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1966 British League season

British speedway season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 1966 British League season was the 32nd season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the second season known as the British League.[1] Halifax Dukes won the league and then secured the league and cup double.[2]

LeagueBritish League
Season1966
No. of competitors19
ChampionsHalifax Dukes
Quick facts League, Season ...
1966 British League season
LeagueBritish League
Season1966
No. of competitors19
ChampionsHalifax Dukes
Knockout CupHalifax Dukes
IndividualBarry Briggs
London CupWest Ham Hammers
Midland CupCoventry Bees
Northern CupHalifax Dukes
Highest averageBarry Briggs
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Summary

The League expanded to 19, with a new team, the King's Lynn Stars.[3] Halifax Dukes won the league after 36 games and finished three points clear of Coventry Bees. The Halifax team success was due to the consistency of their riders, in particular Eric Boocock, Eric Boothroyd, Dave Younghusband and Tommy Roper who all scored heavily throughout the season. Halifax also completed the double winning the British League Knockout Cup. In the final, they easily beat Wimbledon Dons.[4]

The four times world champion Barry Briggs topped the averages for Swindon Robins during the same season in which he sealed his fourth world title. The dangers of speedway were highlighted once again however when Welshman Ivor Hughes was killed during the league match riding for Cradley Heath Heathens against Sheffield Tigers on 20 August.[5]

Coventry won the Midland Cup, West Ham the London Cup and Halifax Dukes the Northern Cup.[6][7]

Final table

More information M, W ...
M W D L F A Pts
1 Halifax Dukes 36 27 0 9 1574 1229 54
2 Coventry Bees 36 25 1 10 1548 1255 51
3 Swindon Robins 36 23 0 13 1553 1248 46
4 Wimbledon Dons 36 22 0 14 1485 1314 44
5 Newcastle Diamonds 36 20 0 16 1491.5 1304.5 40
6 Poole Pirates 36 19 2 15 1443 1356 40
7 West Ham Hammers 36 19 1 10 1499.5 1304.5 39
8 Glasgow Tigers 36 18 0 18 1395 1394 36
9 Wolverhampton Wolves 36 17 2 17 1340.5 1461.5 36
10 Exeter Falcons 36 17 1 18 1392.5 1403.5 35
11 Sheffield Tigers 36 17 0 19 1410 1394 34
12 Edinburgh Monarchs 35 17 0 18 1310.5 1413.5 34
13 Belle Vue Aces 36 16 0 20 1362 1443 32
14 Hackney Hawks 36 15 1 20 1347.5 1456.5 31
15 Oxford Cheetahs 36 14 2 20 1291 1510 30
16 King's Lynn Stars 36 15 0 21 1275 1524 30
17 Newport Wasps 36 12 1 23 1319 1486 25
18 Long Eaton Archers 36 12 1 23 1286 1516 25
19 Cradley Heath Heathens 35 10 0 25 1196 1506 20
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M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points

Fixtures & results

More information Home \ Away, BV ...
Home \ Away BV COV CH ED EX GLA HAC HAL KL LE ND NW OX PP SHE SWI WH WIM WOL
Belle Vue Aces 44–34 43–35 43–35 55–23 42–36 49–29 34–44 47–31 51–27 41–37 53–24 51–27 35–43 43–35 43–35 50–28 40–38 53–25
Coventry Bees 46–32 50–28 49–29 53–25 42–36 46–32 52–25 53–25 48–30 45–33 55–23 47–31 44–34 53–25 54–24 42–36 42–36 45–33
Cradley Heathens 48–30 28–50 n/a 33–39 41–37 45–33 27–51 34–43 42–36 44–34 41–37 46–31 31–47 46–32 39–38 33–44 37–41 44–34
Edinburgh Monarchs 42–35 44–34 49–29 42–36 46–31 43–35 37–41 51–27 50–28 50–28 47–31 43–35 42–36 45–33 45–33 42–36 43–35 35.5–42.5
Exeter Falcons 48–30 39–39 49–29 37–41 46–32 45–32 36–41 50–28 42–36 45–33 47–31 53–25 44–33 43–35 48–30 41–37 46–30 51–27
Glasgow Tigers 54–24 41–37 36–29 43–35 45–32 52–26 42–36 53–25 50–28 45–33 46–32 45–33 60–17 42–35 38–40 39–38 48–29 40–38
Hackney Hawks 41–37 38–40 44–34 46–32 43–35 41–37 37–41 42–36 51–27 40–38 43–35 42–36 42.5–34.5 47–31 41–37 39–39 36–42 46–32
Halifax Dukes 52–26 45–33 51–27 54–24 43–35 60–18 44–34 53–25 50–28 38–40 57–21 55–23 41–37 52–26 42–36 41–37 46–32 53–25
King's Lynn Stars 40–38 41–36 40–38 43–32 41–37 45–33 41–37 42–36 43–35 48–29 49–29 37–40 37–41 41–37 33–45 43–35 35–43 47–31
Long Eaton Archers 40–38 37–41 50–27 48–29 48–30 48–30 41–37 35–42 44–33 42–36 43–35 50–28 41–37 40–38 38–39 43–35 34–44 39–39
Newcastle Diamonds 57–21 38–39 53–25 54–24 46.5–31.5 52–26 48–30 43–35 50–28 53–25 45–32 48–30 48–30 41–36 40–38 44–34 47–30 50–28
Newport Wasps 53–25 34–44 45–33 43–35 38–40 38–40 47–31 36–42 43–35 57–21 40–38 44–34 39–39 54–24 44–34 42–36 43–35 43–35
Oxford Cheetahs 40–37 36–42 50–27 42–36 42–36 40–38 50–27 35–42 42–36 51–27 42–36 40–38 39–39 40–38 40–38 35–43 40–37 39–39
Poole Pirates 48–30 49–29 42–35 56–22 48–30 48–30 41–36 40–38 54–23 45–33 35–42 41–37 51–27 55–23 38–40 42.5–35.5 49–28 40–38
Sheffield Tigers 50–28 42–36 54–24 56–22 47–31 49–29 47–31 34–44 55–23 47–31 41–36 58–20 44–34 55–23 40–38 40–38 41–37 48–30
Swindon Robins 53–25 45–33 54–24 52–26 52–26 53–25 46–32 49–29 53–25 44–34 42–33 52–25 60–18 45–33 45–33 45–33 43–35 58–20
West Ham Hammers 44–34 36–42 48–29 50–28 50–28 43–35 45–33 37–41 51–27 52–26 48–30 48–30 51–27 43–35 54–24 41–37 36–42 53–25
Wimbledon Dons 48–30 44–34 45–32 52–26 44–34 48–30 45–33 46–32 56–22 51–27 47–31 46–32 43–35 44–33 49–28 36–42 40–38 51–27
Wolverhampton Wolves 53–25 42–34 46–32 40–38 44–34 45–33 38–40 40–37 41–37 41–37 39–38 45–33 44–34 49–29 49–29 39–38 36–42 42–36
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Source: [8]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top ten riders (league averages)

More information Rider, Nat ...
Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Barry Briggs New Zealand Swindon 11.08
2 Nigel Boocock England Coventry 10.67
3 Gote Nordin Sweden Newport 10.53
4 Eric Boocock England Halifax 10.41
5 Olle Nygren Sweden Wimbledon 10.32
6 Colin Pratt England Hackney 9.93
7 Ken McKinlay Scotland West Ham 9.78
8 Mike Broadbank England Swindon 9.77
9 Sverre Harrfeldt Norway West Ham 9.76
10 Trevor Hedge England Wimbledon 9.64
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Knockout Cup

Halifax Dukes won the Knockout Cup and therefore secured the league and cup double.[9]

Main article: British League Knockout Cup 1966

Riders' Championship

Barry Briggs won the British League Riders' Championship for the second consecutive year, held at Hyde Road on 22 October.[10]

More information Pos., Rider ...
Pos.RiderHeat ScoresTotal
1New Zealand Barry Briggs3 3 3 3 315
2Sweden Olle Nygren2 3 3 3 314
3England Norman Hunter3 2 3 2 212
4New Zealand Ivan Mauger3 2 0 3 311
5England Ray Wilson3 3 2 2 exc10
6England Nigel Boocock1 3 1 3 -8
7Scotland George Hunter0 1 1 2 37
8New Zealand Bill Andrew0 ef 3 1 26
9England Jimmy Gooch1 1 2 1 16
10Australia Peter Vandenberg1 1 ef 1 25
11England Terry Betts2 1 2 ef ef5
12Australia Charlie Monk2 F 2 1 ef5
13England Cyril Maidment0 2 1 2 ef5
14England Tommy Sweetman2 0 ef 0 24
15England Eric Boocock1 2 ef ef ef3
16England Colin Pratt0 0 1 0 12
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  • ef=engine failure, f=fell, exc=excluded

London Cup

West Ham successfully defended their London Cup title but once again there were just three teams competing.[11]

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team P W D L F A Pts
1West Ham Hammers43012161686
2Wimbledon Dons4301192.5191.56
3Hackney Hawks4004167.5216.50
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More information Home \ Away, HAC ...
Home \ Away HAC WH WIM
Hackney 43–53 47.5–48.5
West Ham 63–33 53–42
Wimbledon 52–44 49–47
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Source: [12]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Midland Cup

Coventry won the Midland Cup, which consisted of six teams.[13]

More information M, W ...
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More information Home \ Away, CH ...
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Final

First leg

More information WolverhamptonPeter Vandenberg 10 Gordon Guasco 9 Cyril Francis 7 Brian Maxted 6 Alan Cowland 5 Dave Hemus 2 Pete Jarman 1, 39–39 ...
Wolverhampton
Peter Vandenberg 10
Gordon Guasco 9
Cyril Francis 7
Brian Maxted 6
Alan Cowland 5
Dave Hemus 2
Pete Jarman 1		39–39Coventry
Nigel Boocock 14
Rick France 13
Col Cottrell 5
Jim Lightfoot 5
Roger Hill 1
Chris Harrison 1
Tom Ridley 0
Ron Mountford r/r
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Second leg

More information CoventryCol Cottrell 12 Jim Lightfoot 12 Rick France 9 Nigel Boocock 8 Les Owen 6 Roger Hill 2Chris Harrison 0Ron Mountford r/r, 49–29 ...
Coventry
Col Cottrell 12
Jim Lightfoot 12
Rick France 9
Nigel Boocock 8
Les Owen 6
Roger Hill 2
Chris Harrison 0
Ron Mountford r/r		49–29Wolverhampton
Gordon Guasco 8
Brian Maxted 6
Peter Vandenberg 5
Dave Hemus 4
Cyril Francis 4
Alan Cowland 2
Pete Jarman 0
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Coventry won on aggregate 88–68

Northern Cup

  • Due to the late entry of Edinburgh and Glasgow, several British league results doubled for the Northern Cup.[16]
More information M, W ...
M W L Pts BP Total
1 Halifax 10 7 3 7 5 12
2 Sheffield 10 6 4 6 3 9
3 Newcastle 10 5 5 5 3.5 8.5
4 Glasgow 9 5 4 5 0 5
5 Edinburgh 9 3 6 4 1 4
5 Middlesbrough 8 2 6 2 0.5 2.5
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More information Home \ Away, ED ...
Home \ Away ED GLA HAL MID NEW SHE
Edinburgh 46–31 37–41 N/H 50–28 45–33
Glasgow 43–35 42–36 N/H 45–33 42–35
Halifax 54–24 60–18 43–35 45–33 54–24
Middlesbrough 49–29 32–45 32–46 46–32 36–42
Newcastle 54–24 52–26 44–33 46–32 45–32
Sheffield 56–22 49–29 43–35 46–31 39–38
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Source: [17]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Final leading averages

More information Rider, Nat ...
Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Barry Briggs New Zealand Swindon 11.12
2 Nigel Boocock England Coventry 10.54
3 Eric Boocock England Halifax 10.46
4 Göte Nordin Sweden Newport 10.44
5 Olle Nygren Sweden Wimbledon 10.40
6 Colin Pratt England Hackney 10.00
7 Sverre Harrfeldt Norway West Ham 9.89
8 Ivan Mauger New Zealand Newcastle 9.82
9 Ken McKinlay Scotland West Ham 9.67
10 Mike Broadbank England Swindon 9.60
11 Trevor Hedge England Wimbledon 9.39
12 Cyril Maidment England Belle Vue 9.55
13 Arne Pander Denmark Oxford 9.53
14 Norman Hunter England West Ham 9.42
15 Terry Betts England King's Lynn 9.41
16 Trevor Hedge England Wimbledon 9.39
17 Eric Boothroyd England Halifax 9.29
18 Ron Mountford England Coventry 9.29
19 Charlie Monk Australia Glasgow 9.27
20 Rick France England Coventry 9.22
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Riders and final averages

Belle Vue

Coventry

Cradley Heath

Edinburgh

Exeter

Glasgow

Hackney

Halifax

King's Lynn

Long Eaton

Newcastle

Newport

Oxford

Poole

Sheffield

Swindon

West Ham

Wimbledon

Wolverhampton

See also

References

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