# 1962 Speedway National League

The 1962 National League was the 28th season and the seventeenth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.

## Summary

With the withdrawal of New Cross Rangers and with Leicester Hunters moving down to the Provincial League, the entry list was 8 teams and so home and away fixtures were raced twice. Southampton Saints broke the domination of Wimbledon Dons by winning their first National League title.
Ipswich Witches' season was a complete disaster. Their new signing Olle Nygren did not even start the season due to ill-health and then Jack Unstead was killed in the first recorded fatal crash at Foxhall Stadium, on 13 April 1962. The club later withdrew from the league due to financial issues and their results were expunged.

## Final table

| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Southampton Saints | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 36 |
| 2 | Wimbledon Dons | 24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 29 |
| 3 | Coventry Bees | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 26 |
| 4 | Belle Vue Aces | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 24 |
| 5 | Norwich Stars | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 24 |
| 6 | Swindon Robins | 24 | 9 | 2 | 13 | 20 |
| 7 | Oxford Cheetahs | 24 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 8 |
* Ipswich Witches resigned in mid-season.

## Fixtures and results
### A fixtures

| Home \ Away | BV | COV | IPS | NOR | OX | SOT | SWI | WIM |
| Belle Vue | | 29–49 | 38–40 | 51–27 | 44–34 | 42–36 | 43–35 | 34–44 |
| Coventry | 59–18 | | 47–31 | 45–33 | 46–31 | 37–41 | 48–30 | 40–38 |
| Ipswich | 41–37 | 29–49 | | 22–56 | 38–40 | 27–51 | 44–34 | 38–40 |
| Norwich | 37–41 | 35–43 | n/a | | 50–28 | 42–36 | 51–26 | 35–43 |
| Oxford | 38–40 | 42–36 | n/a | 35–43 | | 34–44 | 37–40 | 34.5–43.5 |
| Southampton | 46–32 | 50–28 | 60–18 | 53–25 | 60–18 | | 48–30 | 46–32 |
| Swindon | 44–33 | 45–33 | 57–21 | 44–34 | 40–38 | 36–41 | | 39–39 |
| Wimbledon | 52–26 | 43.5–34.5 | 52–26 | 54–24 | 53–25 | 47–30 | 59–19 | |

### B fixtures

| Home \ Away | BV | COV | IPS | NOR | OX | SOT | SWI | WIM |
| Belle Vue | | 41–37 | n/a | 38–40 | 47–31 | 43–35 | 40–38 | 44–34 |
| Coventry | 48–30 | | n/a | 53–25 | 55–23 | 47–31 | 45–33 | 46–32 |
| Ipswich | n/a | n/a | | n/a | 40–38 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Norwich | 46–32 | 40–38 | n/a | | 52–26 | 47–31 | 50–28 | 40–38 |
| Oxford | 33–45 | 47–31 | n/a | 40–38 | | 24–54 | 41–37 | 24–54 |
| Southampton | 49–29 | 52–26 | n/a | 58–20 | 59–19 | | 42–35 | 53–25 |
| Swindon | 39–39 | 40–37 | n/a | 43–35 | 42–36 | 31–47 | | 44–34 |
| Wimbledon | 53–25 | 46–31 | 42–36 | 38–40 | 49–29 | 36–42 | 47–31 | |

## Top Ten Riders (League only)

| | Rider | Team | C.M.A. |
| 1 | Ronnie Moore | Wimbledon | 10.14 |
| 2 | Björn Knutson | Southampton | 9.89 |
| 3 | Olle Nygren | Swindon/Norwich | 9.86 |
| 4 | Peter Craven | Belle Vue | 9.75 |
| 5 | Barry Briggs | Southampton | 9.64 |
| 6 | Ove Fundin | Norwich | 9.30 |
| 7 | Ron How | Wimbledon | 9.30 |
| 8 | Peter Moore | Ipswich/Swindon | 9.02 |
| 9 | Bob Andrews | Wimbledon | 8.82 |
| 10 | Ron Mountford | Coventry | 8.74 |

## National Trophy

The 1962 National Trophy was the 24th edition of the Knockout Cup. Wimbledon were the winners.
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 25/06 | Wimbledon | 49-35 | Belle Vue |
| 23/06 | Belle Vue | 46-38 | Wimbledon |
| 23/06 | Swindon | 51-33 | Ipswich |
| 22/06 | Ipswich | 42-40 | Swindon |
| 19/06 | Southampton | 56-28 | Coventry |
| 16/06 | Norwich | 33-51 | Oxford |
| 14/06 | Oxford | 47-37 | Norwich |
| 16/06 | Coventry | 41-43 | Southampton |
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 23/08 | Oxford | 45-39 | Swindon |
| 18/08 | Swindon | 59-25 | Oxford |
| 14/08 | Southampton | 42-42 | Wimbledon |
| 13/08 | Wimbledon | 50-33 | Southampton |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
Wimbledon were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 94–74.

## Riders & final averages

Belle Vue
* Peter Craven 9.75
* Sören Sjösten 8.23
* Cyril Maidment 7.95
* Dick Fisher 7.33
* Split Waterman 4.44
* Bob Duckworth 4.00
* Jim Yacoby 3.67
* Bernard McArthur 3.60
* Jack Kitchen 3.27
* Peter Kelly 3.17
* Bill Powell 2.50
* Nick Nicholls 2.33
Coventry
* Ron Mountford 8.74
* Ken McKinlay 8.63
* Nigel Boocock 8.20
* Les Owen 7.61
* Jim Lightfoot 6.33
* Bryan Elliott 6.11
* Les McGillivray 5.33
* Rick France 4.47
* Peter Brough 3.35
Ipswich (resigned mid season)
* Peter Moore 8.73
* Split Waterman 6.63
* Colin Gooddy 6.06
* Bob Dugard 6.00
* Les McGillivray 5.85
* Leif Larsson 5.17
* Bengt Brannefors 4.44
* Sandy McGillivray 2.24
* Trevor Blokdyk 3.33
* John Mills 1.33
* Jack Unstead n/a
Norwich
* Olle Nygren 9.80
* Ove Fundin 9.30
* Terry Betts 6.78
* Jimmy Gooch 6.49
* Reg Trott 6.07
* John Debbage 5.56
* Billy Bales 5.48
* Trevor Hedge 4.67
* Eric Williams 4.39
* Derek Strutt 2.74
* Ken Last 2.67
Oxford
* Ronnie Genz 6.91
* Jack Geran 6.88
* Alf Hagon 5.84
* Reg Duval 5.56
* Colin Gooddy 5.20
* Gordon McGregor 5.20
* Per Tage Svensson 4.93
* Jack Biggs 4.42
* John Bishop 2.73
Southampton
* Björn Knutson 9.89
* Barry Briggs 9.64
* Cyril Roger 7.49
* Alby Golden 7.33
* Peter Vandenberg 7.10
* Reg Luckhurst 6.54
* Dick Bradley 6.37
Swindon
* Peter Moore 9.71
* Mike Broadbank 8.27
* Brian Meredith 8.00
* Neil Street 6.94
* Ian Williams 6.21
* Arne Carlsson 6.00
* Brian Brett 5.62
* Tadeusz Teodorowicz 5.30
* Martin Ashby 4.45
* Buster Brown 2.67
Wimbledon
* Ronnie Moore 10.14
* Ron How 9.30
* Bob Andrews 8.82
* Gerald Jackson 7.03
* Ernie Baker 6.50
* Cyril Brine 6.00
* Roy Trigg 5.14
* Leo McAuliffe 4.82
* Jim Tebby 3.35