The 1948 National League Division One was the 14th season of speedway in the United Kingdom and the third post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.

Summary The entrant list was the same as the previous season. New Cross Rangers won the National League for the second time.

Fatalities 1948 proved to be the worst season so far in regard to fatalities. During the 1947 season two riders had died on the same day but 1948 saw three riders killed during the season. It started with 37-year-old Reg Craven, on his debut for Yarmouth Bloaters. Craven crashed with two Poole Pirates riders at Poole (on 26 April) during a National Trophy match and died eight days later (4 May) from a fractured skull in hospital. Billy Wilson of Norwich Stars and Eric Dunn of Hastings Saxons from the lower divisions were also killed.

Final League table Pos Team PL W D L Pts1 New Cross Rangers 24 17 0 7 342 Harringay Racers 24 16 0 8 323 West Ham Hammers 24 14 1 9 294 Wembley Lions 24 12 1 11 255 Belle Vue Aces 24 12 1 11 256 Wimbledon Dons 24 5 2 17 127 Odsal Boomerangs 24 5 1 18 11

National League results

Matches 1–12

Teams play each other twice, once at home and once away.

Matches 13–24

Teams play each other twice, once at home and once away.

Anniversary Cup On account of the small number of teams in the league the Anniversary Cup was run in a league format. Harringay Racers finished on top. Pos Team PL W D L Pts1 Harringay Racers 12 9 0 3 182 Belle Vue Aces 12 7 0 5 143 Odsal Boomerangs 12 7 0 5 144 New Cross Rangers 12 6 0 6 125 West Ham Hammers 12 6 0 6 126 Wembley Lions 12 5 0 7 107 Wimbledon Dons 12 2 0 10 4

Teams play each other twice, once at home and once away.

Top Ten Riders (League only) Rider Nat Team C.M.A. 1 Vic Duggan Harringay Racers 11.42 2 Ron Johnson New Cross 10.33 3 Wilbur Lamoreaux Wembley Lions 9.71 4 George Wilks Wembley Lions 9.65 5 Max Grosskreutz Odsal 9.63 6 Aub Lawson West Ham 9.59 7 Alec Statham Wimbledon 9.48 8 Jack Parker Belle Vue 9.35 9 Eric Chitty West Ham 9.21 10 Norman Parker Wimbledon 9.09

National Trophy The 1948 Trophy was the 11th edition of the Knockout Cup.

Qualifying Competition Round 1 Date Team one Score Team two23/04 Wombwell 31 77 Southampton17/04 Cradley Heath 66 42 Plymouth13/04 Southampton 89 19 Wombwell12/04 Exeter 81 27 Tamworth08/04 Plymouth 56 50 Cradley Heath07/04 Tamworth 82 26 Exeter

Qualifying Competition Round 2 Date Team one Score Team two29/04 Stoke Hanley 64 43 Coventry27/04 Yarmouth 47 67 Poole26/04 Poole 74 32 Yarmouth07/05 Cradley Heath 78 29 Hull05/05 Tamworth 46 62 Southampton04/05 Southampton 77 31 Tamworth01/05 Coventry 48 59 Stoke Hanley01/05 Hull 42 66 Cradley Heath

Qualifying Competition semifinal Date Team one Score Team two21/05 Cradley Heath 54 50 Southampton13/05 Stoke Hanley 64 44 Poole11/05 Southampton 85 23 Cradley Heath10/05 Poole 49 57 Stoke Hanley

Qualifying Competition final Date Team one Score Team two27/05 Stoke Hanley 43 64 Southampton25/05 Southampton 74½ 33½ Stoke Hanley

Eliminating Competition First round Date Team one Score Team two19/06 Birmingham 79 29 Southampton19/06 Edinburgh 62 46 Glasgow White City16/06 Glasgow White City 70 38 Edinburgh15/06 Southampton 41 66 Birmingham

Eliminating Competition Second round Date Team one Score Team two23/06 Glasgow White City 45½ 61½ Birmingham22/06 Fleetwood 69 39 Bristol19/06 Norwich 76 32 Sheffield18/06 Bristol 65 43 Fleetwood17/06 Middlesbrough 67 40 Newcastle17/06 Sheffield 55 53 Norwich14/06 Newcastle 41 65 Middlesbrough03/07 Birmingham 80 28 Glasgow White City

Eliminating Competition semifinal Date Team one Score Team two26/07 Birmingham 75 33 Fleetwood13/07 Fleetwood 49 59 Birmingham03/07 Norwich 66 41 Middlesbrough01/07 Middlesbrough 53 54 Norwich

Eliminating Competition final Date Team one Score Team two02/08 Birmingham 79 28 Norwich31/07 Norwich 64 43 Birmingham

First round Date Team one Score Team two04/09 Belle Vue 64 44 Wembley27/08 Harringay 67 40 Wimbledon26/08 Wembley 64 42 Belle Vue21/08 Birmingham 85 23 West Ham21/08 Bradford 62 46 New Cross19/08 New Cross 77 30 Bradford17/08 West Ham 67 41 Birmingham16/08 Wimbledon 53 55 Harringay04/09 Belle Vue 64 44 Wembley

Quarterfinals Date Team one Score Team two27/08 Harringay 67-40 Wimbledon26/08 Wembley 64-42 Belle Vue21/08 Birmingham 85-23 West Ham21/08 Bradford 62-46 New Cross19/08 New Cross 77-30 Bradford17/08 West Ham 67-41 Birmingham16/08 Wimbledon 53-55 Harringay04/09 Belle Vue 64-44 Wembley

Semifinals Date Team one Score Team two18/09 Birmingham 69-39 New Cross10/09 Harringay 52-56 Wembley09/09 Wembley 73-35 Harringay09/09 New Cross 83-25 Birmingham

Final

First leg

Second leg

Wembley were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 120–96.

Riders' Championship Vic Duggan won the British Riders' Championship final held at Empire Stadium on 16 September, in front of nearly 90,000 spectators.

Pos. Rider Heat Scores Total1 Vic Duggan 2 3 3 3 3 14 2 Ron Johnson 3 2 3 2 3 133 Alec Statham 3 3 3 3 1134 Split Waterman 3 2 2 1 2 10 5 Bill Gilbert 2 1 3 3 1 10 6 Jack Parker 2 E 3 1 3 9 7 Oliver Hart 3 2 2 2 98 Bill Longley 0 1 2 2 3 89 Wilbur Lamoreaux 2 2 0 0 26 10 Malcolm Craven f 3 2 1 0 6 11 Jeff Lloyd 1 3 0 0 1 5 12 Eric Chitty 1 0 1 2 1 513 Lloyd Goffe 0 1 1 1 2 514 Tommy Price 1 2 0 1 F 4 15 Norman Parker 0 1 0 1 0 216 Dent Oliver 1 0 0 0 0 1 16 Jack Hodgson (res) 0 - - - - 0 f=fell

London Cup First round Team one Score Team two New Cross65–43, 43–64 Harringay

Semi final round Team one Score Team twoWimbledon 57–51, 27–80 New CrossWest Ham 61–46, 40–67 Wembley

Final

First leg

Second leg

Wembley won on aggregate 115–98

Riders & final averages Belle Vue

9.35 7.46 6.92 6.00 5.76 5.60 4.96 4.27 3.75 2.00

Harringay

11.42 8.53 7.23 7.23 6.67 6.56 5.37 4.96 4.68 3.84

New Cross

10.33 8.17 7.96 7.39 7.27 7.15 7.12 5.48 5.79 2.00 0.67

Odsal

9.63 8.57 7.72 7.34 6.15 5.60 4.00 3.33 3.71 3.20 2.78 2.40 1.50

Wembley

9.71 9.65 8.81 8.27 7.63 7.17 6.43 5.40 4.26 3.37 2.50

West Ham

9.59 Eric Chitty 9.21 8.13 7.01 5.89 5.64 5.30 3.58 0.67

Wimbledon

9.09 9.48 7.19 5.37 4.87 3.80 3.59 3.43 2.35 2.29

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

References