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1974 British League season

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British speedway season

1974 British League season
League	British League
No. of competitors	17
Champions	Exeter Falcons
Knockout Cup	Sheffield Tigers
Individual	Peter Collins
Spring Gold Cup	Newport
Midland Cup	Leicester Lions
London Cup	Wimbledon Dons
Northern Trophy	Sheffield Tigers
Highest average	Ole Olsen
Division/s below	British League (Div 2)
←1973 1975 →

The1974 British League season was the 40th season of the top tier ofmotorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom and the tenth season known as the British League.^[1]^[2]

Summary

[edit]

The1973 Champions Reading didn't compete as they no longer had a stadium, following the closure ofReading Stadium andHull Vikings replaced them. The league was reduced to seventeen teams when theCoatbridge Tigers dropped down toDivision Two. Overseas riders that rode in other leagues abroad were banned which meant that top Swedish riders such asAnders Michanek,Bernt Persson,Tommy Jansson andChrister Löfqvist didn't compete.^[3]

TheExeter Falcons won their first title. They were headed by the legendary four time world championIvan Mauger and backed up well byScott Autrey (8.32),Tony Lomas (7.29) andKevin Holden (7.26).

At the end of the seasonOxford Rebels finished four points above theHull Vikings courtesy of a protest over Hull's victory against the Rebels.^[4] Hull were later re-awarded the points after a close season hearing and moved above the Rebels.

Final table

[edit]

Pos	Team	PL	W	D	L	Pts
1	Exeter Falcons	32	25	1	6	51
2	Belle Vue Aces	32	23	0	9	46
3	Ipswich Witches	32	22	1	9	45
4	Sheffield Tigers	32	21	0	11	42
5	King's Lynn Stars	32	20	1	11	41
6	Newport	32	17	3	12	37
7	Halifax Dukes	32	14	3	15	31
8	Wimbledon Dons	32	14	1	17	29
9	Hackney Hawks	32	13	2	17	28
10	Leicester Lions	32	13	1	18	27
11	Wolverhampton Wolves	32	13	1	18	27
12	Swindon Robins	32	12	2	18	26
13	Cradley United	32	12	1	19	25
14	Poole Pirates	32	12	1	19	25
15	Coventry Bees	32	12	0	20	24
16	Hull Vikings	32	10	0	22	20
17	Oxford Rebels	32	10	0	22	20

M = Matches;W = Wins;D = Draws;L = Losses;Pts = Total Points

Fixtures and results

[edit]

Home \ Away	BV	COV	CH	EX	HAC	HAL	HV	IPS	KL	LEI	NEW	OX	PP	SHE	SWI	WIM	WOL
Belle Vue		59–19	50–28	46–32	49–29	54–24	52–26	48–30	56–22	51–27	45–33	42–36	48–30	46–32	53–25	53–25	43–35
Coventry	45–32		43–35	40–38	36–42	44–34	48–30	36–42	35–43	28–50	42–36	40–35	43–35	34–43	42–36	42–36	38–40
Cradley	35–43	43–35		37–41	29–49	44–34	42–36	35–43	38–40	38–40	39–39	38–40	49–29	41–37	44–33	49–29	47–30
Exeter	44–34	50–28	43–35		49–29	56–22	51–24	42–36	44–34	49–29	43–35	50–28	53–25	45–33	46–32	50–28	45–33
Hackney	37–41	43–35	42–36	38–40		39–39	48–30	30–47	38–40	47–28	40–38	41–37	43–35	37–41	49–29	49–29	49–29
Halifax	31–47	40–38	43–35	40–38	46–32		42–36	42–36	47–31	42–36	39–39	42–36	50–28	35–43	49–29	52–26	54–24
Hull	60–09	58–20	37–41	34–44	44–34	49–29		31–46	36–42	42–36	51–27	40–38	58–20	45–33	48–30	38–40	37–41
Ipswich	54–24	41–37	53–25	36–41	48–30	48–30	44–34		44–33	44–34	51–27	48–30	50–28	40–38	40–38	56–22	44–34
King's Lynn	41–37	49–29	38–40	40–38	42–36	51–27	42–36	39–39		46–32	51–27	42–36	41–37	43–35	44–34	55–23	49–29
Leicester	40–38	47–31	48–30	39–39	42–36	35–43	51–27	37–41	43–35		41–37	46–32	44–34	23–55	53–25	51–27	36–42
Newport	41–37	52–26	51–27	37–41	45–33	40–38	45–33	51–27	47–31	50–28		41–37	57–21	44–34	42–36	51–27	48–30
Oxford	32–46	48–29	36.5–41.5	38–40	34–44	41–37	50–28	30–48	48–30	47–31	34–44		52–26	35–43	36–42	43–34	47–31
Poole	37–41	36–42	45–33	38–40	44–34	41–37	43–34	42–36	42–36	43–34	40–38	45–32		45–33	43–35	43–35	38–40
Sheffield	40–38	44–34	62–16	51–27	61–17	51–27	42–36	43–35	47–31	56–22	52–26	58–20	52–26		55–23	57–21	53–25
Swindon	38–40	45–33	49–29	38–40	41–37	39–39	49–29	40–38	41–37	44–34	39–39	32–46	46–32	44–34		45–33	44–34
Wimbledon	35–43	49–29	45–32	43–35	50–27	55–23	50–27	41–37	33–41	40–38	51–27	48–30	39–39	46–31	55–23		51–27
Wolverhampton	43–35	31–46	38.5–39.5	37–41	39–39	45–32	40–38	36–42	36–42	43–35	33–45	46–32	39–37	40–37	43–35	44–34

Source:^[5]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top ten riders (league averages)

[edit]

	Rider	Team	C.M.A.
1	Ole Olsen	Wolverhampton	11.21
2	Ivan Mauger	Exeter	11.15
3	Phil Crump	Newport	10.77
4	Peter Collins	Belle Vue	10.73
5	John Louis	Ipswich	10.73
6	Terry Betts	King's Lynn	10.26
7	Dag Lövaas	Hackney	10.15
8	Martin Ashby	Swindon	10.10
9	John Boulger	Cradley	9.94
10	Eric Boocock	Halifax	9.92

British League Knockout Cup

[edit]

The 1974 Speedway Star British League Knockout Cup was the 36th edition of theKnockout Cup for tier one teams. Sheffield were the winners.^[6]

First round

Date	Team one	Score	Team two
20/04	Cradley United	40–38	Wolverhampton
19/04	Ipswich	50–28	Oxford
12/04	Wolverhampton	48–30	Cradley United
21/03	Oxford	40–37	Ipswich

Second round

Date	Team one	Score	Team two
07/06	Wolverhampton	36–42	Kings Lynn
04/06	Wimbledon	38–40	Ipswich
30/05	Ipswich	52–26	Wimbledon
29/05	Hull	38–40	Sheffield
25/05	Coventry	42–36	Leicester
22/05	Belle Vue	53–25	Halifax
18/05	Kings Lynn	45–33	Wolverhampton
17/05	Hackney	40–38	Poole
15/05	Poole	42–36	Hackney
13/05	Halifax	35–43	Belle Vue
09/05	Sheffield	52–26	Hull
07/05	Leicester	43–35	Coventry
27/04	Swindon	40–38	Newport
26/04	Newport	42–36	Swindon

Quarter-finals

Date	Team one	Score	Team two
31/07	Poole	38–40	Kings Lynn
20/07	King's Lynn	38–40	Poole
16/07	Leicester	38–40	Ipswich
08/07	Sheffield	46–32	Newport
06/07	Belle Vue	44–32	Exeter
05/07	Newport	35–43	Sheffield
20/06	Ipswich	42–36	Leicester
10/06	Exeter	46–32	Belle Vue
24/08	Kings Lynn	42–36	Poole
21/08	Poole	45–32	Kings Lynn

Semi-finals

Date	Team one	Score	Team two
09/09	Sheffield	46–32	Poole
04/09	Poole	37–40	Sheffield
29/08	Ipswich	50–28	Exeter
19/08	Exeter	42–36	Ipswich

Final

[edit]

First leg

6 October 1974

Ipswich Witches John Louis 11 Billy Sanders 10 Tony Davey 6 Mick Hines 5 Ted Howgego 3 Alan Sage 2 Trevor Jones 0	37–41	Sheffield Tigers Arnie Haley 13 Bob Valentine 11 Doug Wyer 8 Reg Wilson 6 Craig Pendlebury 2 Bob Paulson 1 Carl Glover 0
	^[7]

Foxhall Stadium

Second leg

7 October 1974

Sheffield Tigers Bob Valentine 11 Arnie Haley 8 Doug Wyer 8 Craig Pendlebury 8 Reg Wilson 7 Carl Glover 6 Bob Paulson 1	49–29	Ipswich Witches John Louis 13 Tony Davey 9 Billy Sanders 3 Mick Hines 2 Ted Howgego 1 Mike Lanham 1 Alan Sage 0
	^[8]

Owlerton Stadium

Sheffield Tigers were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate90-65.

Riders' Championship

[edit]

Peter Collins won theBritish League Riders' Championship held atHyde Road on 19 October.^[9]

Pos.	Rider	Heat Scores	Total
1	Peter Collins	33333	15
2	Ivan Mauger	22332	12
3	Phil Crump	13233	12
4	John Louis	32123	11
5	Bob Valentine	31223	11
6	Dave Jessup	23122	10
7	Martin Ashby	12212	8
8	George Hunter	20320	7
9	Barry Briggs	02EF32	7
10	Jim McMillan	13011	6
11	John Boulger	212EF1	6
12	Eric Boocock	01301	5
13	Bob Kilby	3FR10	4
14	Dag Lövaas	00111	3
15	Terry Betts	10100	2
16	Nigel Boocock	0100EF	1

ef=engine failure, f=fell, x=excluded

Final leading averages

[edit]

	Rider	Team	C.M.A.
1	Ole Olsen	Wolverhampton	11.39
2	Peter Collins	Belle Vue	10.98
3	Ivan Mauger	Exeter	10.88
4	Phil Crump	Newport	10.79
5	John Louis	Ipswich	10.79
6	Terry Betts	King's Lynn	10.32
7	Dag Lövaas	Hackney	10.17
8	Martin Ashby	Swindon	10.09
9	John Boulger	Cradley	10.06
10	Bob Valentine	Sheffield	9.92
11	Malcolm Simmons	King's Lynn	9.78
13	Sören Sjösten	Belle Vue	9.72
14	Jim McMillan	Hull	9.71
15	Dave Jessup	Leicester	9.66
15	Eric Boocock	Halifax	9.61
17	Reidar Eide	Newport	9.42
18	Billy Sanders	Ipswich	9.34
19	Ray Wilson	Leicester	9.34
20	Barry Briggs	Wimbledon	9.30

Spring Gold Cup

[edit]

East Group

Team	P	W	D	L	Pts
Ipswich	6	5	0	1	10
King's Lynn	6	3	1	2	7
Hackney	6	2	1	3	5
Wimbledon	6	1	0	5	2

West Group

Team	PL	W	L	Pts
Newport	6	5	1	10
Exeter	6	3	3	6
Oxford	6	3	3	6
Poole	6	1	5	2

East Group

Home \ Away	HAC	IPS	KL	WIM
Hackney		31–47	36–42	41–37
Ipswich	45–33		40–37	48–30
King's Lynn	39–39	37–41		50–28
Wimbledon	38–40	40–38	36–42

Source:^[10]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

West Group

Home \ Away	EX	NEW	OX	PP
Exeter		36–42	48–30	51–27
Newport	55–23		54–24	55–22
Oxford	49–29	44–34		41–37
Poole	36–42	35–43	43–35

Source:^[11]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Final

Team one	Team two	Scores
Ipswich	Newport	44–34, 30–48

Midland Cup

[edit]

Leicester won theMidland Cup. The competition consisted of six teams.^[12]

First round

Team one	Team two	Score
Oxford	Swindon	41–37, 34–44
Coventry	Cradley	39–39, 28–50

Semi final round

Team one	Team two	Score
Leicester	Swindon	41–37, 41–37
Cradley	Wolverhampton	32–46, 38–40

Final first leg

8 October 1974

Leicester Ray Wilson 11 Dave Jessup 9 Frank Auffret 9 Bob Coles (guest) 4 Malcolm Brown 4 Mick Bell 3 Norman Storer 2	42–36	Wolverhampton John Boulger (guest) 14 George Hunter 10 Malcolm Shakespeare 8 Bengt Andersson 3 Colin Meredith 1 Tom Leadbitter 0 Tony Featherstone 0

Leicester Stadium

Final second leg

11 October 1974

Wolverhampton Eric Broadbelt (guest) 12 George Hunter 9 Malcolm Shakespeare 6 Tom Leadbitter 4 Bengt Andersson 2 Colin Meredith 2 Finn Thomsen 0	35–43	Leicester Dave Jessup 10 Ray Wilson 9 Arthur Price (guest) 8 Frank Auffret 6 Norman Storer 5 Mick Bell 5 Malcolm Brown 0

Monmore Green Stadium

Leicester won on aggregate85–71

London Cup

[edit]

Wimbledon won the London Cup but there were now only two teams remaining in London.^[13]

Results

Team	Score	Team
Wimbledon	46–32	Hackney
Hackney	39–39	Wimbledon

Northern Trophy

[edit]

		M	W	D	L	Pts
1	Sheffield	6	5	0	1	10
2	Belle Vue	6	4	0	2	8
3	Halifax	6	2	1	3	5
4	Hull	6	0	1	5	1

Home \ Away	BV	HAL	HUL	SHE
Belle Vue		44–34	53–25	43–34
Halifax	41–36		52–25	34–44
Hull	37–41	39–39		29–48
Sheffield	46–32	48–30	54–24

Source:^[14]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Riders and final averages

[edit]

Belle Vue

Coventry

Cradley Heath

Exeter

Hackney

Halifax

Hull

Ipswich

King's Lynn

Leicester

Newport

Oxford

Poole

Sheffield

Swindon

Wimbledon

Wolverhampton

References

[edit]

^"Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
^"HISTORY ARCHIVE".British Speedway. Retrieved1 July 2021.
^Rogers, Martin (1978).The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 129–133.ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
^Oakes, Peter (1981).1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 100.ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
^"1974 fixtures & results". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved5 March 2025.
^"1974 British League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.
^"Hero Haley puts Ipswich on the rack".Daily Mirror. 7 October 1974. Retrieved7 December 2023 – viaBritish Newspaper Archive.
^"Season 1974"(PDF).British Speedway. Retrieved25 June 2021.
^"Speedway".Coventry Evening Telegraph. 21 October 1974. Retrieved2 June 2023 – viaBritish Newspaper Archive.
^"1974 fixtures & results"(PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved17 September 2025.
^"1974 fixtures & results"(PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved17 September 2025.
^"Wolves beaten in cup final".Birmingham Daily Post. 12 October 1974. Retrieved21 October 2023 – viaBritish Newspaper Archive.
^"1974 fixtures and results"(PDF).Speedway Researcher. Retrieved30 September 2023.
^"1974 fixtures & results"(PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved29 September 2025.

v t e Speedway in the United Kingdom
Current leagues	SGB Premiership SGB Championship National Development League List of champions
Former leagues	Elite League Premier League National League (1932–1964) Provincial League (1960–1964) British League British League Division Two/National League Conference League National League Division Two National League Division Three English Dirt Track League/Northern League Southern League (1929–1931) Southern League (1952–1953) Provincial League (1936–1937) Southern Area League
Current team competitions	Knockout Cup League Pairs champions League Fours champions
Former team competitions	London Cup Midland Cup Craven and Young Shields Premiership Shield
Current individual competitions	British Speedway Championship League Riders' champions British U-21 British U-19 Scottish Open
Former individual competitions	London Riders' Midland Riders' Northern Riders' Southern Riders' Olympique Internationale
See also	Speedway British Speedway Promoters' Association Speedway Control Bureau

v t e United Kingdom Speedway Seasons
Tier One League Top division	1929 1929 1930 1930 1931 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Tier Two League Second division	1934 1936 1937 1938 1939 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Tier Three League Third division	1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1994 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Champions	League champions Cup winners

v t e British League seasons
1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994		Speedway Elite League
Domestic cups:British League Knockout Cup		Speedway Elite League