# 1959 Southern Area League

The 1959 Southern Area League was the final season of the Southern Area League as the regional second tier of speedway racing in the United Kingdom for Southern British teams. With no league in 1958, a set of 6 new teams competed in 1959.

## Summary

Eastbourne Eagles were the champions, Southern Rovers withdrew after just one league meeting and were replaced by Aldershot who inherited their result.

## Final table

| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Eastbourne Eagles | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 |
| 2 | Yarmouth Bloaters | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| 3 | Aldershot Shots | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 8 |
| 4 | Rye House | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 6 |
| 5 | Ipswich Witches | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 6 |
Southern Rovers withdrew after one meeting - result incorporated with Aldershot.

## Fixtures and results

| Home \ Away | ALD | EAS | IPS | RYE | YAR |
| Aldershot | | 39–32 | 36–34 | 37–32 | 40–32 |
| Eastbourne | 38–34 | | 49–23 | 38–3 | 46–26 |
| Ipswich | 36–35 | 55–17 | | 35–37 | 25–47 |
| Rye House | 44–28 | 33–38 | 41–30 | | 35–37 |
| Yarmouth | 49–22 | 36–36 | 32–39 | 44–28 | |

## Leading Averages

| | Rider | Team | C.M.A. |
| 1 | Colin Gooddy | Eastbourne | 10.76 |
| 2 | Gil Goldfinch | Eastbourne & Ipswich | 9.46 |
| 3 | Johnny Fitzpatrick | Yarmouth | 9.44 |
| 4 | Derek Timms | Aldershot | 9.38 |
| 5 | Ivor Brown | Yarmouth | 9.29 |

## Riders' Championship

Dave Hankins won the Riders' Championship. The final was held at Foxhall Stadium on 26 September.
| Pos. | Rider | Club | Pts |
| 1 | Dave Hankins | Ipswich & Yarmouth | 15 |
| 2 | Derek Timms | Aldershot | 13 |
| 3 | Ivor Brown | Yarmouth | 12 |
| 4 | Shorty Schirmer | Ipswich | 10 |
| 5 | Colin Gooddy | Eastbourne | 10 |
| 6 | John Fitzpatrick | Yarmouth | 9 |
| 7 | Ronnie Rolfe | Rye House | 9 |
| 8 | Ross Gilbertson | Eastbourne | 8 |
| 9 | Eric Hockaday | Aldershot | 8 |
| 10 | Gil Goldfinch | Eastbourne & Ipswich | 7 |
| 11 | Ron Bagley (res) | Ipswich | 4 |
| 12 | Clive Hitch | Rye House | 3 |
| 13 | Ken Last | Ipswich & Yarmouth | 3 |
| 14 | Stan Stevens (res) | Rye House | 3 |
| 15 | Tommy Sweetman | Rye House | 2 |
| 16 | Ernie Baker | Rye House | 2 |
| 17 | Dave Still | Eastbourne | 1 |
| 18 | Bobby Croombs | Rye House | 0 |
| 19 | Ivor Toms (res) | Unattached | 0 |

## Riders & final averages

Aldershot
* Derek Timms 9.38
* Peter Vandenberg 8.00
* Eric Hockaday 8.00
* Bob Thomas 7.00
* John Edwards 5.00
* Eric Eadon 4.20
* George Major 4.00
* Roy Pickering 4.00
* Ken Vale 3.08
* Arthur Ashby 1.33
Eastbourne
* Colin Gooddy 10.76
* Gil Goldfinch 9.50
* Dave Still 8.38
* Frank Bettis 6.13
* Ross Gilbertson 6.25
* John Dugard 4.40
* Bob Warner 3.17
* Pete Jarman 2.00
* Bob Dugard 1.33
Ipswich
* Gil Goldfinch 9.43
* Jimmy Heard 7.71
* Wal Morton 7.67
* Shorty Schirmer 7.60
* Ronnie Rolfe 7.08
* Bob Thomas 6.40
* Jimmy Gleed 4.76
* Ron Bagley 4.50
* Vic White 3.43
* Pat Flanagan 2.81
Rye House
* Tommy Sweetman 8.75
* Ronnie Rolfe 7.57
* Ernie Baker 6.77
* Clive Hitch 6.62
* Stan Stevens 6.36
* Bobby Croombs 6.17
* Pete Sampson 3.64
Yarmouth
* Ken Adams 12.00 (4 matches only)
* Ron Sharp 9.44
* Ray Harris 9.42
* Brian Craven 7.86
* Bill Wainwright 7.70
* Fred Collier 5.44
* Ken Last 4.40
* Tony Childs 3.00