1955 Speedway National League Division Two

1955 Speedway National League Division Two
LeagueNational League Division Two
No. of competitors9
ChampionsPoole Pirates
National Trophy
(Div 2 final)		Poole Pirates
Highest averageKen McKinlay
Division/s aboveNational League (Div 1)
Division/s belowSouthern League

The 1955 National League Division Two was the tenth post-war season of the second tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.

Summary

The only change in the list of teams that finished the previous season was the replacement of Motherwell Eagles with Weymouth Scorchers. Poole Pirates won the title.[1]

Weymouth Scorchers withdrew after 7 league fixtures,[2] Bristol Bulldogs withdrew after 14 after the Bulldogs promoter George Allen pulled the plug on the team citing poor attendances.[3]

Final table

Pos Team M W D L Pts
1 Poole Pirates 32 23 0 9 46
2 Coventry Bees 32 19 0 3 38
3 Rayleigh Rockets 32 15 2 15 32
4 Oxford Cheetahs 32 15 1 16 31
5 Southampton Saints 32 15 0 17 30
6 Ipswich Witches 32 13 3 16 29
7 Leicester Hunters 32 14 0 18 28
8 Swindon Robins 32 14 0 18 28
9 Exeter Falcons 32 13 0 29 26

Fixtures & results

A Fixtures

Home \ Away BRI COV EX IPS LEI OX PP RAY SOT SWI
Bristol n/a 55–41 59–37 n/a 49–47 n/a 50–46 57–39 n/a
Coventry 60–35 58–38 57–39 50–46 66–30 55–41 51–45 58–38 52–44
Exeter 51–45 57–39 63–33 64–32 59–37 47–49 53–43 66–30 47–49
Ipswich 65–31 61–35 70–26 53–43 62–34 58–38 62–34 65–31 64–32
Leicester 48–48 61–35 57–39 53–43 63–33 47–49 61–35 59–37 55–41
Oxford 50–46 61–35 52–44 55–41 55–41 52–44 63–33 56–40 47–49
Poole 67–28 67–29 60–36 55–41 63–33 74–22 55–41 66–30 71–25
Rayleigh 49–47 50–46 64–32 48–48 56–40 44–51 45–51 55–40 55–41
Southampton n/a 47–49 49–47 67–29 48–47 56–40 35–61 63–33 44–52
Swindon 57–39 46–50 47–49 62–33 61–35 71–25 47–49 60–36 47–49
Source: [4]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

B Fixtures

Home \ Away COV EX IPS LEI OX PP RAY SOT SWI
Coventry 50–46 56–40 49–47 55–41 41–54 49–47 65–51 74–22
Exeter 60–36 66–30 67–29 63–33 46–49 52–44 52–44 46–50
Ipswich 47–49 51–45 54–42 48–48 54–42 48–48 58–38 51–45
Leicester 68–28 57–39 52–44 50–45 59–37 47–48 62–33 52–44
Oxford 54–41 56–40 54–42 54–42 59–37 52–44 44–52 49–47
Poole 54–42 51–45 53–43 55–41 76–19 56–40 62–34 52–44
Rayleigh 59–36 62–34 61–35 62–34 71–25 59–37 54–42 62–34
Southampton 52–44 54–42 50–43 53–43 54–42 50–46 56–40 51–45
Swindon 42–54 53–43 49–47 55–41 60–36 61–35 41–55 49–47
Source: [5]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top Five Riders (League only)

Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Ken McKinlay Scotland Leicester 10.48
2 Jack Geran Australia Exeter 10.38
3 Dick Bradley England Bristol/Southampton 10.25
4 Ken Middleditch England Poole 9.96
5 Neil Street Australia Exeter 9.49

National Trophy Stage One

The 1955 National Trophy was the 18th edition of the Knockout Cup. The Trophy consisted of two stages; stage one was for the second-tier clubs, stage two was for the top-tier clubs. Poole won stage one and qualified for second and final stage.[6]

Division Two First round

Date Team one Score Team two
23/04 Rayleigh 48-60 Poole
22/04 Bristol 62-46 Ipswich
22/04 Weymouth 49-59 Southampton
21/04 Ipswich 81-27 Bristol
19/04 Southampton 70-38 Weymouth
18/04 Poole 69-39 Rayleigh

Division Two Second round

Date Team one Score Team two
23/05 Exeter 55-53 Swindon
14/05 Coventry 75-33 Oxford
14/05 Swindon 66-42 Exeter
13/05 Leicester 49-59 Southampton
12/05 Ipswich 66-41 Poole
12/05 Oxford 66-42 Coventry
10/05 Southampton 59-49 Leicester
09/05 Poole 70-37 Ipswich

Division Two semifinals

Date Team one Score Team two
13/06 Poole 68-40 Swindon
04/06 Coventry 54-54 Southampton
04/06 Swindon 62-46 Poole
31/05 Southampton 56-52 Coventry

Division Two final

First leg

Southampton Saints
Ernie Rawlins 14
Dick Bradley 12
Brian Hanham 3
Bluey Scott 7
Alby Golden 4
Charlie May 3
Cyril Roger (guest) 2
Johnny Fitzpatrick 1		46 – 62Poole Pirates
Ken Middleditch 16
Jim Squibb 14
Norman Strachan 7
Bill Holden 7
Terry Small 7
Ernie Brecknell 6
Alan Kidd 5
Tony Lewis 0
[7]

Second leg

Poole Pirates
Terry Small 16
Bill Holden 14
Alan Kidd 11
Jim Squibb 11
Ken Middleditch 7
Norman Strachan 7
Tony Lewis 6
Fred Parkins 1		73 – 35Southampton Saints
Dick Bradley 13
Ernie Rawlins 5
Bluey Scott 5
Frank Johnson (guest) 4
Charlie May 4
Johnny Fitzpatrick 3
Alby Golden 1
Brian Hanham 0
[7]

Midland Cup

For the Midland Cup see the 1955 Speedway National League.

Riders & final averages

Bristol (withdrew)

Coventry

Exeter

Ipswich

Leicester

Oxford

Poole

Rayleigh

Southampton

Swindon

Weymouth (withdrew)

  • England Ron Barrett 7.50
  • Australia Ernie Brecknell (Ernest Blight) 6.86
  • England Ken Adams 5.83
  • England Danny Dunton 5.53
  • England Frank Johnson 4.88
  • England Ernie Lessiter 3.29
  • England Gerald Pugh 2.15
  • England Roy Bowers 1.82

See also

List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions

References

  1. ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. ^ "Home". speedwayresearcher.org.uk.
  3. ^ "Poor response to speedway support appeal". Bristol Evening Post. 2 October 1954. Retrieved 5 October 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ^ "1955 fixtures & results". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  5. ^ "1955 fixtures & results". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  6. ^ "1955 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  7. ^ a b "1955 results" (PDF). Speedway researcher. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
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