# 1961 Speedway National League

The 1961 National League was the 27th season and the sixteenth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.

## Summary

The entry list was identical to the previous year and although Wimbledon Dons won their seventh title in eight years, it would be their last.

## Final table

| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Wimbledon Dons | 18 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 30 |
| 2 | Southampton Saints | 18 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 28 |
| 3 | Coventry Bees | 18 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 21 |
| 4 | Belle Vue Aces | 18 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 20 |
| 5 | Swindon Robins | 18 | 8 | 0 | 10 | 16 |
| 6 | Ipswich Witches | 18 | 7 | 1 | 10 | 15 |
| 7 | Norwich Stars | 18 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 14 |
| 8 | New Cross Rangers | 18 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 14 |
| 9 | Oxford Cheetahs | 18 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 13 |
| 10 | Leicester Hunters | 18 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 9 |

## Fixtures and results

| Home \ Away | BV | COV | IPS | LEI | NC | NOR | OX | SOT | SWI | WIM |
| Belle Vue | | 57–21 | 44–34 | 52–26 | 60–17 | 40–38 | 48–30 | 44–34 | 43–35 | 48–30 |
| Coventry | 45–33 | | 46–32 | 50–28 | 46–32 | 41–37 | 40–38 | 39–39 | 54–24 | 43–35 |
| Ipswich | 40–38 | 43–35 | | 44–33 | 51–27 | 50–28 | 51–27 | 36–41 | 42–36 | 34–44 |
| Leicester | 35–43 | 34–44 | 39–39 | | 46–32 | 40–38 | 42–36 | 36–42 | 50–28 | 37–41 |
| New Cross | 41–37 | 47–31 | 55–23 | 54–24 | | 51–27 | 44–34 | 31–45 | 44–33 | 34–44 |
| Norwich | 40–38 | 37–41 | 46.5–31.5 | 49–29 | 55–23 | | 43–23 | 45–33 | 52–26 | 37–41 |
| Oxford | 45–33 | 59–19 | 40–38 | 51–27 | 48–30 | 41–37 | | 39–39 | 32–46 | 33–45 |
| Southampton | 42–36 | 53–25 | 49–29 | 56–22 | 56–22 | 53–25 | 45–33 | | 42–36 | 49–29 |
| Swindon | 45–33 | 47–31 | 41–37 | 44–34 | 54–24 | 45–33 | 48–30 | 37–41 | | 34–44 |
| Wimbledon | 44–34 | 53–25 | 51–27 | 61–17 | 60–18 | 54–24 | 52–26 | 49–29 | 53–24 | |

## Top ten averages (league only)

| | Rider | Team | C.M.A. |
| 1 | Ove Fundin | Norwich | 11.51 |
| 2 | Ronnie Moore | Wimbledon | 11.17 |
| 3 | Peter Craven | Belle Vue | 10.95 |
| 4 | Björn Knutson | Southampton | 10.79 |
| 5 | Arne Pander | Oxford | 10.60 |
| 6 | Barry Briggs | Southampton | 10.13 |
| 7 | Ron How | Wimbledon | 10.05 |
| 8 | Ron Johnston | Belle Vue | 10.00 |
| 9 | Ken McKinlay | Leicester | 9.57 |
| 10 | Bob Duckworth | Belle Vue | 9.48 |

## National Trophy

The 1961 National Trophy was the 23rd edition of the Knockout Cup. Southampton were the winners.
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 15/06 | Oxford | 43-40 | Southampton |
| 13/06 | Southampton | 58-26 | Oxford |
| 10/06 | Belle Vue | 55-28 | New Cross |
| 07/06 | New Cross | 46-37 | Belle Vue |
Second round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 17/08 | Ipswich | 44-40 | Coventry |
| 09/08 | Norwich | 43-40 | Swindon |
| 08/08 | Southampton | 52-32 | Belle Vue |
| 29/07 | Belle Vue | 47-37 | Southampton |
| 24/07 | Wimbledon | 46-38 | Norwich |
| 22/07 | Norwich | 52-32 | Wimbledon |
| 22/07 | Swindon | 66-18 | Leicester |
| 21/07 | Leicester | 38-45 | Swindon |
Semifinals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 09/09 | Swindon | 56-28 | Norwich |
| 29/08 | Southampton | 57-27 | Coventry |
| 26/08 | Coventry | 49-35 | Southampton |
| 09/08 | Norwich | 43-40 | Swindon |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
Southampton were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 98–70.

## Riders & final averages

Belle Vue
* Peter Craven 10.95
* Ron Johnston 10.00
* Bob Duckworth 9.48
* Dick Fisher 7.30
* Jack Kitchen 5.90
* Slant Payling 3.60
* Jim Yacoby 3.25
* Bryce Subritzky 3.21
* Bill Powell 2.67
* Peter Kelly 2.00
Coventry
* Nigel Boocock 7.84
* Jack Young 7.73
* Les Owen 7.44
* Nick Nicholls 6.00
* Ron Mountford 5.97
* Kazimierz Bentke 5.10
* Maury Mattingley 4.00
* Jim Lightfoot 4.15
Ipswich
* Peter Moore 8.90
* Ray Cresp 8.39
* Jimmy Squibb 6.36
* Les McGillivray 6.34
* Colin Gooddy 5.85
* Jack Unstead 5.07
* Trevor Blokdyk 4.12
* Len Silver 4.00
* Dennis Day 2.29
Leicester
* Ken McKinlay 9.57
* Paweł Waloszek 6.92
* Jack Geran 6.47
* Bryan Elliott 5.39
* Charlie Barsby 5.33
* Alf Hagon 4.12
* Guy Allott 3.24
* Dave Hankins 2.72
* Neil Mortimer 2.61
New Cross
* Split Waterman 8.06
* Tommy Sweetman 8.00
* Doug Davies 6.96
* Eric Williams 6.54
* Jimmy Gooch 6.44
* Leo McAuliffe 6.17
* Reg Luckhurst 4.96
* Bengt Brannefors 4.00
* Johnny Fitzpatrick 4.33
* Bobby Croombs 3.75
Norwich
* Ove Fundin 11.51
* Johnny Chamberlain 7.77
* Billy Bales 7.67
* Dennis Newton 5.48
* Derek Strutt 4.80
* Reg Trott 4.37
* John Debbage 3.90
* Kurt W. Petersen 3.45
* Terry Betts 2.50
* Harry Edwards 2.40
* Trevor Hedge 0.00
Oxford
* Arne Pander 10.60
* Jack Biggs 8.72
* Ronnie Genz 8.16
* Gordon McGregor 6.56
* Howdy Byford 5.33
* Danny Dunton 5.27
* Reg Duval 3.72
* Jim Tebby 3.48
* George Major 1.85
* Roy Bowers 1.68
Southampton
* Björn Knutson 10.79
* Barry Briggs 10.13
* Jack Scott 8.80
* Chum Taylor 7.83
* Cyril Roger 6.73
* Dick Bradley 5.59
* Ross Gilbertson 5.00
* Alby Golden 4.55
* Peter Vandenberg 4.29
Swindon
* Neil Street 7.83
* George White 7.82
* Tadeusz Teodorowicz 7.52
* Mike Broadbank 6.96
* Ian Williams 6.22
* Arne Carlsson 6.00
* Martin Ashby 6.00
* Brian Meredith 5.39
* Brian Brett 4.85
* Bob Roger 1.00
Wimbledon
* Ronnie Moore 11.17
* Ron How 10.05
* Bob Andrews 9.04
* Jim Tebby 7.33
* Cyril Maidment 7.17
* Cyril Brine 7.14
* Gerald Jackson 5.58
* Gil Goldfinch 5.10
* Roy Trigg 0.00