The 1964 Provincial Speedway League was the fifth and final season of the Provincial League in the United Kingdom. Twelve speedway teams took part. A second division of British speedway would not return until 1968.
Season summary The 1964 season started in controversy which led to the Provincial League running 'black'. Officially the 1964 Provincial League season did not exist.
Wolverhampton Wolves refused to move up to the National League after winning the Provincial League title in 1963. The two leagues could not agree about the situation which led to the Provincial League being outlawed by the Speedway Control Board.
All National League riders were forbidden to ride on Provincial League tracks. Provincial League riders were warned by the Speedway Control Board that they were in breach of ACU regulations and could be suspended from all competitive racing. They were also barred from the Speedway World Championship.
The Stoke Potters, St Austell Gulls and Rayleigh Rockets all withdrew from the league for various reasons before the season started. The Sunderland Stars joined the league but then withdrew after riding only three matches. However Glasgow Tigers and the Newport Wasps joined and completed the season.
Newcastle Diamonds won the final Provincial League and their first title. In the early season supplementary league competitions, Sheffield and Poole won the Northern and Southern leagues respectively.
League Final table Pos Team M W D L Pts1 Newcastle Diamonds 22 17 0 5 342 Hackney Hawks 22 15 1 6 313 Wolverhampton Wolves 22 12 1 9 254 Newport Wasps 22 11 1 10 235 Edinburgh Monarchs 22 10 2 10 226 Exeter Falcons 22 10 1 11 217 Poole Pirates 22 10 1 11 218 Sheffield Tigers 22 9 2 11 209 Middlesbrough Bears 22 9 2 11 2010 Cradley Heath Heathens 22 8 1 13 1711 Long Eaton Archers 22 8 0 14 1612 Glasgow Tigers 22 6 2 14 14 M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points
Sunderland Saints withdrew after three matches and had their record expunged, although they complete their fixtures in the early season Northern League event.
Fixtures and results
Top five riders (league only) Rider Nat Team C.M.A. 1 Ivan Mauger Newcastle 11.54 2 Charlie Monk Glasgow 10.88 3 Ivor Brown Cradley 10.39 4 George Hunter Edinburgh 10.31 5 Colin Pratt Hackney 10.19
Provincial League Knockout Cup The 1964 Provincial League Knockout Cup was the fifth edition of the Knockout Cup for the Provincial League teams. Newport Wasps were the winners.
First round Date Team one Score Team two18/05 Cradley Heath 51–45 Edinburgh15/06 Newcastle 53–43 Poole16/06 Long Eaton 54–42 Middlesbrough17/06 Glasgow White City 59–37 Sheffield Second round Date Team one Score Team two03/07 Hackney 50–46 Exeter13/07 Newcastle 62–34 Wolverhampton17/07 Glasgow White City 46–49 Newport18/07 Cradley Heath 51–45 Long Eaton Semi-finals Date Team one Score Team two21/08 Newport 56–40 Hackney19/09 Cradley Heath 54–42 Newcastle
Final first leg
second leg
Supplementary leagues
Northern League Team PL W D L PtsSheffield 10 8 0 2 16 Edinburgh 10 5 1 4 11 Newcastle 10 5 1 4 11 Glasgow 10 5 0 5 10 Middlesbrough 10 4 0 6 8 Sunderland 10 2 0 8 4
Southern League Team PL W D L Pts Poole 12 8 0 4 16 Cradley Heath 12 7 0 5 14 Exeter 12 6 1 5 13 Newport 12 6 0 6 12 Hackney 12 6 0 6 12 Long Eaton 12 5 0 7 10 Wolverhampton 12 3 0 9 6
Riders' Championship Ivan Mauger won the Riders' Championship for the second successive year. The final was held at Hyde Road on 26 September.
Pos. Rider Pts Total1 Ivan Mauger 2,3,2,3,3 13+32 Charlie Monk 1,3,3,3,3 13+23 Roy Trigg 3,2,2,2,3 12+34 Peter Kelly 3,3,2,2,2 12+25 Peter Jarman 1,2,3,2,3 116 Ivor Brown 1,1,3,3,1 97 Ken Sharples 2,3,1,1,2 98 Bill Andrew 3,0,2,3,0 89 Colin Pratt 3,0,0,2,2710 Jimmy Squibb 2,1,0,1,2 611 Trevor Redmond 0,2,1,1,1 512 Peter Vandenberg 1,0,3,1,0 513 George Hunter 0,2,1,0,1 414 Norman Storer 2,0,0,0,1 315 Bluey Scott 0,1,1,0,0 216 Jon Erskine 0,0,0,0,0 0
Riders & final averages Cradley Heath
10.39 9.01 8.06 7.37 5.33 4.44 4.57 3.27 3.00 2.29 1.00 0.57
Edinburgh
10.31 9.19 8.62 6.17 5.25 5.07 4.48 4.08 4.00 3.43
Exeter
9.71 9.55 8.71 8.24 7.33 6.57 6.15 5.49 5.36 5.33 5.03 4.50 3.41
Glasgow
10.88 7.74 7.53 6.67 4.00 3.64 3.59 3.05 2.70 2.12
Hackney
10.19 10.04 8.84 8.57 6.57 4.80 4.68 4.50 3.78 3.40 2.00
Long Eaton
8.82 8.80 8.00 7.17 7.02 6.59 (Kid Bodie) 6.05 4.28 4.10 3.67
Middlesbrough
9.07 8.50 7.37 5.68 4.84 4.00 3.95 2.91 2.83 2.57 1.47
Newcastle
11.54 8.66 8.64 8.36 6.84 5.52 4.65 3.78 2.67
Newport
9.20 8.85 8.23 7.28 6.60 5.30 4.31 4.00 2.70
Poole
8.22 8.39 8.13 6.34 6.20 5.74 4.96 4.69 3.50
Sheffield
9.96 9.07 8.59 6.56 6.43 5.37 4.23 3.74
Wolverhampton
9.54 8.71 7.60 7.43 5.81 5.76 5.57 5.20 3.51 3.00
See also List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions Knockout Cup (speedway)
References