The 1979 National League was contested as the second division/tier of Speedway in the United Kingdom.[1][2]
League | National League |
---|---|
No. of competitors | 19 |
Champions | Mildenhall Fen Tigers |
Knockout Cup | Rye House Rockets |
Individual | Ian Gledhill |
Pairs | Milton Keynes Knights |
Fours | Ellesmere Port Gunners |
Highest average | Tom Owen |
Division/s above | 1979 British League |
Summary
editThe league was reduced from 20 teams to 19 from the previous season. White City Rebels closure saw their riders move to Eastbourne Eagles who moved up to the British League. Barrow Furness Flyers dropped out and Nottingham Outlaws joined the league. Teesside Tigers changed their name to Middlesbrough Tigers. Scunthorpe Saints changed their name to Scunthorpe Stags and left the Quibell Park Stadium for Ashby Ville Stadium.[3][4]
Tom Owen of Newcastle topped the averages for the third consecutive year and Ian Gledhill, riding for Stoke won the Riders' Championship but both Newcastle and Stoke finished well behind Mildenhall Fen Tigers and Rye House Rockets in the league table.[5] In a season that would go down to the last match, Mildenhall won their first title in their history. The consistency of four riders, Ray Bales, Mick Hines, Melvyn Taylor and Robert Henry was the crucial factor to their success.[5]
There was a controversial end to the season when Rye House visited Mildenhall, needing a draw to win the title. Needing a 5-1 in the last heat to tie the match, Rocket Karl Fiala's exclusion prompted team-mate Bob Garrad to withdraw from the re-run in protest. Mildenhall went on to win at bottom club Scunthorpe Saints in the last match of the season to win the title by one point.[1][6][7]
Final table
editPos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Mildenhall Fen Tigers | 36 | 30 | 0 | 6 | 60 |
2 | Rye House Rockets | 36 | 29 | 1 | 6 | 59 |
3 | Oxford Cheetahs | 36 | 24 | 1 | 11 | 49 |
4 | Berwick Bandits | 36 | 21 | 3 | 12 | 45 |
5 | Milton Keynes Knights | 36 | 21 | 0 | 15 | 42 |
6 | Newcastle Diamonds | 36 | 20 | 0 | 16 | 40 |
7 | Glasgow Tigers | 36 | 19 | 0 | 17 | 38 |
8 | Peterborough Panthers | 36 | 18 | 2 | 16 | 38 |
9 | Ellesmere Port Gunners | 36 | 18 | 1 | 17 | 37 |
10 | Canterbury Crusaders | 36 | 17 | 2 | 17 | 36 |
11 | Middlesbrough Tigers | 36 | 17 | 1 | 18 | 35 |
12 | Crayford Kestrels | 36 | 16 | 0 | 20 | 32 |
13 | Stoke Potters | 36 | 15 | 2 | 19 | 32 |
14 | Nottingham Outlaws | 36 | 14 | 1 | 21 | 29 |
15 | Workington Comets | 36 | 14 | 1 | 21 | 29 |
16 | Boston Barracudas | 36 | 13 | 2 | 21 | 28 |
17 | Edinburgh Monarchs | 36 | 13 | 1 | 22 | 27 |
18 | Weymouth Wildcats | 36 | 9 | 1 | 26 | 19 |
19 | Scunthorpe Stags | 36 | 4 | 1 | 31 | 9 |
National League Knockout Cup
editThe 1979 National League Knockout Cup was the 12th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Rye House Rockets were the winners of the competition.[8]
First round
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
29/04 | Rye House | 56-22 | Weymouth |
22/05 | Weymouth | 34-44 | Rye House |
20/04 | Edinburgh | 46-32 | Boston |
10/06 | Boston | 44-34 | Edinburgh |
Second round
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
03/06 | Rye House | 54-24 | Glasgow |
08/06 | Glasgow | 47-31 | Rye House |
15/06 | Workington | 46-30 | Middlesbrough |
14/06 | Middlesbrough | 45-32 | Workington |
10/06 | Mildenhall | 53-25 | Ellesmere Port |
08/06 | Ellesmere Port | 41-37 | Mildenhall |
19/06 | Crayford | 44-34 | Edinburgh |
06/07 | Edinburgh | 39-39 | Crayford |
09/06 | Berwick | 60-18 | Scunthorpe |
04/06 | Scunthorpe | 38-40 | Berwick |
14/06 | Oxford | 45-33 | Peterborough |
08/06 | Peterborough | 34-44 | Oxford |
18/06 | Newcastle | 57-21 | Canterbury |
26/05 | Canterbury | 39-39 | Newcastle |
12/06 | Milton Keynes | 50-28 | Stoke |
09/06 | Stoke | 42-36 | Milton Keynes |
Quarter-finals
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
15/07 | Rye House | 59-19 | Workington |
29/06 | Workington | 49-29 | Rye House |
25/07 | Mildenhall | 56-22 | Crayford |
10/07 | Crayford | 39-39 | Mildenhall |
? | Berwick | 51-27 | Oxford |
05/07 | Oxford | 44-34 | Berwick |
09/07 | Newcastle | 53-25 | Milton Keynes |
10/07 | Milton Keynes | 35-42 | Newcastle |
Semi-finals
Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
---|---|---|---|
27/08 | Rye House | 44-34 | Mildenhall |
26/08 | Mildenhall | 38-40 | Rye House |
22/09 | Berwick | 47-31 | Newcastle |
19/08 | Newcastle | 46-32 | Berwick |
Final
editFirst leg
Rye House Rockets Bob Garrad 10 Karl Fiala 10 Kelvin Mullarkey 10 Ashley Pullen 9 Ted Hubbar 8 Peter Tarrant 6 Simon Aindow 1 | 54 – 24 | Berwick Bandits Wayne Brown 8 Nigel Close 6 Graham Jones 3 Mike Fullerton 3 Roger Wright 2 Phil Kynman 2 Rob Grant 0 |
---|---|---|
[9] |
Second leg
Berwick Bandits Roger Wright 10 Wayne Brown 10 Nigel Close 8 Graham Jones 4 Mike Caroline 4 Rob Grant 4 Phil Kynman 0 | 40 – 38 | Rye House Rockets Karl Fiala 11 Bob Garrad 7 Kelvin Mullarkey 7 Ashley Pullen 5 Ted Hubbard 5 Peter Tarrant 3 Simon Aindow 0 |
---|---|---|
[9] |
Rye House were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 92–64.
Riders' Championship
editIan Gledhill won the Riders' Championship, sponsored by Gauloises and held at Wimbledon Stadium on 29 September 1979.[10]
Pos. | Rider | Pts | Total |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Ian Gledhill | 3 3 3 3 2 | 14 |
2 | Steve Wilcock | 2 2 3 3 2 | 12 |
3 | Andy Grahame | 1 3 2 3 2 | 11+3 |
4 | Nigel Boocock | 2 2 3 1 3 | 11+2 |
5 | Alan Emerson | 1 1 1 3 3 | 9 |
6 | Karl Fiala | 3 1 2 2 1 | 9 |
7 | Rob Hollingworth | 0 3 3 1 1 | 8 |
8 | John Jackson | 3 2 1 2 0 | 8 |
9 | Les Rumsey | 1 2 2 0 3 | 8 |
10 | Ray Bales | 3 0 0 2 3 | 8 |
11 | Nigel Flatman | 2 1 2 1 2 | 8 |
12 | Dave Perks | 2 3 1 ret 1 | 7 |
13 | Steve Lawson | 0 0 1 2 0 | 3 |
14 | Steve Naylor | 0 1 0 1 1 | 3 |
15 | Brian Woodward | 1 f 0 0 0 | 1 |
16 | Graham Jones | 0 0 0 0 0 | 0 |
17 | Dave Brewer (res) | 0 | 0 |
- f=fell, r-retired, ex=excluded, ef=engine failure
Pairs
editThe National League Pairs was held at The Shay on 21 July and was won by Milton Keynes Knights.[11][12]
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Semi finals
- Milton Keynes bt Newcastle
- Ellesmere Port bt Nottingham
Final
- Milton Keynes bt Ellesmere Port
Fours
editEllesmere Port Gunners won the fours championship final, held at the East of England Arena on 29 July.[13][14]
Semi finals
- SF1 = Peterborough 18, Ellesmere Port 14, Rye House 12, Oxford 4
- SF2 = Mildenhall 18, Berwick 11, Newcastle 10, Boston 9
Final
Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Ellesmere Port Gunners | 17 | Jackson 6, Carr L 6, Finch 5, Ellams 0, Monaghan 0 |
2 | Mildenhall Fen Tigers | 15 | Hines 5, Bales 4, Taylor 3, Henry 3 |
3 | Peterborough Panthers | 9 | Gooderham 4, Flatman 2, Hines 1, Spink 1, Clark B 1 |
4 | Berwick Bandits | 7 | Brown 5, Close 2, Kynman 0, Jones 0, Matthews 0 |
Final leading averages
editThe top ten averages of the National League.[15]
Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Tom Owen | Newcastle Diamonds | 11.18 | |
2 | George Hunter | Oxford Cheetahs | 10.86 | |
3 | Dave Perks | Nottingham Outlaws | 10.13 | |
4 | Les Rumsey | Oxford Cheetahs | 9.78 | |
5 | Mike Sampson | Nottingham Outlaws | 9.62 | |
6 | Andy Grahame | Milton Keynes Knights | 9.57 | |
7 | Steve Finch | Ellesmere Port Gunners | 9.52 | |
8 | Ray Bales | Mildenhall Fen Tigers | 9.51 | |
9 | Mick Hines | Mildenhall Fen Tigers | 9.31 | |
10 | John Jackson | Ellesmere Port Gunners | 9.27 |
Riders & final averages
editBerwick
- Steve McDermott 9.13
- Wayne Brown 9.00
- Mike Fullerton 7.71
- Graham Jones 7.58
- Nigel Close 7.24
- Phil Kynman 6.20
- Roger Wright 6.16
- Mike Caroline 4.36
- Rob Grant Sr. 4.00
Boston
- David Gagen 9.27
- Rob Hollingworth 8.91
- Dave Allen 8.23
- Tony Featherstone 6.12
- Dennis Mallett 4.85
- Andy Fisher 4.48
- Dave Mortiboys 3.80
- Andy Hibbs 3.67
- Colin Ackroyd 2.60
Canterbury
- Mike Ferreira 8.35
- Nigel Boocock 8.32
- Barney Kennett 7.17
- Dave Piddock 7.00
- Tim Hunt 6.93
- Roger Abel 5.08
- Mick Wilde 4.13
- Graham Clifton 4.11
- Peter Christopher 4.00
- Neil Farnish 3.92
- Tony Reynolds 2.67
Crayford
- Steve Naylor 9.03
- Alan Sage 8.14
- Laurie Etheridge 8.00
- Paul Woods 7.63
- Les Rumsey 4.76
- Richard Davey 4.26
- Paul Gilbert 3.53
- Paul Hollingsbee 3.37
- John Hooper 3.31
- Jack Bibby 0.94
Edinburgh
- Dave Trownson 7.78
- Steve Lomas 7.18
- Bert Harkins 6.72
- Brian Collins 6.56
- Alan Bridgett 5.51
- Ivan Blacka 5.30
- Benny Rourke 5.25
- Rob Mouncer 5.21
- Roger Lambert 3.03
Ellesmere Port
- Steve Finch 9.52
- John Jackson 9.27
- Louis Carr 6.95
- John Williams 5.98
- Pete Ellams 5.23
- Eric Monaghan 4.69
- Robert Craven 4.00
- Paul Tyrer 3.83
- Paul Embley 3.80
- Peter Carr 2.44
Glasgow
- Merv Janke 9.06
- Steve Lawson 9.06
- Derek Richardson 8.05
- Andy Reid 6.25
- Colin Caffrey 6.12
- Charlie McKinna 5.89
- Jim Beaton 5.76
- Keith Bloxsome 5.23
Middlesbrough
- Steve Wilcock 8.97
- Malcolm Corradine 7.88
- Geoff Pusey 6.96
- Mark Courtney 6.92
- Martin Dixon 5.02
- Martyn Cusworth 4.76
- Paul Stead 3.77
- Mike Sanderson 1.90
Mildenhall
- Ray Bales 9.51
- Mick Hines 9.31
- Melvyn Taylor 9.06
- Robert Henry 8.87
- Mike Spink 6.58
- Mick Bates 6.52
- Richard Knight 5.66
- Mark Baldwin 4.96
Milton Keynes
- Andy Grahame 9.57
- Bob Humphreys 9.29
- Derek Harrison 8.04
- Malcolm Holloway 5.96
- David Ashby 5.43
- Harry Maclean 4.41
- Greg McNeill 3.93
- Chris Robins 3.59
Newcastle
- Tom Owen 11.18
- Robbie Blackadder 7.93
- Rod Hunter 7.86
- Graeme Stapleton 6.57
- David Bargh 5.91
- Neil Coddington 5.75
- Nigel Crabtree 4.72
- Paul Brown 1.90
- Mick Easton 1.60
Nottingham
- Dave Perks 10.13
- Mike Sampson 9.62
- Kevin Hawkins 8.03
- Glenn MacDonald 5.28
- Les Sawyer 5.07
- Nigel Wasley 4.83
- Craig Featherby 4.82
- John Homer 3.19
- Mark Williams 1.07
Oxford
- George Hunter 10.86
- Les Rumsey 9.78
- Pip Lamb 9.27
- John Hack 6.81
- Carl Askew 6.62
- John Barker 6.47
- Mick Handley 5.32
- Colin Ackroyd 3.15
- Rob Dole 2.60
Peterborough
- Nigel Flatman 8.52
- Richard Greer 7.50
- Dave Gooderham 7.33
- Andy Hines 7.26
- Ian Clark 6.71
- Nigel Couzens 6.06
- Brian Clark 5.77
- Peter Spink 5.70
- Steve Popely 4.41
- Paul Tapp 4.00
- Ken Matthews 3.69
Rye House
- Karl Fiala 9.20
- Bobby Garrad 9.11
- Kelvin Mullarkey 8.71
- Kevin Smith 8.19
- Ted Hubbard 8.16
- Ashley Pullen 7.34
- Hugh Saunders 6.57
- Peter Tarrant 5.23
Scunthorpe
- Phil White 7.59
- Arthur Browning 7.28
- Rob Maxfield 6.77
- Arthur Price 4.73
- Kevin Teager 4.18
- Trevor Whiting 3.78
- Stuart Cope 3.25
- Ian Jeffcoate 3.19
- Phil Cain 2.78
- Rob Woffinden 2.50
Stoke
- Ian Gledhill 8.21
- Billy Burton 7.06
- Tony Lomas 6.76
- Chris Turner 6.42
- Ian Robertson 6.19
- Stuart Mountford 6.17
- Nicky Allott 5.57
- Frank Smith 5.53
- Alan MacLean 3.33
- Ian Jeffcoate 2.94
- Paul Evitts 2.31
Weymouth
- Brian Woodward 8.01
- Doug Underwood 7.19
- Bob Coles 7.09
- Malcolm Shakespeare 6.23
- Terry Tulloch 4.74
- Garry May 4.20
- Kevin Bowen 3.70
- Nigel Davis 3.24
- Mark DeKok 2.15
Workington
- Alan Emerson 8.99
- Brian Havelock 7.58
- Arnold Haley 6.87
- Ian Hindle 6.7
- Mark Dickinson 6.54
- Neil Collins 6.13
- Andy Margarson
- Mick Blaynee 3.88
- Des Wilson 3.60
- Tim Nichol 1.91
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ^ Bott, Richard (1980). The Peter Collins Speedway Book No.4. Stanley Paul & Co Ltd. p. 95. ISBN 0-09-141751-1.
- ^ "Brewery boost for Stadium". Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph. 16 February 1978. Retrieved 3 May 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Speedway Ashby Ville". Defunct Speedway. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ a b "Teams". wwosbackup. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
- ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - BRITISH LEAGUE ERA (1965-1990)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- ^ Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 101. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
- ^ "1979 National League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
- ^ a b "1979 KO cup final" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
- ^ "Outlaw's Crash". Derby Daily Telegraph. 1 October 1979. Retrieved 20 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "1979 season results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
- ^ "Diamonds out in semi finals". Sunday Sun (Newcastle). 22 July 1979. Retrieved 22 May 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Speedway". Daily Mirror. 30 July 1979. Retrieved 10 May 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "1979 full season results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ Bott, Richard (1980). The Peter Collins Speedway Book No.4. Stanley Paul & Co Ltd. p. 96. ISBN 0-09-141751-1.