# 1985 National League season

The 1985 National League was contested as the second division of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom.

## Team changes

A new team called the Barrow Blackhawks entered the league but only staged a handful of fixtures. The team failed to meet the minimum points limit resulting in the league authorities stopping their participation. Scunthorpe Stags withdrew from the league in May.
Weymouth Wildcats promoters Peter Ansell and Mervyn Stewkesbury, moved their team to Poole for the start of the 1985 season, following the closure of the Poole Pirates due to financial debts. The team raced as the Poole Wildcats.
Boston Barracudas promoter Cyril Crane withdrew the team from the league just days before the start of the season when Crane relinquished his interests.

## Summary

The league title became a dramatic three horse race between Poole Wildcats, Middlesbrough Tigers and Ellesmere Port Gunners. All three teams entered October with only away matches left. Poole were two points ahead of Middlesbrough but had one meeting left, with Middlesbrough having two matches in hand. Ellesmere Port were two points behind Middlesbrough but had four meetings left. The Gunners won away at strugglers Long Eaton and Edinburgh to draw level with Poole, and Middlesbrough won at Stoke to leave all three level. Ellesmere Port drew their penultimate fixture at Peterborough who had previously won every home match whilst Poole lost heavily at Berwick to rule them out of the running. Then tragedy struck Ellesmere Port at Birmingham, having lost the KO Cup final only two days previous. With Middlesbrough losing at Eastbourne on the same night, a victory would have given the Thornton Road outfit the title. Leading by 6 points after 8 heats, top scorer Joe Owen crashed and suffered a severe back injury which was to leave him paralysed. The subsequent 0-5 and loss of their best rider saw Birmingham fight back to win leaving Middlesbrough needing a win at Glasgow to snatch the title. It wasn't until November in the last meeting of the year that the showdown took place. Glasgow were second bottom due to their dreadful away record, but were not a bad outfit at home and kept the scores level after 10 heats. Disaster struck for the away side as Steve Wilcock crashed out and Glasgow took the 5-1. Trailing by four points going into the last heat, Martin Dixon bit the dust and the title was lost. Ellesmere Port Gunners were champions.
Barrow Blackhawks and Scunthorpe Stags withdrew in May and had their results expunged. Ellesmere Port Gunners closed after the fateful night in Birmingham, never to return.

## Final table

| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Ellesmere Port Gunners | 36 | 25 | 2 | 19 | 52 |
| 2 | Poole Wildcats | 36 | 25 | 1 | 10 | 51 |
| 3 | Middlesbrough Tigers | 36 | 25 | 1 | 10 | 51 |
| 4 | Wimbledon Dons | 36 | 23 | 1 | 12 | 47 |
| 5 | Hackney Kestrels | 36 | 22 | 0 | 14 | 44 |
| 6 | Arena Essex Hammers | 36 | 20 | 2 | 14 | 42 |
| 7 | Peterborough Panthers | 36 | 19 | 2 | 15 | 40 |
| 8 | Stoke Potters | 36 | 20 | 0 | 16 | 40 |
| 9 | Berwick Bandits | 36 | 19 | 1 | 16 | 39 |
| 10 | Eastbourne Eagles | 36 | 18 | 2 | 16 | 38 |
| 11 | Milton Keynes Knights | 36 | 16 | 1 | 19 | 33 |
| 12 | Exeter Falcons | 36 | 16 | 0 | 20 | 32 |
| 13 | Rye House Rockets | 36 | 15 | 0 | 21 | 30 |
| 14 | Birmingham Brummies | 36 | 14 | 1 | 21 | 29 |
| 15 | Mildenhall Fen Tigers | 36 | 14 | 0 | 22 | 28 |
| 16 | Canterbury Crusaders | 36 | 14 | 0 | 22 | 28 |
| 17 | Glasgow Tigers | 36 | 10 | 2 | 24 | 22 |
| 18 | Long Eaton Invaders | 36 | 9 | 2 | 25 | 20 |
| 19 | Edinburgh Monarchs | 36 | 9 | 0 | 27 | 18 |

## Top Five Riders (League Averages)

| | Rider | Team | C.M.A. |
| 1 | Gordon Kennett | Eastbourne Eagles | 10.46 |
| 2 | Joe Owen | Ellesmere Port Gunners | 10.46 |
| 3 | Mike Ferreira | Wimbledon Dons | 10.03 |
| 4 | Stan Bear | Poole Wildcats | 9.89 |
| 5 | Carl Blackbird | Mildenhall Fen Tigers | 9.82 |

## National League Knockout Cup

The 1985 National League Knockout Cup was the 18th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Eastbourne Eagles were the winners of the competition.
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 24/04 | Wimbledon | 62-16 | Poole |
| 23/04 | Poole | 38-40 | Wimbledon |
| 06/05 | Canterbury | 45-33 | Eastbourne |
| 03/05 | Peterborough | 45-33 | Arena Essex |
| 28/04 | Eastbourne | 47-31 | Canterbury |
| 26/04 | Edinburgh | 38.5-38.5 | Ellesmere Port |
| 25/04 | Ellesmere Port | 43-35 | Edinburgh |
| 23/04 | Barrow | 18-24a | Exeter |
| 22/04 | Exeter | 58-20 | Barrow |
| 21/04 | Birmingham | 50-28 | Glasgow |
| 19/04 | Glasgow | 42-36 | Birmingham |
| 18/04 | Arena Essex | 55-23 | Peterborough |
a=Abandoned (power failure, result stood)
Second round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 26/06 | Wimbledon | 43-35 | Arena Essex |
| 24/06 | Exeter | 50.5-27.5 | Berwick |
| 20/06 | Arena Essex | 40-38 | Wimbledon |
| 08/06 | Berwick | 57-21 | Exeter |
| 26/05 | Eastbourne | 50-28 | Milton Keynes |
| 21/05 | Milton Keynes | 36-42 | Eastbourne |
| 06/05 | Birmingham | 38-39 | Ellesmere Port |
| 05/05 | Mildenhall | 42-35 | Hackney |
| 04/05 | Stoke | 33-45 | Middlesbrough |
| 03/05 | Hackney | 44-34 | Mildenhall |
| 02/05 | Middlesbrough | 48-30 | Stoke |
Quarter-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 18/08 | Berwick | 33-45 | Ellesmere Port |
| 16/08 | Ellesmere Port | 56-22 | Berwick |
| 11/08 | Eastbourne | 44-33 | Wimbledon |
| 07/08 | Wimbledon | 39-39 | Eastbourne |
| 14/07 | Middlesbrough | 45-33 | Rye House |
| 12/07 | Hackney | 47-31 | Long Eaton |
| 05/06 | Long Eaton | 33-45 | Hackney |
| 02/06 | Rye House | 37-41 | Middlesbrough |
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 27/09 | Hackney | 49-29 | Ellesmere Port |
| 26/09 | Ellesmere Port | 50-28 | Hackney |
| 12/09 | Middlesbrough | 48-30 | Eastbourne |
| 25/08 | Eastbourne | 49-29 | Middlesbrough |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
Eastbourne were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 83–73.

## Riders' Championship

Neil Middleditch won the Riders' Championship. The final was held on 10 August at Brandon Stadium.
| Pos. | Rider | Pts | Total |
| 1 | Neil Middleditch | 3 3 2 3 3 | 14 |
| 2 | Kevin Hawkins | 2 3 2 3 3 | 13 |
| 3 | Trevor Banks | 3 2 3 2 2 | 12 |
| 4 | Stan Bear | 3 fx 2 2 3 | 10 |
| 5 | Doug Wyer | 3 3 0 0 3 | 9 |
| 6 | Gordon Kennett | 2 3 3 ef 0 | 8 |
| 7 | Dave Mullett | 0 1 3 2 2 | 8 |
| 8 | Nigel De'ath | 0 2 0 3 2 | 7 |
| 9 | Louis Carr | 2 ex 1 3 1 | 7 |
| 10 | Dave Perks | 1 1 3 0 1 | 6 |
| 11 | Steve McDermott | 2 2 0 1 0 | 5 |
| 12 | Mike Ferreira | 0 0 1 2 2 | 5 |
| 13 | Carl Baldwin | 1 0 2 1 1 | 5 |
| 14 | Tom Owen | 1 1 1 1 1 | 5 |
| 15 | Steve Lawson | 1 2 0 1 t | 4 |
| 16 | Steve Wilcock | 0 1 1 0 0 | 2 |
| 17 | Mike Bacon (res) | 0 | 0 |
* f=fell, r-retired, ex=excluded, ef=engine failure

## Pairs

The National League Pairs was held at Hackney Wick Stadium on 15 September and was won by Ellesmere Port Gunners.
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Wimbledon | 20 | Ferreira 11, Johns 9 |
| 2 | Ellesmere P | 20 | Carr L 11, Owen J 9 |
| 3 | Poole | 18 | Yeates 12, Bear 6 |
| 4 | Peterborough | 15 | Hawkins 11, Poole 4 |
| 5 | Middlesbrough | 15 | Dixon 9, Wilcock 6 |
| 6 | Hackney | 15 | Galvin 10, Banks 5 |
| 7 | Rye House | 14 | Silver 8, Stevens 6 |
| 8 | Arena Essex | 13 | Middleditch 11, Cheshire 2 |
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 9 | Canterbury | 13 | Mullett 10, Tilbury 3 |
| 10 | Exeter | 12 | Cook 10, Maxfield 2 |
| 11 | Mildenhall | 11 | Taylor 8, Baldwin 3 |
| 12 | Stoke | 10 | Thorp 8, Owen T 2 |
| 13 | Berwick | 10 | McDermott 8, McMillan 2 |
| 14 | Birmingham | 9 | Wyer 9, White P 0 |
| 15 | Eastbourne | 9 | Kennett 9, Richardson 0 |
| 16 | Milton Keynes | 8 | White K 8, De'ath 0 |
Semi finals
* Poole bt Wimbledon
* Ellesmere Port bt Peterborough
Final
* Ellesmere Port bt Poole

## Fours

Middlesbrough Tigers won the fours championship final, held at the East of England Arena on 21 July.
Semi finals
* SF1 = Hackney 18, Stoke 12, Berwick 10, Wimbledon 8
* SF2 = Middlesbrough 17, Peterborough 12, Poole 11, Arena Essex 8
Final
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Middlesbrough Tigers | 17 | Havelock 7, Fiora, Pusey, Wilcock, Dixon |
| 2 | Peterborough Panthers | 12 | Barney 8 |
| 3 | Hackney Kestrels | 10 | Banks 5 |
| 4 | Stoke Potters | 9 | Crabtree 5, Thorp 2, Owen 1, Wilding 0, Sumner 0 |

## Leading averages

| Rider | Team | Average |
| Gordon Kennett | Eastbourne | 10.47 |
| Joe Owen | Ellesmere Port | 10.47 |
| Mike Ferreira | Wimbledon | 9.82 |
| Stan Bear | Poole | 9.79 |
| Carl Blackbird | Mildenhall | 9.64 |
| Roger Johns | Wimbledon | 9.64 |
| Neil Middleditch | Arena Essex | 9.47 |
| Steve Lawson | Glasgow | 9.39 |
| Louis Carr | Ellesmere Port | 9.37 |
| Kevin Smith | Poole | 9.32 |

## London Cup

Wimbledon won the London Cup but the competition consisted of just Wimbledon and Hackney. It was also the first time that the competition had been competed for by second tier teams.
Results
| Team | Score | Team |
| Hackney | 42–35 | Wimbledon |
| Wimbledon | 43–35 | Hackney |

## Riders & final averages

Arena Essex
* Neil Middleditch 9.47
* Martin Goodwin 7.42
* Bob Humphreys 6.96
* David Cheshire 6.90
* David Smart 6.29
* Alan Sage 5.63
* Gary Chessell 4.77
* Ian Humphreys 2.44
* Sean Barker 2.12
Barrow (withrew from the league)
* Paul Price 4.40
* Kevin Armitage 4.00
* Gary O'Hare 3.76
* Eric Broadbelt 3.37
* Terry Kelly 1.87
* Bob Coles 1.71
* Gary Clegg 1.33
* Wayne Jackson 1.00
Berwick
* Jimmy McMillan 8.24
* Steve McDermott 7.70
* Bruce Cribb 7.56
* Charlie McKinna 7.56
* Rob Grant Sr. 7.06
* Sean Courtney 5.87
* Phil Kynman 5.27
* Jacko Irving 4.00
Birmingham
* Doug Wyer 8.57
* Reg Wilson 7.50
* Phil White 7.39
* Paul Evitts 6.03
* Paul Stead 5.90
* Linden Warner 4.50
* Mark Stevenson 4.43
* Ian M Stead 3.45
* Julian Parr 2.80
Canterbury
* Dave Mullett 8.78
* Mike Spink 7.97
* Rob Tilbury 6.44
* Neville Tatum 5.72
* Bill Barrett 5.64
* Steve Bryenton 5.16
* Lawrie Bloomfield 4.26
* Mark Terry 2.13
Eastbourne
* Gordon Kennett 10.47
* Colin Richardson 8.66
* Andy Buck 7.26
* Martin Dugard 5.69
* Keith Pritchard 5.63
* Paul Clarke 5.49
* Chris Mulvihill 4.38
* Derek Harrison 3.18
* Dean Standing 1.21
Edinburgh
* Brett Saunders 7.46
* Bobby Beaton 7.39
* Steve Finch 7.02
* Dave Trownson 6.13
* Phil Jeffrey 5.70
* Billy Burton 5.04
* Mark Burrows 4.18
* Alan Mason 3.76
* Gordon Whitaker 3.24
* Roger Lambert 2.97
* Scott Lamb 1.92
Ellesmere Port
* Joe Owen 10.47
* Louis Carr 9.37
* Dave Morton 8.03
* David Walsh 6.73
* Gary O'Hare 6.00
* Miles Evans 5.76
* Phil Alderman 5.37
* Richie Owen 4.78
Exeter
* Colin Cook 7.74
* Rob Maxfield 7.74
* Nigel Sparshott 7.39
* Steve Bishop 7.14
* Kevin Price 6.91
* Michael Coles 6.28
* Mike Semmonds 5.30
* Dave Roberts 2.42
Glasgow
* Steve Lawson 9.39
* Martin McKinna 6.60
* Andy Reid 5.99
* Kenny Brailsford 4.50
* David Cassels 4.23
* Jim Beaton 4.21
* Brian Collins 4.05
* Geoff Powell 4.00
* Colin Caffrey 3.65
Hackney
* Trevor Banks 8.19
* Andy Galvin 8.02
* Paul Whittaker 7.76
* Paul Bosley 7.52
* Alan Mogridge 7.32
* Barry Thomas 7.29
* Richard Pettman 4.98
Long Eaton
* Chris Pidcock 8.14
* Dave Perks 8.09
* David Tyler 7.06
* Paul Stead 6.54
* Graham Drury 5.97
* Alan Molyneux 5.91
* Gerald Short 5.85
* Pete Smith 4.78
* John Proctor 4.54
* John Frankland 4.44
* Mark Stevenson 4.00
* Derek Cooper 2.70
Middlesbrough
* Steve Wilcock 9.23
* Martin Dixon 8.93
* Mark Fiora 8.57
* Gary Havelock 7.33
* Jim Burdfield 6.72
* Geoff Pusey 6.04
* Mark Crang 3.83
* Ian Wedgwood 3.02
* Roland Tebbs 1.54
Mildenhall
* Carl Blackbird 9.64
* Melvyn Taylor 7.84
* Carl Baldwin 7.82
* Robert Henry 7.46
* Andy Hines 7.20
* Rob Hollingworth 5.84
* Dave Jackson 5.45
* Richard Green 3.92
* Rob Parish 3.26
* Wally Hill 2.54
Milton Keynes
* Keith White 8.55
* Nigel De'ath 8.48
* David Blackburn 6.28
* Derek Richardson 5.94
* Kevin Smart 5.70
* Mark Chessell .55
* Ashley Pullen 4.00
* Rob Wall 3.58
* Peter McNamara 3.53
* Rob Price 1.94
Peterborough
* Kevin Hawkins 9.12
* Mick Poole 7.52
* Dave Allen 7.27
* Ian Clark 6.73
* Ian Barney 6.00
* Keith Bloxsome 5.92
* Adrian Hume 4.81
* Pete Chapman 2.82
Poole
* Stan Bear 9.79
* Kevin Smith 9.32
* Martin Yeates 8.40
* David Biles 6.39
* Marcus Bisson 6.09
* Guy Wilson 5.98
* Ray Dole 5.96
* Dave Gibbs 3.95
Rye House
* Andrew Silver 8.61
* Alastair Stevens 7.37
* Rob Woffinden 6.84
* Bobby Garrad 6.34
* Kelvin Mullarkey 5.91
* Kevin Brice 4.41
* Neil Cotton 4.33
* Keith Millard 3.11
* Gary Rolls 3.11
* Nigel Leaver 2.10
Scunthorpe
* Andy Buck 9.64
* Rob Woffinden 7.54
* Steve Finch 7.50
* Derek Richardson 5.78
* Julian Parr 4.57
* Mark Burrows 4.40
* Peter McNamara 1.93
Stoke
* Nigel Crabtree 8.69
* Tom Owen 8.36
* Paul Thorp 7.38
* Graham Jones 5.70
* Mike Wilding 5.53
* Ian Stead 5.33
* Daz Sumner 4.82
* Nigel Harrhy 3.45
Wimbledon
* Mike Ferreira 9.82
* Roger Johns 9.64
* Jamie Luckhurst 8.34
* Kevin Teager 6.45
* Peter Johns 5.09
* Jeremy Luckhurst 4.94
* Mark Baldwin 4.73