
Ron Mountford 5
Les Owen 4
Maury Mattingley 2
Jim Lightfoot 1
Nick Nicholls 1

Second leg

Coventry
Henryk Zyto 9
Jack Young 9
Nigel Boocock 8
Jim Lightfoot 6
Maury Mattingley 6
Les Owen 6
Ron Mountford 4
Nick Nicholls 3		51–39Leicester
Stefan Kwoczala 15
Ken McKinlay 12
Guy Allott 8
Charlie Barsby 2
Dave Hankins 2
Alf Hagon 0
Jack Geran 0
Bryan Elliott 0

Coventry won on aggregate 92–87

Riders & final averages

Belle Vue

Coventry

Ipswich

Leicester

New Cross

Norwich

Oxford

Southampton

Swindon

Wimbledon

See also

References

  1. ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  3. ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  4. ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  5. ^ "Speedway rider killed". Birmingham Daily Post. 25 July 1960. Retrieved 13 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ "1960 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  7. ^ a b "1960 National Trophy". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Bees' Sparkling Win in Midland Cup Final". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 26 September 1960. Retrieved 19 October 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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