# 1962 Provincial Speedway League

The 1962 Provincial Speedway League was the third season of the Provincial League.

## Summary

Thirteen speedway teams took part. Bradford, at their new venue at Greenfields Stadium, returned to the league after missing the previous season due to delays building their new track. The league season proved to be disastrous for Bradford and the club folded at the end of the year. New team Neath Welsh Dragons joined the league and Leicester joined after dropping down from the National League. Neath, near Port Talbot in Wales, was not a successful venue and many of their fixtures were raced at St. Austell. Rayleigh Rockets withdrew with promoters Wally Mawdsley and Pete Lansdale citing falling gates and rider wage demands.
Poole won the league championship for the second year in a row. The Neath Welsh Dragons achieved what was described as the impossible by finishing second in the league standings.

## Final table

| Pos | Team | M | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Poole Pirates | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 34 |
| 2 | Neath Welsh Dragons | 24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 29 |
| 3 | Exeter Falcons | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 28 |
| 4 | Stoke Potters | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 28 |
| 5 | Edinburgh Monarchs | 24 | 12 | 2 | 10 | 26 |
| 6 | Plymouth Devils | 24 | 12 | 2 | 10 | 26 |
| 7 | Sheffield Tigers | 24 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 25 |
| 8 | Cradley Heath Heathens | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 24 |
| 9 | Newcastle Diamonds | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 24 |
| 10 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 23 |
| 11 | Middlesbrough Bears | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 22 |
| 12 | Leicester Hunters | 24 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 12 |
| 13 | Bradford Panthers | 24 | 5 | 1 | 18 | 11 |
M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points

## Fixtures and results

| Home \ Away | BRA | CH | ED | EX | LEI | MID | ND | NEW | PLY | PP | SHE | STO | WOL |
| Bradford | | 45–33 | 32–46 | 29–49 | 49–28 | 44–34 | 32–46 | 38–40 | 42–36 | 34–41 | 39–39 | 41–37 | 34–43 |
| Cradley Heath | 50–28 | | 43–35 | 45–32 | 48–30 | 44–34 | 38–40 | 52–26 | 49–29 | 40–38 | 56–22 | 36–42 | 46–32 |
| Edinburgh | 51–26 | 50–28 | | 48–29 | 47–31 | 41–37 | 42–36 | 48–29 | 38–39 | 37–41 | 40–38 | 43–34 | 34–44 |
| Exeter | 57–21 | 56–22 | 44–34 | | 51–27 | 49–29 | 43–34 | 60–18 | 44–34 | 43–35 | 46–32 | 45–33 | 61–14 |
| Leicester | 56–22 | 37–41 | 30–45 | 48–30 | | 40–38 | 32–44 | 51–27 | 32–46 | 32–45 | 37–41 | 48–30 | 51.5–26.5 |
| Middlesbrough | 48–29 | 42–36 | 54–24 | 55–23 | 51–27 | | 49–29 | 37–31 | 49–29 | 34–44 | 44–34 | 50–28 | 41–37 |
| Neath | 51–27 | 34–44 | 42–36 | 34–44 | 50–28 | 49–29 | | 44–34 | 47–31 | 36–42 | 41–36 | 50–28 | 47–31 |
| Newcastle | 51–27 | 45–32 | 40–38 | 51–26 | 46–30 | 35–43 | 37–40 | | 47–29 | 40–38 | 44.5–31.5 | 41–37 | 28–50 |
| Plymouth | 44–34 | 45–33 | 39–39 | 42–36 | 41–37 | 46–32 | 39–39 | 38–37 | | 43–34 | 42–36 | 43–25 | 55–22 |
| Poole | 55–23 | 54–23 | 47–30 | 58–19 | 54–24 | 47–31 | 38–40 | 54–24 | 45–32 | | 48–30 | 52–25 | 62–16 |
| Sheffield | 45–33 | 47–31 | 36–42 | 43–35 | 49–29 | 49–29 | 49–29 | 54–24 | 54–23 | 42–36 | | 46–32 | 61–15 |
| Stoke | 53–24 | 47–31 | 46–32 | 45–33 | 60–18 | 41–36 | 42–35 | 43–35 | 41–36 | 45–33 | 46–32 | | 44–33 |
| Wolverhampton | 56–22 | 40–36 | 39–39 | 52–26 | 55–23 | 46–32 | 45–33 | 36–42 | 50–28 | 37–40 | 48–30 | 33–45 | |

## Top five riders (league only)

| | Rider | Team | C.M.A. |
| 1 | Ivor Brown | Cradley | 10.21 |
| 2 | Clive Featherby | Sheffield | 10.21 |
| 3 | Eric Boothroyd | Middlesbrough | 10.15 |
| 4 | Geoff Mudge | Poole | 10.04 |
| 5 | Jimmy Squibb | Plymouth | 9.74 |

## Provincial League Knockout Cup

The 1962 Provincial League Knockout Cup was the third edition of the Knockout Cup for the Provincial League teams. Exeter Falcons were the winners.
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 18/06 | Newcastle | 74–22 | Sheffield |
| 21/06 | Middlesbrough | 66–30 | Cradley Heath |
| 22/06 | Leicester | 32–64 | Poole |
| 22/06 | Bradford | 57–39 | Neath |
| 23/06 | Edinburgh | 71–25 | Wolverhampton |
Second round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 11/08 | Edinburgh | 54–42 | Middlesbrough |
| 11/08 | Stoke | 61–31 | Newcastle |
| 14/08 | Bradford | 44–52 | Poole |
| 27/08 | Exeter | 53–43 | Plymouth |
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 10/09 | Exeter | 57–39 | Edinburgh |
| 15/09 | Stoke | 49–47 | Poole |

### Final

| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 20/10 | Stoke | 60–36 | Exeter |
| 22/10 | Exeter | 70–26 | Stoke |

## Riders' Championship

Len Silver won the Riders' Championship. The final was held at Hyde Road on 22 September in front of 20,000 spectators. Four riders finished on 11 points forcing a race off.
| Pos. | Rider | Pts | Total |
| 1 | Len Silver | 2 3 3 3 | 11+3 |
| 2 | Wayne Briggs | 3 2 3 3 | 11+2 |
| 3 | Brian Craven | 3 3 2 3 | 11+1 |
| 4 | Guy Allott | 3 2 3 3 | 11+0 |
| 5 | Geoff Mudge | 2 2 2 3 | 9 |
| 6 | Ron Bagley | 3 2 2 2 | 9 |
| 7 | Norman Hunter | 3 3 1 2 | 9 |
| 8 | Doug Templeton | 1 1 3 3 | 8 |
| 9 | Brian McKeown | 2 3 1 1 | 7 |
| 10 | Ivor Brown | 1 3 1 2 | 7 |
| 11 | Pete Lansdale | 1 1 1 3 | 6 |
| 12 | Eric Hockaday | 1 3 0 2 | 6 |
| 13 | Jimmy Squibb | f 2 2 2 | 6 |
| 14 | Clive Featherby | 3 f 1 1 | 5 |
| 15 | Cliff Cox | 0 2 2 1 | 5 |
| 16 | Bill Andrew | 0 2 3 0 | 5 |
| 17 | Graham Warren | 1 0 0 2 | 3 |
| 18 | George Hunter | 2 1 - - | 3 |
| 19 | Eric Boothroyd | 2 0 1 0 | 3 |
| 20 | Trevor Redmond | 2 ef 1 0 | 3 |
| 21 | Eric Boocock | 1 1 0 0 | 2 |
| 22 | Willie Templeton | 0 1 0 ef | 1 |
| 23 | Charlie Monk | 0 1 0 0 | 1 |
| 24 | Howdy Byford (res) | 0 0 1 | 1 |
| 25 | Ernie Baker (res) | 0 1 | 1 |
| 26 | Reg Duval | 0 - - - - | 0 |
* f=fell, r-retired, exc=excluded, ef=engine failure

## Riders & final averages

Bradford
* Tommy Roper 7.10
* Reg Duval 6.23
* Geoff Pymar 5.89
* Peter Kelly 5.82
* Wal Morton 5.66
* Dave Gerrard 5.60
* Ray Day 5.40
* Stuart Hickman 3.56
* Dennis Jenkins 3.40
* Malcolm Bruce 2.67
Cradley Heath
* Ivor Brown 10.21
* Harry Bastable 7.91
* John Hart 6.80
* Ivor Davies 6.59
* Nick Nicholls 6.56
* Stan Stevens 6.45
* Derek Timms 5.49
* Alan Totney 3.82
* George Bewley 3.13
Edinburgh
* Doug Templeton 9.36
* Wayne Briggs 8.45
* Dick Campbell 7.05
* George Hunter 7.66
* Willie Templeton 6.67
* Alf Wells 6.24
* Jimmy Cox 4.44
* Dudley McKean 3.94
* Jimmy Tannock 3.80
Exeter
* Len Silver 8.97
* Pete Lansdale 8.00
* Howdy Byford 7.31
* Francis Cann 6.68
* Eric Howe 6.20
* Dennis Day 6.04
* Alan Cowland 5.64
Leicester
* Norman Hunter 7.85
* Eric Hockaday 7.25
* Derek Strutt 6.58
* Rick France 6.36
* Vic White 6.24
* Slant Payling 5.57
* Harry Edwards 5.35
* Bil Osborne 4.50
* Trevor Hedge 4.46
* John Poyser 3.59
Middlesbrough
* Eric Boothroyd 10.15
* Brian McKeown 8.83
* Johnny Fitzpatrick 7.38
* Eric Boocock 6.36
* Clive Hitch 5.49
* Dave Younghusband 4.33
* Kevin Torpie 3.20
* Bob Webb 2.18
Neath
* Trevor Redmond 9.43
* Charlie Monk 7.74
* Howdy Cornell 7.47
* Roy Taylor 7.44
* Jon Erskine 6.73
* George Major 5.78
* Glyn Chandler 5.26
* Fred Powell 2.46
Newcastle
* Brian Craven 9.60
* Gil Goldfinch 7.76
* Bill Andrew 6.70
* Mike Watkin 6.38
* Don Wilkinson 6.15
* Vic Lonsdale (Jack Thorp) 5.79
* Ivan Crozier 5.09
* Pete Sampson 4.25
* George Glen 4.05
* Russ Dent 3.20
Plymouth
* Jimmy Squibb 9.74
* Cliff Cox 8.87
* Chris Julian 7.31
* Chris Blewett 6.84
* Maury Mattingley 5.96
* Bert Roger 5.63
* Ivor Toms 3.25
* George Summers 2.87
* Ray Wickett 2.42
Poole
* Geoff Mudge 10.04
* Tony Lewis 9.30
* Ross Gilbertson 8.41
* Tim Bungay 7.78
* Roy Trigg 7.54
* Norman Strachan 6.74
* Bobby Croombs 6.05
* Pete Munday 3.25
Sheffield
* Clive Featherby 10.21
* Tony Robinson 9.60
* Guy Allott 9.58
* Ron Bagley 7.98
* Ronnie Rolfe 6.11
* Derrol Melbin 3.76
* John Dews 3.35
* Jack Winstanley 3.30
* Alan Jay 2.97
Stoke
* Eric Hockaday 8.69
* Ken Adams 8.67
* Pete Jarman 7.95
* Jimmy Heard 7.65
* Colin Pratt 6.20
* Ron Sharp 5.66
* John Edwards 4.93
* Howard Cole (Kid Bodie) 4.56
* Bill Wainwright 3.43
* Ray Harris 3.38
Wolverhampton
* Tommy Sweetman 8.67
* Graham Warren 8.13
* Ernie Baker 7.28
* Vic Ridgeon 6.52
* Cyril Francis 6.26
* Derek Strutt 6.16
* Les Jenkins 4.70
* Bill Bridgett 4.47
* Erol Brook 3.85
* Terry Stone 1.47