| League | National League |
|---|---|
| No. of competitors | 10 |
| Champions | Wimbledon Dons |
| National Trophy | Belle Vue Aces |
| Britannia Cup | Belle Vue Aces |
| Highest average | Ove Fundin |
The1958National League was the 24th season and the thirteenth post-war season of the highest tier ofmotorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1]
Bradford Tudors who had dropped out at the start of the previous season only to return in mid-season, had dropped out again. Promoter Vic Gooden moved the entire promotion and team ofRayleigh Rockets toPoole Pirates.[2]
Wimbledon Dons won their fourth title in five years.[3][4][5]
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wimbledon Dons | 18 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 26 |
| 2 | Norwich Stars | 18 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 24 |
| 3 | Southampton Saints | 18 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 22 |
| 4 | Leicester Hunters | 18 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 22 |
| 5 | Belle Vue Aces | 18 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 20 |
| 6 | Swindon Robins | 18 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 20 |
| 7 | Coventry Bees | 18 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 19 |
| 8 | Oxford Cheetahs | 18 | 5 | 2 | 11 | 12 |
| 9 | Poole Pirates | 18 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 12 |
| 10 | Ipswich Witches | 18 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 3 |
| Home \ Away | BV | COV | IPS | LEI | NOR | OX | PP | SOT | SWI | WIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belle Vue | 52–44 | 63–33 | 63–33 | 57–39 | 66–30 | 73–23 | 65–31 | 47–48 | 51–45 | |
| Coventry | 57–39 | 69–26 | 47–49 | 51–45 | 64–32 | 45–51 | 53–43 | 61–35 | 44–52 | |
| Ipswich | 45–51 | 38–58 | 45–51 | 39–57 | 45–51 | 59–37 | 42–54 | 46–50 | 48–48 | |
| Leicester | 46–50 | 58–38 | 61–35 | 58–38 | 56–40 | 52–44 | 52–44 | 49–47 | 54–42 | |
| Norwich | 54–42 | 62–34 | 59–37 | 54–42 | 61–35 | 65–31 | 58–38 | 59–37 | 50–46 | |
| Oxford | 50–46 | 48–48 | 54–42 | 46–50 | 46–49 | 53–43 | 55–40 | 47–49 | 48–48 | |
| Poole | 54–42 | 39–57 | 56–40 | 48–47 | 30–66 | 58–38 | 45–51 | 49–47 | 33–63 | |
| Southampton | 67–29 | 60–36 | 71–25 | 54–42 | 51–45 | 63–33 | 56–40 | 55–41 | 49–47 | |
| Swindon | 56–40 | 41–54 | 66–30 | 57–39 | 50–46 | 56–40 | 66–30 | 56–40 | 42–54 | |
| Wimbledon | 64–32 | 63–33 | 64–32 | 66–30 | 58–38 | 59–37 | 53–43 | 54–42 | 65–31 |
| Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ove Fundin | Norwich | 11.60 | |
| 2 | Peter Craven | Belle Vue | 11.00 | |
| 3 | Ken McKinlay | Leicester | 10.82 | |
| 4 | Barry Briggs | Wimbledon | 10.43 | |
| 5 | Brian Crutcher | Southampton | 10.03 | |
| 6 | Jack Young | Coventry | 10.02 | |
| 7 | Peter Moore | Ipswich | 9.73 | |
| 8 | Jack Biggs | Poole | 9.69 | |
| 9 | Ron How | Wimbledon | 9.47 | |
| 10 | Ronnie Moore | Wimbledon | 9.09 |
The 1958 National Trophy was the 20th edition of theKnockout Cup. Belle Vue were the winners.[7]
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30/05 | Leicester | 65-54 | Southampton |
| 29/05 | Oxford | 58-61 | Poole |
| 27/05 | Southampton | 84-36 | Leicester |
| 26/05 | Poole | 60-60 | Oxford |
Second round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 03/07 | Ipswich | 42-77 | Swindon |
| 30/06 | Poole | 49-71 | Belle Vue |
| 30/06 | Wimbledon | 67-53 | Norwich |
| 28/06 | Belle Vue | 80-40 | Poole |
| 28/06 | Coventry | 57-63 | Southampton |
| 28/06 | Norwich | 72-48 | Wimbledon |
| 28/06 | Swindon | 78-42 | Ipswich |
| 24/06 | Southampton | 78-42 | Coventry |
Semifinals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16/08 | Norwich | 69-51 | Swindon |
| 12/08 | Southampton | 60-59 | Belle Vue |
| 09/08 | Belle Vue | 77-43 | Southampton |
| 09/08 | Swindon | 60-60 | Norwich |
First leg
| Belle Vue Aces Peter Craven 16 Ron Johnston 11 Dick Fisher 9 Eddie Rigg 8 Bob Duckworth 7 Bob McHugh 7 Slant Payling 6 Tink Maynard 4 Graham Beattie 4 Jack Kitchen 2 | 74 – 45 | Norwich Stars Ove Fundin 16 Phil Clarke 8 Billy Bales 8 Aub Lawson 5 John Chamberlain 3 Clive Featherby 2 Dennis Newton 2 Jimmy Heard 1 Tommy Sweetman 0 Harry Edwards 0 |
|---|---|---|
| [8] |
Second leg
| Norwich Stars Ove Fundin 16 Billy Bales 10 Aub Lawson 5 Phil Clarke 4 Harry Edwards 4 John Chamberlain 8 Clive Featherby 4 Jimmy Heard 3 Tommy Sweetman 3 Dennis Newton 1 | 58 – 62 | Belle Vue Aces Ron Johnston 10 Bob Duckworth 7 Peter Craven 15 Slant Payling 10 Dick Fisher 10 Tink Maynard 4 Eddie Rigg 2 Jack Kitchen 0 Graham Beattie 3 Bob McHugh 1 |
|---|---|---|
| [8] |
Belle Vue were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate136–103.
South
| North
|
Source:[9] Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win. |
Source:[10] Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
|
Final
| Team one | Team two | Scores |
|---|---|---|
| Wimbledon | Belle Vue | 49–47, 43–53 |
Belle Vue
Coventry
Ipswich
Leicester
Norwich
Oxford
Poole
Southampton
Swindon
Wimbledon