# 1979 National League season

The 1979 National League was contested as the second division/tier of Speedway in the United Kingdom.

## Summary

The league was reduced from 20 teams to 19 from the previous season. White City Rebels closure saw their riders move to Eastbourne Eagles, who moved up to the British League and Barrow Furness Flyers dropped out. Teesside Tigers changed their name to Middlesbrough Tigers and Scunthorpe Saints changed their name to Scunthorpe Stags and left the Quibell Park Stadium for Ashby Ville Stadium. Long Eaton Stadium saw the return of speedway under the promotion of Dan McCormick but his decision to call the team the "Nottingham Outlaws" upset the supporters club.
Tom Owen of Newcastle topped the averages for the third consecutive year and Ian Gledhill, riding for Stoke won the Riders' Championship but both Newcastle and Stoke finished well behind Mildenhall Fen Tigers and Rye House Rockets in the league table. In a season that would go down to the last match, Mildenhall won their first title in their history. The consistency of four riders, Ray Bales, Mick Hines, Melvyn Taylor and Robert Henry was the crucial factor to their success.
There was a controversial end to the season when Rye House visited Mildenhall, needing a draw to win the title. Needing a 5-1 in the last heat to tie the match, Rocket Karl Fiala's exclusion prompted team-mate Bob Garrad to withdraw from the re-run in protest. Mildenhall went on to win at bottom club Scunthorpe Saints in the last match of the season to win the title by one point.

## Final table

| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Mildenhall Fen Tigers | 36 | 30 | 0 | 6 | 60 |
| 2 | Rye House Rockets | 36 | 29 | 1 | 6 | 59 |
| 3 | Oxford Cheetahs | 36 | 24 | 1 | 11 | 49 |
| 4 | Berwick Bandits | 36 | 21 | 3 | 12 | 45 |
| 5 | Milton Keynes Knights | 36 | 21 | 0 | 15 | 42 |
| 6 | Newcastle Diamonds | 36 | 20 | 0 | 16 | 40 |
| 7 | Glasgow Tigers | 36 | 19 | 0 | 17 | 38 |
| 8 | Peterborough Panthers | 36 | 18 | 2 | 16 | 38 |
| 9 | Ellesmere Port Gunners | 36 | 18 | 1 | 17 | 37 |
| 10 | Canterbury Crusaders | 36 | 17 | 2 | 17 | 36 |
| 11 | Middlesbrough Tigers | 36 | 17 | 1 | 18 | 35 |
| 12 | Crayford Kestrels | 36 | 16 | 0 | 20 | 32 |
| 13 | Stoke Potters | 36 | 15 | 2 | 19 | 32 |
| 14 | Nottingham Outlaws | 36 | 14 | 1 | 21 | 29 |
| 15 | Workington Comets | 36 | 14 | 1 | 21 | 29 |
| 16 | Boston Barracudas | 36 | 13 | 2 | 21 | 28 |
| 17 | Edinburgh Monarchs | 36 | 13 | 1 | 22 | 27 |
| 18 | Weymouth Wildcats | 36 | 9 | 1 | 26 | 19 |
| 19 | Scunthorpe Stags | 36 | 4 | 1 | 31 | 9 |

## National League Knockout Cup

The 1979 National League Knockout Cup was the 12th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Rye House Rockets were the winners of the competition.
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 29/04 | Rye House | 56-22 | Weymouth |
| 22/05 | Weymouth | 34-44 | Rye House |
| 20/04 | Edinburgh | 46-32 | Boston |
| 10/06 | Boston | 44-34 | Edinburgh |
Second round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 03/06 | Rye House | 54-24 | Glasgow |
| 08/06 | Glasgow | 47-31 | Rye House |
| 15/06 | Workington | 46-30 | Middlesbrough |
| 14/06 | Middlesbrough | 45-32 | Workington |
| 10/06 | Mildenhall | 53-25 | Ellesmere Port |
| 08/06 | Ellesmere Port | 41-37 | Mildenhall |
| 19/06 | Crayford | 44-34 | Edinburgh |
| 06/07 | Edinburgh | 39-39 | Crayford |
| 09/06 | Berwick | 60-18 | Scunthorpe |
| 04/06 | Scunthorpe | 38-40 | Berwick |
| 14/06 | Oxford | 45-33 | Peterborough |
| 08/06 | Peterborough | 34-44 | Oxford |
| 18/06 | Newcastle | 57-21 | Canterbury |
| 26/05 | Canterbury | 39-39 | Newcastle |
| 12/06 | Milton Keynes | 50-28 | Stoke |
| 09/06 | Stoke | 42-36 | Milton Keynes |
Quarter-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 15/07 | Rye House | 59-19 | Workington |
| 29/06 | Workington | 49-29 | Rye House |
| 25/07 | Mildenhall | 56-22 | Crayford |
| 10/07 | Crayford | 39-39 | Mildenhall |
| ? | Berwick | 51-27 | Oxford |
| 05/07 | Oxford | 44-34 | Berwick |
| 09/07 | Newcastle | 53-25 | Milton Keynes |
| 10/07 | Milton Keynes | 35-42 | Newcastle |
Semi-finals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 27/08 | Rye House | 44-34 | Mildenhall |
| 26/08 | Mildenhall | 38-40 | Rye House |
| 22/09 | Berwick | 47-31 | Newcastle |
| 19/08 | Newcastle | 46-32 | Berwick |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
Rye House were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 92–64.

## Riders' Championship

Ian Gledhill won the Riders' Championship, sponsored by Gauloises and held at Wimbledon Stadium on 29 September 1979.
| Pos. | Rider | Pts | Total |
| 1 | Ian Gledhill | 3 3 3 3 2 | 14 |
| 2 | Steve Wilcock | 2 2 3 3 2 | 12 |
| 3 | Andy Grahame | 1 3 2 3 2 | 11+3 |
| 4 | Nigel Boocock | 2 2 3 1 3 | 11+2 |
| 5 | Alan Emerson | 1 1 1 3 3 | 9 |
| 6 | Karl Fiala | 3 1 2 2 1 | 9 |
| 7 | Rob Hollingworth | 0 3 3 1 1 | 8 |
| 8 | John Jackson | 3 2 1 2 0 | 8 |
| 9 | Les Rumsey | 1 2 2 0 3 | 8 |
| 10 | Ray Bales | 3 0 0 2 3 | 8 |
| 11 | Nigel Flatman | 2 1 2 1 2 | 8 |
| 12 | Dave Perks | 2 3 1 ret 1 | 7 |
| 13 | Steve Lawson | 0 0 1 2 0 | 3 |
| 14 | Steve Naylor | 0 1 0 1 1 | 3 |
| 15 | Brian Woodward | 1 f 0 0 0 | 1 |
| 16 | Graham Jones | 0 0 0 0 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Dave Brewer (res) | 0 | 0 |
* f=fell, r-retired, ex=excluded, ef=engine failure

## Pairs

The National League Pairs was held at The Shay on 21 July and was won by Milton Keynes Knights.
Group A :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Milton Keynes | 13 | Humphreys 9 Grahame 4 |
| 2 | Mildenhall | 13 | Hines 8 Taylor 5 |
| 3 | Crayford | 7 | Naylor 5 Etheridge 2 |
| 4 | Edinburgh | 5 | Mouncer 2 Stansfield 1 |
Group B :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Nottingham | 15 | Perks 8 Sampson 7 |
| 2 | Boston | 9 | Allen 6 Featherstone 3 |
| 3 | Rye House | 6 | Pullen 4 Fiala 2 |
| 4 | Workington | 6 | Havelock 6 Dickinson 0 |
Group C :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Newcastle | 12 | Owen T 7 Blackadder 5 |
| 2 | Middlesbrough | 11 | Wilcock 9 Courtney 2 |
| 3 | Glasgow | 9 | Richardson 6 Lawson 3 |
| 4 | Berwick | 4 | Fullerton 3 Jones 1 |
Group D :
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Ellesmere P | 11 | Finch 6 Jackson 5 |
| 2 | Stoke | 11 | Burton 6 Gledhill 5 |
| 3 | Canterbury | 11 | Boocock 9 Sheard (G) 2 |
| 4 | Oxford | 1 | Rumsey 1 Hunter 0 |
Semi finals
* Milton Keynes bt Newcastle
* Ellesmere Port bt Nottingham
Final
* Milton Keynes bt Ellesmere Port

## Fours

Ellesmere Port Gunners won the fours championship final, held at the East of England Arena on 29 July.
Semi finals
* SF1 = Peterborough 18, Ellesmere Port 14, Rye House 12, Oxford 4
* SF2 = Mildenhall 18, Berwick 11, Newcastle 10, Boston 9
Final
| Pos | Team | Pts | Riders |
| 1 | Ellesmere Port Gunners | 17 | Jackson 6, Carr L 6, Finch 5, Ellams 0, Monaghan 0 |
| 2 | Mildenhall Fen Tigers | 15 | Hines 5, Bales 4, Taylor 3, Henry 3 |
| 3 | Peterborough Panthers | 9 | Gooderham 4, Flatman 2, Hines 1, Spink 1, Clark B 1 |
| 4 | Berwick Bandits | 7 | Brown 5, Close 2, Kynman 0, Jones 0, Matthews 0 |

## Final leading averages

The top ten averages of the National League.
| | Rider | Team | C.M.A. |
| 1 | Tom Owen | Newcastle Diamonds | 11.18 |
| 2 | George Hunter | Oxford Cheetahs | 10.86 |
| 3 | Dave Perks | Nottingham Outlaws | 10.13 |
| 4 | Les Rumsey | Oxford Cheetahs | 9.78 |
| 5 | Mike Sampson | Nottingham Outlaws | 9.62 |
| 6 | Andy Grahame | Milton Keynes Knights | 9.57 |
| 7 | Steve Finch | Ellesmere Port Gunners | 9.52 |
| 8 | Ray Bales | Mildenhall Fen Tigers | 9.51 |
| 9 | Mick Hines | Mildenhall Fen Tigers | 9.31 |
| 10 | John Jackson | Ellesmere Port Gunners | 9.27 |

## Riders & final averages

Berwick
* Steve McDermott 9.13
* Wayne Brown 9.00
* Mike Fullerton 7.71
* Graham Jones 7.58
* Nigel Close 7.24
* Phil Kynman 6.20
* Roger Wright 6.16
* Mike Caroline 4.36
* Rob Grant Sr. 4.00
Boston
* David Gagen 9.27
* Rob Hollingworth 8.91
* Dave Allen 8.23
* Tony Featherstone 6.12
* Dennis Mallett 4.85
* Andy Fisher 4.48
* Dave Mortiboys 3.80
* Andy Hibbs 3.67
* Colin Ackroyd 2.60
Canterbury
* Mike Ferreira 8.35
* Nigel Boocock 8.32
* Barney Kennett 7.17
* Dave Piddock 7.00
* Tim Hunt 6.93
* Roger Abel 5.08
* Mick Wilde 4.13
* Graham Clifton 4.11
* Peter Christopher 4.00
* Neil Farnish 3.92
* Tony Reynolds 2.67
Crayford
* Steve Naylor 9.03
* Alan Sage 8.14
* Laurie Etheridge 8.00
* Paul Woods 7.63
* Les Rumsey 4.76
* Richard Davey 4.26
* Paul Gilbert 3.53
* Paul Hollingsbee 3.37
* John Hooper 3.31
* Jack Bibby 0.94
Edinburgh
* Dave Trownson 7.78
* Steve Lomas 7.18
* Bert Harkins 6.72
* Brian Collins 6.56
* Alan Bridgett 5.51
* Ivan Blacka 5.30
* Benny Rourke 5.25
* Rob Mouncer 5.21
* Roger Lambert 3.03
Ellesmere Port
* Steve Finch 9.52
* John Jackson 9.27
* Louis Carr 6.95
* John Williams 5.98
* Pete Ellams 5.23
* Eric Monaghan 4.69
* Robert Craven 4.00
* Paul Tyrer 3.83
* Paul Embley 3.80
* Peter Carr 2.44
Glasgow
* Merv Janke 9.06
* Steve Lawson 9.06
* Derek Richardson 8.05
* Andy Reid 6.25
* Colin Caffrey 6.12
* Charlie McKinna 5.89
* Jim Beaton 5.76
* Keith Bloxsome 5.23
Middlesbrough
* Steve Wilcock 8.97
* Malcolm Corradine 7.88
* Geoff Pusey 6.96
* Mark Courtney 6.92
* Martin Dixon 5.02
* Martyn Cusworth 4.76
* Paul Stead 3.77
* Mike Sanderson 1.90
Mildenhall
* Ray Bales 9.51
* Mick Hines 9.31
* Melvyn Taylor 9.06
* Robert Henry 8.87
* Mike Spink 6.58
* Mick Bates 6.52
* Richard Knight 5.66
* Mark Baldwin 4.96
Milton Keynes
* Andy Grahame 9.57
* Bob Humphreys 9.29
* Derek Harrison 8.04
* Malcolm Holloway 5.96
* David Ashby 5.43
* Harry Maclean 4.41
* Greg McNeill 3.93
* Chris Robins 3.59
Newcastle
* Tom Owen 11.18
* Robbie Blackadder 7.93
* Rod Hunter 7.86
* Graeme Stapleton 6.57
* David Bargh 5.91
* Neil Coddington 5.75
* Nigel Crabtree 4.72
* Paul Brown 1.90
* Mick Easton 1.60
Nottingham
* Dave Perks 10.13
* Mike Sampson 9.62
* Kevin Hawkins 8.03
* Glenn MacDonald 5.28
* Les Sawyer 5.07
* Nigel Wasley 4.83
* Craig Featherby 4.82
* John Homer 3.19
* Mark Williams 1.07
Oxford
* George Hunter 10.86
* Les Rumsey 9.78
* Pip Lamb 9.27
* John Hack 6.81
* Carl Askew 6.62
* John Barker 6.47
* Mick Handley 5.32
* Colin Ackroyd 3.15
* Rob Dole 2.60
Peterborough
* Nigel Flatman 8.52
* Richard Greer 7.50
* Dave Gooderham 7.33
* Andy Hines 7.26
* Ian Clark 6.71
* Nigel Couzens 6.06
* Brian Clark 5.77
* Peter Spink 5.70
* Steve Popely 4.41
* Paul Tapp 4.00
* Ken Matthews 3.69
Rye House
* Karl Fiala 9.20
* Bobby Garrad 9.11
* Kelvin Mullarkey 8.71
* Kevin Smith 8.19
* Ted Hubbard 8.16
* Ashley Pullen 7.34
* Hugh Saunders 6.57
* Peter Tarrant 5.23
Scunthorpe
* Phil White 7.59
* Arthur Browning 7.28
* Rob Maxfield 6.77
* Arthur Price 4.73
* Kevin Teager 4.18
* Trevor Whiting 3.78
* Stuart Cope 3.25
* Ian Jeffcoate 3.19
* Phil Cain 2.78
* Rob Woffinden 2.50
Stoke
* Ian Gledhill 8.21
* Billy Burton 7.06
* Tony Lomas 6.76
* Chris Turner 6.42
* Ian Robertson 6.19
* Stuart Mountford 6.17
* Nicky Allott 5.57
* Frank Smith 5.53
* Alan MacLean 3.33
* Ian Jeffcoate 2.94
* Paul Evitts 2.31
Weymouth
* Brian Woodward 8.01
* Doug Underwood 7.19
* Bob Coles 7.09
* Malcolm Shakespeare 6.23
* Terry Tulloch 4.74
* Garry May 4.20
* Kevin Bowen 3.70
* Nigel Davis 3.24
* Mark DeKok 2.15
Workington
* Alan Emerson 8.99
* Brian Havelock 7.58
* Arnold Haley 6.87
* Ian Hindle 6.7
* Mark Dickinson 6.54
* Neil Collins 6.13
* Andy Margarson
* Mick Blaynee 3.88
* Des Wilson 3.60
* Tim Nichol 1.91