1977 National League season

British motorcycle speedway season November 2023 November 2023 National League 19 Champions Eastbourne Eagles Knockout Cup Eastbourne Eagles Individual Colin Richardson Pairs Boston Barracudas Fours Peterborough Panthers Tom Owen 1977 British League 1976 1978 The 1977 National League was contested as the second division of Speedway in the United Kingdom.http://edinburghspeedway.blogspot.com/p/compet.html Historic league tables Speedway ArchiveRogers Martin The Illustrated History of Speedway 1978 129 Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd 0-904584-45-3 Summary Newport had moved down from the British League. Their riders were transferred to Bristol Bulldogs but they acquired new riders and were renamed Newport Dragons.https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000656/19770415/494/0020 Speedway Sussex Express 15 April 1977 British Newspaper Archive subscription 18 February 2025 Paisley Lions dropped out so the league had 19 teams, the same as the previous season. Part way through the season, Coatbridge Tigers relocated and changed name to Glasgow Tigers after being kicked out of Cliftonhill.Greyhounds beat Tigers Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser 10 February 1977 25 April 2024 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002391/19770210/001/0001 British Newspaper Archive subscription Eastbourne Eagles won the National League title, completing a league and cup double.https://www.speedwaygb.co.uk/history/leaguetables1965-1990 BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - BRITISH LEAGUE ERA (1965-1990) Official British Speedway website 11 September 2021Oakes Peter 1981 Speedway Yearbook 1981 101 Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd 0-86215-017-5 Eastbournes's star rider was Colin Richardson, who won the Riders' Championship and averaged 10.70 for the season. He was backed up by Mike Sampson, who also surpassed a 10 average and Dave Kennett (8.37 average) and a member of Eastbourne's 1971 winning team.https://wwosbackup.proboards.com/board/71/teams Teams wwosbackup 14 October 2021 Joe Owen, the leading rider of 1976 had moved from champions Newcastle Diamonds to join British League side Hull Vikings. Newcastle were unable to compensate for the loss and finished in 6th place, despite Joe's brother Tom Owen finishing top of the averages. Final table Pos Team PL W D L Pts1 Eastbourne Eagles 36 29 0 7 582 Rye House Rockets 36 24 3 9 513 Ellesmere Port Gunners 36 22 2 12 464 Canterbury Crusaders 36 23 0 13 465 Peterborough Panthers 36 22 0 14 446 Newcastle Diamonds 36 21 1 14 437 Boston Barracudas 36 20 0 16 408 Mildenhall Fen Tigers 36 16 4 16 369 Teesside Tigers 36 17 1 18 3510 Crayford Kestrels 36 17 0 19 3411 Glasgow Tigers 36 16 0 20 3212 Newport Dragons 36 16 0 20 3213 Oxford Cheetahs 36 15 1 20 3114 Scunthorpe Saints 36 15 1 20 3115 Edinburgh Monarchs 36 15 0 21 3016 Workington Comets 36 14 1 21 2917 Weymouth Wizards 36 11 3 22 2518 Berwick Bandits 36 11 1 24 2319 Stoke Potters 36 9 0 27 18 Fixtures and results main FBR grey BER BOS CAN CRY EAS ED EP GLA MIL ND NW OX PET RH SCU STO TEE WEY WOR Berwick 47–31 36–42 44–34 31–47 43–35 36–42 37–41 39–39 41–37 42–36 44–34 54–24 35–43 38–40 46–31 51–27 40–38 47–31 Boston 60–17 53–25 47–31 42–36 52–26 45–32 48–28 54–24 41–37 44–34 58–20 41–36 38–40 57–21 46–32 49–29 45–33 46–32 Canterbury 59–19 41–37 43–34 41–37 57–21 50–27 42–35 49–29 47–31 45–32 50–28 40–38 52–26 44–33 45–33 58–20 57–21 46–31 Crayford 47–31 43–34 44–34 29–49 52–26 46–30 54–23 50–28 40–36 47–31 49–29 48–30 37–38 48–30 41–37 52–26 45–33 56–22 Eastbourne 62–16 57–20 49–29 51–26 49–29 49–29 60–18 61–17 52–26 59–19 53–25 54–24 51–27 57–21 59–19 59–19 54–24 63–15 Edinburgh 53–25 45–33 37–41 44–34 30–48 31–47 42–36 40–38 35–42 52–26 43–33 54–24 38–40 40–38 40–37 52–25 45–33 45–33 Ellesmere Port 47–31 40–37 44–34 51–24 43–35 45–33 48–30 39–39 42–36 61–17 46–32 36–42 50–28 43–35 41–37 55–23 43–35 44–34 Glasgow/Coatbridge 45–33 43–11 49–29 39–37 32–46 44–34 38–40 54–24 37–41 47–31 42–36 48–29 38–40 45–33 46–32 52–25 45–33 50–28 Mildenhall 64–14 43–35 42–35 45–33 38–40 48–30 39–39 50–28 45–32 43–34 44–34 34–44 42–36 44–34 46–32 52–26 45–33 37–41 Newcastle 53–25 50–28 47–31 48–30 39–37 45–33 46–32 50–28 51–27 52–26 47–31 56–22 36–42 53–25 43–35 38–40 43–34 59–18 Newport 49–29 40–37 34–44 41–37 36–42 46–32 43–35 59–19 44–34 50–28 41–31 45–33 42–36 48–30 42–35 59–19 43–34 46–32 Oxford 53–24 38–40 41–37 47–31 44–34 43–35 43–35 60–18 39–39 41–37 58–19 51–27 38–37 38–40 44–34 53–25 44–33 51–27 Peterborough 60–18 42–36 43–35 53–25 42–36 47–31 42–36 56–22 53–25 40–38 52–26 51–27 44–34 57–21 44–34 43–35 55–23 49–29 Rye House 63–14 38–40 43–35 45–33 31–47 56–22 39–38 44–34 46–32 44–34 59–19 45–30 49–29 51–27 49–29 50–28 49–29 56–22 Scunthorpe 53–25 42–35 47–31 49–29 33–45 32–46 29–49 40–37 44–34 30–47 51–27 40–37 22–56 39–39 40–38 49–29 42–36 58–20 Stoke 52–26 40.5–37.5 38–40 38–40 24–54 37–41 38–40 42–36 34–44 33–45 47–31 41–37 33–45 38–40 48–29 32–45 43.5–33.5 41–37 Teesside 41–36 46–31 35–43 42–36 40–38 40–38 35–43 41–37 42–26 42–35 45–33 40–38 49–29 39–39 51–27 44–34 44–34 47–31 Weymouth 47–31 34.5–43.5 49–29 40–38 37–41 41–37 40–36 38–40 38–40 39–39 45–33 41–37 41–37 39–39 53–25 35–43 46–32 39–39 Workington 46–32 48–30 44–34 41–36 37–41 48–29 40–37 41–37 45–33 31–45 49–29 43–35 46–32 35–43 34–44 54–23 50–28 34–44 complete https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/1977.html Speedway Researcher 1977 fixtures & results 12 March 2025 Top five riders (league averages) Rider Nat Team C.M.A. 1 Tom Owen ENG Newcastle 11.01 2 Colin Richardson ENG Eastbourne 10.70 3 Martin Yeates ENG Oxford 10.59 4 John Jackson ENG Ellesmere Port 10.22 5 Mike Sampson ENG Eastbourne 10.18 National League Knockout Cup The 1977 National League Knockout Cup was the tenth edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Eastbourne Eagles were the winners of the competition.http://edinburghspeedway.blogspot.com/2013/06/national-league-ko-cup-1977.html 1977 National League Knockout Cup Speedway archive First round Date Team one Score Team two03/04 Eastbourne 55–23 Canterbury23/04 Canterbury 26–52 Eastbourne14/04 Oxford 44–34 Rye House17/04 Rye House 44–34 Oxford22/04 Edinburgh 48–30 Scunthorpe25/04 Scunthorpe 43–34 Edinburgh02/06replay Oxford 45–32 Rye House29/05replay Rye House 42–36 Oxford Second round Date Team one Score Team two15/05 Eastbourne 54–23 Crayford03/05 Crayford 35–43 Eastbourne22/05 Newcastle 49–29 Glasgow29/04 Glasgow 47–30 Newcastle17/05 Ellesmere Port 46–32 Workington03/06 Workington 42–36 Ellesmere Port12/06 Oxford 50–28 Newport23/06 Newport 41–37 Oxford28/05 Berwick 46–32 Teesside02/06 Teesside 44–34 Berwick27/05 Edinburgh 44–34 Stoke 21/05 Stoke 40–38 Edinburgh22/05 Boston 43–34 Weymouth24/05 Weymouth 35–43 Boston20/05 Peterborough 44–34 Mildenhall22/05 Mildenhall 38–40 Peterborough Quarter-finals Date Team one Score Team two10/07 Eastbourne 54–24 Newcastle08/08 Newcastle 34–43 Eastbourne26/07 Ellesmere Port 46½-31½ Oxford14/07 Oxford 37–41 Ellesmere Port25/06 Berwick 46–32 Edinburgh15/07 Edinburgh 41–37 Berwick17/07 Boston 45–33 Peterborough01/07 Peterborough 40–38 Boston Semi-finals Date Team one Score Team two25/09 Eastbourne 57–21 Ellesmere Port02/09 Ellesmere Port 50–28 Eastbourne27/08 Berwick 45–33 Boston19/08 Boston 38–40 Berwick Final First leg 8 October 1977 Berwick BanditsWillie Templeton 9Graham Jones 9Dave Gifford 7Mike Hiftle 6Wayne Brown 5Robin Adlington 4Colin Caffrey 1 41–37 https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/1977record.pdf 1977 KO cup final Speedway Researcher 26 September 2021 Eastbourne EaglesColin Richardson 13Mike Sampson 11Steve Naylor 7Eric Dugard 5Paul Woods 1Roger Abel 0Dave Kennett 0 Shielfield Park Second leg 23 October 1977 Eastbourne EaglesColin Richardson 12Mike Sampson 11Steve Naylor 9Eric Dugard 9Dave Kennett 7Roger Abel 7Paul Woods 6 61–16 Berwick BanditsBrendan Shilleto (guest) 6Graham Jones 5Willie Templeton 2Mike Hiftle 2Ian Darling 1Dave Gifford 0Colin Caffrey 0 Arlington Stadium Eastbourne were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 98–57. Riders' Championship Colin Richardson won the Riders' Championship, sponsored by Gauloises and held at Wimbledon Stadium on 24 September.Stuart's five Staffordshire Sentinel 26 September 1977 17 June 2023 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000525/19770926/015/0015 British Newspaper Archive subscription Pos. Rider Pts Total1 ENG Colin Richardson 3 3 3 3 3 152 ENG Martin Yeates 3 3 2 3 2 13+33 ENG Tom Owen 3 3 3 3 1 13+24 ENG Kelvin Mullarkey 3 2 3 2 2 125 ENG Rob Hollingworth 2 3 1 2 3 116 ENG John Jackson 2 3 1 2 3 107 AUS Steve Koppe 1 2 1 2 3 98 ENG Laurie Etheridge 2 1 0 2 2 7 9AUS Stuart Mountford 0 0 2 1 2 510 SCO Bert Harkins 1 1 1 1 1 511 ENG Alan Emerson 0 0 0 1 3 412 AUS Danny Kennedy 0 2 2 0 ex 413 WAL Brian Woodward 2 0 1 1 0 414 SCO Brian Collins 0 1 2 0 0 315 ENG Bob Coles 1 1 0 ef 0 316 ENG Steve Lawson 1 0 f 0 1217 ENG Ian Clark (res) 0 0 f=fell, r-retired, ex=excluded, ef=engine failure Pairs The National League Pairs was held at Hyde Road on 4 June and was won by Boston Barracudas.http://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/1977record.pdf 1977 season results Speedway Researcher 20 May 2023 Group APosTeamPtsRiders1Oxford10Yeates 9Handley 12Eastbourne 9Richardson 5Dugard 43Weymouth9Kennedy 6Harding 34Mildenhall8Coles 7Gibbons 1 Group BPosTeamPtsRiders1Canterbury 12Koppe 6Banks 62Stoke10Mountford 6Nunan 43Workington10Lawson 8Havelock 24Berwick4Jones 3Gifford 1 Group CPosTeamPtsRiders1Newport13Brett 8Woodward 52Ellesmere P12Jackson 9Finch 33Newcastle8Owen T 4Henderson 44Edinburgh3Millen 2Harkins 1 Group DPosTeamPtsRiders1Boston13Hollingworth 8Cook 52Coatbridge13Collins B 8Dawson 53Peterborough7Clark I 5Couzens 24Teesside2Wilcock 2Emerson 0 Semi finals Boston bt Canterbury Newport bt Oxford Final Boston bt Newport Fours Peterborough won the fours championship final, held at the East of England Arena on 7 August.Speedway Lincolnshire Free Press 9 August 1977 9 May 2023 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004965/19770809/302/0020 British Newspaper Archive subscription Oakes Peter 1978 Speedway Yearbook 1978 39 Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd 978-0904584509 Semi finals SF1 = Eastbourne 21, Stoke 12, Ellesmere Port 8, Boston 7 SF2 = Canterbury 18, Peterborough 14, Newcastle 9, Oxford 7 Final Pos TeamPts Riders1 Peterborough Panthers 17 Clark I 6, Hawkins 5, Hines 5, Flatman 1, Clark B 02 Canterbury Crusaders 14Banks 6, Koppe 3, Spelta 3, Kennett 23 Eastbourne Eagles 13 Richardson 5, Sampson 5, Dugard 2, Abel 14 Stoke Potters 4 Mountford 2, Nunan 1, Gledhill 1, Robertson 0 Leading final averages Rider Nat Team C.M.A. 1 Tom Owen ENG Newcastle 10.82 2 Colin Richardson ENG Eastbourne 10.63 3 Martin Yeates ENG Oxford 10.53 4 Mike Sampson ENG Eastbourne 10.09 5 John Jackson ENG Ellesmere Port 10.07 Riders & final averages Berwick 22em Graham Jones 7.85 Robin Adlington 7.01 Mike Hiftle 6.65 Willie Templeton 5.76 Dave Gifford 5.69 Terry Kelly 4.44 Keith Williams 4.00 Noel Suckling 3.86 Wayne Brown 3.85 Colin Caffrey 3.47 Boston 22em Rob Hollingworth 9.90 Carl Glover 7.84 Colin Cook 7.68 Paul Gilbert 7.04 Steve Clarke 6.48 Billy Burton 6.27 Dave Piddock 5.75 Dave Allen 5.45 Stuart Cope 5.37 Ron Cooper 5.25 Canterbury 22em Steve Koppe 8.83 Graham Banks 8.29 Les Rumsey 8.18 Bob Spelta 7.37 Barney Kennett 6.44 Brendan Shiletto 6.09 Terry Casserley 5.55 Graham Clifton 4.66 Brian Canning 4.32 Coatbridge/Glasgow 22em Brian Collins 8.94 Mick McKeon 7.95 Grahame Dawson 7.65 Rob Maxfield 7.13 Derek Richardson 5.41 Merv Janke 4.75 Benny Rourke 4.57 Jimmy Gallacher 4.35 Nicky Hollingworth 2.87 Crayford 22em Laurie Etheridge 9.41 Alan Sage 8.63 Colin Gooddy 8.53 Alan Johns 5.47 John Hooper 4.63 Mike Bessant 4.18 Richard Davey 4.17 Garry May 3.78 Eastbourne 22em Colin Richardson 10.63 Mike Sampson 10.09 Dave Kennett 8.37 Eric Dugard 8.25 Peter Jarman 7.50 Roger Abel 7.32 Paul Woods 6.85 Steve Naylor 6.63 Edinburgh 22em Bert Harkins 8.09 Jack Millen 7.80 Charlie Monk 7.31 Steve McDermott 6.37 Dave Trownson 6.15 Colin Farquharson 5.75 Alan Bridgett 4.58 Alan Morrison 4.48 Des Allen 3.53 Ellesmere Port 22em John Jackson 10.07 Steve Finch 8.83 Dave Mortiboys 7.43 Phil Collins 7.23 Duncan Meredith 5.64 James Moore 4.93 John Williams 4.90 Louis Carr 4.03 Paul Sheard 3.20 Mildenhall 22em Bob Coles 8.81 Trevor Jones 7.05 Robert Henry 6.66 Mike Spink 6.40 Mick Bates 6.22 Neil Leeks 5.83 John Gibbons 5.66 Fred Mills 5.64 Melvyn Taylor 4.63 Newcastle 22em Tom Owen 10.82 Robbie Blackadder 8.61 Ron Henderson 7.72 Phil Kynman 7.22 Robbie Gardner 6.35 Neil Coddington .06 Phil Micheledies 4.75 Eddie Argall 4.43 Rob Maxfield 2.78 Robin Dixon 2.19 Nigel Crabtree 1.47 Newport 22em Jim Brett 8.84 Brian Woodward 8.31 John Goodall 7.61 Mike Broadbank 6.52 Cliff Anderson 5.26 Chris Robins 5.18 Malc Bedkober 5.00 Dave Shepherd 2.88 Oxford 22em Martin Yeates 10.53 Phil Bass 7.13 Kevin Young 6.82 Colin Meredith 6.71 Brian Leonard 6.53 Mick Handley .6.00 Malcolm Holloway 5.90 Pip Lamb 4.99 Gerald Smitherman 3.83 Richie Caulwell 3.31 Peterborough 22em Andy Hines 7.83 Ian Clark 7.47 Kevin Hawkins 7.37 Nigel Flatman 7.00 Brian Clark 6.99 Nigel Couzens 6.46 Ken Matthews 6.26 Peter Spink 4.33 Rye House 22em Kelvin Mullarkey 9.14 Ted Hubbard 9.02 Bobby Garrad 8.07 Hugh Saunders 7.32 Karl Fiala 6.22 Ashley Pullen 6.11 Peter Tarrant 6.00 Bob Cooper 4.79 Scunthorpe 22em Nicky Allott 8.29 Arthur Browning 7.69 John McNeill 7.22 Sid Sheldrick 5.86 Dave Baugh 5.76 Trevor Whiting 5.09 Paul Cooper 4.80 Phil White 4.75 Danny Young 4.21 Stoke 22em Stuart Mountford 8.15 Tim Nunan 7.3 Ian Gledhill 6.67 Carl Askew 6.49 Ian Robertson 6.26 Mick Fishwick 5.65 Steve McDermott 5.29 Rob Dole 4.50 Colin Farquharson 4.11 Ian Jeffcoate 3.86 Trevor Vincent/Charley 3.37 Teesside 22em Alan Emerson 8.56 Steve Wilcock 6.84 Pete Reading 6.16 Pete Smith 6.09 Nigel Close 5.14 Martyn Cusworth 4.95 John Robson 4.80 Mike Beaumont 4.67 Harry Maclean 2.56 Weymouth 22em Danny Kennedy 8.65 Vic Harding 7.95 Malcolm Corradine 7.91 Chris Robins 6.14 Sean Willmott 5.65 Rob Jones 5.59 Geoff Swindells 5.27 Richard Evans 5.24 Chris Julian 4.77 Roger Stratton 4.58 Workington 22em Steve Lawson 8.19 Brian Havelock 7.82 Mick Newton 6.47 Ian Hindle 6.37 Roger Wright 5.61 Colin Goad 5.49 Terry Kelly 4.65 Mark Dickinson 3.14 Chris Bevan 3.04 Andy Reid 3.04 See also List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions Knockout Cup (speedway) References Category:Speedway British League Division Two / National League