# 1938 Speedway National League

The 1938 National League Division One was the tenth season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.

## Summary

The only change from the previous season was Bristol Bulldogs moving up from the Provincial League and Hackney Wick Wolves moving down to take their place. They also swapped licences and riders as well as divisions.
New Cross Rangers won their first national title.

## Final table

| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | New Cross Rangers | 24 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 31 |
| 2 | West Ham Hammers | 24 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 27 |
| 3 | Wembley Lions | 24 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 27 |
| 4 | Wimbledon Dons | 24 | 12 | 3 | 9 | 27 |
| 5 | Belle Vue Aces | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 22 |
| 6 | Harringay Tigers | 24 | 10 | 1 | 13 | 21 |
| 7 | Bristol Bulldogs | 24 | 6 | 1 | 17 | 13 |

## Fixtures & results
### A fixtures

| Home \ Away | BV | BRI | HAR | NC | WEM | WH | WIM |
| Belle Vue | | 49–35 | 53–31 | 41–40 | 48–36 | 43–41 | 50–34 |
| Bristol | 40–41 | | 47–36 | 38–46 | 37–47 | 44–39 | 41–41 |
| Harringay | 51–30 | 41–42 | | 59–24 | 38–45 | 43–39 | 54–30 |
| New Cross | 55–28 | 51–33 | 56–28 | | 45–39 | 53–30 | 51–33 |
| Wembley | 54–30 | 57–27 | 50–34 | 37–46 | | 44–40 | 43–41 |
| West Ham | 46–38 | 55–29 | 55–28 | 41–39 | 40–34 | | 57–27 |
| Wimbledon | 48–36 | 53–31 | 41–41 | 44–39 | 42–42 | 49–34 | |

### B fixtures

| Home \ Away | BV | BRI | HAR | NC | WEM | WH | WIM |
| Belle Vue | | 54–30 | 45–39 | 40–44 | 43–41 | 36–47 | 50–34 |
| Bristol | 45–38 | | 42–41 | 52–31 | 32–50 | 39.5–44.5 | 40–44 |
| Harringay | 52–32 | 45–39 | | 52–32 | 47–37 | 42–40 | 46–38 |
| New Cross | 55–29 | 48–34 | 54–29 | | 45–39 | 50–34 | 39–45 |
| Wembley | 47–36 | 54–28 | 49–35 | 35–48 | | 48–35 | 45–39 |
| West Ham | 56–28 | 54–30 | 50–33 | 42–42 | 50–34 | | 42–41 |
| Wimbledon | 51–31 | 47–35 | 48–35 | 43–39 | 47–36 | 45–39 | |

## Top Ten Riders

| | Rider | Team | C.M.A. |
| 1 | Jack Milne | New Cross | 10.96 |
| 2 | Wilbur Lamoreaux | Wimbledon | 10.93 |
| 3 | Bluey Wilkinson | West Ham | 10.67 |
| 4 | Lionel van Praag | Wembley | 10.50 |
| 5 | Bill Kitchen | Belle Vue | 10.24 |
| 6 | Cordy Milne | Hackney | 9.46 |
| 7 | Frank Varey | Belle Vue | 9.16 |
| 8 | Jack Parker | Harringay | 9.16 |
| 9 | Les Wotton | Harringay | 8.92 |
| 10 | Frank Charles | Wembley | 8.59 |

## National Trophy

The 1938 National Trophy was the eighth edition of the Knockout Cup.

### Qualifying rounds

Norwich Stars won the Division Two final and therefore secured a place in the quarter-finals.
Quarterfinals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 01/07 | Bristol | 50-56 | West Ham |
| 05/07 | West Ham | 73-35 | Bristol |
| 06/07 | New Cross | 50-57 | Wimbledon |
| 07/07 | Wembley | 61-47 | Belle Vue |
| 09/07 | Belle Vue | 60-48 | Wembley |
| 11/07 | Wimbledon | 62-46 | New Cross |
| 21/07 | Norwich | 58-50 | Harringay |
Semifinals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 06/08 | Norwich | 53-55 | Wembley |
| 15/08 | Wimbledon | 78-29 | West Ham |
| 16/08 | West Ham | 53-55 | Wimbledon |
| 25/08 | Wembley | 38-15 | Norwich |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
Wimbledon were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 123-92.

## A.C.U Cup

The 1938 Auto-Cycle Union Cup was the fifth edition of the Cup and was won by West Ham Hammers, which ended the five year winning run of Belle Vue. The groups were decided on the number of heat points scored within matches, rather than match wins.
First round
Group 1
| Team | PL | W | D | L | Race Pts |
| West Ham Hammers | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 252 |
| New Cross Rangers | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 227 |
| Harringay Tigers | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 166 |
Group 2
| Team | PL | W | D | L | Race Pts |
| Wimbledon Dons | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 355 |
| Wembley Lions | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 335 |
| Belle Vue Aces | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 320 |
| Bristol Bulldogs | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 283 |

### Final

| Date | Team one | Team two | Score |
| 05/09 | Wimbedon | West Ham | 50–58 |
| 06/09 | West Ham | Wimbledon | 64–43 |

## London Cup

First round
| Team one | Score | Team two |
| Harringay | 59–49, 44–60 | Wembley |
Semi final round
| Team one | Score | Team two |
| Wimbledon | 66–42, 61–47 | Wembley |
| West Ham | 56–52, 46–62 | New Cross |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
Wimbledon won on aggregate 109–104

## Riders & final averages

Belle Vue
* Bill Kitchen 10.24
* Frank Varey 9.43
* Eric Langton 8.39
* Bob Harrison 5.68
* Jack Hargreaves 5.43
* Oliver Langton 5.25
* Wally Hull 4.42
* Ernie Price 3.59
* Harold Jackson 3.43
* Oliver Hart 1.38
Bristol
* Cordy Milne 9.46
* Vic Duggan 7.14
* Morian Hansen 5.95
* Bill Clibbett 5.93
* Bill Rogers 5.69
* Harry Shepherd 4.87
* Roy Dook 4.20
* Reg Lambourne 3.29
* Bill Maddern 3.28
Harringay
* Jack Parker 9.14
* Les Wotton 8.88
* Alec Statham 8.00
* Jack Ormston 6.31
* Norman Parker 5.30
* Lloyd Goffe 5.13
* Bill Pitcher 4.78
* Will Lowther 3.64
* Dick Harris 3.58
New Cross
* Jack Milne 10.96
* George Newton 8.35
* Ron Johnson 7.87
* Stan Greatrex 6.61
* Bill Longley 6.45
* Clem Mitchell 6.09
* Goldy Restall 5.05
* Joe Francis 4.10
* Ernie Evans 4.00
Wembley
* Lionel Van Praag 10.50
* Frank Charles 8.48
* Malcolm Craven 6.99
* George Wilks 6.91
* Cliff Parkinson 6.52
* Tommy Price 6.14
* Dicky Case 5.95
* Eric Gregory 4.88
* Wally Kilmister 4.59
* Andy Menzies 4.00
West Ham
* Bluey Wilkinson 10.67
* Arthur Atkinson 8.42
* Eric Chitty 8.00
* Tommy Croombs 7.88
* Jimmie Gibb 6.69
* Charlie Spinks 5.80
* Colin Watson 4.75
* Tiger Stevenson 5.41
* Broncho Dixon 4.69
* Dick Geary 3.83
* Phil Bishop 3.53
Wimbledon
* Wilbur Lamoreaux 10.93
* Benny Kaufman 8.46
* Geoff Pymar 7.96
* Wally Little 7.56
* Eric Collins 5.74
* Wally Lloyd 5.28
* Norman Evans 4.44
* Nobby Key 4.12
* Ron Howes 2.26
* Fred Leavis 2.12