The 1962 National League was the 28th season and the seventeenth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.
Summary With the withdrawal of New Cross Rangers and with Leicester Hunters moving down to the Provincial League, the entry list was 8 teams and so home and away fixtures were raced twice. Southampton Saints broke the domination of Wimbledon Dons by winning their first National League title.
Ipswich Witches' season was a complete disaster. Their new signing Olle Nygren did not even start the season due to ill-health and then Jack Unstead was killed in the first recorded fatal crash at Foxhall Stadium, on 13 April 1962. The club later withdrew from the league due to financial issues and their results were expunged.
League Final table Pos Team PL W D L Pts1 Southampton Saints 24 18 0 6 362 Wimbledon Dons 24 14 1 9 293 Coventry Bees 24 13 0 11 264 Belle Vue Aces 24 12 0 12 245 Norwich Stars 24 12 0 12 246 Swindon Robins 24 9 2 13 207 Oxford Cheetahs 24 4 0 20 8
Ipswich Witches resigned in mid-season.
Fixtures and results A fixtures
B fixtures
Top ten riders (league only) Rider Nat Team C.M.A. 1 Ronnie Moore Wimbledon 10.14 2 Björn Knutson Southampton 9.89 3 Olle Nygren Swindon/Norwich 9.86 4 Peter Craven Belle Vue 9.75 5 Barry Briggs Southampton 9.64 6 Ove Fundin Norwich 9.30 7 Ron How Wimbledon 9.30 8 Peter Moore Ipswich/Swindon 9.02 9 Bob Andrews Wimbledon 8.82 10 Ron Mountford Coventry 8.74
National Trophy The 1962 National Trophy was the 24th edition of the Knockout Cup. Wimbledon were the winners.
First round Date Team one Score Team two25/06 Wimbledon 49-35 Belle Vue23/06 Belle Vue 46-38 Wimbledon23/06 Swindon 51-33 Ipswich22/06 Ipswich 42-40 Swindon19/06 Southampton 56-28 Coventry16/06 Norwich 33-51 Oxford14/06 Oxford 47-37 Norwich16/06Coventry 41-43 Southampton Semi-finals Date Team one Score Team two23/08 Oxford 45-39 Swindon18/08Swindon 59-25 Oxford14/08 Southampton 42-42 Wimbledon13/08 Wimbledon 50-33 Southampton Final
First leg
Second leg
Wimbledon were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 94–74.
Riders & final averages Belle Vue
9.75 8.23 7.95 7.33 4.44 4.00 3.67 3.60 3.27 3.17 2.50 2.33
Coventry
8.74 8.63 8.20 7.61 6.33 6.11 5.33 4.47 3.35
Ipswich (resigned mid season)
8.73 6.63 6.06 6.00 5.85 5.17 4.44 2.24 Trevor Blokdyk 3.33 1.33 n/a
Norwich
9.80 9.30 6.78 6.49 6.07 5.56 5.48 4.67 4.39 2.74 2.67
Oxford
6.91 6.88 5.84 5.56 5.20 5.20 4.93 4.42 2.73
Southampton
9.89 9.64 7.49 7.33 7.10 6.54 6.37
Swindon
9.71 8.27 8.00 6.94 6.21 6.00 5.62 5.30 4.45 2.67
Wimbledon
10.14 9.30 8.82 7.03 6.50 6.00 5.14 4.82 3.35
See also List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions Knockout Cup (speedway)
References