1955 Speedway National League Division Two
British motorcycle speedway season
The 1955 National League Division Two was the tenth post-war season of the second tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.
Summary
The only change in the list of teams that finished the previous season was the replacement of Motherwell Eagles with Weymouth Scorchers. Poole Pirates won the title.[1]
Weymouth Scorchers withdrew after 7 league fixtures, Bristol Bulldogs withdrew after 14.[2]
Final table
| Pos | Team | M | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Poole Pirates | 32 | 23 | 0 | 9 | 46 |
| 2 | Coventry Bees | 32 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 38 |
| 3 | Rayleigh Rockets | 32 | 15 | 2 | 15 | 32 |
| 4 | Oxford Cheetahs | 32 | 15 | 1 | 16 | 31 |
| 5 | Southampton Saints | 32 | 15 | 0 | 17 | 30 |
| 6 | Ipswich Witches | 32 | 13 | 3 | 16 | 29 |
| 7 | Leicester Hunters | 32 | 14 | 0 | 18 | 28 |
| 8 | Swindon Robins | 32 | 14 | 0 | 18 | 28 |
| 9 | Exeter Falcons | 32 | 13 | 0 | 29 | 26 |
- Weymouth Scorchers and Bristol Bulldogs withdrew, records expunged.
Top Five Riders (League only)
| Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
| 1 | Ken McKinlay |  | Leicester | 10.48 |
| 2 | Jack Geran |  | Exeter | 10.38 |
| 3 | Dick Bradley |  | Bristol/Southampton | 10.25 |
| 4 | Ken Middleditch | | Poole | 9.96 |
| 5 | Neil Street | | Exeter | 9.49 |
National Trophy Stage One
- For Stage Two - see Stage Two
The 1955 National Trophy was the 18th edition of the Knockout Cup. The Trophy consisted of two stages; stage one was for the second tier clubs, stage two was for the top tier clubs. Poole won stage one and qualified for second and final stage.[3]
Division Two First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23/04 | Rayleigh | 48-60 | Poole |
| 22/04 | Bristol | 62-46 | Ipswich |
| 22/04 | Weymouth | 49-59 | Southampton |
| 21/04 | Ipswich | 81-27 | Bristol |
| 19/04 | Southampton | 70-38 | Weymouth |
| 18/04 | Poole | 69-39 | Rayleigh |
Division Two Second round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23/05 | Exeter | 55-53 | Swindon |
| 14/05 | Coventry | 75-33 | Oxford |
| 14/05 | Swindon | 66-42 | Exeter |
| 13/05 | Leicester | 49-59 | Southampton |
| 12/05 | Ipswich | 66-41 | Poole |
| 12/05 | Oxford | 66-42 | Coventry |
| 10/05 | Southampton | 59-49 | Leicester |
| 09/05 | Poole | 70-37 | Ipswich |
Division Two semifinals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13/06 | Poole | 68-40 | Swindon |
| 04/06 | Coventry | 54-54 | Southampton |
| 04/06 | Swindon | 62-46 | Poole |
| 31/05 | Southampton | 56-52 | Coventry |
Division Two final
First leg
| Southampton Saints Ernie Rawlins 14 Dick Bradley 12 Brian Hanham 3 Bluey Scott 7 Alby Golden 4 Charlie May 3 Cyril Roger (guest) 2 Johnny Fitzpatrick 1 | 46 – 62 | Poole Pirates Ken Middleditch 16 Jim Squibb 14 Norman Strachan 7 Bill Holden 7 Terry Small 7 Ernie Brecknell 6 Alan Kidd 5 Tony Lewis 0 |
|---|---|---|
| [4] |
Second leg
| Poole Pirates Terry Small 16 Bill Holden 14 Alan Kidd 11 Jim Squibb 11 Ken Middleditch 7 Norman Strachan 7 Tony Lewis 6 Fred Parkins 1 | 73 – 35 | Southampton Saints Dick Bradley 13 Ernie Rawlins 5 Bluey Scott 5 Frank Johnson (guest) 4 Charlie May 4 Johnny Fitzpatrick 3 Alby Golden 1 Brian Hanham 0 |
|---|---|---|
| [4] |
Midland Cup
For the Midland Cup see the 1955 Speedway National League.
Riders & final averages
Bristol (withdrew)
-
Dick Bradley 10.79 - Billy Hole 7.87
- Jack Unstead 6.81
- Frank Johnson 5.38
- Danny Dunton 4.14
- Geoff Pymar 3.88
-
Chris Boss 3.23 - Johnny Hole 2.40
- Roy Taylor 2.40
- Cliff Cox 1.12
Coventry
-
Bob Mark 8.44 -
Charlie New 8.34 - Tommy Miller 7.47
- Jim Lightfoot 7.10
- Vic Emms 5.59
- Johnny Reason 4.99
- Peter Brough 4.31
- Reg Duval 4.17
- Nick Nicholls 4.16
Exeter
-
Jack Geran 10.38 - Neil Street 9.49
- Goog Hoskin 6.93
- Johnny Sargeant 6.40
- Billy Hole 5.62
- Alf Webster 4.82
- John Hart 4.63
- Ron Barrett 4.32
- Don Hardy 3.18
- Francis Cann 2.63
Ipswich
- Bert Edwards 9.45
- Junior Bainbridge 8.28
- Reg Reeves 8.08
- Tich Read (George Snailum) 5.91
- Bob Sharp 5.64
- Danny Dunton 4.98
- Larry Lazarus 4.45
- Bluey Scott 3.84
- Len Silver 3.53
- Cyril Cooper 3.14
- Dennis Day 2.44
- Ken Last 2.10
Leicester
- Ken McKinlay 10.48
- Gordon McGregor 7.26
- Derick Close 6.71
- Len Williams 6.29
- Johnny Green 5.82
- Charlie Barsby 5.10
- Ron Phillips 4.82
- Barry East 2.74
Oxford
- Ronnie Genz 8.15
- Bob Baker 7.47
- Peter Robinson 7.39
- Reg Trott 6.40
- Bill Thatcher 5.86
- Dennis Newton 5.44
- Bob Wells 4.42
- Kid Curtis 3.33
- Maury Courtnell 1.82
Poole
- Ken Middleditch 9.96
- Bill Holden 8.54
- Allan Kidd 7.22
- Terry Small 7.14
- Johnny Thomson 6.67
- Jimmy Squibb 6.57
- Tony Lewis 6.50
- Norman Strachan 5.89
- Ernie Brecknell (Ernest Blight) 3.73
Rayleigh
- Jack Unstead 9.32
- Peter Clark 8.99
- Les McGillivray 7.69
- Gerry Jackson 6.88
- Pete Lansdale 6.57
- Maury McDermott 5.26
- Dennis Gray 4.55
- Bill Longley 3.50
- Frank Bettis 3.16
- Eric Ebbs 2.86
Southampton
- Dick Bradley 9.84
- Ernie Rawlins 7.48
- Brian Hanham 7.39
- Charlie May 5.71
- Bluey Scott 5.35
- Maury Mattingley 5.30
-
Johnny Fitzparick 5.27 - Alby Golden 5.17
- Allan Quinn 4.74
Swindon
- Bob Roger 8.81
- George White 8.61
- Ian Williams 8.16
- Jimmy Gooch 6.98
- Ron Swaine 5.76
- Danny Malone 4.93
- Bob Jones 3.41
- Ray Harris 4.37
- Ernie Lessiter 3.24
Weymouth (withdrew)
- Ron Barrett 7.50
- Ernie Brecknell (Ernest Blight) 6.86
- Ken Adams 5.83
- Danny Dunton 5.53
- Frank Johnson 4.88
- Ernie Lessiter 3.29
- Gerald Pugh 2.15
- Roy Bowers 1.82
See also
List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions
References
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