# 1952 Speedway National League

The 1952 National League Division One was the 18th season of speedway in the United Kingdom and the seventh post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.

## Summary

Norwich Stars joined the league. Wembley Lions won their fourth consecutive title and their seventh overall. Birmingham recorded their highest league finish to date by taking the runner-up spot.
While riding for Wimbledon, on 22 July 1952 the American Ernie Roccio was killed after crashing into the fence at high speed at West Ham Stadium, it has been reported that he died instantly but the newspaper report states he died in hospital.

## Final table

| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Wembley Lions | 36 | 28 | 1 | 7 | 57 |
| 2 | Birmingham Brummies | 36 | 23 | 0 | 13 | 46 |
| 3 | Harringay Racers | 36 | 21 | 3 | 12 | 45 |
| 4 | West Ham Hammers | 36 | 18 | 2 | 16 | 38 |
| 5 | Wimbledon Dons | 36 | 17 | 2 | 17 | 36 |
| 6 | Belle Vue Aces | 36 | 18 | 0 | 18 | 36 |
| 7 | New Cross Rangers | 36 | 15 | 1 | 20 | 31 |
| 8 | Bristol Bulldogs | 36 | 13 | 0 | 23 | 26 |
| 9 | Bradford Tudors | 36 | 11 | 1 | 24 | 23 |
| 10 | Norwich Stars | 36 | 10 | 2 | 24 | 22 |

## Fixtures & results
### A fixtures

| Home \ Away | BV | BIR | BRA | BRI | HAR | NC | NOR | WEM | WH | WIM |
| Belle Vue | | 53–31 | 43–41 | 48–36 | 37–47 | 53–31 | 50–34 | 37–47 | 51–33 | 44–40 |
| Birmingham | 45–39 | | 56–28 | 55–29 | 42–32 | 50–34 | 56–28 | 53–31 | 38–46 | 57–27 |
| Bradford | 53–31 | 37–47 | | 53–31 | 29–54 | 55–29 | 56–28 | 45–38 | 38–46 | 47–37 |
| Bristol | 55–29 | 45–38 | 48–35 | | 27–57 | 35–49 | 44–40 | 44–39 | 47–37 | 45–38 |
| Harringay | 57–26 | 48–36 | 58–26 | 45–39 | | 50–34 | 53–31 | 42–42 | 45–39 | 51–33 |
| New Cross | 48–35 | 45–39 | 56–28 | 45–39 | 41–42 | | 56–28 | 40–42 | 48–36 | 58–26 |
| Norwich | 51–32 | 39–45 | 42–42 | 54–30 | 47–36 | 36–46 | | 37–47 | 51–32 | 44–40 |
| Wembley | 55–29 | 47–37 | 52–32 | 62–22 | 61–23 | 51–33 | 62–21 | | 60–24 | 43–41 |
| West Ham | 52–31 | 41–43 | 47–37 | 55–28 | 46–38 | 43–40 | 49–35 | 48–33 | | 43–41 |
| Wimbledon | 47–36 | 49–34 | 52–29 | 56–28 | 43–41 | 49–35 | 62–22 | 29–54 | 59–25 | |

### B fixtures

| Home \ Away | BV | BIR | BRA | BRI | HAR | NC | NOR | WEM | WH | WIM |
| Belle Vue | | 46–38 | 46–38 | 48–36 | 44–39 | 48–35 | 53–31 | 41–43 | 49–35 | 56–28 |
| Birmingham | 48–35 | | 57–27 | 53–31 | 52–32 | 49–35 | 51–32 | 55–29 | 47–37 | 57–27 |
| Bradford | 46–38 | 54–30 | | 49–35 | 25–59 | 34–50 | 48–35 | 35–49 | 41–43 | 45–38 |
| Bristol | 33–51 | 41–42 | 51–33 | | 47–37 | 47–37 | 64–20 | 37–47 | 43–41 | 36–48 |
| Harringay | 51–33 | 48–36 | 47–37 | 41–42 | | 52–32 | 54–30 | 36–48 | 55–28 | 42–42 |
| New Cross | 45–39 | 30–53 | 44–40 | 47–37 | 31–53 | | 35–48 | 41–43 | 49–35 | 41–42 |
| Norwich | 36–48 | 35–49 | 52–32 | 48–36 | 50–34 | 42–42 | | 48–35 | 41–43 | 38–46 |
| Wembley | 50–34 | 53–29 | 62–22 | 56–28 | 40–44 | 45–39 | 63–21 | | 58–25 | 52–32 |
| West Ham | 56–28 | 45–39 | 54–30 | 58–26 | 42–42 | 39–45 | 54–30 | 21–63 | | 42–41 |
| Wimbledon | 38–46 | 52–32 | 48–36 | 45–38 | 51–33 | 50–34 | 59–25 | 35–49 | 42–42 | |

## Top Ten Riders (League only)

| | Rider | Team | C.M.A. |
| 1 | Ronnie Moore | Wimbledon | 11.27 |
| 2 | Jack Young | West Ham | 10.88 |
| 3 | Bob Leverenz | Norwich | 10.29 |
| 4 | Alan Hunt | Birmingham | 10.00 |
| 5 | Split Waterman | Harringay | 9.96 |
| 6 | Freddie Williams | Wembley | 9.76 |
| 7 | Tommy Price | Wembley | 9.31 |
| 8 | Cyril Brine | Wimbledon | 9.00 |
| 9 | Eddie Rigg | Bradford | 8.82 |
| 10 | Bert Roger | New Cross | 8.79 |

## National Trophy Stage Three

The 1952 National Trophy was the 15th edition of the Knockout Cup. The Trophy consisted of three stages; stage one was for the third-tier clubs, stage two was for the second-tier clubs and stage three was for the top-tier clubs. The winner of stage one would qualify for stage two and the winner of stage two would qualify for the third and final stage. Harringay won the third and final stage and were therefore declared the 1952 National Trophy champions.
* For Stage One - see Stage One
* For Stage Two - see Stage Two
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 19/07 | Norwich | 74-34 | Poole |
| 12/07 | Birmingham | 79-29 | Bristol |
| 04/07 | Bristol | 46-62 | Birmingham |
| 05/07 | Bradford Odsal | 67-40 | West Ham |
| 01/07 | West Ham | 66-42 | Bradford Odsal |
Second round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 11/08 | Birmingham | 69-39 | Belle Vue |
| 26/07 | Belle Vue | 59-49 | Birmingham |
| 26/07 | Bradford Odsal | 58-50 | Wembley |
| 26/07 | Poole | 72-36 | New Cross |
| 23/07 | New Cross | 75-33 | Poole |
| 21/07 | Wimbledon | 57-51 | Harringay |
| 18/07 | Harringay | 57-50 | Wimbledon |
| 17/07 | Wembley | 66-41 | Bradford Odsal |
Semifinals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 21/08 | Wembley | 59-49 | Birmingham |
| 16/08 | Birmingham | 69-39 | Wembley |
| 15/08 | Harringay | 57-51 | New Cross |
| 13/08 | New Cross | 43-64 | Harringay |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
Harringay were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 123–92.

## London Cup

First round
| Team one | Score | Team two |
| West Ham | 63–45, 49–58 | New Cross |
Semi final round
| Team one | Score | Team two |
| Wembley | 49–59, 53–55 | Wimbledon |
| Harringay | 56–51, 54–53 | West Ham |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
Harringay won on aggregate 113–100

## Riders & final averages

Belle Vue
* Henry Long 8.63
* Ken Sharples 8.37
* Ron Johnston 7.40
* Jack Parker 6.89
* Dent Oliver 7.16
* George Smith 6.63
* Harry Edwards 6.15
* Louis Lawson 6.69
* Dennis Parker 5.28
* Bob Fletcher 5.25
* Norman Hargreaves 2.60
* Peter Craven 2.00
Birmingham
* Alan Hunt 10.00
* Howdy Byford 8.00
* Arthur Payne 7.78
* Dan Forsberg 7.77
* Graham Warren 7.33
* Ron Mason 7.28
* Ivor Davies 6.08
* Eric Boothroyd 5.93
* Lionel Watling (James Goldingay) 4.86
* Bill Jemison 4.00
* Cyril Page 3.50
Bradford
* Eddie Rigg 8.82
* Arthur Forrest 8.36
* Dent Oliver 7.75
* Jack Hughes 6.29
* Oliver Hart 6.27
* Arthur Wright 5.50
* Bill Crosland 4.65
* Ron Clarke 4.27
* Al Allison 3.84
* Arthur Bush 3.50
* Lloyd Goffe 2.82
* Keith Milner 2.53
Bristol
* Dick Bradley 8.29
* Chris Boss 6.85
* Geoff Pymar 6.36
* Billy Hole 6.11
* Jack Mountford 5.87
* Tom Oakley 5.50
* Johnny Hole 5.23
* Eric Salmon 5.00
* Jack Summers 5.04
* Roger Wise 4.55
Harringay
* Split Waterman 9.96
* Jeff Lloyd 8.47
* Jack Biggs 8.37
* Ron How 7.25
* Maurice Dunn 6.78
* Arthur Atkinson 6.28
* Danny Dunton 5.85
* Nobby Stock 5.66
* Ken Walsh 5.52
* Stan Clark 2.80
New Cross
* Bert Roger 8.79
* Eric French 8.60
* Cyril Roger 7.66
* Sune Karlsson 7.61
* Merv Harding 7.26
* Frank Lawrence 5.66
* Bill Longley 5.18
* Bob Roger 4.53
* Tom Oakley 4.49
* Ronnie Genz 4.15
Norwich
* Bob Leverenz 10.29
* Billy Bales 8.20
* Bill Gilbert 7.41
* Fred Rogers 7.05
* Phil Clarke 4.70
* Fred Pawson 5.09
* Lionel Watling (James Goldingay) 4.82
* Jack Freeman 4.24
* Paddy Mills 4.00
* Bill Codling 3.22
* Keith Berthelsen 3.11
* Ray Moore 2.71
Wembley
* Freddie Williams 9.76
* Tommy Price 9.31
* Eric Williams 8.23
* Trevor Redmond 7.74
* George Wilks 7.41
* Bob Oakley 7.32
* Bill Kitchen 6.79
* Jimmy Gooch 4.92
* Den Cosby 1.60
West Ham
* Jack Young 10.88
* Wally Green 8.56
* Malcolm Craven 7.75
* Pat Clark 6.37
* Cliff Watson 5.49
* Howdy Byford 5.00
* Kid Curtis 4.26
* Wal Morton 2.86
* Reg Reeves 2.46
* Colin Clark 1.40
Wimbledon
* Ronnie Moore 11.27
* Norman Parker 9.60
* Cyril Brine 9.00
* Geoff Mardon 8.68
* Dennis Gray 6.84
* Peter Moore 5.74
* Ernie Roccio 5.66
* Reg Trott 5.25
* Barry Briggs 4.20
* Mike Beddoe 3.58
* Cyril Maidment 3.12
* Wilf Jay 1.71
* Dom Perry 1.23
* Ken Holmes 0.83