1939 Speedway National League
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| League | National League Division One |
|---|---|
| Champions | None |
| No. of competitors | 7 |
| National Trophy | Belle Vue Aces & Wembley Lions |
| London Cup | Wimbledon Dons |
| British Speedway Cup | Belle Vue Aces |
| Highest average | Cordy Milne |
| Division/s below | National League (Div 2) |
The 1939 National League Division One was an eleventh and unfinished season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1][2][3][4]
Southampton Saints had moved up from Division Two and Bristol Bulldogs moved back down after just one season.
Belle Vue Aces were leading the championship ahead of Wimbledon Dons when the league was abandoned due to the outbreak of World War II .
Table at the outbreak of war
| Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belle Vue Aces | 16 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 25 |
| Wimbledon Dons | 18 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 24 |
| Wembley Lions | 19 | 11 | 1 | 8 | 23 |
| West Ham Hammers | 19 | 9 | 0 | 10 | 18 |
| Harringay Tigers | 16 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 15 |
| Southampton Saints | 17 | 5 | 0 | 12 | 10 |
| New Cross Rangers | 19 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 9 |
Fixtures & results
A fixtures
B fixtures
Top Ten Riders at the outbreak of war
| Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cordy Milne | Southampton | 11.29 | |
| 2 | Wilbur Lamoreaux | Wimbledon | 11.06 | |
| 3 | Bill Kitchen | Belle Vue | 10.88 | |
| 4 | Vic Duggan | Wimbledon | 10.67 | |
| 5 | Arthur Atkinson | West Ham | 10.62 | |
| 6 | Lionel van Praag | Wembley | 10.62 | |
| 7 | Jack Milne | New Cross | 10.00 | |
| 8 | Jack Parker | Harringay | 9.6 | |
| 9 | Eric Langton | Belle Vue | 9.5 | |
| 10 | Jimmy Gibb | West Ham | 8.58 |
National Trophy
The 1939 National Trophy was the ninth edition of the Knockout Cup. Wembley and Belle Vue were declared joint winners following the abandonment of the final fixture due to the outbreak of the war.[7][8]
Qualifying rounds
Sheffield Tigers won the Division Two final and therefore secured a place in the quarter-finals.
Quarterfinals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22/07 | Belle Vue | 67-40 | Wimbledon |
| 17/07 | Wimbledon | 51-56 | Belle Vue |
| 26/07 | New Cross | 57-51 | Harringay |
| 22/07 | Harringay | 52-54 | New Cross |
| 13/07 | Wembley | 64-45 | West Ham |
| 11/07 | West Ham | 62-46 | Wembley |
| 20/07 | Sheffield | 61-46 | Southampton |
| 26/07 | Southampton | 68-36 | Sheffield |
Semifinals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26/08 | Belle Vue | 80-28 | New Cross |
| 16/08 | New Cross | 44-64 | Belle Vue |
| 31/08 | Wembley | 74-33 | Southampton |
| 30/08 | Southampton | 62-46 | Wembley |
Final
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16/09 | Wembley | not held | Belle Vue |
| 21/09 | Belle Vue | not held | Wembley |
British Speedway Cup
| Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belle Vue Aces | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 16 | +95 |
| West Ham Hammers | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 16 | +87 |
| Harringay Tigers | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 13 | +25 |
| New Cross Rangers | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 12 | +28 |
| Wimbledon Dons | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 11 | +26 |
| Southampton Saints | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | -261 |
London Cup
First round
| Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|
| Wimbledon | 71–37, 42–64 | Harringay |
Semi final round
| Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|
| West Ham | 56–50, 50–57 | New Cross |
| Wembley | 55–52, 49–59 | Wimbledon |
Final
First leg
| New Cross Jack Milne 11 Ron Johnson 10 Ray Duggan 7 Joe Francis 6 Bill Longley 5 Stan Greatrex 4 Crocky Rawding 2 Goldy Restall 1 | 46–62 | Wimbledon Wilbur Lamoreaux 15 Vic Duggan 13 Eric Collins 11 Geoff Pymar 10 Wally Lloyd 8 Nobby Key 2 Eric French 2 Norman Evans 1 |
|---|---|---|
Second leg
| Wimbledon Wilbur Lamoreaux 18 Eric Collins 14 Geoff Pymar 11 Vic Duggan 10 Nobby Key 7 Wally Lloyd 6 Norman Evans 5 Eric French 1 | 72–36 | New Cross Jack Milne 13 Ron Johnson 9 Joe Francis 4 Bill Longley 2 Stan Greatrex 2 Goldy Restall 2 Crocky Rawding 2 Ray Duggan 2 |
|---|---|---|
| [10] |
Wimbledon won on aggregate 134–82
