1961 Speedway National League

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LeagueNational League
No. of competitors10
ChampionsWimbledon Dons
National TrophySouthampton Saints
1961 Speedway National League
LeagueNational League
No. of competitors10
ChampionsWimbledon Dons
National TrophySouthampton Saints
Highest averageOve Fundin
Division/s below1961 Provincial League

The 1961 National League was the 27th season and the sixteenth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1]

The entry list was identical to the previous year and although Wimbledon Dons won their seventh title in eight years, it would be their last.[2][3][4]

Final table

Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Wimbledon Dons 18 15 0 3 30
2 Southampton Saints 18 13 2 3 28
3 Coventry Bees 18 10 1 7 21
4 Belle Vue Aces 18 10 0 8 20
5 Swindon Robins 18 8 0 10 16
6 Ipswich Witches 18 7 1 10 15
7 Norwich Stars 18 7 0 11 14
8 New Cross Rangers 18 7 0 11 14
9 Oxford Cheetahs 18 6 1 11 13
10 Leicester Hunters 18 4 1 13 9

Fixtures and results

Home \ Away BV COV IPS LEI NC NOR OX SOT SWI WIM
Belle Vue 57–21 44–34 52–26 60–17 40–38 48–30 44–34 43–35 48–30
Coventry 45–33 46–32 50–28 46–32 41–37 40–38 39–39 54–24 43–35
Ipswich 40–38 43–35 44–33 51–27 50–28 51–27 36–41 42–36 34–44
Leicester 35–43 34–44 39–39 46–32 40–38 42–36 36–42 50–28 37–41
New Cross 41–37 47–31 55–23 54–24 51–27 44–34 31–45 44–33 34–44
Norwich 40–38 37–41 46.5–31.5 49–29 55–23 43–23 45–33 52–26 37–41
Oxford 45–33 59–19 40–38 51–27 48–30 41–37 39–39 32–46 33–45
Southampton 42–36 53–25 49–29 56–22 56–22 53–25 45–33 42–36 49–29
Swindon 45–33 47–31 41–37 44–34 54–24 45–33 48–30 37–41 34–44
Wimbledon 44–34 53–25 51–27 61–17 60–18 54–24 52–26 49–29 53–24
Source: [5]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top ten averages (league only)

Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Ove Fundin Sweden Norwich 11.51
2 Ronnie Moore New Zealand Wimbledon 11.17
3 Peter Craven England Belle Vue 10.95
4 Björn Knutson Sweden Southampton 10.79
5 Arne Pander Denmark Oxford 10.60
6 Barry Briggs New Zealand Southampton 10.13
7 Ron How England Wimbledon 10.05
8 Ron Johnston New Zealand Belle Vue 10.00
9 Ken McKinlay Scotland Leicester 9.57
10 Bob Duckworth New Zealand Belle Vue 9.48

National Trophy

The 1961 National Trophy was the 23rd edition of the Knockout Cup. Southampton were the winners.[6]

First round

Date Team one Score Team two
15/06Oxford43-40Southampton
13/06Southampton58-26Oxford
10/06Belle Vue55-28New Cross
07/06New Cross46-37Belle Vue

Second round

Date Team one Score Team two
17/08Ipswich44-40Coventry
09/08Norwich43-40Swindon
08/08Southampton52-32Belle Vue
29/07Belle Vue47-37Southampton
24/07Wimbledon46-38Norwich
22/07Norwich52-32Wimbledon
22/07Swindon66-18Leicester
21/07Leicester38-45Swindon

Semifinals

Date Team one Score Team two
09/09Swindon56-28Norwich
29/08Southampton57-27Coventry
26/08Coventry49-35Southampton
09/08Norwich43-40Swindon

Final

First leg

Southampton Saints
Björn Knutson 15
Barry Briggs 14
Dick Bradley 9
Alby Golden 6
Peter Vandenberg 4
Cyril Roger 4
Chum Taylor 3		55 – 29Swindon Robins
Tadeusz Teodorowicz 7
Neil Street 6
Ian Williams 5
Brian Brett 4
George White 4
Mike Broadbank 2
Brian Meredith 1
[7]

Second leg

Swindon Robins
Tadeusz Teodorowicz 9
Mike Broadbank 8
George White 8
Brian Meredith 5
Ian Williams 4
Brian Brett 4
Neil Street 3		41 – 43Southampton Saints
Björn Knutson 15
Barry Briggs 13
Chum Taylor 8
Peter Vandenberg 4
Dick Bradley 3
Cyril Roger 0
Alby Golden 0
[7]

Southampton were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 98–70.

Riders & final averages

See also

References

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