# 1954 Speedway National League

The 1954 National League Division One was the 20th season of speedway in the United Kingdom and the ninth post-war season of the highest tier of speedway.

## Summary

Bristol dropped out of the league and joined the National League Division Two. Wimbledon won their first National League Championship, beginning a run of 7 titles in 8 years, ending a similar run by Wembley Lions.

## Final table

| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Wimbledon Dons | 28 | 21 | 2 | 5 | 44 |
| 2 | Wembley Lions | 28 | 20 | 0 | 8 | 40 |
| 3 | Bradford Tudors | 28 | 15 | 0 | 13 | 30 |
| 4 | Norwich Stars | 27 | 14 | 0 | 13 | 28 |
| 5 | West Ham Hammers | 28 | 11 | 1 | 16 | 23 |
| 6 | Harringay Racers | 28 | 10 | 1 | 17 | 21 |
| 7 | Belle Vue Aces | 27 | 9 | 0 | 18 | 18 |
| 8 | Birmingham Brummies | 28 | 9 | 0 | 19 | 18 |

## Fixtures & results
### A fixtures

| Home \ Away | BV | BIR | BRA | HAR | NOR | WEM | WH | WIM |
| Belle Vue | | 46–38 | 41–53 | 47–37 | 37–47 | 37–46 | 37–47 | 47–37 |
| Birmingham | 45–39 | | 44–40 | 59–25 | 43–41 | 31–52 | 46–38 | 36–48 |
| Bradford | 52–32 | 55–29 | | 41–43 | 54–30 | 45–39 | 53–31 | 58–26 |
| Harringay | 48–35 | 41–43 | 48–36 | | 56–28 | 27–57 | 47–37 | 37–46 |
| Norwich | 55–29 | 52–32 | 58–26 | 50–34 | | 33–51 | 40–44 | 41–43 |
| Wembley | 67–17 | 65–19 | 53–31 | 45–39 | 50–34 | | 54–30 | 33–51 |
| West Ham | 52–32 | 54–30 | 49–35 | 52–31 | 29–55 | 46–38 | | 42–42 |
| Wimbledon | 60–24 | 61–23 | 62–22 | 48–36 | 57–26 | 43–40 | 53–31 | |

### B fixtures

| Home \ Away | BV | BIR | BRA | HAR | NOR | WEM | WH | WIM |
| Belle Vue | | 59–24 | 50–34 | 57–27 | 39–45 | 25–59 | 50–33 | 43–41 |
| Birmingham | 38–44 | | 40–44 | 57–27 | 43–41 | 32–52 | 43–41 | 35–49 |
| Bradford | 46–38 | 65–19 | | 53–31 | 47–37 | 52–32 | 58–26 | 45–39 |
| Harringay | 53–31 | 50–33 | 46–38 | | 39–45 | 30–54 | 48–36 | 32–52 |
| Norwich | n/a | 63–21 | 44–40 | 49–35 | | 47–37 | 53–31 | 49–35 |
| Wembley | 50–34 | 64–20 | 51–33 | 53–31 | 44–40 | | 49–35 | 36–48 |
| West Ham | 48–36 | 48–35 | 44–40 | 40–44 | 45–39 | 32–51 | | 41–43 |
| Wimbledon | 62–22 | 65–19 | 49–35 | 42–42 | 61–23 | 43–41 | 54–29 | |

## Top Ten Riders (League only)

| | Rider | Team | C.M.A. |
| 1 | Ronnie Moore | Wimbledon | 10.59 |
| 2 | Jack Young | West Ham | 10.55 |
| 3 | Geoff Mardon | Wimbledon | 10.43 |
| 4 | Eddie Rigg | Bradford | 10.11 |
| 5 | Arthur Forrest | Bradford | 10.00 |
| 6 | Brian Crutcher | Wembley | 9.98 |
| 7 | Eric Williams | Wembley | 9.79 |
| 8 | Barry Briggs | Wimbledon | 9.39 |
| 9 | Freddie Williams | Wembley | 9.18 |
| 10 | Split Waterman | Harringay | 9.07 |

## National Trophy

The 1954 National Trophy was the 17th edition of the Knockout Cup.
Qualifying first round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 01/05 | Edinburgh | 60-48 | Leicester |
| 01/05 | Rayleigh | 65-43 | Motherwell |
| 30/04 | Bristol | 59-49 | Oxford |
| 30/04 | Leicester | 59-48 | Edinburgh |
| 30/04 | Motherwell | 64-44 | Rayleigh |
| 29/04 | Ipswich | 71-35 | Southampton |
| 29/04 | Oxford | 40-68 | Bristol |
| 29/04 | Plymouth | 45-63 | Poole |
| 27/04 | Southampton | 72-36 | Ipswich |
| 26/04 | Exeter | 59-49 | Swindon |
| 26/04 | Poole | 69-38 | Plymouth |
| 24/04 | Swindon | 65-43 | Exeter |
| 11/05 replay | Southampton | 62-46 | Ipswich |
| 06/05 replay | Ipswich | 56-52 | Southampton |
Qualifying second round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 25/05 | Southampton | 61-47 | Coventry |
| 22/05 | Coventry | 64-44 | Southampton |
| 22/05 | Edinburgh | 65-43 | Rayleigh |
| 22/05 | Swindon | 69-39 | Wolverhampton |
| 21/05 | Bristol | 61-47 | Poole |
| 21/05 | Rayleigh | 55-52 | Edinburgh |
| 21/05 | Swindon | w/o | Wolverhampton |
| 17/05 | Poole | 63-45 | Bristol |
Qualifying Final Round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 14/06 | Poole | 67-41 | Swindon |
| 12/06 | Edinburgh | 50-57 | Coventry |
| 12/06 | Swindon | 53-55 | Poole |
| 05/06 | Coventry | 56-52 | Edinburgh |
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 05/07 | Coventry | 41-66 | Bradford Odsal |
| 03/07 | Belle Vue | 71-37 | Poole |
| 03/07 | Bradford Odsal | 84-24 | Coventry |
| 28/06 | Poole | 46-62 | Belle Vue |
Quarterfinals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 24/07 | Belle Vue | 61-47 | Wimbledon |
| 22/07 | Wembley | 70-37 | West Ham |
| 21/07 | Harringay | 54-54 | Bradford Odsal |
| 20/07 | West Ham | 50-58 | Wembley |
| 19/07 | Wimbledon | 76-32 | Belle Vue |
| 17/07 | Bradford Odsal | 78-30 | Harringay |
| 10/07 | Birmingham | 62-46 | Norwich |
| 08/07 | Norwich | 74-34 | Birmingham |
Semifinals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 28/08 | Bradford Odsal | 63-45 | Wembley |
| 28/08 | Norwich | 64-44 | Wimbledon |
| 23/08 | Wimbledon | 51-57 | Norwich |
| 05/08 | Wembley | 63-44 | Bradford Odsal |

### Final

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

## London Cup

First round
| Team one | Score | Team two |
| Wimbledon | 61–46, 56–52 | Wembley |
Semi final round
| Team one | Score | Team two |
| Harringay | 44–63, 48–60 | Wembley |
| Wimbledon | 69–38, 53–55 | West Ham |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
Wembley won on aggregate 130–85

## Midland Cup

Birmingham won the Midland Cup, which consisted of four teams. There was one team from division 1 and three teams from division 2.
First round
| Team one | Team two | Score |
| Oxford | Leicester | 56–28, 47–49 |
Semi final round
| Team one | Team two | Score |
| Oxford | Coventry | 61–35, 34–62 |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
Birmingham won on aggregate 96–95

## Riders & final averages

Belle Vue
* Peter Craven 8.47
* Ron Johnston 8.41
* Rune Sörmander 7.60
* Ken Sharples 7.27
* Harry Edwards 5.66
* Don Cuppleditch 5.20
* Jack Parker 4.58
* Bob Duckworth 4.25
* Dick Fisher 3.93
* Willie Wilson 3.28
* Bob Fletcher 2.86
* Peter Williams 1.71
Birmingham
* Alan Hunt 8.68
* Ron Mountford 7.39
* Eric Boothroyd 6.54
* Arthur Payne 5.60
* Jim Tolley 5.14
* Ivor Davies 3.72
* Les Jenkins 3.69
* Doug Davies 3.68
* Hec Mayhead 3.33
* Harry Bastable 3.04
* Ron Barrett 1.84
* Dennis Bennett 1.43
Bradford
* Eddie Rigg 10.11
* Arthur Forrest 10.00
* Arthur Wright 8.83
* Ron Clarke 5.76
* Keith Milner 5.70
* Dent Oliver 5.43
* Al Allison 5.08
* Dick Seers 3.71
* Guy Allott 3.11
* Wal Morton 2.00
Harringay
* Split Waterman 9.07
* Jack Biggs 7.42
* Ron How 7.20
* Ken Walsh 5.43
* Danny Dunton 5.17
* Frank Lawrence 4.98
* Allan Quinn 4.82
* Alf Hagon 4.79
* Jeff Lloyd 4.73
Norwich
* Billy Bales 6.90
* Aub Lawson 8.87
* Fred Rogers 7.58
* Cyril Roger 7.81
* Bob Oakley 6.52
* Phil Clarke 6.51
* Merv Neil 6.46
* Fred Brand 6.48
* Roy Craighead 5.20
* Fred Pawson 3.43
* Barry East 2.55
Wembley
* Brian Crutcher 9.98
* Eric Williams 9.79
* Freddie Williams 9.18
* Trevor Redmond 7.93
* Tommy Price 7.02
* Jimmy Gooch 6.29
* Eric French 6.26
* Fred Lang 3.66
* George Wilks 2.67
West Ham
* Jack Young 10.55
* Gerry Hussey 8.16
* Wally Green 7.35
* Bert Roger 5.64
* Howdy Byford 5.32
* Pat Clark 5.03
* Alan Smith 4.70
* Malcolm Craven 4.77
* Keith Gurtner 4.26
* Terry Courtnell 3.17
Wimbledon
* Ronnie Moore 10.59
* Geoff Mardon 10.43
* Barry Briggs 9.39
* Olle Nygren 9.00
* Peter Moore 7.08
* Dom Perry 6.64
* Cyril Brine 6.47
* Bill Longley 6.09
* Cyril Maidment 5.87
* Reg Trott 4.68