# 1936 Speedway National League

The 1936 National League Division One was the eighth season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.

## Summary

The entrants were the same seven teams as the previous season. Harringay's Jack Parker topped the rider averages but was injured for the inaugural World Championship Final won by Wembley's Lionel van Praag on his home track.
Belle Vue Aces won their fourth consecutive national title and Knockout Cup and third treble after winning the A.C.U Cup.

## Final table

| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Belle Vue Aces | 24 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 37 |
| 2 | Wembley Lions | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 28 |
| 3 | Harringay Tigers | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 24 |
| 4 | Wimbledon Dons | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 24 |
| 5 | Hackney Wick Wolves | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 22 |
| 6 | New Cross Tamers | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 18 |
| 7 | West Ham Hammers | 24 | 7 | 1 | 16 | 15 |

## Fixtures & results
### A fixtures

| Home \ Away | BV | HAC | HAR | NC | WEM | WH | WIM |
| Belle Vue | | 47–25 | 47–24 | 45–27 | 41–30 | 53–19 | 43–29 |
| Hackney | 44–21 | | 42–29 | 26–44 | 30–42 | 43–28 | 51–19 |
| Harringay | 32–40 | 51–21 | | 40–32 | 39–33 | 50–22 | 39–33 |
| New Cross | 35–37 | 39–30 | 34–38 | | 28–43 | 43–29 | 35–36 |
| Wembley | 32–40 | 43–29 | 44–28 | 47–25 | | 43–28 | 33–38 |
| West Ham | 37–34 | 27–44 | 33–37 | 49–22 | 27–45 | | 32–40 |
| Wimbledon | 30–38 | 37–33 | 32–40 | 40–31 | 34–37 | 44–27 | |

### B fixtures

| Home \ Away | BV | HAC | HAR | NC | WEM | WH | WIM |
| Belle Vue | | 47–25 | 50–22 | 36–32 | 45–27 | 36–36 | 55–17 |
| Hackney | 32–39 | | 41–31 | 32–40 | 30–42 | 48–24 | 46–26 |
| Harringay | 42–30 | 34–38 | | 38–33 | 45–26 | 31–38 | 51–21 |
| New Cross | 43–27 | 43–29 | 44–26 | | 42–30 | 43–28 | 35–37 |
| Wembley | 37–34 | 28–44 | 43–29 | 36–35 | | 43–28 | 34–38 |
| West Ham | 27–44 | 33–38 | 49–23 | 44–28 | 34–37 | | 52–20 |
| Wimbledon | 27–44 | 37–34 | 42–29 | 40–31 | 35–36 | 33–37 | |

## Top Ten Riders

| | Rider | Team | C.M.A. |
| 1 | Jack Parker | Harringay | 10.27 |
| 2 | Max Grosskreutz | Belle Vue | 10.21 |
| 3 | Frank Charles | Wembley | 10.11 |
| 4 | Lionel van Praag | Wembley | 9.45 |
| 5 | Eric Langton | Belle Vue | 9.27 |
| 6 | Joe Abbott | Belle Vue | 9.25 |
| 7 | Bluey Wilkinson | West Ham | 9.21 |
| 8 | Bill Kitchen | Belle Vue | 8.91 |
| 9= | Dicky Case | Hackney | 8.71 |
| 9= | Jack Ormston | Harringay | 8.71 |

## National Trophy

The 1936 National Trophy was the sixth edition of the Knockout Cup.

### Qualifying rounds

Southampton Saints won the Provincial final and therefore secured a place in the quarter-finals.
Quarterfinals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 13/06 | Belle Vue | 68-40 | West Ham |
| 13/06 | Wimbledon | 42-65 | Wembley |
| 12/06 | Hackney Wick | 65-42 | New Cross |
| 11/06 | Wembley | 61-47 | Wimbledon |
| 10/06 | New Cross | 55-51 | Hackney Wick |
| 09/06 | West Ham | 43-65 | Belle Vue |
| 04/06 | Southampton | 30-41 | Harringay |
Semifinals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 30/07 | Wembley | 54-53 | Belle Vue |
| 25/07 | Belle Vue | 78-30 | Wembley |
| 18/07 | Harringay | 55-52 | Hackney Wick |
| 17/07 | Hackney Wick | 58-50 | Harringay |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
Belle Vue were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 122-90.

## A.C.U Cup

The 1936 Auto-Cycle Union Cup was the third edition of the Cup and was won by Belle Vue for the third time. Tragically Herbert 'Dusty' Haigh was killed instantly after suffering a facrtured skull riding at Hackney Wick Stadium on 15 May 1936, in the ACU Cup match between Hackney and West Ham. He fell when in front and heading for a fourth consecutive heat win and the riders behind were unable to avoid him.
First round
Group 1
| Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| Belle Vue Aces | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| Harringay Tigers | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| West Ham Hammers | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Hackney Wick Wolves | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
Group 2
| Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| Wembley Lions | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| New Cross Tamers | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Wimbledon Dons | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |

### Final

| Date | Team one | Team two | Score |
| 16/07 | Wembley | Belle Vue | 48–47 |
| 18/07 | Belle Vue | Wembley | 51–44 |

## London Cup

First round
| Team one | Score | Team two |
| Harringay | 65–43, 71–37 | Wimbledon |
| New Cross | 67–41, 50–58 | West Ham |
Semi final round
| Team one | Score | Team two |
| New Cross | 54–52, 43–63 | Hackney Wick |
| Wembley | 60–47, 44–63 | Harringay |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
Hackney Wick won on aggregate 127–88

## Riders & final averages

Belle Vue
* Max Grosskreutz 10.21
* Eric Langton 9.27
* Joe Abbott 9.25
* Bill Kitchen 8.92
* Bob Harrison 6.81
* Frank Varey 5.33
* Acorn Dobson 5.11
* Oliver Langton 4.00
* Tommy Allott 3.06
* Wally Hull 2.07
* Chun Moore 1.00
Hackney
* Dusty Haigh 10.00
* Dicky Case 8.71
* Cordy Milne 7.95
* Morian Hansen 7.87
* Baltzer Hansen 5.57
* George Wilks 5.35
* Bill Clibbett 4.93
* Broncho Dixon 4.57
* Stan Dell 4.00
* Fred Tate 3.62
* Tiger Hart 2.74
Harringay
* Jack Parker 10.27
* Jack Ormston 8.71
* Bill Pitcher 7.32
* Norman Parker 7.06
* Dick Smythe 4.97
* Les Wotton 4.79
* Rol Stobbart 4.20
* Billy Dallison 3.73
* Fred Strecker 3.33
* Bob Lovell 1.33
New Cross
* Jack Milne 8.68
* George Newton 8.54
* Stan Greatrex 8.24
* Ron Johnson 7.73
* Joe Francis 6.00
* Norman Evans 4.88
* Nobby Key 3.57
* Harry Shepherd 3.05
* Roy Dook 2.53
* Ernie Evans 0.62
Wembley
* Frank Charles 10.11
* Lionel Van Praag 9.45
* Ginger Lees 8.00
* Wally Kilmister 5.08
* Eric Gregory 5.02
* Wally Lloyd 4.08
* Gordon Byers 5.30
* Tommy Price 4.00
* George Greenwood 3.33
West Ham
* Bluey Wilkinson 9.21
* Tommy Croombs 7.37
* Broncho Dixon 7.05
* Arthur Atkinson 6.80
* Eric Chitty 5.90
* Tiger Stevenson 4.23
* Rol Stobbart 3.76
* Phil Bishop 3.73
* Ken Brett 3.64
* Mick Murphy (John Glass) 3.58
* Charlie Spinks 3.33
Wimbledon
* Vic Huxley 8.13
* Wal Phillips 7.50
* Claude Rye 6.46
* Gus Kuhn 5.97
* Eric Collins 5.23
* Wal Morton 4.89
* Geoff Pymar 4.79
* Jack Sharp 4.49