1931 Speedway Southern League

British speedway league season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 1931 Southern League was the third season of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom for Southern British teams, and its final season before amalgamation of the Southern and Northern Leagues.[1] The Northern teams also had their third season known as the 1931 Speedway Northern League.[2][3][4]

LeagueSouthern League
No. of competitors11
ChampionsWembley Lions
National TrophyWembley Lions
Quick facts League, No. of competitors ...
1931 Speedway Southern League
LeagueSouthern League
No. of competitors11
ChampionsWembley Lions
National TrophyWembley Lions
London CupCrystal Palace Glaziers
Highest averageTommy Croombs
Division/s other1931 Northern League
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Summary

Both Birmingham teams based at Perry Barr and Hall Green had left the league but the latter did ride in the National Trophy.

Coventry returned mid-season to replace Leicester Stadium who were liquidated in late May.[5][6]

Harringay Canaries resigned in June to be replaced by a Belle Vue team,[7][8] who then rode both in the Northern and Southern Leagues, the latter as Manchester. Nottingham closed in July but they were not replaced and their results stood. The league season was the longest in the short history of the competition as teams met each other four times instead of twice.[9]

The Wembley Lions won their second consecutive title[10] finishing three points clear of 1929 champions Stamford Bridge. The league suffered a fatality during the match between Belle Vue and Wembley at Hyde Road. James Allen (known as Indian Allen) was thrown from his bike and hit his head on a fence, trying to avoid a rider who had fallen in front of him. He died three days later in hospital on 12 September 1931.[11] Another rider Noel Johnson of Plymouth had been killed in a challenge match against Coventry reserves on 25 August. [12]

Final table

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Wembley Lions 37 28 1 8 57
2 Stamford Bridge Pensioners 38 27 0 11 54
3 West Ham Hammers 38 23 0 15 46
4 Crystal Palace Glaziers 38 22 0 16 44
5 Wimbledon Dons 38 19 1 18 39
6 High Beech 38 19 1 18 39
7 Southampton Saints 38 18 0 20 36
8 Harringay Canaries + Manchester (Belle Vue) 38 14 0 24 28*
9 Lea Bridge 38 11 0 27 22
10 Leicester Stadium + Coventry 37 8 1 28 17**
11 Nottingham 20 8 0 12 16
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* Harringay scored 12 points from 14 matches, Belle Vue scored 16 from 24
** Leicester scored 1 point from 8 matches, Coventry scored 16 from 30

Fixtures & results

A fixtures

More information Home \ Away, COV ...
Home \ Away COV CP HAR HB LB NOT SOT SB WEM WH WIM
Coventry/Leicester 29–25 18–36 24–24 24–30 +[13] 24–30 26–27 22–31 23–28 30–24
Crystal Palace 32–20 27–26 33–20 31–21 29–24 30–245 26–24 16–36 25–27 32–22
Harringay/Belle Vue 26–25 30–21 29–25 32–22 32–22 29–24 24–29 28–26 24–30 25–27
High Beech 35–18 27–23 29–24 32–20 29–21 29–23 27–26 30–24 27–26 41–12
Lea Bridge 33–21 23–25 25–28 22–31 37–16 32–22 22–31 18–36 18–32 20–34
Nottingham 30–23 29–25 28–25 32–22 33–21 29–25 26–23 26–28 24.5–29.5 34–17
Southampton 36–18 36–18 36–17 29–24 26–27 38–15 26–28 31–23 23–31 31.5–21.5
Stamford Bridge 33–20 32–21 35–19 32–20 37–16 33–20 38–13 23–30 35–15 31–22
Wembley 37–17 42–12 37–16 43–11 34–20 37–16 31–23 31–22 32–22 31–22
West Ham 34–19 33–19 28–25 31–23 35–17 28–23 33.5–20.5 23–30 24–29 25–28
Wimbledon 33–20 40–13 28–24 36–17 22–31 35–19 26–24 26–27 22–30 21–32
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Source: [14]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

+ Awarded to Coventry

B fixtures

More information Home \ Away, COV ...
Home \ Away COV CP HAR HB LB SOT SB WEM WH WIM
Coventry/Leicester 19–35 28–24 26–27 25–29 32–22 24–28 29–25 29–25 28–26
Crystal Palace 36–18 45–9 39–15 38–15 38–15 31–23 30–23 32–22 30–22
Harringay/Belle Vue 31–22 28–26 28–22 28–26 29–24 23–31 16–36 24–28 20–34
High Beech 31–22 32–20 38–16 34–20 19–31 30–23 20–33 21–33 28–23
Lea Bridge 35–19 22–32 32–20 8–15 24–30 23–31 22–32 21–33 28–26
Southampton 32–22 21–31 34–19 37–14 32–21 33–20 30–24 22–31 35–16
Stamford Bridge 39–15 28–25 41–11 23–29 34–20 31–22 32–21 29–24 32–22
Wembley n/a 34–19 30–22 31–23 34–18 32–22 34–19 29.5–24.5 27–27
West Ham 33–21 23–28 30–24 30–21 34–19 26–27 21.5–32.5 20–32 235–17
Wimbledon 29–25 31–22 29–25 35–15 36–18 37–17 29–23 28–25 29–25
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Source: [15]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top Five Riders

More information Team, C.M.A. ...
Team C.M.A.
1 Tommy Croombs West Ham 10.41
2 Dicky Case Wimbledon 10.14
3 Jack Parker Southampton 10.02
4 Frank Arthur Stamford Bridge 9.97
5 Vic Huxley Harringay/Wimbledon 9.87
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National Trophy

The 1931 National Trophy was the first edition of the Knockout Cup. It was contested between teams from the Southern and Northern Leagues.[16]

First round

More information Date, Team one ...
Date Team one Score Team two
11/05Wimbledon67-26Birmingham Hall Green
12/05West Ham51-45Southampton
13/05Lea Bridge59-33Nottingham
14/05Exeter34-59High Beech
14/05Leicester Stadium39.5-54.5Stamford Bridge
15/05Hall Green42.5-49.5Wimbledon
16/05High Beech61-33Exeter
16/05Southampton42-49West Ham
16/05Stamford Bridge59-35Leicester Stadium
21/05Nottingham46-47Lea Bridge
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Second round

More information Date, Team one ...
Date Team one Score Team two
25/05Belle Vue73-22Wombwell
25/05York42-53Leicester Super
26/05Glasgow White City43-52Preston
28/05Sheffield54-40Leeds
30/05Leeds39-52Sheffield
30/05Leicester Super69-26York
30/05Wombwell27-64Belle Vue
04/06Preston70-26Glasgow White City
08/06Wimbledon60-36Crystal Palace
09/06Harringay?Stamford Bridge
09/06West Ham44-52Wembley
10/06Lea Bridge52-38High Beech
11/06Wembley56-37West Ham
13/06Crystal Palace48-48Wimbledon
13/06High Beech55-39Lea Bridge
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Quarterfinals

More information Date, Team one ...
Date Team one Score Team two
02/07Preston65-31High Beech
11/07Belle Vue50-46Wimbledon
11/07Sheffield41-55Wembley
16/07Leicester Super44-50Stamford Bridge
18/07High Beech48-42Preston
23/07Wembley70-25Sheffield
27/07Wimbledon55-41Belle Vue
19/08Stamford Bridge61-31Leicester Super
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Semifinals

More information Date, Team one ...
Date Team one Score Team two
10/09Preston43-51Stamford Bridge
17/09Wembley48-47Wimbledon
21/09Wimbledon46-49Wembley
26/09Stamford Bridge66-30Preston
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Final

First leg

More information WembleyLionel Van Praag 12George Greenwood 11Colin Watson 9Wally Kilmister 9Harry Whitfield 9Jack Ormston 8Norman Evans 7Jack Jackson 6, 71 – 24 ...
Wembley
Lionel Van Praag 12
George Greenwood 11
Colin Watson 9
Wally Kilmister 9
Harry Whitfield 9
Jack Ormston 8
Norman Evans 7
Jack Jackson 6		71 – 24Stamford Bridge
Frank Arthur 10
Dick Smythe 5
Percy Dunn 3
Mick Murphy 3
Bill Stanley 2
Cliff Watson 1
Dick Wise 0
Frank Duckett 0
Hal Herbert 0
[17]
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Second leg

More information Stamford BridgeFrank Arthur 12Arthur Warwick 11Bill Stanley 8Cliff Watson 3Dick Smythe 2Percy Dunn 2Hal Herbert 2Gus Kuhn 1Mick Murphy 1, 45 – 49 ...
Stamford Bridge
Frank Arthur 12
Arthur Warwick 11
Bill Stanley 8
Cliff Watson 3
Dick Smythe 2
Percy Dunn 2
Hal Herbert 2
Gus Kuhn 1
Mick Murphy 1		45 – 49Wembley
Wally Kilmister 9
Lionel Van Praag 8
Colin Watson 8
Jack Ormston 6
George Greenwood 5
Harry Whitfield 5
Norman Evans 4
Charlie Shelton 3
Jack Jackson 1
Col Stewart 0
[18]
Close

Wembley were declared National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 120-69.

London Cup

First round

More information Team one, Score ...
Team one Score Team two
Wimbledon46–50, 45–49Wembley
West Ham41.5–53.5, 36–58Stamford Bridge
Lea Bridge60–35, 48–46High Beech
Crystal Palace bye
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Semi final round

More information Team one, Score ...
Team one Score Team two
Lea Bridge41–55, 27–69Crystal Palace
Stamford Bridge50–46, 41.5–35.5Wembley
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Final

First leg

More information Crystal PalaceRon Johnson 12Tom Farndon 9Joe Francis 9Nobby Key 7Roger Frogley 6Triss Sharp 6Harry Shepherd 5Alf Sawford 5, 59–36 ...
Crystal Palace
Ron Johnson 12
Tom Farndon 9
Joe Francis 9
Nobby Key 7
Roger Frogley 6
Triss Sharp 6
Harry Shepherd 5
Alf Sawford 5		59–36Wembley
Colin Watson 7
Jack Ormston 7
Norman Evans 7
Lionel Van Praag 5
Wally Kilmister 4
Jack Jackson 3
Charlie Shelton 2
Col Stewart 1
Cliff Parkinson 0
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Second leg

More information WembleyNorman Evans 8Colin Watson 7 Jack Ormston 6Jack Jackson 5George Greenwood 5 Wally Kilmister 3Lionel Van Praag 2 Buster Frogley 2 Charlie Shelton 2, 40–55 ...
Wembley
Norman Evans 8
Colin Watson 7
Jack Ormston 6
Jack Jackson 5
George Greenwood 5
Wally Kilmister 3
Lionel Van Praag 2
Buster Frogley 2
Charlie Shelton 2		40–55Crystal Palace
Tom Farndon 12
Ron Johnson 12
Joe Francis 11
Nobby Key 9
Roger Frogley 6
Triss Sharp 3
Alf Sawford 2
Harry Shepherd 0
Close

Crystal Palace won on aggregate 114–76

Riders & final averages

Crystal Palace

Harringay (withdrew)

  • Australia Vic Huxley 10.56
  • England Don Durant 6.95
  • England Alf Sawford 5.94
  • England Bill Clibbett 5.65
  • England Clem Cort 5.41
  • England Eric Spencer 5.33
  • Wales Ivor Hill 5.33

High Beech

Lea Bridge

Leicester/Coventry

Manchester (Belle Vue)

Nottingham

  • England George Wigfield 8.93
  • England Fred Strecker 8.26
  • England Billy Ellmore 7.58
  • England Nobby Key 7.29
  • England Buster Brown 5.07
  • England George Dykes 5.03
  • England Nobby Kendrick 4.57
  • England Bert Fairweather 4.00
  • England Wally Humphry 4.00
  • England Joe Gooding 3.72

Southampton

Stamford Bridge

Wembley

West Ham

Wimbledon

See also

References

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