1979 National League season

Last updated

1979 National League season
League National League
No. of competitors19
Champions Mildenhall Fen Tigers
Knockout Cup Rye House Rockets
Individual Ian Gledhill
Pairs Milton Keynes Knights
Fours Ellesmere Port Gunners
Highest average Tom Owen
Division/s above 1979 British League

The 1979 National League was contested as the second division/tier of Speedway in the United Kingdom. [1] [2]

Contents

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. [3] [4] 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. [5]

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. [6] 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. [6]

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. [1] [7] [8]

Final table

PosTeamPLWDLPts
1 Mildenhall Fen Tigers 36300660
2 Rye House Rockets 36291659
3 Oxford Cheetahs 362411149
4 Berwick Bandits 362131245
5 Milton Keynes Knights 362101542
6 Newcastle Diamonds 362001640
7 Glasgow Tigers 361901738
8 Peterborough Panthers 361821638
9 Ellesmere Port Gunners 361811737
10 Canterbury Crusaders 361721736
11 Middlesbrough Tigers 361711835
12 Crayford Kestrels 361602032
13 Stoke Potters 361521932
14 Nottingham Outlaws 361412129
15 Workington Comets 361412129
16 Boston Barracudas 361322128
17 Edinburgh Monarchs 361312227
18 Weymouth Wildcats 36912619
19 Scunthorpe Stags 3641319

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. [9]

First round

DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
29/04Rye House56-22Weymouth
22/05Weymouth34-44Rye House
20/04Edinburgh46-32Boston
10/06Boston44-34Edinburgh

Second round

DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
03/06Rye House54-24Glasgow
08/06Glasgow47-31Rye House
15/06Workington46-30Middlesbrough
14/06Middlesbrough45-32Workington
10/06Mildenhall53-25Ellesmere Port
08/06Ellesmere Port41-37Mildenhall
19/06Crayford44-34Edinburgh
06/07Edinburgh39-39Crayford
09/06Berwick60-18Scunthorpe
04/06Scunthorpe38-40Berwick
14/06Oxford45-33Peterborough
08/06Peterborough34-44Oxford
18/06Newcastle57-21Canterbury
26/05Canterbury39-39Newcastle
12/06Milton Keynes50-28Stoke
09/06Stoke42-36Milton Keynes

Quarter-finals

DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
15/07Rye House59-19Workington
29/06Workington49-29Rye House
25/07Mildenhall56-22Crayford
10/07Crayford39-39Mildenhall
?Berwick51-27Oxford
05/07Oxford44-34Berwick
09/07Newcastle53-25Milton Keynes
10/07Milton Keynes35-42Newcastle

Semi-finals

DateTeam oneScoreTeam two
27/08Rye House44-34Mildenhall
26/08Mildenhall38-40Rye House
22/09Berwick47-31Newcastle
19/08Newcastle46-32Berwick

Final

First leg

Rye House Rockets
Bob Garrad 10
Karl Fiala 10
Kelvin Mullarkey 10
Ashley Pullen 9
Ted Hubbar 8
Peter Tarrant 6
Simon Aindow 1
54 – 24 Berwick Bandits
Wayne Brown 8
Nigel Close 6
Graham Jones 3
Mike Fullerton 3
Roger Wright 2
Phil Kynman 2
Rob Grant 0
[10]

Second leg

Berwick Bandits
Roger Wright 10
Wayne Brown 10
Nigel Close 8
Graham Jones 4
Mike Caroline 4
Rob Grant 4
Phil Kynman 0
40 – 38 Rye House Rockets
Karl Fiala 11
Bob Garrad 7
Kelvin Mullarkey 7
Ashley Pullen 5
Ted Hubbard 5
Peter Tarrant 3
Simon Aindow 0
[10]

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. [11]

Pos.RiderPtsTotal
1 Flag of England.svg Ian Gledhill 3 3 3 3 214
2 Flag of England.svg Steve Wilcock 2 2 3 3 212
3 Flag of England.svg Andy Grahame 1 3 2 3 211+3
4 Flag of England.svg Nigel Boocock 2 2 3 1 311+2
5 Flag of England.svg Alan Emerson 1 1 1 3 39
6 Flag of England.svg Karl Fiala 3 1 2 2 19
7 Flag of England.svg Rob Hollingworth 0 3 3 1 18
8 Flag of England.svg John Jackson 3 2 1 2 08
9 Flag of England.svg Les Rumsey 1 2 2 0 38
10 Flag of England.svg Ray Bales 3 0 0 2 38
11 Flag of England.svg Nigel Flatman 2 1 2 1 28
12 Flag of England.svg Dave Perks 2 3 1 ret 17
13 Flag of England.svg Steve Lawson 0 0 1 2 03
14 Flag of England.svg Steve Naylor 0 1 0 1 13
15 Flag of England.svg Brian Woodward 1 f 0 0 01
16 Flag of England.svg Graham Jones 0 0 0 0 00
17 Flag of England.svg Dave Brewer (res)00

Pairs

The National League Pairs was held at The Shay on 21 July and was won by Milton Keynes Knights. [12] [13]

Semi finals

Final

Fours

Ellesmere Port Gunners won the fours championship final, held at the East of England Arena on 29 July. [14] [15]

Semi finals

Final

PosTeamPtsRiders
1 Ellesmere Port Gunners 17Jackson 6, Carr L 6, Finch 5, Ellams 0, Monaghan 0
2 Mildenhall Fen Tigers 15Hines 5, Bales 4, Taylor 3, Henry 3
3 Peterborough Panthers 9Gooderham 4, Flatman 2, Hines 1, Spink 1, Clark B 1
4 Berwick Bandits 7Brown 5, Close 2, Kynman 0, Jones 0, Matthews 0

Final leading averages

The top ten averages of the National League. [16]

RiderNatTeamC.M.A.
1 Tom Owen Flag of England.svg Newcastle Diamonds 11.18
2 George Hunter Flag of Scotland.svg Oxford Cheetahs 10.86
3 Dave Perks Flag of England.svg Nottingham Outlaws 10.13
4 Les Rumsey Flag of England.svg Oxford Cheetahs 9.78
5 Mike Sampson Flag of England.svg Nottingham Outlaws 9.62
6 Andy Grahame Flag of England.svg Milton Keynes Knights 9.57
7 Steve Finch Flag of England.svg Ellesmere Port Gunners 9.52
8 Ray Bales Flag of England.svg Mildenhall Fen Tigers 9.51
9 Mick Hines Flag of England.svg Mildenhall Fen Tigers 9.31
10 John Jackson Flag of England.svg Ellesmere Port Gunners 9.27

Riders & final averages

Berwick

Boston

Canterbury

Crayford

Edinburgh

Ellesmere Port

Glasgow

Middlesbrough

Mildenhall

Milton Keynes

Newcastle

Nottingham

Oxford

Peterborough

Rye House

Scunthorpe

Stoke

Weymouth

Workington

See also

Related Research Articles

The 1972 British League Division Two season was the second tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.

The 1974 British League Division Two season was the second tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain. It was the final season of British League Division Two before it was renamed as the New National League.

The 1993 British League Division Two season was contested as the second division of Speedway in the United Kingdom.

The 1992 British League Division Two season was contested as the second division of Speedway in the United Kingdom.

The 1991 British League Division Two season was contested as the second division of Speedway in the United Kingdom. The league had been renamed from the National League. The season saw one of the rare occasions that speedway operated a promotion/relegation system.

The 1990 National League was the 16th since its establishment as a second tier in 1975, a renamed British League Division Two, and the last before it was again renamed British League Division Two.

The 1975 New National League was contested as the second division/tier of Speedway in the United Kingdom when British League Division Two was renamed. It was subsequently named the National League. The change came about following unrest between some of the clubs and the speedway authorities in previous seasons.

The 1976 National League was contested as the second division of Speedway in the United Kingdom having been renamed from the previous season's moniker of New National League.

The 1977 National League was contested as the second division of Speedway in the United Kingdom.

The 1978 National League was contested as the second division of Speedway in the United Kingdom.

The 1980 National League was contested as the second division of Speedway in the United Kingdom.

The 1981 National League was contested as the second division/tier of Speedway in the United Kingdom.

In 1982 the National League, also known as British League Division Two, was the second tier of speedway racing in the United Kingdom.

The 1983 National League was the second tier of motorcycle speedway racing in the United Kingdom.

The 1984 National League was contested as the second division of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom.

The 1985 National League was contested as the second division of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom.

The 1986 National League was contested as the second division of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom.

In 1987 the National League, also known as British League Division Two, was the second tier of speedway racing in the United Kingdom.

In 1988 the National League, also known as British League Division Two, was the second tier of speedway racing in the United Kingdom.

The National League was the second tier of British speedway racing in 1989.

References

  1. 1 2 "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. Bott, Richard (1980). The Peter Collins Speedway Book No.4. Stanley Paul & Co Ltd. p. 95. ISBN   0-09-141751-1.
  3. "Brewery boost for Stadium" . Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph. 16 February 1978. Retrieved 3 May 2024 via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. "Speedway Ashby Ville". Defunct Speedway. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  5. "Speedway one of the greatest" . Stapleford & Sandiacre News. 1 March 1979. Retrieved 22 September 2024 via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. 1 2 "Teams". wwosbackup. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  7. "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - BRITISH LEAGUE ERA (1965-1990)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  8. Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 101. ISBN   0-86215-017-5.
  9. "1979 National League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
  10. 1 2 "1979 KO cup final" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  11. "Outlaw's Crash" . Derby Daily Telegraph. 1 October 1979. Retrieved 20 June 2023 via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. "1979 season results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  13. "Diamonds out in semi finals" . Sunday Sun (Newcastle). 22 July 1979. Retrieved 22 May 2023 via British Newspaper Archive.
  14. "Speedway" . Daily Mirror. 30 July 1979. Retrieved 10 May 2023 via British Newspaper Archive.
  15. "1979 full season results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  16. Bott, Richard (1980). The Peter Collins Speedway Book No.4. Stanley Paul & Co Ltd. p. 96. ISBN   0-09-141751-1.