# 1937 Provincial Speedway League

The 1937 Provincial Speedway League was the second season of the Provincial League. Seven speedway teams started the season. From the previous season's finishers, Plymouth Panthers had dropped out but Leicester, Birmingham (Hall Green) and Norwich Stars joined up. Leicester withdrew mid-season and their record was expunged. Liverpool Merseysiders also withdrew mid-season but their entry was taken over by Belle Vue. Bristol Bulldogs were the champions and moved up to the National League for the following season.
Due to the brevity of the season, teams also competed for the Provincial Trophy in a league format. Leicester had already folded before the competition started and as with the league, Belle Vue replaced Liverpool Merseysiders. Nottingham won the Provincial Trophy and completed a double by winning the Provincial League Coronation Cup.
Stan Hart was killed during a match at Hall Green Stadium between Birmingham and Belle Vue on 25 August. He fell during a heat and was hit by a rider behind.

## Final table

| Pos | Team | M | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Bristol Bulldogs | 20 | 15 | 0 | 5 | 30 |
| 2 | Southampton Saints | 20 | 13 | 0 | 7 | 26 |
| 3 | Nottingham | 20 | 11 | 0 | 9 | 22 |
| 4 | Liverpool Merseysiders+ Belle Vue Merseysiders+ | 20 | 8 | 0 | 12 | 16* |
| 5 | Norwich Stars | 20 | 8 | 0 | 12 | 16 |
| 6 | Birmingham Bulldogs | 20 | 5 | 0 | 15 | 10 |
M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points
+ Liverpool scored 10 points from 11 matches, Belle Vue scored 6 from 9
Withdrawal (Record expunged) : Leicester Hounds

## Fixtures & results
### A fixtures

| Home \ Away | BIR | BRI | LEI | LBV | NOR | NOT | SOU |
| Birmingham | | 39–44 | 39–45 | 41–40 | 39–44 | 26–57 | 30–53 |
| Bristol | 48–34 | | 68–15 | 58–25 | 64–18 | 49–31 | 45–36 |
| Leicester | 47–33 | 23–57 | | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Liverpool/Belle Vue | 58–26 | 29–55 | 44–35 | | 30–54 | 42–30 | 37–46 |
| Norwich | 48–35 | 27–54 | 57–27 | 48–34 | | 28–49 | 37–47 |
| Nottingham | 51–31 | 42–40 | 65–19 | 31–53 | 60–24 | | 54–30 |
| SOU | 57–26 | 46–38 | 33–7 | 43–41 | 59–22 | 44–40 | |

### B fixtures

| Home \ Away | BIR | BRI | LBV | NOR | NOT | SOU |
| Birmingham | | 38–45 | 53–31 | 55–28 | 44–39 | 60–24 |
| Bristol | 50.5–33.5 | | 59–24 | 60–23 | 48–35 | 55–28 |
| Liverpool/Belle Vue | 54–27 | 31–52 | | 44–35 | 46–37 | 49–35 |
| Norwich | 50–34 | 44–39 | 48–34 | | 46–37 | 46–37 |
| Nottingham | 50–33 | 45–35 | 58–26 | 53–31 | | 45–38 |
| SOU | 59–25 | 52–31 | 53–30 | 61–22 | 44–38 | |

## Leading averages (league only)

| Rider | Team | Average |
| Frank Goulden | Southampton | 10.46 |
| George Greenwood | Nottingham | 9.55 |
| Bert Jones | Southampton | 9.21 |
| Bill Rogers | Bristol | 9.15 |
| Billy Dallison | Southampton | 9.15 |

## Provincial Trophy final table

| Pos | Team | M | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Nottingham | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 14 |
| 2 | Bristol Bulldogs | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 13 |
| 3 | Southampton Saints | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 12 |
| 4 | Liverpool Merseysiders+ Belle Vue Merseysiders+ | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 8 |
| 5 | Birmingham (Hall Green) | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 7 |
| 6 | Norwich Stars | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 6 |
M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points
+ Liverpool scored 2 points from 6 matches, Belle Vue scored 6 from 4

## National Trophy

The 1937 National Trophy was the seventh edition of the Knockout Cup. Southampton Saints won the Provincial Final round and therefore qualified for the quarter finals proper (the round when the tier one sides entered the competition).

### Provincial League first qualifying round

| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 03/05 | Liverpool | 57-26 | Norwich |
| 01/05 | Norwich | 30-51 | Liverpool |

### Provincial League second qualifying round

| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 23/04 | Bristol | 48-36 | Nottingham |
| 20/04 | Nottingham | rain | Bristol |
| 04/05 | Nottingham | 46-37 | Bristol |
| 31/05 | Liverpool | 39-45 | Southampton |
| 25/05 | Southampton | 55-28 | Liverpool |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
Southampton were the National Trophy Provincial Final winners, winning on aggregate 93-73.

## Coronation Cup

The 1937 Coronation Cup was a one-off competition to mark the Coronation of George VI and Elizabeth. Nottingham won the Cup.
First round
| Team one | Team two | scores |
| Bristol | Norwich | 53–29, 47–35 (100–64 agg) |
| Southampton | Liverpool | 41–42, 48–35 (89–77 agg) |
Semifinals
| Team one | Team two | scores |
| Nottingham | Bristol | 55–29, 37–47 (92–76 agg) |
| Southampton | Birmingham | 80–28, 40–41 (120–69 agg) |

### Final

| Team one | Team two | scores |
| Nottingham | Southampton | 61–23, 37–46 (98–69 agg) |

## Riders & final averages

Birmingham
* Malcolm Craven 8.00
* Les Bowden 7.88
* Tiger Hart 7.41
* Steve Langton 7.42
* Danny Lee 7.38
* Bob Lovell 6.17
* Jack Tidbury 5.33
* Les Gregory 5.00
* Bill Stanley 4.77
* Keith Harvey 4.15
* Jack Hyland 3.00
* Charlie Challis 2.20
Bristol
* Bill Rogers 9.15
* Roy Dook 9.01
* Harry Shepherd 9.00
* Rol Stobbart 8.73
* Reg Vigor 8.67
* Fred Leavis 7.25
* Bill Maddern 6.75
* Reg Lambourne 5.92
* Jack Dalton 6.40
* Reg Gore 5.50
* George Saunders 5.42
Liverpool/Belle Vue
* Jack Hargreaves 8.88/8.88
* Thomas Arthur Price 7.73/7.63
* Stan Hart 7.00/7.61
* Eric Blain 6.97/6.57
* Oliver Hart 6.86/6.92
* Ernie Price 6.00/6.89
* Charlie Oates 6.00/4.57
* Alan Butler 4.43/5.31
* Jack Gordon x/3.73
* Len Eyre 5.00/4.14
* Eric Butler 4.27/3.65
Norwich
* Wal Morton 8.87
* Bert Spencer 8.64
* Dick Wise 7.79
* Wilf Jay 6.65
* Alex Peel 5.69
* Paul Goodchild 5.39
* Chun Moore 5.14
* Jock Sweet 4.87
* Charlie Dugard 4.62
* Jim Millward 4.34
* Bill Birtwell 4.00
* Alan Brooks Smith 3.89
* Charlie Lish 3.73
Nottingham
* George Greenwood 9.55
* Ted Bravery 8.43
* Fred Strecker 8.40
* Frank Hodgson 8.21
* Tommy Allott 7.95
* Tommy Bateman 7.53
* George Dykes 6.36
* Sam Marsland 6.25
* Fred Tuck 6.21
* Billy Lamont 5.69
* Don Hemingway 1.60
Southampton
* Frank Goulden 10.46
* Bert Jones 9.21
* Billy Dallison 9.15
* Syd Griffiths 9.01
* Jack Riddle 8.38
* Jack Hobson 6.14
* Ivor Creek 4.85
* Cyril Anderson 4.94
* Jim Boyd 3.50
* Vic Collins 3.29