# 1964 Speedway National League

The 1964 National League was the 30th season and the nineteenth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain, but the final season of the National League being the highest tier.

## Summary

West Ham Hammers returned after a nine-year absence but the league stayed at seven competitors with the withdrawal of Southampton Saints. Oxford Cheetahs, who had finished bottom of the table in 1963, rose spectacularly up the league to win the title, a repeat of the feat they had accomplished at a lower level in 1950.

## Final table

| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Oxford Cheetahs | 12 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 18 |
| 2 | Coventry Bees | 12 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 17 |
| 3 | Norwich Stars | 12 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 12 |
| 4 | Belle Vue Aces | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 11 |
| 5 | Swindon Robins | 12 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 9 |
| 6 | Wimbledon Dons | 12 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 9 |
| 7 | West Ham Hammers | 12 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 8 |
On account of the small number of teams in the league meeting each other only once home and away, the Britannia Shield was run in a league format. Oxford Cheetahs came out on top.

## Fixtures and results

| Home \ Away | BV | COV | NOR | OX | SWI | WH | WIM |
| Belle Vue | | 40–44 | 48–36 | 46–38 | 42–42 | 47–37 | 50–34 |
| Coventry | 45–39 | | 44–40 | 51–33 | 51–33 | 45–39 | 42–42 |
| Norwich | 46–38 | 34.5–49.5 | | 45–39 | 43–41 | 45–39 | 50–34 |
| Oxford | 53–31 | 52–32 | 48–36 | | 45–39 | 50–34 | 54–30 |
| Swindon | 49–35 | 44–40 | 40–44 | 40–43 | | 51–32 | 48–35 |
| West Ham | 38–45 | 44–40 | 46–38 | 39–44 | 43–41 | | 50–34 |
| Wimbledon | 49–35 | 39–45 | 51–33 | 38–46 | 43–41 | 46–38 | |

## Britannia Shield table

| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Oxford Cheetahs | 12 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 17 |
| 2 | Coventry Bees | 12 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 16 |
| 3 | Belle Vue Aces | 12 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 12 |
| 4 | Swindon Robins | 12 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 12 |
| 5 | Norwich Stars | 12 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| 6 | Wimbledon Dons | 12 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| 7 | West Ham Hammers | 12 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 7 |

## Fixtures and results

| Home \ Away | BV | COV | NOR | OX | SWI | WH | WIM |
| Belle Vue | | 39–45 | 46–38 | 45–39 | 51–33 | 46–38 | 46–38 |
| Coventry | 45–39 | | 57–27 | 49–35 | 51–33 | 50–34 | 53–31 |
| Norwich | 49–35 | 47–35 | | 37–47 | 55–29 | 58–26 | 55–29 |
| Oxford | 46–38 | 48–36 | 55–29 | | 53–31 | 54–30 | 47–37 |
| Swindon | 50–34 | 39–45 | 47–37 | 44–40 | | 46–38 | 45–39 |
| West Ham | 39–45 | 44–40 | 43–40 | 42–42 | 45–39 | | 41–42 |
| Wimbledon | 44–40 | 49–35 | 46–38 | 40–43 | 45–43 | 43–41 | |

## Top ten riders (league only)

| | Rider | Team | C.M.A. |
| 1 | Ove Fundin | Norwich Stars | 10.71 |
| 2 | Göte Nordin | Wimbledon Dons | 10.62 |
| 3 | Barry Briggs | Swindon Robins | 10.51 |
| 4 | Nigel Boocock | Coventry Bees | 10.44 |
| 5 | Ken McKinlay | Coventry Bees | 9.92 |
| 6 | Ron How | Oxford Cheetahs | 9.84 |
| 7 | Mike Broadbank | Swindon Robins | 9.80 |
| 8 | Sören Sjösten | Belle Vue Aces | 9.62 |
| 9 | Björn Knutson | West Ham Hammers | 9.16 |
| 10 | Dick Fisher | Belle Vue Aces | 8.77 |

## National Trophy

The 1964 National Trophy was the 26th edition of the Knockout Cup. Oxford were the winners.
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 03/07 | Norwich | 47-36 | Oxford |
| 25/06 | Oxford | 48-36 | Norwich |
| 13/06 | Coventry | 43-41 | West Ham |
| 09/06 | West Ham | 45-39 | Coventry |
| 17/08 | Wimbledon | 46-38 | Swindon |
| 08/08 | Swindon | 51-33 | Wimbledon |
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 08/08 | Belle Vue | 32a-28a | Oxford |
| 12/09 | Belle Vue | 46-38 | Oxford |
| 06/08 | Oxford | 49-35 | Belle Vue |
| 01/09 | West Ham | 51-33 | Swindon |
| 05/09 | Swindon | 43-41 | West Ham |
a=abandoned after 10 heats

### Final

first leg
second leg
Oxford Cheetahs were declared National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 85-83.

## London Cup

Just two teams competed. Wimbledon won on aggregate 87–81
| Team 1 | Team 2 | Score | Scorers | Scorers |
| Wimbledon | West Ham | 47–37 | Harrfeldt 10, Nordin 9, Jackson 9, Andrews 8, Tebby 5, McAuliffe 5, Whipp 1, Baker 0 | Jansson 10, Knutson 9, Luckhurst 4 Dugard 4, Ray Cresp 3, Stevens 3, Hagon 3, Hunter 1 |
| West Ham | Wimbledon | 44–40 | Knutson 12, Simmons 7, Luckhurst 7, Hunter 5, Hagon 3, Cresp 3, Jansson 3 | Andrews 11, Nordin 6, McAuliffe 6, Tebby 6, Jackson 5, Stan Stevens 4, Harrfeldt 3, Baker 2, Whipp 2 |

## Riders & final averages

Belle Vue
* Sören Sjösten 9.62
* Dick Fisher 8.77
* Cyril Maidment 7.84
* Gordon McGregor 5.60
* Jim Yacoby 4.47
* Danny Dunton 3.50
* Bill Powell 3.24
* Norman Nevitt 3.11
* Dave Schofield 2.00
Coventry
* Nigel Boocock 10.44
* Ken McKinlay 9.92
* Ron Mountford 7.31
* Jim Lightfoot 7.10
* Col Cottrell 5.14
* Les Owen 5.00
* Bryan Elliott 4.97
* Jack Biggs 4.86
* Rick France 4.74
* Howie Booton 0.67
Norwich
* Ove Fundin 10.71
* Olle Nygren 8.65
* David Crane 7.45
* Trevor Hedge 7.68
* Billy Bales 6.12
* Tich Read (George Snailum) 4.69
* Sándor Lévai 4.57
* George Major 4.00
* Reg Trott 3.89
* Cyril Crane 1.33
* John Debbage 0.50
Oxford
* Ron How 9.84
* Arne Pander 8.00
* Jimmy Gooch 8.00
* Ronnie Genz 7.27
* Colin Gooddy 6.70
* Jack Geran 6.47
* John Bishop 4.57
* Eddie Reeves 3.83
* Colin McKee 3.67
Swindon
* Barry Briggs 10.51
* Mike Broadbank 9.80
* Brian Brett 6.98
* Tadeusz Teodorowicz 6.57
* Martin Ashby 6.00
* Leo McAuliffe 5.50
* Bob Kilby 4.97
* Roy Bowers 2.94
* John Debbage 2.92
* Mike Keen 2.40
* Colin Pratt 2.33
* George Summers 1.78
West Ham
* Björn Knutson 9.16
* Alf Hagon 7.08
* Bengt Jansson 6.93
* Norman Hunter 6.38
* Malcolm Simmons 6.33
* Reg Luckhurst 6.33
* Stan Stevens 5.45
* Ray Cresp 5.03
* Bob Dugard 3.68
Wimbledon
* Göte Nordin 10.62
* Bob Andrews 6.88
* Sverre Harrfeldt 6.87
* Leo McAuliffe 7.06
* Gerald Jackson 5.18
* Keith Whipp 3.20
* Jim Tebby 3.11
* Roy Trigg 3.00
* Ernie Baker 2.86