1963 Speedway National League

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LeagueNational League
Season1963
No. of competitors7
ChampionsBelle Vue Aces
1963 Speedway National League
LeagueNational League
Season1963
No. of competitors7
ChampionsBelle Vue Aces
National TrophyNorwich Stars
Highest averageOve Fundin
Division/s below1963 Provincial League

The 1963 National League was the 29th season and the eighteenth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1]

The seven entrants were the same as those that had finished the previous season and matches were ridden home and away twice. Belle Vue Aces won their first title in 27 years.[2][3][4][5]

Belle Vue's successful season was soured by a tragedy and the speedway world was in shock when the double world champion Peter Craven died following a challenge match at Edinburgh's Old Meadowbank stadium, on 20 September 1963.[6][7] Just six days after he lost world crown, Craven swerved to avoid hitting fallen race leader George Hunter and hit the safety fence. Craven was rushed to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, where he died on 24 September.[8][9]

Final table

Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Belle Vue Aces 24 17 0 7 34
2 Norwich Stars 24 13 2 9 28
3 Wimbledon Dons 24 12 1 11 25
4 Coventry Bees 24 11 2 11 24
5 Swindon Robins 24 10 2 12 22
6 Southampton Saints 24 11 0 13 22
7 Oxford Cheetahs 24 6 1 17 13

Fixtures and results

A Fixtures

Home \ Away BV COV NOR OX SOT SWI WIM
Belle Vue 45–33 41–37 52–26 50–28 49–29 43–34
Coventry 30–48 39–39 40–38 44–34 45–33 53–25
Norwich 46–32 35–43 43–35 47–31 42–36 41–37
Oxford 40–38 44–34 36–42 44–34 35–43 34–44
Southampton 56–22 56–22 48–30 49–29 48–30 44–34
Swindon 37–41 47–31 48–30 43–35 49–29 44–34
Wimbledon 36–42 45–33 44–31 48–30 48–30 40–37
Source: [10]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

B Fixtures

Home \ Away BV COV NOR OX SOT SWI WIM
Belle Vue 41–37 44–34 44–34 50–28 47–31 46–31
Coventry 42–36 48–30 42–36 43–33 44–34 39–39
Norwich 45–33 37–41 46–32 53–25 + 43–35
Oxford 45–33 46–32 35–43 42–36 39–39 42–36
Southampton 44–34 41–37 39–38 46–32 38–40 38–40
Swindon 33–45 53–25 39–39 54–24 38–40 40–27
Wimbledon 45–33 42–35 38–40 44–34 40–38 48–30
Source: [11]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

+Norwich awarded points

Top ten riders

The top ten riders are listed by their points average and only applies to the league.[12]

Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Ove Fundin Sweden Norwich Stars 10.71
2 Dick Fisher England Belle Vue Aces 10.19
3 Ronnie Moore New Zealand Wimbledon Dons 10.17
4 The late Peter Craven England Belle Vue Aces 10.13
5 Nigel Boocock England Coventry Bees 9.84
6 Ron How England Wimbledon Dons 9.68
7 Björn Knutson Sweden Southampton Saints 9.27
8 Barry Briggs New Zealand Southampton Saints 9.13
9 Ken McKinlay Scotland Coventry Bees 8.99
10 Peter Moore Australia Swindon Robins 8.98

National Trophy

The 1963 National Trophy was the 25th edition of the Knockout Cup. Norwich were the winners.[13]

First round

Date Team one Score Team two
22/06Norwich60-24Wimbledon
17/06Wimbledon38-46Norwich
20/06Oxford39-45Swindon
15/06Swindon53-31Oxford
18/06Southampton46-37Coventry
15/06Coventry54-30Southampton

Semi-finals

Date Team one Score Team two
21/08Belle Vue55-29Coventry
14/08Coventry41-43Belle Vue
09/08Swindon48-36Norwich
31/07Norwich49-35Swindon

Final

First leg

Belle Vue Aces
Dick Fisher 14
Peter Craven 14
Sören Sjösten 10
Gordon McGregor 9
Cyril Maidment 4
Bill Powell 0
Jim Yacoby 0		51 – 33Norwich Stars
Trevor Hedge 9
Terry Betts 8
Olle Nygren 8
Billy Bales 4
Jimmy Gooch 2
John Debbage 1
Reg Trott 1
[14]

Second leg

Norwich Stars
Ove Fundin 15
Olle Nygren 14
Terry Betts 10
John Debbage 6
Reg Trott 5
Billy Bales 4
Jimmy Gooch 3		57 – 27Belle Vue Aces
Sören Sjösten 7
Gordon McGregor 7
Cyril Maidment 6
John Dews 3
Jim Yacoby 2
Norman Nevitt 1
Ernie Baker 0
[14]

Norwich were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 90–78.

Riders & final averages

See also

References

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