1962 Speedway National League

British motorcycle speedway season

1962 Speedway National LeagueLeague| National League

|

Champions| Southampton Saints
No. of competitors| 7
National Trophy| Wimbledon Dons
Highest average| Ronnie Moore
Division/s below| 1962 Provincial League

* <- 1961
* 1963 ->

The 1962 National League was the 28th season and the seventeenth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1]

## Summary[edit]

With the withdrawal of New Cross Rangers and with Leicester Hunters moving down to the Provincial League, the entry list was 8 teams and so home and away fixtures were raced twice. Southampton Saints broke the domination of Wimbledon Dons by winning their first National League title.[2][3][4]

Ipswich Witches' season was a complete disaster. Their new signing Olle Nygren did not even start the season due to ill-health and then Jack Unstead was killed in the first recorded fatal crash at Foxhall Stadium, on 13 April 1962.[5] The club later withdrew from the league due to financial issues and their results were expunged.[6]

## Final table[edit]

Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts

|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | Southampton Saints | 24  | 18  | 0  | 6  | 36
2  | Wimbledon Dons | 24  | 14  | 1  | 9  | 29
3  | Coventry Bees | 24  | 13  | 0  | 11  | 26
4  | Belle Vue Aces | 24  | 12  | 0  | 12  | 24
5  | Norwich Stars | 24  | 12  | 0  | 12  | 24
6  | Swindon Robins | 24  | 9  | 2  | 13  | 20
7  | Oxford Cheetahs | 24  | 4  | 0  | 20  | 8

* Ipswich Witches resigned in mid-season.

## Top Ten Riders (League only)[edit]

| Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A.

|
|
|
|

1  | Ronnie Moore |  | Wimbledon  | 10.14
2  | Björn Knutson |  | Southampton  | 9.89
3  | Olle Nygren |  | Swindon/Norwich  | 9.86
4  | Peter Craven |  | Belle Vue  | 9.75
5  | Barry Briggs |  | Southampton  | 9.64
6  | Ove Fundin |  | Norwich  | 9.30
7  | Ron How |  | Wimbledon  | 9.30
8  | Peter Moore |  | Ipswich/Swindon  | 9.02
9  | Bob Andrews |  | Wimbledon  | 8.82
10  | Ron Mountford |  | Coventry  | 8.74

## National Trophy[edit]

The 1962 National Trophy was the 24th edition of the Knockout Cup. Wimbledon were the winners.[7]

First round

Date  | Team one  | Score  | Team two

|
|
|

25/06 | Wimbledon | 49-35 | Belle Vue
23/06 | Belle Vue | 46-38 | Wimbledon
23/06 | Swindon | 51-33 | Ipswich
22/06 | Ipswich | 42-40 | Swindon
19/06 | Southampton | 56-28 | Coventry
16/06 | Norwich | 33-51 | Oxford
14/06 | Oxford | 47-37 | Norwich
16/06 | Coventry | 41-43 | Southampton

Semi-finals

Date  | Team one  | Score  | Team two

|
|
|

23/08 | Oxford | 45-39 | Swindon
18/08 | Swindon | 59-25 | Oxford
14/08 | Southampton | 42-42 | Wimbledon
13/08 | Wimbledon | 50-33 | Southampton

### Final[edit]

First leg

24 September 1962

Wimbledon Dons
Ronnie Moore 14
Ron How 14
Bob Andrews 11
Gerry Jackson 7
Cyril Brine 5
Leo McAuliffe 3
Jim Tebby 1| 55 – 29| Swindon Robins
Mike Broadbank 9
Arne Carlsson 7
Ian Williams 4
Martin Ashby 3
Peter Moore 3
Brian Brett 2
Neil Street 1

|
|

| [8] |

Wimbledon Stadium

Second leg

29 September 1962

Swindon Robins
Martin Ashby 15
Mike Broadbank 7
Peter Moore 7
Arne Carlsson 6
Neil Street 5
Ian Williams 3
Brian Brett 2| 45 – 39| Wimbledon Dons
Ronnie Moore 13
Ron How 12
Bob Andrews 9
Cyril Brine 3
Gerry Jackson 2
Jim Tebby 0
Leo McAuliffe 0

|
|

| [8] |

Abbey Stadium

Wimbledon were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 94–74.

## Riders & final averages[edit]

Belle Vue

*   * Peter Craven 9.75
*   * Sören Sjösten 8.23
*   * Cyril Maidment 7.95
*   * Dick Fisher 7.33
*   * Split Waterman 4.44
*   * Bob Duckworth 4.00
*   * Jim Yacoby 3.67
*   * Bernard McArthur 3.60
*   * Jack Kitchen 3.27
*   * Peter Kelly 3.17
*   * Bill Powell 2.50
*   * Nick Nicholls 2.33

Coventry

*   * Ron Mountford 8.74
*   * Ken McKinlay 8.63
*   * Nigel Boocock 8.20
*   * Les Owen 7.61
*   * Jim Lightfoot 6.33
*   * Bryan Elliott 6.11
*   * Les McGillivray 5.33
*   * Rick France 4.47
*   * Peter Brough 3.35

Ipswich (resigned mid season)

*   * Peter Moore 8.73
*   * Split Waterman 6.63
*   * Colin Gooddy 6.06
*   * Bob Dugard 6.00
*   * Les McGillivray 5.85
*   * Leif Larsson 5.17
*   * Bengt Brannefors 4.44
*   * Sandy McGillivray 2.24
* Trevor Blokdyk 3.33
*   * John Mills 1.33
*   * Jack Unstead n/a

Norwich

*   * Olle Nygren 9.80
*   * Ove Fundin 9.30
*   * Terry Betts 6.78
*   * Jimmy Gooch 6.49
*   * Reg Trott 6.07
*   * John Debbage 5.56
*   * Billy Bales 5.48
*   * Trevor Hedge 4.67
*   * Eric Williams 4.39
*   * Derek Strutt 2.74
*   * Ken Last 2.67

Oxford

*   * Ronnie Genz 6.91
*   * Jack Geran 6.88
*   * Alf Hagon 5.84
*   * Reg Duval 5.56
*   * Colin Gooddy 5.20
*   * Gordon McGregor 5.20
*   * Per Tage Svensson 4.93
*   * Jack Biggs 4.42
*   * John Bishop 2.73

Southampton

*   * Björn Knutson 9.89
*   * Barry Briggs 9.64
*   * Cyril Roger 7.49
*   * Alby Golden 7.33
*   * Peter Vandenberg 7.10
*   * Reg Luckhurst 6.54
*   * Dick Bradley 6.37

Swindon

*   * Peter Moore 9.71
*   * Mike Broadbank 8.27
*   * Brian Meredith 8.00
*   * Neil Street 6.94
*   * Ian Williams 6.21
*   * Arne Carlsson 6.00
*   * Brian Brett 5.62
*   * Tadeusz Teodorowicz 5.30
*   * Martin Ashby 4.45
*   * Buster Brown 2.67

Wimbledon

*   * Ronnie Moore 10.14
*   * Ron How 9.30
*   * Bob Andrews 8.82
*   * Gerald Jackson 7.03
*   * Ernie Baker 6.50
*   * Cyril Brine 6.00
*   * Roy Trigg 5.14
*   * Leo McAuliffe 4.82
*   * Jim Tebby 3.35

## See also[edit]

* List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions
* Knockout Cup (speedway)

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
2. ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
3. ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129\. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
4. ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
5. ^ "Rider killed in Speedway crash". Birmingham Daily Post. 14 April 1962. Retrieved 1 January 2024 - via British Newspaper Archive.
6. ^ "Close-Down at Ipswich". Daily Mirror. 27 July 1962. Retrieved 1 January 2024 - via British Newspaper Archive.
7. ^ "1962 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
8. ^ a b "1962 National Trophy". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 12 August 2021.

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