# 1953 Speedway National League

The 1953 National League Division One was the 19th season of speedway in the United Kingdom and the eighth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.

## Summary

Wembley Lions won their fifth consecutive title and their eighth overall.
Wimbledon Dons won the National Trophy for the fourth time and Harringay Racers completed a cup double winning the Coronation Cup and London Cup.
New Cross Rangers folded part way through the 1953 season because MD Fred Mockford stated attendances were down to 5,000 and racing was being staged at a loss.
Novice rider Harry Eyre died in Poplar Hospital on 7 July 1953. He suffered fatal injuries earlier that evening at West Ham Stadium, in a second half novices match against Bradford.

## National League final table

| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Wembley Lions | 16 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 23 |
| 2 | Harringay Racers | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 22 |
| 3 | Birmingham Brummies | 16 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 19 |
| 4 | Bradford Tudors | 16 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 17 |
| 5 | Wimbledon Dons | 16 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 16 |
| 6 | West Ham Hammers | 16 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 14 |
| 7 | Norwich Stars | 16 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 12 |
| 8 | Belle Vue Aces | 16 | 5 | 1 | 10 | 11 |
| 9 | Bristol Bulldogs | 16 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 10 |
New Cross Rangers withdrew mid-season - record expunged.

## Fixtures & results

| Home \ Away | BV | BIR | BRA | BRI | HAR | NOR | WEM | WH | WIM |
| Belle Vue | | 39–45 | 37–47 | 46–37 | 52–32 | 62–22 | 42–42 | 48–36 | 53–31 |
| Birmingham | 48–36 | | 51–33 | 53–31 | 37–47 | 56–28 | 46–38 | 49–35 | 48–36 |
| Bradford | 56–28 | 42–42 | | 55–29 | 37–47 | 51–33 | 40–43 | 58–26 | 43–41 |
| Bristol | 63–21 | 50–34 | 58–26 | | 41–43 | 56–28 | 40–43 | 62–22 | 39–45 |
| Harringay | 47–37 | 53–30 | 51–32 | 51–33 | | 56–27 | 33–51 | 60–24 | 49–35 |
| Norwich | 51–33 | 37–47 | 36–48 | 59–25 | 54–30 | | 44–39 | 55–29 | 51–32 |
| Wembley | 51–33 | 57–27 | 59–25 | 51–33 | 50–34 | 59–25 | | 39.5–44.5 | 58–26 |
| West Ham | 57–27 | 54–30 | 51–33 | 46–38 | 26–58 | 57–27 | 33–51 | | 50–34 |
| Wimbledon | 56–28 | 46–36 | 39–45 | 52–32 | 59–25 | 59–25 | 42–41 | 50–34 | |

## Coronation Cup final table

The Coronation Cup was run in a league format. Harringay Racers came out on top.
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Harringay Racers | 16 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 24 |
| 2 | Wembley Lions | 16 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 18 |
| 3 | Bradford Tudors | 16 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 17 |
| 4 | Belle Vue Aces | 16 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 16 |
| 5 | Norwich Stars | 16 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 15 |
| 6 | Wimbledon Dons | 16 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 14 |
| 7 | West Ham Hammers | 16 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 14 |
| 8 | Bristol Bulldogs | 16 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 14 |
| 9 | Birmingham Brummies | 16 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 12 |
New Cross Rangers completed 15 of their 16 fixtures before withdrawing and their record was expunged.

## Top Ten Riders (League only)

| | Rider | Team | C.M.A. |
| 1 | Ronnie Moore | Wimbledon | 10.63 |
| 2 | Jack Young | West Ham | 10.61 |
| 3 | Alan Hunt | Birmingham | 10.47 |
| 4 | Olle Nygren | Bristol | 10.25 |
| 5 | Freddie Williams | Wembley | 10.13 |
| 6 | Arthur Forrest | Bradford | 9.94 |
| 7 | Split Waterman | Harringay | 9.84 |
| 8 | Eric Williams | Wembley | 9.66 |
| 9 | Aub Lawson | Norwich | 9.19 |
| 10 | Tommy Price | Wembley | 9.13 |

## National Trophy

The 1953 National Trophy was the 16th edition of the Knockout Cup.
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 25/04 | Ipswich | 57-51 | Southampton |
| 25/04 | Swindon | 68-40 | Exeter |
| 24/04 | Plymouth | 54-54 | Oxford |
| 23/04 | Cardiff | 80-28 | St Austell |
| 23/04 | Oxford | 66-42 | Plymouth |
| 21/04 | Southampton | 74-33 | Ipswich |
| 21/04 | St Austell | 55-53 | Cardiff |
| 20/04 | Exeter | 60-48 | Swindon |
Second round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 19/05 | Cardiff | 42.5-65.5 | Leicester |
| 15/05 | Leicester | 70-38 | Cardiff |
| 15/05 | Motherwell | 78-30 | Swindon |
| 15/05 | Wolverhampton | 71-37 | Southampton |
| 14/05 | Oxford | 51-57 | Rayleigh |
| 12/05 | Southampton | 49-59 | Wolverhampton |
| 11/05 | Liverpool | 40-68 | Coventry |
| 09/05 | Coventry | 76-32 | Liverpool |
| 09/05 | Edinburgh | 47-61 | Glasgow White City |
| 09/05 | Rayleigh | 67-41 | Oxford |
| 09/05 | Stoke | 69-39 | Yarmouth |
| 09/05 | Swindon | 62-46 | Motherwell |
| 06/05 | Glasgow White City | 75-33 | Edinburgh |
| 05/05 | Yarmouth | 52-55 | Stoke |
Third round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 24/06 | Glasgow White City | 76-32 | Wolverhampton |
| 29/05 | Leicester | 68-40 | Rayleigh |
| 29/05 | Motherwell | 73-35 | Poole |
| 29/05 | Wolverhampton | 49-59 | Glasgow White City |
| 25/05 | Poole | 62-46 | Motherwell |
| 23/05 | Coventry | 69-39 | Stoke |
| 23/05 | Rayleigh | 72-36 | Leicester |
| 21/05 | Stoke | 71-37 | Coventry |
Fourth round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 11/07 | Bradford Odsal | 63-45 | Bristol |
| 04/07 | Belle Vue | 50-58 | Wimbledon |
| 04/07 | Harringay | 85-23 | Motherwell |
| 04/07 | Norwich | 71-37 | West Ham |
| 04/07 | Rayleigh | 64-44 | Glasgow White City |
| 03/07 | Bristol | 65-42 | Bradford Odsal |
| 03/07 | Motherwell | 63-45 | Harringay |
| 01/07 | Glasgow White City | 69-39 | Rayleigh |
| 30/06 | West Ham | 59-49 | Norwich |
| 29/06 | Wimbledon | 77-31 | Belle Vue |
Quarterfinals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 01/08 | Stoke | 38-70 | Wimbledon |
| 25/07 | Norwich | 58-49 | Bristol |
| 24/07 | Bristol | 64-44 | Norwich |
| 20/07 | Wimbledon | 89-19 | Stoke |
| 18/07 | Harringay | 40-68 | Wembley |
| 16/07 | Wembley | 60-48 | Harringay |
| 15/07 | Glasgow White City | 56-52 | Birmingham |
| 11/07 | Birmingham | 70-38 | Glasgow White City |
Semifinals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 10/08 | Wimbledon | 59-49 | Bristol |
| 08/08 | Birmingham | 62.5-45.5 | Wembley |
| 07/08 | Bristol | 46-62 | Wimbledon |
| 06/08 | Wembley | 78-29 | Birmingham |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
Wimbledon were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 110–106.

## London Cup

First round
| Team one | Score | Team two |
| Wimbledon | 61–46, 56–52 | Wembley |
Semi final round
| Team one | Score | Team two |
| Wimbledon | 46–58, 38–69 | West Ham |
| Harringay | 64–44, w/o | New Cross |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
Harringay won on aggregate 110–106

## Midland Cup

Birmingham won the Midland Cup, which consisted of six teams. There were two teams from division 1 and four teams from division 2.
First round
| Team one | Team two | Score |
| Leicester | Stoke | 65–31, 46–50 |
Semi final round
| Team one | Team two | Score |
| Leicester | Coventry | 50–46, 43–53 |
| Birmingham | Bradford | 73–25, 59–37 |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
Birmingham won on aggregate 119–73

## Riders & final averages

Belle Vue
* Ron Johnston 7.88
* Peter Craven 7.74
* Ken Sharples 8.27
* Jack Parker 7.00
* Louis Lawson 6.69
* Dick Fisher 4.62
* Harry Edwards 4.22
* Jock Grierson 3.87
* Willie Wilson 3.86
* Bob Fletcher 3.74
* Olle Segerström 2.00
* Val Morton 2.00
Birmingham
* Alan Hunt 10.47
* Graham Warren 7.67
* Dan Forsberg 7.64
* Eric Boothroyd 7.19
* Arthur Payne 7.19
* Harry Bastable 6.36
* Ron Mountford 5.97
* Phil Malpass 4.57
* Bob Roger 4.48
* Ron Barrett 4.21
* Ron Mason 3.00
* Bill Jemison 1.25
* Lionel Watling (James Goldingay) 1.18
Bradford
* Arthur Forrest 9.94
* Eddie Rigg 8.00
* Arthur Wright 7.14
* Dick Seers 6.26
* Ron Clarke 6.20
* Keith Milner 5.50
* Dent Oliver 5.69
* Arthur Atkinson 5.04
* Arthur Bush 5.00
* Bill Longley 3.69
* Wal Morton 4.27
Bristol
* Olle Nygren 10.25
* Dick Bradley 8.13
* Eric Salmon 7.88
* Billy Hole 7.55
* Jack Unstead 6.67
* Johnny Hole 6.10
* Chris Boss 5.80
* Chum Taylor 4.37
* Geoff Pymar 4.24
Harringay
* Split Waterman 9.84
* Jack Biggs 9.00
* Jeff Lloyd 8.14
* Maurice Dunn 7.73
* Ron How 7.60
* Frank Lawrence 5.87
* Stan Clark 5.33
* Ken Walsh 5.00
* Arthur Atkinson 4.68
* Allan Quinn 4.00
New Cross (withdrew)
* Jock Grierson
* Cyril Roger
* Olle Nygren
* Bert Roger
* Merv Harding
* Bill Longley
* Bob Roger
* Eric French
* Frank Lawrence
Norwich
* Aub Lawson 9.19
* Cyril Roger 7.48
* Fred Rogers 6.76
* Billy Bales 6.40
* Merv Neil 5.60
* Phil Clarke 5.49
* Fred Pawson 5.12
* Roy Craighead 3.40
* Alec Hunter 2.29
* Jack Freeman 2.00
Wembley
* Freddie Williams 10.13
* Eric Williams 9.66
* Tommy Price 9.13
* Brian Crutcher 7.87
* Bill Kitchen 6.26
* Jimmy Gooch 4.78
* Eric French 6.23
* Trevor Redmond 6.05
* George Wilks 4.57
West Ham
* Jack Young 10.61
* Basse Hveem 8.00
* Wally Green 7.43
* Pat Clark 7.72
* Howdy Byford 4.68
* Bert Roger 4.49
* Malcolm Craven 5.50
* Keith Gurtner 3.92
* Kid Curtis 2.86
* Cliff Watson 2.29
Wimbledon
* Ronnie Moore 10.63
* Geoff Mardon 8.66
* Sune Karlsson 8.00
* Peter Moore 6.97
* Barry Briggs 6.31
* Norman Parker 7.50
* Dom Perry 5.57
* Bill Longley 5.05
* Reg Trott 4.49
* Cyril Brine 4.42
* Cyril Maidment 2.72
* Dennis Gray 1.60