1963 Provincial Speedway League

British motorcycle speedway season

1963 Provincial Speedway LeagueLeague| Provincial League

|

No. of competitors| 13
Champions| Wolverhampton Wolves
Knockout Cup| Cradley Heathens
Individual| Ivan Mauger
Highest average| George Hunter
Division/s above| 1963 National League

* <- 1962
* 1964 ->

The 1963 Provincial Speedway League was the fourth season of the Provincial League in the United Kingdom.[1] Thirteen speedway teams took part.

## Season summary[edit]

Thirteen teams competed again as in 1962, despite the loss of four teams. At the start of the year Neath had folded, and their place was taken by the new track at St Austell. After finishing at the bottom of the table the previous year, Bradford and Leicester were no longer running due to financial difficulties and Plymouth had also withdrawn. Long Eaton returned to competitive racing after 12 years,[2] a new track opened at Hackney, and Rayleigh returned under new ownership after a missing the 1962 season. New Cross Rangers would have made it 14 teams after returning but closed down in August, never to re-open.[3][4]

Wolverhampton won the league but there was controversy at the end of the year when Wolverhampton refused to move up to the National League, which was dwindling in numbers. This would lead to the Provincial League running outside of the jurisdiction of the Speedway Control Board for the 1964 season.[5][6]

## Final table[edit]

Pos | Team | M | W | D | L | Pts

|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | Wolverhampton Wolves | 24  | 15  | 1  | 8  | 31
2  | Stoke Potters | 24  | 14  | 1  | 9  | 29
3  | Poole Pirates | 24  | 14  | 0  | 10  | 28
4  | Sheffield Tigers | 24  | 14  | 0  | 10  | 28
5  | St Austell Gulls | 24  | 13  | 2  | 9  | 28
6  | Newcastle Diamonds | 24  | 13  | 1  | 10  | 27
7  | Exeter Falcons | 24  | 12  | 1  | 11  | 25
8  | Edinburgh Monarchs | 24  | 12  | 1  | 11  | 25
9  | Cradley Heath Heathens | 24  | 11  | 1  | 12  | 23
10  | Hackney Hawks | 24  | 10  | 1  | 13  | 21
11  | Middlesbrough Bears | 24  | 9  | 2  | 13  | 20
12  | Long Eaton Archers | 24  | 7  | 2  | 15  | 16
13  | Rayleigh Rockets | 24  | 5  | 1  | 18  | 11

M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points

* New Cross Rangers resigned in mid-season - record expunged.

## Top five riders (League only)[edit]

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

|
|
|
|

1  | George Hunter |  | Edinburgh  | 11.09
2  | Ivan Mauger |  | Newcastle  | 10.42
3  | Ivor Brown |  | Cradley  | 10.30
4  | Jimmy Squibb |  | New Cross/Exeter  | 10.30
5  | Clive Featherby |  | Sheffield  | 10.05

## Provincial League Knockout Cup[edit]

The 1963 Provincial League Knockout Cup was the fourth edition of the Knockout Cup for the Provincial League teams. Cradley Heathens were the winners.[7]

First round

Date  | Team one  | Score  | Team two

|
|
|

30/04 | New Cross | 58–37 | St Austell
03/06 | Rayleigh | 35–61 | Stoke
18/06 | Long Eaton | 43–52 | Newcastle
20/06 | Middlesbrough | 58–38 | Wolverhampton
20/06 | Sheffield | 57–39 | Exeter
03/07 | Poole | 50–46 | Edinburgh

Second round

Date  | Team one  | Score  | Team two

|
|
|

08/07 | Newcastle | 65–31 | Middlesbrough
10/07 | Hackney | 54–42 | New Cross
10/07 | Poole | 44–52 | Sheffield
05/08 | Cradley Heath | 55–41 | Stoke

Semi-finals

Date  | Team one  | Score  | Team two

|
|
|

12/08 | Newcastle | 60–36 | Hackney
31/08 | Cradley Heath | 61–35 | Sheffield

### Final[edit]

First leg

30 September 1963

Newcastle
Peter Kelly 13
Mike Watkin 12
Jack Winstanley 6
Ray Day 6
Russ Dent 6
Dennis Jenkins 6
Milton Cazely 1| 50 - 45| Cradley Heath
Ivor Brown 14
Harry Bastable 12
John Edwards 9
Derek Timms 5
Alan Totney 4
Ivor Davies 1
John Hart 0

|
|

| [8] |

Brough Park Stadium

Second leg

12 October 1963

Cradley Heath
Ivor Brown 15
John Hart 15
John Edwards 13
Derek Timms 8
Harry Bastable 6
Alan Totney 6
Joe Westwood 1| 64 - 32| Newcastle
Peter Kelly 10
Bob Duckworth 8
Mike Watkin 6
Jack Winstanley 3
Ray Day 3
Maury Robinson 2
Dennis Jenkins 0

|
|

| [9] |

Dudley Wood Stadium

## Riders' Championship[edit]

Ivan Mauger won the Riders' Championship. The final was held at Hyde Road on 28 September.[10]

Pos. | Rider | Pts | Total

|
|
|

1 |  Ivan Mauger | 3,2,3,3 | 11+3
2 |  Jack Kitchen | 3,2,3,3 | 11+2
3 |  Ross Gilbertson | 1,3,3,2 | 9+3+1
4 |  George Hunter | 1,2,3,3 | 9+4+0
5 |  Ray Cresp | 3,1,2,3 | 9+2
6 |  Clive Featherby | 3,2,2,2 | 9+1
7 |  Maury Mattingley | 2,3,2,2 | 9+0
8 |  Doug Templeton | 3,2,3,0 | 8
9 |  Ivor Brown | 2,1,2,3 | 8
10 |  Geoff Mudge | 1,3,2,1 | 7
11 |  Eric Boocock | 2,1,1,3 | 7
12 |  Jimmy Squibb | 2,3,0,1 | 6
13 |  Rick France | 2,3,0,0 | 5
14 |  Ron Bagley | 3,0,1,1 | 5
15 |  Charlie Monk | 0,0,3,2 | 5
16 |  Colin Pratt | 2,2,0,0 | 4
17 |  Cliff Cox | 1,0,2,1 | 3
18 |  Les McGillivray | 1,0,0,2 | 3
19 |  George Major | 0,1,0,2 | 3
20 |  Trevor Redmond | 0,1,1, | 3
21 |  John Hart | 0,2,0,0 | 2
22 |  Ken Adams | 0,0,1,1 | 2
23 |  Maury McDermott | 1,0,1,0 | 2
24 |  Norman Hunter | 0,1,1,0 | 2

## Riders & final averages[edit]

Cradley Heath

*   * Ivor Brown 10.30
*   * John Hart 7.84
*   * Harry Bastable 6.04
*   * John Edwards 5.98
*   * Alan Totney 5.55
*   * Ivor Davies 5.26
*   * Derek Timms 4.71
*   * John Belcher 3.70
*   * Joe Westwood 2.00

Edinburgh

*   * George Hunter 11.09
*   * Wayne Briggs 9.21
*   * Doug Templeton 9.19
*   * Willie Templeton 8.09
*   * Ken Cameron 7.64
*   * Alf Wells 5.13
*   * Jimmy Tannock 4.36
*   * Bill Landels 3.58
*   * Dudley McKean 3.36
*   * Bill McMillan 2.85

Exeter

*   * Len Silver 9.58
*   * Alan Cowland 8.40
*   * Cliff Cox 8.29
*   * Francis Cann 7.79
*   * Pete Lansdale 6.94
*   * Howdy Byford 5.88
*   * Dennis Day 5.29
*   * Pat Flanagan 4.73
*   * George Summers 4.00
*   * Gordon Bailey 3.29

Hackney

*   * Norman Hunter 10.04
*   * Trevor Hedge 6.67
*   * Jimmy Heard 6.53
*   * Colin McKee 6.47
*   * Tich Read (George Snailum) 5.70
*   * Malcolm Simmons 5.33
*   * John Poyser 4.52
*   * Pete Sampson 4.27
*   * Wal Morton 3.77
*   * Ronnie Rolfe 3.76

Long Eaton

*   * Charlie Monk 9.11
*   * Danny Dunton 7.80
*   * Bluey Scott 7.16
*   * Gil Goldfinch 5.58
*   * Jon Erskine 5.87
*   * Norman Storer 5.03
*   * Ken Vale 4.99
*   * Slant Payling 4.65
*   * Vic White 4.23
*   * Tony Eadon 3.75
*   * Geoff Penniket 3.64

Middlesbrough

*   * Eric Boothroyd 9.63
*   * Eric Boocock 8.50
*   * Dave Younghusband 7.92
*   * Johnny Fitzpatrick 6.08
*   * Clive Hitch 6.08
*   * John Mills 4.00
*   * Kevin Torpie 3.46
*   * Allan Butterfield 3.19

Newcastle

*   * Ivan Mauger 10.42
*   * Brian Craven 9.29
*   * Bob Duckworth 6.44
*   * Peter Kelly 6.00
*   * Mike Watkin 5.84
*   * Russ Dent 3.50
*   * Jack Winstanley 3.45
*   * Ivan Crozier 2.74

New Cross (withdrew mid-season)

*   * Jimmy Squibb 9.93
*   * Stan Stevens 6.72
*   * Bob Dugard 6.59
*   * John Dugard 5.16
*   * Geoff Penniket 5.11
*   * Reg Reeves 4.67
*   * Des Lukehurst 3.28
*   * Eddie Reeves 1.85
*   * Terry Stone 1.82

Poole

*   * Ross Gilbertson 9.92
*   * Geoff Mudge 8.98
*   * Tony Lewis 8.42
*   * Norman Strachan 7.19
*   * Pete Smith 5.35
*   * Tim Bungay 5.31
*   * Keith Whipp 3.89
*   * Pete Munday 3.79

Rayleigh

*   * Les McGillivray 8.47
*   * Maury McDermott 7.76
*   * Stan Clark 6.15
*   * Vic Ridgeon 5.97
*   * Derek Strutt 5.75
*   * Harry Edwards 5.74
*   * Roy Bowers 4.62
*   * Sandy McGillivray 3.20
*   * John Mills 2.73

St Austell

*   * Trevor Redmond 8.50
*   * Chris Julian 7.88
*   * George Major 6.93
*   * Ray Cresp 6.56
* Chris Blewett 5.81
*   * Glyn Chandler 5.44
*   * Ray Wickett 5.02
*   * Bob Warner 4.00

Sheffield

*   * Clive Featherby 10.05
*   * Jack Kitchen 9.91
*   * Tommy Roper 7.43
*   * Ron Bagley 7.10
*   * Dent Oliver 6.78
*   * Alan Jay 5.70
*   * Tony Robinson 5.64
*   * John Dews 5.61
*   * Vic Lonsdale (Jack Thorp) 5.57
*   * John Dews 5.61
*   * Ken Handscombe 2.67

Stoke

*   * Colin Pratt 9.67
*   * Pete Jarman 9.13
*   * Ken Adams 7.47
*   * Eric Hockaday 7.44
*   * Howard Cole (Kid Bodie) 5.57
*   * Ron Sharp 4.81
*   * Roy Bowers 4.47
*   * Ray Harris 4.14
*   * Sándor Lévai 2.92

Wolverhampton

*   * Tommy Sweetman 8.50
*   * Maury Mattingley 7.88
*   * Graham Warren 7.59
*   * Dave Hemus 6.93
*   * Rick France 6.56
*   * Ernie Baker 5.49
*   * Cyril Francis 5.44
*   * James Bond 5.02
*   * Les Jenkins 5.81

## See also[edit]

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

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Championship History". Poole Speedway. 2008. Archived from the original on 16 May 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2008.
2. ^ "Speedway back after 12 years". Nottingham Evening Post. 2 March 1963. Retrieved 16 November 2023 - via British Newspaper Archive.
3. ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
4. ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
5. ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129\. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
6. ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
7. ^ "1963 Provincial League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
8. ^ "Speedway". Daily Mirror. 1 October 1963. Retrieved 15 June 2024 - via British Newspaper Archive.
9. ^ "Cradley Heath coast home to Cup victory". Birmingham Weekly Mercury. 13 October 1963. Retrieved 15 June 2024 - via British Newspaper Archive.
10. ^ "Squibb & Cox not in hunt". Express and Echo. 30 September 1963. Retrieved 13 June 2023 - via British Newspaper Archive.

* v
* t
* e

Speedway Provincial League seasons

* 1936
* 1937
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964

Speedway Provincial League

* v
* t
* e

Speedway in the United Kingdom

Current leagues|

* SGB Premiership
* SGB Championship
* National Development League
* List of champions

Former leagues|

* Elite League
* Premier League
* National League (1932–1964)
* Provincial League (1960–1964)
* British League
* British League Division Two/National League
* Conference League
* National League Division Two
* National League Division Three
* English Dirt Track League/Northern League
* Southern League (1929–1931)
* Southern League (1952–1953)
* Provincial League (1936–1937)
* Southern Area League

Current team competitions|

* Knockout Cup
* League Pairs champions
* League Fours champions

Former team competitions|

* London Cup
* Midland Cup
* Craven and Young Shields
* Premiership Shield

Current individual competitions|

* British Speedway Championship
* League Riders' champions
* British U-21
* British U-19
* Scottish Open

Former individual competitions|

* London Riders'
* Midland Riders'
* Northern Riders'
* Southern Riders'
* Olympique
* Internationale

See also|

* Speedway
* British Speedway Promoters' Association
* Speedway Control Bureau

* v
* t
* e

United Kingdom Speedway Seasons

Tier One League
Top division|

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Tier Two League
Second division|

* 1934
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Tier Three League
Third division|

* 1947
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Champions|

* League champions
* Cup winners

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