The 1946 Northern League was a season of speedway racing in the United Kingdom for Northern British teams in 1946. With a National League in place and no Southern counterpart, it was effectively a second tier.[1]
| League | Northern League |
|---|---|
| No. of competitors | 6 |
| Champions | Middlesbrough Bears |
| A.C.U Cup | Norwich Stars |
| Highest average | Jeff Lloyd |
| Division/s above | 1946 Speedway National League |
Four of the six entrants were previously members of National League Division Two before war broke out. Glasgow and Birmingham were new entrants.[2]
Middlesbrough Bears won their first trophy.[3] The Bears only lost four league fixtures and had three riders in the leading averages; Frank Hodgson, Fred Curtis and Will Plant all contributed significantly during the season.[4]
During a fixture on 7 October at Brough Park the Birmingham Brummies Canadian rider Charlie Appleby crashed. A rider had fallen in front and in an effort to avoid the fallen rider, Appleby swerved and hit the machine instead. He was thrown into the air and suffered a fractured skull. He was taken to Newcastle Infirmary but died during the early hours of 8 October.[5]
Northern League Final table
edit| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middlesbrough Bears | 20 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 28 |
| 2 | Sheffield Tigers | 20 | 11 | 1 | 8 | 23 |
| 3 | Norwich Stars | 20 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 21 |
| 4 | Birmingham Brummies | 20 | 9 | 1 | 10 | 19 |
| 5 | Newcastle Brough | 20 | 8 | 1 | 11 | 17 |
| 6 | Glasgow Tigers | 20 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 12 |
On account of the small number of teams in the league the ACU Cup was run in a league format. Norwich Stars came out on top on points difference.
A.C.U. Cup (Div 2) Final table
edit| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norwich Stars | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 14 |
| 2 | Middlesbrough Bears | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 14 |
| 3 | Sheffield Tigers | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 12 |
| 4 | Birmingham Brummies | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 9 |
| 5 | Glasgow Tigers | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 6 |
| 6 | Newcastle Brough | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 5 |
Top Five Riders (League only)
edit| Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeff Lloyd | 
|
Newcastle | 10.38 |
| 2 | Frank Hodgson |
|
Middlesbrough | 10.38 |
| 3 | Bert Spencer | 
|
Norwich | 10.15 |
| 4 | Tommy Allott |
|
Sheffield | 10.00 |
| 5 | Stan Williams |
|
Sheffield | 9.75 |
Riders & final averages
editBirmingham
- Tiger Hart 9.42
- Doug Wells 9.04
- Stan Dell 8.73
- Roy Dook 8.00
- Laurie Packer 6.40
- Bob Lovell 5.46
- Percy Brine 4.19
- Ernie Appleby 3.67
- Cyril Page 3.29
Charlie Appleby 3.12- Jimmy Wright 2.93
- Dick Tolley 2.22
Glasgow
- Will Lowther 9.67
- Wal Morton 8.65
- Joe Crowther 7.90
- Gruff Garland 7.57
- Maurice Stobbart 6.30
- Eddie Lack 4.12
- Charlie Oates 4.00
-
Bill Baird 3.57 - Wally Thomson 2.91
- Jack Tidbury 2.67
- Bert Shearer 0.89
Middlesbrough
- Frank Hodgson 10.38
- Kid Curtis 9.68
- Wilf Plant 9.45
- Tip Mills 7.27
- Geoff Godwin 6.95
- Jack Hodgson 6.51
- Ed Pye 6.45
- Jack Gordon 6.29
- Doug McLachlan 5.50
- Len Tupling 4.71
- Alex Peel 2.33
Newcastle
- Jeff Lloyd 10.38
- Norman Evans 8.90
- Charlie Spinks 7.77
- Doug McLachlan 6.86
- Syd Littlewood 6.79
- Alec Grant 4.51
- Leo Lungo 4.11
- Terry Tight 3.70
- Stan Pennell 2.00
- Harry Modral 1.33
Norwich
- Bert Spencer 10.15
- Wilf Jay 9.00
- Paddy Mills (Horace Burke) 8.20
- Ted Bravery 7.59
- Roy Duke 6.22
- Sid Hipperson 5.71
- Harwood Pike 4.52
- Len Read 4.00
- Don Houghton 3.94
-
Paddy Hammond 1.60 - Bluey Thorpe 1.14
- Charlie Challis 1.00
Sheffield
- Tommy Allott 10.00
- Stan Williams 9.75
- Tommy Bateman 8.00
- Jack Bibby 6.56
- Dick Geary 5.64
- John Duncan White 4.84
- Stan Hodson 3.79
- Reg Lambourne 3.75
- Alf Elliott 3.49
- Bruce Semmens 3.27
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ The Speedway Researcher Speedway Researcher. Retrieved December 30, 2011.
- ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
- ^ "Northern League 1946" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
- ^ "Speedway crash". Lincolnshire Echo. 8 October 1946. Retrieved 11 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.