1938 Speedway National League
British speedway league season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1938 National League Division One was the tenth season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1][2][3][4]
| League | National League Division One |
|---|---|
| No. of competitors | 7 |
| Champions | New Cross Rangers |
| National Trophy | Wimbledon Dons |
| A.C.U Cup | West Ham Hammers |
| London Cup | Wimbledon Dons |
| Highest average | Jack Milne |
| Division/s below | National League (Div 2) |
Summary
The only change from the previous season was Bristol Bulldogs moving up from the Provincial League and Hackney Wick Wolves moving down to take their place. They also swapped licences and riders as well as divisions.
New Cross Rangers won their first national title.
Final table
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Cross Rangers | 24 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 31 |
| 2 | West Ham Hammers | 24 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 27 |
| 3 | Wembley Lions | 24 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 27 |
| 4 | Wimbledon Dons | 24 | 12 | 3 | 9 | 27 |
| 5 | Belle Vue Aces | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 22 |
| 6 | Harringay Tigers | 24 | 10 | 1 | 13 | 21 |
| 7 | Bristol Bulldogs | 24 | 6 | 1 | 17 | 13 |
Fixtures & results
A fixtures
B fixtures
Top ten riders
| Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jack Milne |  |
New Cross | 10.96 |
| 2 | Wilbur Lamoreaux | |
Wimbledon | 10.93 |
| 3 | Bluey Wilkinson |  |
West Ham | 10.67 |
| 4 | Lionel van Praag | |
Wembley | 10.50 |
| 5 | Bill Kitchen |  |
Belle Vue | 10.24 |
| 6 | Cordy Milne | |
Hackney | 9.46 |
| 7 | Frank Varey | |
Belle Vue | 9.16 |
| 8 | Jack Parker | |
Harringay | 9.16 |
| 9 | Les Wotton | |
Harringay | 8.92 |
| 10 | Frank Charles | |
Wembley | 8.59 |
National Trophy
The 1938 National Trophy was the eighth edition of the Knockout Cup.[7]
Qualifying rounds
Norwich Stars won the Division Two final and therefore secured a place in the quarter-finals.
Quarterfinals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01/07 | Bristol | 50-56 | West Ham |
| 05/07 | West Ham | 73-35 | Bristol |
| 06/07 | New Cross | 50-57 | Wimbledon |
| 07/07 | Wembley | 61-47 | Belle Vue |
| 09/07 | Belle Vue | 60-48 | Wembley |
| 11/07 | Wimbledon | 62-46 | New Cross |
| 21/07 | Norwich | 58-50 | Harringay |
Semifinals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 06/08 | Norwich | 53-55 | Wembley |
| 15/08 | Wimbledon | 78-29 | West Ham |
| 16/08 | West Ham | 53-55 | Wimbledon |
| 25/08 | Wembley | 38-15 | Norwich |
Final
First leg
| Wembley Lions Lionel van Praag 12 Tommy Price 8 Cliff Parkinson 7 Malcolm Craven 6 Eric Gregory 6 Frank Charles 3 George Wilks 1 Dicky Case 0 | 43 â 65 | Wimbledon Dons Wilbur Lamoreaux 18 Benny Kaufman 12 Geoff Pymar 11 Eric Collins 9 Wally Lloyd 8 Nobby Key 4 Norman Evans 2 Fred Leavis 1 |
|---|---|---|
| [8] |
Second leg
| Wimbledon Dons Eric Collins 15 Wilbur Lamoreaux 14 Wally Lloyd 11 Benny Kaufman 7 Geoff Pymar 5 Nobby Key 2 Norman Evans 2 Fred Leavis 2 | 58 â 49 | Wembley Lions Frank Charles 12 Lionel van Praag 10 Malcolm Craven 8 George Wilks 7 Tommy Price 5 Eric Gregory 3 Wally Kilmister 2 Andy Menzies 2 |
|---|---|---|
| [8] |
Wimbledon were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 123-92.
A.C.U Cup
The 1938 Auto-Cycle Union Cup was the fifth edition of the Cup and was won by West Ham Hammers, which ended the five year winning run of Belle Vue. The groups were decided on the number of heat points scored within matches, rather than match wins.[9]
First round
|
Group 1
|
Group 2
|
|
Group 1 |
Group 2
|
Final
| Date | Team one | Team two | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 05/09 | Wimbedon | West Ham | 50â58 |
| 06/09 | West Ham | Wimbledon | 64â43 |
London Cup
First round
| Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|
| Harringay | 59â49, 44â60 | Wembley |
Semi final round
| Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|
| Wimbledon | 66â42, 61â47 | Wembley |
| West Ham | 56â52, 46â62 | New Cross |
Final
First leg
| Wimbledon Wilbur Lamoreaux 16 Benny Kaufman 13 Geoff Pymar 8 Eric Collins 6 Norman Evans 4 Wally Lloyd 5 Nobby Key 4 Fred Leavis 1 | 57â49 | New Cross Jack Milne 13 Ron Johnson 11 George Newton 7 Clem Mitchell 6 Bill Longley 5 Stan Greatrex 3 Ray Duggan 2 Joe Francis 2 |
|---|---|---|
Second leg
| New Cross Jack Milne 18 Ron Johnson 10 Bill Longley 7 Stan Greatrex 5 Clem Mitchell 5 George Newton 5 Joe Francis 4 Ernie Evans 1 | 55â52 | Wimbledon Benny Kaufman 15 Wilbur Lamoreaux 11 Norman Evans 7 Wally Lloyd 6 Geoff Pymar 4 Eric Collins 4 Nobby Key 3 Fred Leavis 2 |
|---|---|---|
| [12] |
Wimbledon won on aggregate 109â104
Riders & final averages
Belle Vue
-
Bill Kitchen 10.24 - Frank Varey 9.43
- Eric Langton 8.39
- Bob Harrison 5.68
- Jack Hargreaves 5.43
- Oliver Langton 5.25
- Wally Hull 4.42
- Ernie Price 3.59
- Harold Jackson 3.43
- Oliver Hart 1.38
Bristol
-
Cordy Milne 9.46 -
Vic Duggan 7.14 -
Morian Hansen 5.95 - Bill Clibbett 5.93
- Bill Rogers 5.69
- Harry Shepherd 4.87
- Roy Dook 4.20
- Reg Lambourne 3.29
- Bill Maddern 3.28
Harringay
- Jack Parker 9.14
- Les Wotton 8.88
- Alec Statham 8.00
- Jack Ormston 6.31
- Norman Parker 5.30
- Lloyd Goffe 5.13
- Bill Pitcher 4.78
- Will Lowther 3.64
- Dick Harris 3.58
New Cross
- Jack Milne 10.96
- George Newton 8.35
- Ron Johnson 7.87
- Stan Greatrex 6.61
- Bill Longley 6.45
- Clem Mitchell 6.09
Goldy Restall 5.05- Joe Francis 4.10
- Ernie Evans 4.00
Wembley
- Lionel Van Praag 10.50
- Frank Charles 8.48
- Malcolm Craven 6.99
- George Wilks 6.91
- Cliff Parkinson 6.52
- Tommy Price 6.14
- Dicky Case 5.95
- Eric Gregory 4.88
-
Wally Kilmister 4.59 - Andy Menzies 4.00
West Ham
- Bluey Wilkinson 10.67
- Arthur Atkinson 8.42
- Eric Chitty 8.00
- Tommy Croombs 7.88
- Jimmie Gibb 6.69
- Charlie Spinks 5.80
- Colin Watson 4.75
- Tiger Stevenson 5.41
- Broncho Dixon 4.69
- Dick Geary 3.83
- Phil Bishop 3.53
Wimbledon
- Wilbur Lamoreaux 10.93
- Benny Kaufman 8.46
- Geoff Pymar 7.96
- Wally Little 7.56
- Eric Collins 5.74
- Wally Lloyd 5.28
- Norman Evans 4.44
- Nobby Key 4.12
- Ron Howes 2.26
- Fred Leavis 2.12