1951 Speedway National League Division Two

The 1951 National League Division Two was the sixth post-war season of the second tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.

1951 Speedway National League Division Two
LeagueNational League Division Two
No. of competitors16
ChampionsNorwich Stars
National Trophy
(Div 2 final)		Norwich Stars
Midland CupLeicester Hunters
Highest averageJack Young
Division/s aboveNational League (Div 1)
Division/s belowNational League (Div 3)

Summary

The League was extended again with 18 teams starting the season. New entrants were Motherwell Eagles and there were again three teams promoted from Division Three - the champions Oxford Cheetahs,[1] third place finishers Leicester Hunters and Liverpool Chads (despite finishing 8th). Plymouth Devils moved back down in the opposite direction.[2]

Norwich Stars retained their title. However after the season had finished a fourth rider in five years was killed at their Firs Stadium. 21-year-old Bob Howes died after hitting the fence during a training practice race on 10 November 1951.[3][4]

Southampton Saints and Sheffield Tigers resigned in mid-season and their records were expunged.

Final table
Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Norwich Stars 30 24 0 6 48
2 Leicester Hunters 30 19 0 11 38
3 Edinburgh Monarchs 30 18 0 12 36
4 Coventry Bees 30 16 3 11 35
5 Walthamstow Wolves 30 17 0 13 34
6 Halifax Dukes 30 17 0 13 34
7 Motherwell Eagles 30 16 1 13 33
8 Ashfield Giants 30 16 0 14 32
9 Hanley Potters 30 15 0 15 30
10 Glasgow White City Tigers 30 14 1 15 29
11 Yarmouth Bloaters 30 13 1 16 27
12 Oxford Cheetahs 30 12 2 16 26
13 Liverpool Chads 30 12 1 17 25
14 Fleetwood Flyers 30 9 2 19 20
15 Cradley Heath Heathens 30 9 0 21 18
16 Newcastle Diamonds 30 7 1 22 15

Top Five Riders (League only)
Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Jack Young Edinburgh 11.72
2 Bob Leverenz Norwich 10.84
3 Derick Close Newcastle/Motherwell 10.71
4 Tommy Miller Glasgow Tigers 10.70
5 Arthur Forrest Halifax 10.30

National Trophy Stage Two

The 1951 National Trophy was the 14th edition of the Knockout Cup. The Trophy consisted of three stages; stage one was for the third division clubs, stage two was for the second division clubs and stage three was for the top tier clubs. The winner of stage one would qualify for stage two and the winner of stage two would qualify for the third and final stage. Norwich won stage two and therefore qualified for stage three.[5]

Second Division qualifying first round

Date Team one Score Team two
14/05Exeter60-47Oxford
10/05Oxford80-28Exeter
09/05Fleetwood64-44Newcastle
04/05Southampton60-48Walthamstow
30/04Newcastle71-36Fleetwood
30/04Walthamstow77-31Southampton

Second Division Qualifying Second round

Date Team one Score Team two
28/05Cradley Heath58-49Coventry
26/05Coventry48-60Cradley Heath
24/05Oxford61-47Yarmouth
22/05Yarmouth63-44Oxford
21/05Newcastle47-70Norwich
19/05Norwich79-29Newcastle
14/05Walthamstow81-26Stoke Hanley
12/05Edinburgh77-29Leicester
12/05Stoke Hanley59-49Walthamstow
11/05Leicester46-62Edinburgh
11/05Motherwell39-69Halifax
09/05Halifax79-29Motherwell
08/05Glasgow Ashfield70-38Liverpool
07/05Liverpool62-46Glasgow Ashfield
-Glasgoww/oSheffield

Second Division Qualifying quarterfinals

Date Team one Score Team two
05/06Glasgow Ashfield71-37Cradley Heath
30/05Glasgow White City64-44Norwich
26/05Edinburgh68-40Halifax
23/05Halifax68-39Edinburgh
26/05Norwich14-4Glasgow White City
11/06Walthamstow73-35Yarmouth
09/06Norwich81-27Glasgow White City
29/05Yarmouth57-51Walthamstow

Second Division Qualifying semifinals

Date Team one Score Team two
07/07Norwich67.5-40.5Cradley Heath
11/06Cradley Heath83-25Glasgow Ashfield
04/07Halifax71-37Walthamstow
02/07Walthamstow74-34Halifax

Second Division Qualifying final

First leg

Norwich Stars
Phil Clarke 17
Bob Leverenz 16
Paddy Mills 11
Fred Pawson 10
Jack Freeman 10
Alec Hunter 9
Fred Rogers 6
Bill Codling 4		83 – 25Walthamstow Wolves
Benny King 7
Pete Lansdale 6
Harry Edwards 5
Jimmy Grant 3
Alby Smith 2
Sid Clarke 1
Jim Boyd 1
Reg Reeves 0
[6][7]

Second leg

Walthamstow Wolves
Jim Boyd 12
Benny King 12
Archie Windmill 7
Reg Reeves 6
Harry Edwards 5
Pete Lansdale 4
Sid Clarke 2
Jimmy Grant 2		50 – 58Norwich Stars
Bob Leverenz 18
Fred Rogers 10
Phil Clarke 9
Jack Freeman 7
Fred Pawson 6
Alec Hunter 6
Paddy Mills 2
Bill Codling 0
[8][7]

Midland Cup

Leicester won the inaugural Midland Cup, which consisted of eight teams. There was one team from division 1, five teams from division 2 and two teams from division 3.

First round

Team one Team two Score
HanleyWolverhampton67–29, 60–30

Second round

Team one Team two Score
LeicesterLong Eaton75–21, 52–44
OxfordCoventry58–38, 37–59
CradleyHanley57–39, 45–50

Semi final round

Team one Team two Score
CoventryLeicester49–45, 41–55
BirminghamCradley65–30, 62–34

Final

First leg

Birmingham
Graham Warren 14
Alan Hunt 11
Ron Mountford 10
Eric Boothroyd 7
Lionel Watling 3
Cyril Page 2
Roy Browning 1
Jim Tolley 0		48–48Leicester
Len Williams 14
Les Beaumont 10
Fred Perkins 7
Johnny Carpenter 7
Lionel Benson 4
Laurie Holland 4
Harwood Pike 2
Vic Pitcher 0

Second leg

Leicester
Len Williams 13
Lionel Benson 10
Fred Perkins 9
Johnny Carpenter 7
Les Beaumont 3
Harwood Pike 2
Laurie Holland 4
Jock Grierson 2		50–46Birmingham
Graham Warren 11
Alan Hunt 10
Eric Boothroyd 6
Ron Mountford 10
Cyril Page 4
Lionel Watling 3
Jim Tolley 2
Roy Browning 0
[9]

Leicester won on aggregate 98–94


Riders & final averages

Ashfield

Coventry

  • Les Hewitt 8.48
  • Bob Fletcher 8.21
  • Johnny Reason 8.04
  • Stan Williams 6.99
  • Charlie New 6.24
  • John Yates 5.91
  • Derrick Tailby 5.63
  • Jack Wright 5.85
  • Cyril Cooper 5.58
  • Peter Brough 5.26
  • Wilf Plant 4.73

Cradley Heath

  • Brian Shepherd 9.00
  • Laurie Schofield 6.76
  • Gil Craven 8.56
  • Phil Malpass 7.86
  • Guy Allott 6.55
  • Les Tolley 6.51
  • Harry Bastable 6.14
  • Dick Tolley 5.15
  • Dennis Hitchings 4.43
  • Wilf Willstead 4.00
  • Bill Clifton 3.52
  • Don Prettejohn 1.74

Edinburgh

  • Jack Young 11.72
  • Don Cuppleditch 8.45
  • Dick Campbell 8.15
  • Bob Mark 7.36
  • Harold Fairhurst 7.11
  • Johnny Green 5.74
  • Eddie Lack 5.38
  • Jim Turner 3.45
  • Harold Booth 3.00
  • Jackie Campbell 2.53
  • Jimmy Cox 2.45

Fleetwood

  • Norman Hargreaves 8.00
  • Wilf Jay 7.93
  • Don Potter 7.13
  • Alf Parker 6.25
  • Ray Harker 3.88
  • Angus McGuire 3.40
  • Jeff Crawford 3.04
  • Ray Moore 2.51
  • Russ Pursehouse 2.09

Glasgow

Halifax

  • Arthur Forrest 10.30
  • Vic Emms 9.03
  • Jack Hughes 7.70
  • Al Allison 6.08
  • Bill Crosland 5.71
  • Ray Johnson 5.18
  • Dyson Harper 4.86
  • Jack Dawson 4.59
  • George Stringer 2.71

Hanley

  • Ken Adams 8.71
  • Lindsay Mitchell 7.10
  • Gil Blake 6.65
  • Bill Harris 6.65
  • Johnny Fitzparick 6.36
  • Brian Pritchett 6.34
  • Les Jenkins 6.32
  • Ray Harris 5.80
  • Bill Bridgett 1.00

Leicester

  • Len Williams 9.42
  • Lionel Benson 8.43
  • Les Beaumont 8.24
  • Harwood Pike 7.93
  • Fred Perkins 6.86
  • Joe Bowkis 6.55
  • Jock Grierson 6.17
  • Cyril Page 5.30
  • Ron Wilson 4.92
  • Johnny Carpenter 4.65
  • Vic Pitcher 3.45
  • Laurie Holland 3.30

Liverpool

Motherwell

Newcastle

  • Derick Close 10.25
  • Son Mitchell 6.80
  • Wal Morton 6.10
  • Herby King 6.00
  • Don Wilkinson 5.49
  • Jack Chignell 5.46
  • Don Lawson 4.56
  • Peter Orpwood 4.45
  • Norman Johnson 4.20
  • Johnny Green 4.19
  • Ernie Brecknell (Ernest Blight) 4.00
  • Roy Dook 2.93
  • Mike Tams 2.91

Norwich

Oxford

  • Pat Clark 9.10
  • Bill Kemp 7.23
  • Roger Wise 7.15
  • Bill Osborne 7.06
  • Ernie Rawlins 7.03
  • Harry Saunders 6.62
  • Frank Boyle 5.53
  • Cyril Quick 5.52
  • Eric Irons 5.49
  • Bob McFarlane 5.35
  • Herby King 3.64

Sheffield (withdrew mid-season)

  • Guy Allott 8.60
  • Tommy Allott 8.00
  • Len Williams 7.24
  • Peter Orpwood 6.10
  • Bill Dalton 5.89
  • Charlie New 5.40
  • Johnny Green 4.40
  • Jack Winstanley 4.32
  • Les Howe 2.60

Southampton (withdrew mid-season)

Walthamstow

Yarmouth

  • Fred Brand 9.57
  • Bob Baker 9.28
  • Reg Morgan 6.53
  • Cyril Quick 5.63
  • Tip Mills 4.75
  • Vic Ridgeon 4.45
  • Sid Hipperson 4.23
  • Stan Page 3.80
  • Johnny White 3.70
  • George Flower 2.59
  • Alby Thomas 1.73

See also

References
  1. Bamford/Shailes, Robert/Glynn (2007). The History of Oxford Speedway. Tempus Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7524-4161-0.
  2. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  3. "Speedway death". Hartlepool Northern Daily Mail. 10 November 1951. Retrieved 11 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. "Norwich The Firs Stadium". National Speedway Museum. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  5. "1951 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  6. "Walthamstow Are Swamped". Weekly Dispatch (London). 29 July 1951. Retrieved 30 October 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. "Norwich 1951 results" (PDF). Speedway researcher. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  8. "Sport Summary". Daily News (London). 31 July 1951. Retrieved 30 October 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. "Hunters' Cup Win in Last heat". Leicester Daily Mercury. 20 October 1951. Retrieved 5 October 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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