1977 National League season

British motorcycle speedway season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 1977 National League was contested as the second division of Speedway in the United Kingdom.[1][2]

LeagueNational League
No. of competitors19
ChampionsEastbourne Eagles
Knockout CupEastbourne Eagles
Quick facts League, No. of competitors ...
1977 National League season
LeagueNational League
No. of competitors19
ChampionsEastbourne Eagles
Knockout CupEastbourne Eagles
IndividualColin Richardson
PairsBoston Barracudas
FoursPeterborough Panthers
Highest averageTom Owen
Division/s above1977 British League
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Summary

Newport had moved down from the British League. Their riders were transferred to Bristol Bulldogs but they acquired new riders and were renamed Newport Dragons.[3] Paisley Lions dropped out so the league had 19 teams, the same as the previous season. Part way through the season, Coatbridge Tigers relocated and changed name to Glasgow Tigers after being kicked out of Cliftonhill.[4]

Eastbourne Eagles won the National League title, completing a league and cup double.[5][6] Eastbournes's star rider was Colin Richardson, who won the Riders' Championship and averaged 10.70 for the season. He was backed up by Mike Sampson, who also surpassed a 10 average and Dave Kennett (8.37 average) and a member of Eastbourne's 1971 winning team.[7]

Joe Owen, the leading rider of 1976 had moved from champions Newcastle Diamonds to join British League side Hull Vikings. Newcastle were unable to compensate for the loss and finished in 6th place, despite Joe's brother Tom Owen finishing top of the averages.[7]

Final table

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Eastbourne Eagles 36 29 0 7 58
2 Rye House Rockets 36 24 3 9 51
3 Ellesmere Port Gunners 36 22 2 12 46
4 Canterbury Crusaders 36 23 0 13 46
5 Peterborough Panthers 36 22 0 14 44
6 Newcastle Diamonds 36 21 1 14 43
7 Boston Barracudas 36 20 0 16 40
8 Mildenhall Fen Tigers 36 16 4 16 36
9 Teesside Tigers 36 17 1 18 35
10 Crayford Kestrels 36 17 0 19 34
11 Glasgow Tigers 36 16 0 20 32
12 Newport Dragons 36 16 0 20 32
13 Oxford Cheetahs 36 15 1 20 31
14 Scunthorpe Saints 36 15 1 20 31
15 Edinburgh Monarchs 36 15 0 21 30
16 Workington Comets 36 14 1 21 29
17 Weymouth Wizards 36 11 3 22 25
18 Berwick Bandits 36 11 1 24 23
19 Stoke Potters 36 9 0 27 18
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Fixtures and results

More information Home \ Away, BER ...
Home \ Away BER BOS CAN CRY EAS ED EP GLA MIL ND NW OX PET RH SCU STO TEE WEY WOR
Berwick 47–31 36–42 44–34 31–47 43–35 36–42 37–41 39–39 41–37 42–36 44–34 54–24 35–43 38–40 46–31 51–27 40–38 47–31
Boston 60–17 53–25 47–31 42–36 52–26 45–32 48–28 54–24 41–37 44–34 58–20 41–36 38–40 57–21 46–32 49–29 45–33 46–32
Canterbury 59–19 41–37 43–34 41–37 57–21 42–35 50–27 49–29 47–31 45–32 50–28 40–38 52–26 44–33 45–33 58–20 57–21 46–31
Crayford 47–31 43–34 44–34 29–49 52–26 46–30 54–23 50–28 40–36 47–31 49–29 48–30 37–38 48–30 41–37 52–26 45–33 56–22
Eastbourne 62–16 57–20 49–29 51–26 49–29 49–29 60–18 61–17 52–26 59–19 53–25 54–24 51–27 57–21 59–19 59–19 54–24 63–15
Edinburgh 53–25 45–33 37–41 44–34 30–48 31–47 42–36 40–38 35–42 52–26 43–33 54–24 38–40 40–38 40–37 52–25 45–33 45–33
Ellesmere Port 47–31 40–37 44–34 51–24 43–35 45–33 48–30 39–39 42–36 61–17 46–32 36–42 50–28 43–35 41–37 55–23 43–35 44–34
Glasgow/Coatbridge 45–33 43–11 49–29 39–37 32–46 44–34 38–40 54–24 37–41 47–31 42–36 48–29 38–40 45–33 46–32 52–25 45–33 50–28
Mildenhall 64–14 43–35 42–35 45–33 38–40 48–30 39–39 50–28 45–32 43–34 44–34 34–44 42–36 44–34 46–32 52–26 45–33 37–41
Newcastle 53–25 50–28 47–31 48–30 39–37 45–33 46–32 50–28 51–27 52–26 47–31 56–22 36–42 53–25 43–35 38–40 43–34 59–18
Newport 49–29 40–37 34–44 41–37 36–42 46–32 43–35 59–19 44–34 50–28 41–31 45–33 42–36 48–30 42–35 59–19 43–34 46–32
Oxford 53–24 38–40 41–37 47–31 44–34 43–35 43–35 60–18 39–39 41–37 58–19 51–27 38–37 38–40 44–34 53–25 44–33 51–27
Peterborough 60–18 42–36 43–35 53–25 42–36 47–31 42–36 56–22 53–25 40–38 52–26 51–27 44–34 57–21 44–34 43–35 55–23 49–29
Rye House 63–14 38–40 43–35 45–33 31–47 56–22 39–38 44–34 46–32 44–34 59–19 45–30 49–29 51–27 49–29 50–28 49–29 56–22
Scunthorpe 53–25 42–35 47–31 49–29 33–45 32–46 29–49 40–37 44–34 30–47 51–27 40–37 22–56 39–39 40–38 49–29 42–36 58–20
Stoke 52–26 40.5–37.5 38–40 38–40 24–54 37–41 38–40 42–36 34–44 33–45 47–31 41–37 33–45 38–40 48–29 32–45 43.5–33.5 41–37
Teesside 41–36 46–31 35–43 42–36 40–38 40–38 35–43 41–37 42–26 42–35 45–33 40–38 49–29 39–39 51–27 44–34 44–34 47–31
Weymouth 47–31 34.5–43.5 49–29 40–38 37–41 41–37 40–36 38–40 38–40 39–39 45–33 41–37 41–37 39–39 53–25 35–43 46–32 39–39
Workington 46–32 48–30 44–34 41–36 37–41 48–29 40–37 41–37 45–33 31–45 49–29 43–35 46–32 35–43 34–44 54–23 50–28 34–44
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Source: [8]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top five riders (league averages)

More information Rider, Nat ...
Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Tom Owen England Newcastle 11.01
2 Colin Richardson England Eastbourne 10.70
3 Martin Yeates England Oxford 10.59
4 John Jackson England Ellesmere Port 10.22
5 Mike Sampson England Eastbourne 10.18
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National League Knockout Cup

The 1977 National League Knockout Cup was the tenth edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Eastbourne Eagles were the winners of the competition.[9]

First round

More information Date, Team one ...
Date Team one Score Team two
03/04Eastbourne55–23Canterbury
23/04Canterbury26–52Eastbourne
14/04Oxford44–34Rye House
17/04Rye House44–34Oxford
22/04Edinburgh48–30Scunthorpe
25/04Scunthorpe43–34Edinburgh
02/06
replay		Oxford45–32Rye House
29/05
replay		Rye House42–36Oxford
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Second round

More information Date, Team one ...
Date Team one Score Team two
15/05Eastbourne54–23Crayford
03/05Crayford35–43Eastbourne
22/05Newcastle49–29Glasgow
29/04Glasgow47–30Newcastle
17/05Ellesmere Port46–32Workington
03/06Workington42–36Ellesmere Port
12/06Oxford50–28Newport
23/06Newport41–37Oxford
28/05Berwick46–32Teesside
02/06Teesside44–34Berwick
27/05Edinburgh44–34Stoke
21/05Stoke40–38Edinburgh
22/05Boston43–34Weymouth
24/05Weymouth35–43Boston
20/05Peterborough44–34Mildenhall
22/05Mildenhall38–40Peterborough
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Quarter-finals

More information Date, Team one ...
Date Team one Score Team two
10/07Eastbourne54–24Newcastle
08/08Newcastle34–43Eastbourne
26/07Ellesmere Port46½-31½Oxford
14/07Oxford37–41Ellesmere Port
25/06Berwick46–32Edinburgh
15/07Edinburgh41–37Berwick
17/07Boston45–33Peterborough
01/07Peterborough40–38Boston
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Semi-finals

More information Date, Team one ...
Date Team one Score Team two
25/09Eastbourne57–21Ellesmere Port
02/09Ellesmere Port50–28Eastbourne
27/08Berwick45–33Boston
19/08Boston38–40Berwick
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Final

First leg

More information Berwick BanditsWillie Templeton 9Graham Jones 9Dave Gifford 7Mike Hiftle 6Wayne Brown 5Robin Adlington 4Colin Caffrey 1, 41–37 ...
Berwick Bandits
Willie Templeton 9
Graham Jones 9
Dave Gifford 7
Mike Hiftle 6
Wayne Brown 5
Robin Adlington 4
Colin Caffrey 1		41–37Eastbourne Eagles
Colin Richardson 13
Mike Sampson 11
Steve Naylor 7
Eric Dugard 5
Paul Woods 1
Roger Abel 0
Dave Kennett 0
[10]
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Second leg

More information Eastbourne EaglesColin Richardson 12Mike Sampson 11Steve Naylor 9Eric Dugard 9Dave Kennett 7Roger Abel 7Paul Woods 6, 61–16 ...
Eastbourne Eagles
Colin Richardson 12
Mike Sampson 11
Steve Naylor 9
Eric Dugard 9
Dave Kennett 7
Roger Abel 7
Paul Woods 6		61–16Berwick Bandits
Brendan Shilleto (guest) 6
Graham Jones 5
Willie Templeton 2
Mike Hiftle 2
Ian Darling 1
Dave Gifford 0
Colin Caffrey 0
[10]
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Eastbourne were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 98–57.

Riders' Championship

Colin Richardson won the Riders' Championship, sponsored by Gauloises and held at Wimbledon Stadium on 24 September.[11]

More information Pos., Rider ...
Pos.RiderPtsTotal
1England Colin Richardson3 3 3 3 315
2England Martin Yeates3 3 2 3 213+3
3England Tom Owen3 3 3 3 113+2
4England Kelvin Mullarkey3 2 3 2 212
5England Rob Hollingworth2 3 1 2 311
6England John Jackson2 3 1 2 310
7Australia Steve Koppe1 2 1 2 39
8England Laurie Etheridge2 1 0 2 27
9Australia Stuart Mountford0 0 2 1 25
10Scotland Bert Harkins1 1 1 1 15
11England Alan Emerson0 0 0 1 34
12Australia Danny Kennedy0 2 2 0 ex4
13Wales Brian Woodward2 0 1 1 04
14Scotland Brian Collins0 1 2 0 03
15England Bob Coles1 1 0 ef 03
16England Steve Lawson1 0 f 0 12
17England Ian Clark (res)00
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  • f=fell, r-retired, ex=excluded, ef=engine failure

Pairs

The National League Pairs was held at Hyde Road on 4 June and was won by Boston Barracudas.[12]

More information Group A, Pos ...
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Semi finals

  • Boston bt Canterbury
  • Newport bt Oxford

Final

  • Boston bt Newport

Fours

Peterborough won the fours championship final, held at the East of England Arena on 7 August.[13][14]

Semi finals

  • SF1 = Eastbourne 21, Stoke 12, Ellesmere Port 8, Boston 7
  • SF2 = Canterbury 18, Peterborough 14, Newcastle 9, Oxford 7

Final

More information Pos, Team ...
PosTeamPtsRiders
1Peterborough Panthers17Clark I 6, Hawkins 5, Hines 5, Flatman 1, Clark B 0
2Canterbury Crusaders14Banks 6, Koppe 3, Spelta 3, Kennett 2
3Eastbourne Eagles13Richardson 5, Sampson 5, Dugard 2, Abel 1
4Stoke Potters4Mountford 2, Nunan 1, Gledhill 1, Robertson 0
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Leading final averages

More information Rider, Nat ...
Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Tom Owen England Newcastle 10.82
2 Colin Richardson England Eastbourne 10.63
3 Martin Yeates England Oxford 10.53
4 Mike Sampson England Eastbourne 10.09
5 John Jackson England Ellesmere Port 10.07
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Riders & final averages

Berwick

Boston

Canterbury

Coatbridge/Glasgow

  • Brian Collins 8.94
  • Mick McKeon 7.95
  • Grahame Dawson 7.65
  • Rob Maxfield 7.13
  • Derek Richardson 5.41
  • Merv Janke 4.75
  • Benny Rourke 4.57
  • Jimmy Gallacher 4.35
  • Nicky Hollingworth 2.87

Crayford

Eastbourne

Edinburgh

Ellesmere Port

Mildenhall

Newcastle

Newport

Oxford

Peterborough

Rye House

Scunthorpe

  • Nicky Allott 8.29
  • Arthur Browning 7.69
  • John McNeill 7.22
  • Sid Sheldrick 5.86
  • Dave Baugh 5.76
  • Trevor Whiting 5.09
  • Paul Cooper 4.80
  • Phil White 4.75
  • Danny Young 4.21

Stoke

  • Stuart Mountford 8.15
  • Tim Nunan 7.3
  • Ian Gledhill 6.67
  • Carl Askew 6.49
  • Ian Robertson 6.26
  • Mick Fishwick 5.65
  • Steve McDermott 5.29
  • Rob Dole 4.50
  • Colin Farquharson 4.11
  • Ian Jeffcoate 3.86
  • Trevor Vincent/Charley 3.37

Teesside

Weymouth

Workington

See also

References

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