| League | National League |
|---|---|
| No. of competitors | 6 |
| Champions | Wembley Lions |
| National Trophy | Belle Vue Aces |
| A.C.U Cup | Belle Vue Aces |
| Riders' champion | Tommy Price |
| London Cup | Wembley Lions |
| Highest average | Eric Langton |
| Division/s below | Northern League |
The1946National League was the 12th season of the highest tier ofmotorcycle speedway in Great Britain and the first post-war season.[1][2]
The league had been abandoned seven years previously due to the outbreak ofWorld War II. Record attendances were attracted withWembley Lions attracting an average of 50,000 and the league as a whole a total of six and a half million.[3] From the abandoned 1939 season,Southampton Saints andHarringay Tigers were no longer racing whilstOdsal Boomerangs brought National League speedway toBradford for the first time.[4][5]
Wembley Lions won their second National League title.
On 6 July, a crowd of 34,0000 atOdsal Stadium witnessedOdsal Boomerangs lose toBelle Vue Aces. During the match Albert 'Aussie' Rosenfeld, son ofAlbert Rosenfeld hit the fence and was taken toSt Luke's Hospital, Bradford, with a suspected fractured skull.[6] He died 10 days later, on 16 July 1946.[7]
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wembley Lions | 20 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 36 |
| 2 | Belle Vue Aces | 20 | 12 | 1 | 7 | 25 |
| 3 | Odsal Boomerangs | 20 | 9 | 1 | 10 | 19 |
| 4 | Wimbledon Dons | 20 | 8 | 1 | 11 | 17 |
| 5 | New Cross Rangers | 20 | 6 | 1 | 13 | 13 |
| 6 | West Ham Hammers | 20 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 10 |
| Home \ Away | BV | BRA | NC | WEM | WH | WIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belle Vue | 49–33 | 29–55 | 34–49 | 46–37 | 49–35 | |
| Odsal | 32–52 | 54–23 | 52–32 | 48–36 | 54–30 | |
| New Cross | 46–37 | 41–43 | 36–48 | 46–36 | 42–41 | |
| Wembley | 50–32 | 47–37 | 54–24 | 47–36 | 48–35 | |
| West Ham | 35–49 | 44–40 | 41–43 | 33–49 | 42–41 | |
| Wimbledon | 45–39 | 39–45 | 41–40 | 41–43 | 43–39 |
| Home \ Away | BV | BRA | NC | WEM | WH | WIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belle Vue | 54–30 | 56–28 | 51–33 | 53–31 | 47–37 | |
| Odsal | 42–42 | 45–39 | 38–46 | 48–36 | 41–43 | |
| New Cross | 30–53 | 45–39 | 37–46 | 38–46 | 39–45 | |
| Wembley | 43–39 | 52–32 | 53–30 | 59–24 | 46–36 | |
| West Ham | 36–47 | 44–39 | 42–42 | 36–48 | 42–42 | |
| Wimbledon | 49–35 | 39–45 | 59–25 | 38–45 | 49–34 |
On account of the small number of teams in the league the ACU Cup was run in a league format.Belle Vue Aces came out on top.
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belle Vue Aces | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 16 |
| 2 | Wembley Lions | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 13 |
| 3 | New Cross Rangers | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 12 |
| 4 | Odsal Boomerangs | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 9 |
| 5 | Wimbledon Dons | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 8 |
| 6 | West Ham Hammers | 10 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 |
| Home \ Away | BV | BRA | NC | WEM | WH | WIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belle Vue | 49–46 | 57–38 | 53–43 | 61–35 | 64–32 | |
| Odsal | 44–51 | 50–46 | 48–48 | 50–46 | 55–41 | |
| New Cross | 49–47 | 50–46 | 39–55 | 61–35 | 54–40 | |
| Wembley | 46–50 | 68–27 | 57–37 | 53–42 | 58–38 | |
| West Ham | 45–50 | 46–50 | 52–54 | 50–46 | 45–48 | |
| Wimbledon | 50–46 | 48–47 | 45–50 | 47–48 | 51.5–44.5 |
Such was the dearth of new riders caused by the war that all of the top ten riders were established pre-war riders and none were below the age of 32.
| Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eric Langton |  | Belle Vue Aces | 11.13 |
| 2 | Jack Parker | | Belle Vue Aces | 11.00 |
| 3 | Bill Kitchen | | Wembley Lions | 10.75 |
| 4 | Ron Johnson |  | New Cross Rangers | 10.69 |
| 5 | Eric Chitty |  | West Ham Hammers | 10.30 |
| 6 | Norman Parker | | Wimbledon Dons | 10.12 |
| 7 | Tommy Price | | Wembley Lions | 10.00 |
| 8 | Alec Statham | | Odsal Boomerangs | 9.72 |
| 9 | Ron Clarke | | Odsal Boomerangs | 9.50 |
| 10 | Bill Longley | | Odsal Boomerangs | 9.20 |
The 1946 National Trophy was the tenth edition (if including the 1939 abandoned competition) or ninth edition (if not including) of theKnockout Cup.[11] Teams from the lower1946 Speedway Northern League competed in the event.
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 04/05 | Birmingham | 56–48 | Norwich |
| 27/04 | Norwich | 53–51 | Birmingham |
Second round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25/05 | Birmingham | 61–45 | Middlesbrough |
| 16/05 | Middlesbrough | 58–50 | Birmingham |
| 29/04 | Newcastle | 49–56 | Middlesbrough |
| 25/04 | Middlesbrough | 55–51 | Newcastle |
| 25/04 | Sheffield | 61–47 | Glasgow White City |
| 24/04 | Glasgow White City | 61–47 | Sheffield |
| 09/05 replay | Sheffield | 63–44 | Glasgow White City |
| 08/05 replay | Glasgow White City | 62–45 | Sheffield |
Quarterfinals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22/06 | Birmingham | 31–77 | Wembley |
| 13/06 | Wembley | 80–27 | Birmingham |
| 20/07 | Bradford Odsal | 72–36 | Sheffield |
| 04/07 | Sheffield | 48–60 | Bradford Odsal |
| 02/07 | West Ham | 55–52 | Wimbledon |
| 01/07 | Wimbledon | 63–44 | West Ham |
| 08/06 | Belle Vue | 58–49 | New Cross |
| 12/06 | New Cross | 50–57 | Belle Vue |
Semifinals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25/07 | Wembley | 50–57 | Belle Vue |
| 13/07 | Belle Vue | 60–48 | Wembley |
| 19/08 | Wimbledon | 62–46 | Bradford Odsal |
| 03/08 | Bradford Odsal | 53–55 | Wimbledon |
First leg
| Wimbledon Dons Norman Parker 13 Lloyd Goffe 10 Oliver Hart 9 George Saunders 9 Arch Windmill 6 Dick Harris 6 Mike Erskine 5 Cyril Brine 1 | 61 – 46 | Belle Vue Aces Jack Parker 13 Bill Pitcher 10 Wally Lloyd 10 Eric Langton 8 Ron Mason 2 Jim Boyd 2 Ralph Horne 1 Dent Oliver 0 |
|---|---|---|
| [12] |
Second leg
| Belle Vue Aces Wally Lloyd 18 Jack Parker 14 Bill Pitcher 11 Eric Langton 8 Jim Boyd 6 Dent Oliver 3 Louis Lawson 2 Ron Mason 1 | 63 – 45 | Wimbledon Dons Norman Parker 11 Oliver Hart 10 Dick Harris 7 Mike Erskine 7 Lloyd Goffe 3 George Saunders 3 Cyril Brine 2 Arch Windmill 2 |
|---|---|---|
| [12] |
Belle Vue were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate109–106.
Tommy Price won theBritish Riders' Championship final held atEmpire Stadium on 12 September, in front of 85,000 spectators.[13][14] There were no less than 23 qualifying rounds, where riders from National and Northern League tracks respectively, competed in six meetings each.[13]
| Pos. | Rider | Heat Scores | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tommy Price | 33333 | 15 |
| 2 | Bill Kitchen | 33223 | 13 |
| 3 | Jack Parker | 3f333 | 12 |
| 4 | Eric Langton | 21332 | 11 |
| 5 | Malcolm Craven | 32f23 | 10 |
| 6 | Norman Parker | 23122 | 10 |
| 7 | Eric Chitty | 21312 | 9 |
| 8 | Frank Hodgson | 13211 | 8 |
| 9 | Ron Johnson | f232f | 7 |
| 10 | Bert Spencer | 11102 | 5 |
| 11 | Wally Lloyd | 02201 | 5 |
| 12 | Jeff Lloyd | 01021 | 4 |
| 13 | Bill Longley | 22000 | 4 |
| 14 | Tommy Allott | 00011 | 2 |
| 15 | Ernie Price | 10100 | 2 |
| 16 | Ron Clarke (res) | 110 | 2 |
| 16 | Alec Statham | 000-- | 0 |
First round
| Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|
| New Cross | 59–49, 46–60 | Wimbledon |
| West Ham | 62–46, 43–65 | Wembley |
First leg
| Wimbledon Norman Parker 17 Oliver Hart 13 Archie Windmill 7 Cyril Brine 6 Dick Harris 2 George Saunders 1 Lloyd Goffe 1 Charlie Dugard 1 | 53–55 | Wembley Bill Kitchen 13 George Wilks 11 Tommy Price 9 Bill Gilbert 9 Alf Bottoms 7 Bob Wells 4 Roy Craighead 2 Charlie May 0 |
|---|---|---|
Second leg
| Wembley Tommy Price 16 Bill Kitchen 14 Bill Gilbert 8 Alf Bottoms 7 Roy Craighead 2 George Wilks 2 Bob Wells 1 Charlie May 1 | 66–42 | Wimbledon Norman Parker 10 Lloyd Goffe 7 Oliver Hart 7 Cyril Brine 7 Archie Windmill 6 George Saunders 3 Dick Harris 2 harlie Dugard 0 |
|---|---|---|
| [15] |
Wembley won on aggregate121–95
Belle Vue
Eric Langton 11.13Jack Parker 11.00Wally Lloyd 8.46Bill Pitcher 6.91Dent Oliver 5.00Jim Boyd 4.92Ron Mason 3.90Harold Jackson 4.67Louis Lawson 1.45New Cross
Ron Johnson 10.69
Eric French 9.52Geoff Pymar 8.63Les Wotton 8.24Phil Bishop 4.14Mick Mitchell 4.12Frank Lawrence 3.78
Keith Harvey 3.40Les Webbon 3.06Ray Moore 2.29Jack Cooley 2.13Jack White 0.57Odsal
Alec Statham 9.72Ron Clarke 9.50Bill Longley 9.20Ernie Price 8.39Fred Tuck 6.90Albert Rosenfeld 2.93Vic Pitcher 2.86Bill Osborne 2.00Red Hamley 1.33Jack White 1.25Charlie Oates 1.24Stan Beardsall 0.80Ron Stringer 0.60Wembley
Bill Kitchen 10.75Tommy Price 10.00George Wilks 9.00Alf Bottoms 5.90Bill Gilbert 5.72Bob Wells 5.66Roy Craighead 5.50Bronco Wilson 5.11Charlie May 4.90West Ham
Eric Chitty 10.30Malcolm Craven 9.03Colin Watson 8.40Bob Harrison 7.89Jack Cooley 4.73Cyril Anderson 4.14Benny King 3.47Buck Whitby 3.39Frank Lawrence 3.23Ron Howes 3.23George Gower 3.00Bert Roger 2.45Dick Geary 2.29Wimbledon
Norman Parker 10.12Lloyd Goffe 8.23Oliver Hart 7.58Mike Erskine 6.29George Saunders 5.82Dick Harris 5.69Arch Windmill 5.38Charlie Dugard 4.38Alex Gray 4.00Cyril Brine 4.00National League seasons 1932–1964 | ||
|---|---|---|
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