1968 British League season

1968 British League season

League	British League
Season	1968
No. of competitors	19
Champions	Coventry Bees
Knockout Cup	Wimbledon Dons
Individual	Barry Briggs
London Cup	Wimbledon Dons
Midland Cup	Swindon Robins
Highest average	Ivan Mauger
Division/s below	British League (Div 2)
← 1967 1969 →

The 1968 British League season was the 34th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the fourth season known as the British League. ^{[1] [2]}

Summary

Edinburgh relocated to become the Coatbridge Monarchs. The Long Eaton team closed its doors, but a new team in Leicester returned to speedway to join the League. Long Eaton promoters Ron Wilson and Reg Fearman moved the speedway licence to Leicester Stadium because of concerns over increased stock car events damaging the Long Eaton Stadium speedway track. ^{[3] [4]}

Coventry Bees secured their first title on points difference and after they scored points in the last heat of their last match away at King's Lynn. The title win came after two consecutive years as being runner-up. Coventry's Nigel Boocock was again one of the league's leading riders with his average going well above ten for the fifth consecutive year. He was well supported by Ron Mountford and Czechoslovakian star Antonín Kasper Sr. ^[5] Wimbledon Dons who could only manage a mid table finish went on to win the British League Knockout Cup. ^[6]

Fixtures & results

Home \ Away	BV	CM	COV	CH	EX	GLA	HAC	HAL	KL	LE	ND	NW	OX	PP	SHE	SWI	WH	WIM	WOL
Belle Vue Aces		41–37	55–23	47–31	34–44	50–28	45–33	49–29	40–38	40–38	41–37	51–27	52–26	45–33	37–41	55–23	44–34	52–26	41–37
Coatbridge Monarchs	41–36		38–40	51–27	39–39	48–30	53–25	52–26	49–29	43–35	46–32	48–30	54–24	44–34	42–36	43–35	48–30	46–32	53–23
Coventry Bees	37–41	47–31		53–25	43–35	48–30	41–36	46–32	47–31	45–33	43–35	46–32	56–22	49–29	44–34	43–35	42–36	50–28	45–33
Cradley Heathens	45–33	54–24	37–41		42–36	53–25	46–32	37–41	46–32	36–42	38–40	42–36	50–28	43–35	42–35	39–39	40–38	44–34	49–29
Exeter Falcons	46–31	53–25	51–27	53–25		50–28	51–27	58–19	59–19	56–22	47–31	53–25	50–28	52–26	50–28	49–29	41–37	49–29	51–27
Glasgow Tigers	44–34	38–40	47–31	39–39	36–42		36–42	34–44	44–34	47–31	41–37	55–23	49–29	46–32	38–40	43–35	31–47	40–38	49–29
Hackney Hawks	48–30	40–36	42–36	43–35	43–35	47–31		46–32	41–37	43–35	42–36	48–30	46–32	47–31	42–35	47–31	42–36	52–26	42–36
Halifax Dukes	52–26	51–27	42–36	56–22	43–35	50–27	54–24		44–34	47–31	40–38	47–31	52–26	42–36	39–39	45–33	43–35	50–28	49–29
King's Lynn Stars	41–37	50–28	37–41	39–39	45–33	36–42	36–42	43–35		41–37	41–37	40–38	48–30	50–28	49–29	42–36	38–40	47–26	40–38
Leicester Lions	44–34	40–38	37–41	50–27	40–38	43–35	39–39	41–37	48–30		44–34	51–27	44–34	41–37	39–37	45–33	41–37	43–35	40–38
Newcastle Diamonds	59–19	48–30	52–26	40–38	50–28	45–33	46–32	50–28	40–38	40–38		53–25	41–37	43–35	46–32	46–32	49–29	49–28	40–38
Newport Wasps	46–32	43–35	42–36	47–31	41–37	49–29	46–32	45–33	42–36	44–33	51–27		53–25	48–29	49–29	47–31	39–39	46–32	45–33
Oxford Cheetahs	43–35	43–35	41–37	30–47	43–35	42–36	45–33	51–26	43–35	43–35	41–37	54–24		42–36	42–36	38–40	46–32	43–35	44–34
Poole Pirates	36–42	38–40	43–35	39–39	40–38	45–33	39–39	42–36	45–33	43–35	44–34	43–35	49–29		43–35	38–40	41–37	45–32	42–36
Sheffield Tigers	54–24	46–32	51–27	53–25	44.5–33.5	51–27	43–35	42–36	51–27	45–33	50–27	51–27	49–29	51–27		50–28	41–37	50–28	44–34
Swindon Robins	56–22	57–20	43–34	36–42	50–28	61–17	36–42	48–30	51–27	43–35	38–39	54–24	45–33	53–24	47–31		36–42	39–38	46–32
West Ham Hammers	41–36	43–35	46–32	39–38	48–30	36–42	41–37	42–35	48–30	50–28	44–34	50–28	41–37	45–33	48–29	37–40		43–35	52–25
Wimbledon Dons	54–24	51–26	54–24	42–36	50–28	49–29	46–32	42–35	49–29	47–31	46–31	49–29	37–41	41–37	55–22	43–34	41–37		41–37
Wolverhampton Wolves	45–32	51–27	33–44	45–33	43–35	45–33	40–38	54–24	50–28	46–31	47–31	43–34	43–35	48–30	49–29	43–35	41–37	34–44

Source: ^[7]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Final table

		M	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Coventry Bees	36	22	0	14	1436	1369	44
2	Hackney Hawks	36	21	2	13	1421	1383	44
3	Exeter Falcons	36	20	1	15	1556.5	1248.5	41
4	Sheffield Tigers	36	20	1	15	1463.5	1337.5	41
5	Newcastle Diamonds	36	20	0	16	1454	1350	40
6	West Ham Hammers	36	19	1	16	1454	1348	39
7	Halifax Dukes	36	19	1	16	1424	1379	39
8	Coatbridge Monarchs	36	18	1	17	1404	1397	37
9	Wimbledon Dons	36	18	0	18	1411	1384	36
10	Belle Vue Aces	36	18	0	18	1387	1417	36
11	Swindon Robins	36	17	1	18	1448	1353	35
12	Leicester Lions	36	17	1	18	1373	1430	35
13	Newport Wasps	36	17	1	18	1348	1457	35
14	Cradley Heath Heathens	36	15	4	17	1373	1430	34
15	Oxford Cheetahs	36	17	0	19	1319	1487	34
16	Wolverhampton Wolves	36	16	0	20	1388	1413	32
17	Poole Pirates	36	13	2	21	1327	1478	28
18	King's Lynn Stars	36	13	1	22	1330	1473	27
19	Glasgow Tigers	36	13	1	22	1312	1495	27

M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points

Top Ten Riders (League Averages)

	Rider	Nat	Team	C.M.A.
1	Ivan Mauger		Newcastle	11.40
2	Barry Briggs		Swindon	10.88
3	Nigel Boocock		Coventry	10.79
4	Martin Ashby		Exeter	10.68
5	Charlie Monk		Sheffield	10.14
6	Eric Boocock		Halifax	10.13
7	Anders Michanek		Leicester	10.07
8	Norman Hunter		West Ham	9.94
9	Sverre Harrfeldt		West Ham	9.88
10	Torbjörn Harrysson		Newport	9.82

British League Knockout Cup

The 1968 British League Knockout Cup was the 30th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Wimbledon were the winners. ^[8]

First round

Date	Team one	Score	Team two
27/04	Coatbridge	66-42	Glasgow
27/04	Halifax	57-51	Exeter
16/04	West Ham	55-52	Hackney

Second round

Date	Team one	Score	Team two
01/06	Belle Vue	64-44	West Ham
14/05	Leicester	52-56	Coventry
20/05	Newcastle	77-30	Coatbridge
23/05	Sheffield	71-37	Cradley Heath
25/05	Swindon	58-50	Oxford
23/05	Wimbledon	60-48	Kings Lynn
22/05	Poole	56-52	Newport
17/05	Wolverhampton	60-47	Halifax

Third round

Date	Team one	Score	Team two
17/08	Belle Vue	65-42	Sheffield
26/07	Poole	54-54	Swindon
27/06	Wimbledon	64-44	Newcastle
28/06	Wolverhampton	58-50	Coventry
23/08 replay	Swindon	60-47	Poole

Semi-finals

Date	Team one	Score	Team two
20/09	Wolverhampton	67-40	Belle Vue
12/09	Wimbledon	80-28	Swindon

Final

First leg

18 October 1968

Wolverhampton Wolves Hasse Holmqvist 15 Jim Airey 14 Peter Vandenberg 8 James Bond 6 Dave Hemus 6 Doug White 3 Mick Handley 1 Pete Jarman 0	53 - 55	Wimbledon Dons Olle Nygren 14 Trevor Hedge 12 Reg Luckhurst 10 Bob Dugard 9 Alan Cowland 4 Jim Tebby 3 Peter Murray 3 Garry Middleton 0
	[9]

Monmore Green Stadium

Second leg

31 October 1968

Wimbledon Dons Trevor Hedge 17 Olle Nygren 14 Reg Luckhurst 12 Garry Middleton 8 Alan Cowland 6 Bob Dugard 2 Jim Tebby 2 Peter Murray 2	63 - 45	Wolverhampton Wolves Hasse Holmqvist 12 James Bond 10 Peter Vandenberg 8 Jim Airey 7 Mick Handley 5 Pete Jarman 3 Dave Hemus 0 Doug White 0
	[9]

Wimbledon Stadium

Wimbledon Dons were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 118-98.

Riders' Championship

Barry Briggs won the British League Riders' Championship for the fourth consecutive year, held at Hyde Road on 19 October. Briggs defeated Boocock in a run off for the title. ^[10]

Pos.	Rider	Heat Scores	Total
1	Barry Briggs	3 3 3 2 3	14
2	Nigel Boocock	3 3 3 3 2	14
3	Ivan Mauger	2 3 3 3 2	13
4	Torbjörn Harrysson	3 2 3 3 f	11
5	Martin Ashby	3 2 2 1 3	11
6	Terry Betts	1 2 1 3 1	8
7	Sören Sjösten	2 r 2 1 3	8
8	Anders Michanek	0 3 1 2 2	8
9	Hasse Holmqvist	2 1 1 2 1	7
10	Bernt Persson	1 1 2 2 1	7
11	Charlie Monk	2 2 0 0 1	5
12	Norman Hunter	1 1 ef 0 3	5
13	Nigel Boocock	ef 0 2 1 2	5
14	Olle Nygren	0 1 ef 1 0	2
15	Colin Pratt	1 ef 1 0 0	2
16	Roy Trigg	ef ns 0 0 0	0

• ef=engine failure, f=fell, exc=excluded

Final leading averages

	Rider	Nat	Team	C.M.A.
1	Ivan Mauger		Newcastle	11.37
2	Barry Briggs		Swindon	10.87
3	Nigel Boocock		Coventry	10.74
4	Martin Ashby		Exeter	10.72
5	Anders Michanek		Leicester	10.19
6	Eric Boocock		Halifax	10.17
7	Charlie Monk		Sheffield	10.07
8	Sverre Harrfeldt		West Ham	9.78
9	Torbjörn Harrysson		Newport	9.82
10	Norman Hunter		West Ham	9.71
11	Ron Mountford		Coventry	9.62
12	Hasse Holmqvist		Wolverhampton	9.58
13	Colin Pratt		Hackney	9.58
14	Terry Betts		King's Lynn	9.45
15	Malcolm Simmons		King's Lynn	9.40
16	Ole Olsen		Newcastle	9.39
17	Ray Wilson		Leicester	9.37
18	Olle Nygren		Wimbledon	9.39
19	Bernt Persson		Edinburgh	9.28
20	Jim Airey		Wolverhampton	9.24

London Cup

Wimbledon won the London Cup. ^[11]

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Wimbledon Dons	4	3	0	1	233	198	6
2	West Ham Hammers	4	2	1	1	225	207	5
3	Hackney Hawks	4	0	1	3	189	242	1

Results

Team	Score	Team
West Ham	59–49	Hackney
Wimbledon	56–22	West Ham
West Ham	60–48	Wimbledon
Wimbledon	63–44	Hackney
Hackney	42–66	Wimbledon
Hackney	54–54	West Ham

Midland Cup

Swindon won the Midland Cup for the second consecutive season. The competition consisted of six teams. ^[12]

First round

Team one	Team two	Score
Oxford	Wolverhampton	42–36, 41–37
Leicester	Cradley	45–32, 41–37

Semi final round

Team one	Team two	Score
Leicester	Cradley	45–32, 36–42
Swindon	Oxford	46–32, 39–38

Final

First leg

5 October 1968

Swindon Barry Briggs 11 Bob Kilby 10 Clive Hitch 6 Pete Munday 5 Frank Shuter 5 Mike Keen 5 Mike Broadbank 0	42–35	Leicester Anders Michanek 10 John Boulger 9 Ray Wilson 9 John Hart 5 Graham Plant 2 George Major 0 Norman Storer 0

Abbey Stadium

Second leg

15 October 1968

Leicester Ray Wilson 12 Anders Michanek 10 Norman Storer 6 John Boulger 6 John Hart 3 Graham Plant 3 George Major 2	42–36	Swindon Barry Briggs 9 Frank Shuter 7 Clive Hitch 6 Mike Broadbank 6 Mike Keen 3 Bob Kilby 3 Pete Munday 2

Leicester Stadium

Swindon won on aggregate 78–77

Riders & final averages

Belle Vue

• Sören Sjösten 9.13
• Tommy Roper 8.50
• Sándor Lévai 7.40
• Cyril Maidment 7.34
• Bill Powell 5.62
• Norman Nevitt 5.56
• Taffy Owen 4.48
• Ken Eyre 4.29
• Chris Pusey 3.65
• Eric Broadbelt 2.78

Coatbridge

• Bernt Persson 9.28
• Reidar Eide 9.02
• George Hunter 6.48
• Bert Harkins 6.36
• Doug Templeton 6.05
• Brian Collins 4.39
• Alec Hughson 3.62

Coventry

• Nigel Boocock 10.74
• Ron Mountford 9.62
• Antonín Kasper Sr. 7.51
• Col Cottrell 7.09
• Les Owen 6.46
• Rick France 6.13
• Roger Hill 5.46
• Tom Ridley 4.73
• Chris Harrison 3.40
• Dave Callington 1.88

Cradley Heath

• Roy Trigg 8.91
• Bob Andrews 7.70
• Graham Coombes 6.71
• Chris Julian 6.32
• Lars Jansson 6.20
• Ivor Brown 5.67
• Tommy Bergqvist 5.02
• Ken Wakefield 5.02
• Archie Wilkinson 4.19
• Peter Wrathall 3.62
• Alan Totney 3.16

Exeter

• Martin Ashby 10.72
• Wayne Briggs 7.70
• Neil Street 7.51
• Jimmy Squibb 7.46
• Tommy Sweetman 7.31
• Mike Cake 6.37
• Chris Blewett 5.71
• Chris Bass 4.64

Glasgow

• Jimmy McMillan 8.31
• Oyvind Berg 7.91
• Alf Wells 7.43
• Bo Josefsson 6.79
• Russ Dent 5.78
• Lars Jansson 5.68
• Willie Templeton 4.92
• Bill McMillan 4.79
• Åke Andersson 4.17
• Brian Whaley 2.37

Hackney

• Colin Pratt 9.58
• Bengt Jansson 8.99
• Les McGillivray 6.74
• Des Lukehurst 6.24
• Jack Biggs 6.08
• Malcolm Brown 5.31
• Alan Jackson 4.40
• Gary Everett 4.08
• Laurie Etheridge 3.17

Halifax

• Eric Boocock 10.17
• Dave Younghusband 8.83
• Eric Boothroyd 7.95
• Alan Jay 6.27
• Greg Kentwell 5.94
• Dennis Gavros 5.43
• Les Sharpe 3.88
• Bob Jameson 3.75
• Maury Robinson 3.69

King's Lynn

• Terry Betts 9.45
• Malcolm Simmons 9.40
• Clive Featherby 6.11
• Howard Cole (Kid Bodie) 5.94
• Brian Davies 5.24
• David Crane 5.10
• Geoff Penniket 4.34
• Alan Bellham 4.29
• Allan Brown 4.00

Leicester

• Anders Michanek 10.19
• Ray Wilson 9.37
• John Boulger 6.62
• George Major 5.51
• John Hart 5.43
• Norman Storer 5.24
• Vic White 4.06
• Graham Plant 2.80
• Roger Mills 2.58

Newcastle'

• Ivan Mauger 11.37
• Ole Olsen 9.39
• Dave Gifford 6.86
• Alan Butterfield 6.08
• Goog Allan 5.76
• Mike Watkin 5.48
• Alf Wells 5.09
• Alan Jay 5.05
• Alan Paynter 3.67
• Gary Peterson 3.56
• Murray Burt 2.24

Newport

• Torbjörn Harrysson 9.73
• Jimmy Gooch 7.97
• Jon Erskine 6.56
• Norman Strachan 6.47
• Bob Hughes 6.26
• Cyril Francis 5.69
• Alby Golden 5.72
• Terry Shearer 2.00

Oxford

• Ronnie Genz 8.53
• Eddie Reeves 7.32
• Colin Gooddy 6.87
• Leo McAuliffe 6.58
• Rick Timmo 5.52
• John Bishop 4.38
• Peter Seaton 2.77

Poole

• Bill Andrew 8.32
• Geoff Mudge 7.67
• Pete Smith 7.46
• Odd Fossengen 6.94
• Bruce Cribb 5.71
• Ted Laessing 5.25
• Maury Mattingley 5.14
• Tim Bungay 4.53
• Tony Lewis 4.36

Sheffield

• Charlie Monk 10.07
• Bengt Larsson 7.97
• Arnold Haley 7.54
• Bob Paulson 6.79
• John Dews 6.39
• Brian Maxted 6.13
• Billy Bales 4.76
• Dave Baugh 1.49

Swindon

• Barry Briggs 10.87
• Mike Broadbank 8.51
• Bob Kilby 8.20
• Mike Keen 6.18
• Clive Hitch 5.99
• Frank Shuter 5.25
• Pete Munday 4.94
• Peter Jackson 4.29

West Ham

• Sverre Harrfeldt 9.78
• Norman Hunter 9.71
• Ken McKinlay 9.11
• Brian Leonard 5.36
• Tony Clarke 4.95
• Stan Stevens 4.46
• George Barclay 3.33
• Barry Crowson 2.57

Wimbledon

• Olle Nygren 9.31
• Trevor Hedge 9.15
• Reg Luckhurst 7.93
• Garry Middleton 5.87
• Jim Tebby 5.61
• Alan Cowland 5.49
• Bob Dugard 5.18
• Peter Murray 3.54

Wolverhampton

• Hasse Holmqvist 9.58
• Jim Airey 9.24
• Peter Vandenberg 7.68
• James Bond 6.82
• Pete Jarman 5.97
• Dave Hemus 4.86
• Mick Handley 4.30
• Doug White 2.86
• Geoff Ambrose 2.35
• Dave Parry 2.29

See also

• List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions
• Knockout Cup (speedway)

References

1. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
2. Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 100. ISBN   0-86215-017-5.
3. "Speedway at Long Eaton in danger" . Nottingham Evening Post. 21 February 1968. Retrieved 22 September 2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
4. Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 129–133. ISBN   0-904584-45-3.
5. "HISTORY ARCHIVE". British Speedway. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
6. "Season 1968" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
7. "1968 fixtures & results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
8. "1968 British League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
9. "Season 1968" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
10. "Briggs foils Boocock bid" . Derby Daily Telegraph. 21 October 1968. Retrieved 1 June 2023– via British Newspaper Archive.
11. "Wimbledon 1968" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
12. "Lions Lode By Point On Aggregate" . Leicester Daily Mercury. 16 October 1968. Retrieved 19 October 2023– via British Newspaper Archive.