# 1937 Speedway National League

The 1937 National League Division One was the ninth season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.

## Summary

The entrants were the same seven teams as the previous season.
West Ham Hammers won their first national title despite finishing bottom the previous season. In the process they stopped Belle Vue Aces from claiming a fifth consecutive title win. Belle Vue did however go on to win the cup double winning the Knockout Cup for the fifth successive year and the A.C.U Cup for the fourth successive year.
Roy Clarence Vigor (Reg Vigor) was fatally injured during a match at Wimbledon Stadium on 27 September. He hit a safety fence and his bike landed on top of him. He died in Nelson Hospital, Merton, three days later. His death came just one month after the death of Stan Hart in the 1937 Provincial Speedway League.

## Final table

| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | West Ham Hammers | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 36 |
| 2 | Wembley Lions | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 32 |
| 3 | New Cross Rangers | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 32 |
| 4 | Belle Vue Aces | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 26 |
| 5 | Hackney Wick Wolves | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 20 |
| 6 | Harringay Tigers | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 18 |
| 7 | Wimbledon Dons | 24 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 4 |

## Fixtures & results
### A fixtures

| Home \ Away | BV | HAC | HAR | NC | WEM | WH | WIM |
| Belle Vue | | 47–37 | 52–31 | 54–29 | 48–36 | 39–45 | 62–22 |
| Hackney | 45–39 | | 46–37 | 40–42 | 38–46 | 42–41 | 53–31 |
| Harringay | 41–43 | 54–30 | | 49–35 | 46–36 | 35–48 | 47–32 |
| New Cross | 46–37 | 44–39 | 47–37 | | 49–35 | 56–28 | 55–28 |
| Wembley | 43–40 | 44–40 | 48–36 | 52–31 | | 52–30 | 56–28 |
| West Ham | 53–31 | 57–25 | 54–28 | 53–30 | 68–16 | | 47–37 |
| Wimbledon | 30–53 | 40–44 | 45–38 | 40–42 | 31–49 | 38–43 | |

### B fixtures

| Home \ Away | BV | HAC | HAR | NC | WEM | WH | WIM |
| Belle Vue | | 60–24 | 62–22 | 53–31 | 52–31 | 38–45 | 61–23 |
| Hackney | 44–39 | | 43.5–38.5 | 43–40 | 34–49 | 49–32 | 54–29 |
| Harringay | 49–35 | 46–37 | | 30–54 | 43–41 | 40–43 | 42–41 |
| New Cross | 51–33 | 58–26 | 49.5–34.5 | | 42–41 | 47–37 | 48–35 |
| Wembley | 50–34 | 45–39 | 53–28 | 47–36 | | 44–40 | 55–28 |
| West Ham | 43–38 | 52–31 | 59–24 | 55–28 | 49–34 | | 65–19 |
| Wimbledon | 38–44 | 52–32 | 30–53 | 31–52 | 33–51 | 38–42 | |

## Top ten riders

| | Rider | Team | C.M.A. |
| 1 | Jack Milne | New Cross | 11.09 |
| 2 | Lionel van Praag | Wembley | 10.53 |
| 3 | Eric Langton | Belle Vue | 10.18 |
| 4 | Bluey Wilkinson | West Ham | 10.14 |
| 5 | Bill Kitchen | Belle Vue | 9.88 |
| 6 | Jack Parker | Harringay | 9.71 |
| 7 | Cordy Milne | Hackney | 9.38 |
| 8 | Eric Chitty | West Ham | 9.32 |
| 9 | Joe Abbott | Belle Vue | 8.98 |
| 10 | Frank Charles | Wembley | 8.96 |

## National Trophy

The 1937 National Trophy was the seventh edition of the Knockout Cup.

### Qualifying rounds

Southampton Saints won the Provincial final and therefore secured a place in the quarter-finals.
Quarterfinals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 05/06 | Harringay | 41-65 | New Cross |
| 09/06 | New Cross | 76-31 | Harringay |
| 07/06 | Wimbledon | 39-68 | Belle Vue |
| 12/06 | Belle Vue | 80-28 | Wimbledon |
| 08/06 | West Ham | 58-46 | Hackney Wick |
| 11/06 | Hackney Wick | 60-48 | West Ham |
| 25/06 replay | Hackney Wick | 65-43 | West Ham |
| 29/06 | Southampton | 40-44 | Wembley |
| 29/06 replay | West Ham | 55-53 | Hackney Wick |
Semifinals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 15/07 | Wembley | 50-58 | New Cross |
| 14/07 | New Cross | 59-48 | Wembley |
| 16/07 | Hackney Wick | 56-52 | Belle Vue |
| 17/07 | Belle Vue | 69-39 | Hackney Wick |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
Belle Vue were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 115-110.

## A.C.U Cup

The 1937 Auto-Cycle Union Cup was the fourth edition of the Cup and was won by Belle Vue for the fourth time. The groups were decided on the number of heat points scored within matches, rather than match wins.
First round
Group 1
| Team | PL | W | D | L | Race Pts |
| Wembley Lions | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 319.5 |
| New Cross Rangers | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 311.5 |
| Harringay Tigers | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 269 |
| Wimbledon Dons | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 240 |
Group 2
| Team | PL | W | D | L | Race Pts |
| Belle Vue Aces | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 202 |
| West Ham Hammers | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 190 |
| Hackney Wick Wolves | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 181 |

### Final

| Date | Team one | Team two | Score |
| 07/10 | Wembley | Belle Vue | 49–45 |
| 09/10 | Belle Vue | Wembley | 61–35 |

## London Cup

First round
| Team one | Score | Team two |
| New Cross | 65–43, 65–42 | Wimbledon |
| Wembley | 58–49, 61–46 | Harringay |
Semi final round
| Team one | Score | Team two |
| Hackney Wick | 49–59, 21–87 | West Ham |
| New Cross | 62–46, 56–50 | Wembley |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
New Cross won on aggregate 117–97

## Riders & final averages

Belle Vue
* Eric Langton 10.18
* Bill Kitchen 9.88
* Joe Abbott 9.49
* Bob Harrison 8.07
* Frank Varey 6.71
* Wally Hull 5.33
* Oliver Langton 4.39
* Jack Hargreaves 4.21
* Ernie Price 3.25
* Harold Jackson 2.46
* Acorn Dobson 2.77
Hackney
* Cordy Milne 9.38
* Dicky Case 8.30
* Morian Hansen 7.63
* Bill Clibbett 5.54
* George Wilks 5.40
* George Greenwood 5.20
* Stan Dell 4.76
* Vic Duggan 4.14
* Doug Wells 3.58
* Frank Hodgson 3.40
* Ted Bravery 2.48
* Arch Windmill 1.71
Harringay
* Jack Parker 9.81
* Jack Ormston 8.29
* Jack Hobson 6.46
* Frank Goulden 6.33
* Les Wotton 6.21
* Alec Statham 5.49
* Clem Mitchell 5.48
* Dick Smythe 5.31
* Bob Lovell 3.50
* Stew Fairbairn 3.22
* Bill Pitcher 3.10
New Cross
* Jack Milne 11.09
* George Newton 8.91
* Stan Greatrex 8.50
* Clem Mitchell 6.29
* Joe Francis 5.88
* Ron Johnson 5.83
* Norman Evans 5.80
* Ernie Evans 4.03
* Mick Murphy (John Glass) 3.56
* Nobby Key 3.38
* Jack Dalton 2.35
* Bill Longley 2.00
Wembley
* Lionel Van Praag 10.42
* Frank Charles 8.96
* Ginger Lees 8.24
* Eric Gregory 6.22
* Wally Kilmister 5.60
* Cliff Parkinson 5.37
* Tommy Price 5.37
* Wally Lloyd 5.00
* Gus Kuhn 5.00
* Colin Watson 2.00
West Ham
* Bluey Wilkinson 10.23
* Eric Chitty 9.37
* Tommy Croombs 8.92
* Arthur Atkinson 8.54
* Tiger Stevenson 7.18
* Charlie Spinks 6.03
* Broncho Dixon 5.83
* Ken Brett 5.60
* Phil Bishop 4.63
* Lloyd Goffe 3.50
Wimbledon
* Wilbur Lamoreaux 8.14
* Eric Collins 6.92
* Claude Rye 5.88
* Bill Rogers 5.23
* Geoff Pymar 5.06
* Byrd McKinney 5.02
* Wally Little 5.00
* Gus Kuhn 4.93
* Jack Sharp 4.89
* Wal Morton 4.00
* Miny Waln 3.73
* Ron Howes 3.08
* Bert Spencer 2.86
* Reg Vigor 2.48
* Alfred Rumrich 1.09
* Wilf Plant 0.29