# 1963 Speedway National League

The 1963 National League was the 29th season and the eighteenth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.

## Summary

The seven entrants were the same as those that had finished the previous season and matches were ridden home and away twice. Belle Vue Aces won their first title in 27 years.
Belle Vue's successful season was soured by a tragedy and the speedway world was in shock when the double world champion Peter Craven died following a challenge match at Edinburgh's Old Meadowbank stadium, on 20 September 1963. Just six days after he lost world crown, Craven swerved to avoid hitting fallen race leader George Hunter and hit the safety fence. Craven was rushed to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, where he died on 24 September.

## Final table

| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Belle Vue Aces | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 34 |
| 2 | Norwich Stars | 24 | 13 | 2 | 9 | 28 |
| 3 | Wimbledon Dons | 24 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 25 |
| 4 | Coventry Bees | 24 | 11 | 2 | 11 | 24 |
| 5 | Swindon Robins | 24 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 22 |
| 6 | Southampton Saints | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 22 |
| 7 | Oxford Cheetahs | 24 | 6 | 1 | 17 | 13 |

## Fixtures and results
### A Fixtures

| Home \ Away | BV | COV | NOR | OX | SOT | SWI | WIM |
| Belle Vue | | 45–33 | 41–37 | 52–26 | 50–28 | 49–29 | 43–34 |
| Coventry | 30–48 | | 39–39 | 40–38 | 44–34 | 45–33 | 53–25 |
| Norwich | 46–32 | 35–43 | | 43–35 | 47–31 | 42–36 | 41–37 |
| Oxford | 40–38 | 44–34 | 36–42 | | 44–34 | 35–43 | 34–44 |
| Southampton | 56–22 | 56–22 | 48–30 | 49–29 | | 48–30 | 44–34 |
| Swindon | 37–41 | 47–31 | 48–30 | 43–35 | 49–29 | | 44–34 |
| Wimbledon | 36–42 | 45–33 | 44–31 | 48–30 | 48–30 | 40–37 | |

### B Fixtures

| Home \ Away | BV | COV | NOR | OX | SOT | SWI | WIM |
| Belle Vue | | 41–37 | 44–34 | 44–34 | 50–28 | 47–31 | 46–31 |
| Coventry | 42–36 | | 48–30 | 42–36 | 43–33 | 44–34 | 39–39 |
| Norwich | 45–33 | 37–41 | | 46–32 | 53–25 | + | 43–35 |
| Oxford | 45–33 | 46–32 | 35–43 | | 42–36 | 39–39 | 42–36 |
| Southampton | 44–34 | 41–37 | 39–38 | 46–32 | | 38–40 | 38–40 |
| Swindon | 33–45 | 53–25 | 39–39 | 54–24 | 38–40 | | 40–27 |
| Wimbledon | 45–33 | 42–35 | 38–40 | 44–34 | 40–38 | 48–30 | |
+Norwich awarded points

## Top ten riders

The top ten riders are listed by their points average and only applies to the league.
| | Rider | Team | C.M.A. |
| 1 | Ove Fundin | Norwich Stars | 10.71 |
| 2 | Dick Fisher | Belle Vue Aces | 10.19 |
| 3 | Ronnie Moore | Wimbledon Dons | 10.17 |
| 4 | The late Peter Craven | Belle Vue Aces | 10.13 |
| 5 | Nigel Boocock | Coventry Bees | 9.84 |
| 6 | Ron How | Wimbledon Dons | 9.68 |
| 7 | Björn Knutson | Southampton Saints | 9.27 |
| 8 | Barry Briggs | Southampton Saints | 9.13 |
| 9 | Ken McKinlay | Coventry Bees | 8.99 |
| 10 | Peter Moore | Swindon Robins | 8.98 |

## National Trophy

The 1963 National Trophy was the 25th edition of the Knockout Cup. Norwich were the winners.
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 22/06 | Norwich | 60-24 | Wimbledon |
| 17/06 | Wimbledon | 38-46 | Norwich |
| 20/06 | Oxford | 39-45 | Swindon |
| 15/06 | Swindon | 53-31 | Oxford |
| 18/06 | Southampton | 46-37 | Coventry |
| 15/06 | Coventry | 54-30 | Southampton |
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 21/08 | Belle Vue | 55-29 | Coventry |
| 14/08 | Coventry | 41-43 | Belle Vue |
| 09/08 | Swindon | 48-36 | Norwich |
| 31/07 | Norwich | 49-35 | Swindon |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
Norwich were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 90–78.

## Riders & final averages

Belle Vue
* Dick Fisher 10.19
* Peter Craven 10.13
* Gordon McGregor 8.67
* Sören Sjösten 7.77
* Cyril Maidment 6.17
* Jim Yacoby 2.87
* Bill Powell 2.07
* Norman Nevitt 2.00
Coventry
* Nigel Boocock 9.84
* Ken McKinlay 8.99
* Jim Lightfoot 7.31
* Bryan Elliott 5.52
* Ron Mountford 5.35
* Les Owen 4.00
* Jack Biggs 3.59
* Peter Brough 3.05
* Rick France 1.33
* Howie Booton 0.80
Norwich
* Ove Fundin 10.71
* Olle Nygren 8.64
* Terry Betts 8.39
* Trevor Hedge 8.00
* Jimmy Gooch 5.51
* Billy Bales 4.65
* Reg Trott 4.35
* John Debbage 3.04
Oxford
* Ronnie Genz 8.28
* Jack Geran 7.39
* Arne Pander 6.83
* Chum Taylor 6.00
* Colin Gooddy 6.00
* George Major 5.16
* Alf Hagon 4.31
* John Bishop 4.27
* Danny Dunton 3.67
Southampton
* Björn Knutson 9.27
* Barry Briggs 9.13
* Dick Bradley 8.55
* Alby Golden 6.17
* Stan Stevens 5.78
* Peter Vandenberg 5.58
* Reg Luckhurst 5.05
* Cyril Roger 4.93
* Stuart Wallace 1.82
Swindon
* Peter Moore 8.98
* Mike Broadbank 8.74
* Tadeusz Teodorowicz 6.57
* Brian Brett 6.44
* Neil Street 6.36
* Martin Ashby 5.80
* Ian Williams 5.01
Wimbledon
* Ronnie Moore 10.17
* Ron How 9.68
* Sverre Harrfeldt 8.53
* Bob Andrews 7.29
* Leo McAuliffe 6.57
* Roy Trigg 5.41
* Gerald Jackson 4.71
* Jim Tebby 4.44