1979 National League season

British motorcycle speedway season November 2023 November 2023 National League 19 Champions Mildenhall Fen Tigers Knockout Cup Rye House Rockets Individual Ian Gledhill Pairs Milton Keynes Knights Fours Ellesmere Port Gunners Tom Owen 1979 British League 1978 1980 The 1979 National League was contested as the second division/tier of Speedway in the United Kingdom.http://edinburghspeedway.blogspot.com/p/compet.html Historic league tables Speedway ArchiveBott Richard The Peter Collins Speedway Book No.4 1980 95 Stanley Paul & Co Ltd 0-09-141751-1 Summary The league was reduced from 20 teams to 19 from the previous season. White City Rebels closure saw their riders move to Eastbourne Eagles, who moved up to the British League and Barrow Furness Flyers dropped out. Teesside Tigers changed their name to Middlesbrough Tigers and Scunthorpe Saints changed their name to Scunthorpe Stags and left the Quibell Park Stadium for Ashby Ville Stadium.Brewery boost for Stadium Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph 16 February 1978 3 May 2024 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001336/19780216/016/0016 British Newspaper Archive subscription http://www.defunctspeedway.co.uk/Scunthorpe%20(Ashby%20Ville).htm Speedway Ashby Ville Defunct Speedway 3 May 2024 Long Eaton Stadium saw the return of speedway under the promotion of Dan McCormick but his decision to call the team the "Nottingham Outlaws" upset the supporters club.https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003304/19790301/242/0017 Speedway one of the greatest Stapleford & Sandiacre News 1 March 1979 British Newspaper Archive subscription 22 September 2024 Tom Owen of Newcastle topped the averages for the third consecutive year and Ian Gledhill, riding for Stoke won the Riders' Championship but both Newcastle and Stoke finished well behind Mildenhall Fen Tigers and Rye House Rockets in the league table.https://wwosbackup.proboards.com/board/71/teams Teams wwosbackup 14 October 2021 In a season that would go down to the last match, Mildenhall won their first title in their history. The consistency of four riders, Ray Bales, Mick Hines, Melvyn Taylor and Robert Henry was the crucial factor to their success. There was a controversial end to the season when Rye House visited Mildenhall, needing a draw to win the title. Needing a 5-1 in the last heat to tie the match, Rocket Karl Fiala's exclusion prompted team-mate Bob Garrad to withdraw from the re-run in protest. Mildenhall went on to win at bottom club Scunthorpe Saints in the last match of the season to win the title by one point.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 Final table Pos Team PL W D L Pts1 Mildenhall Fen Tigers 36 30 0 6 602 Rye House Rockets 36 29 1 6 593 Oxford Cheetahs 36 24 1 11 494 Berwick Bandits 36 21 3 12 455 Milton Keynes Knights 36 21 0 15 426 Newcastle Diamonds 36 20 0 16 407 Glasgow Tigers 36 19 0 17 388 Peterborough Panthers 36 18 2 16 389 Ellesmere Port Gunners 36 18 1 17 3710 Canterbury Crusaders 36 17 2 17 3611 Middlesbrough Tigers 36 17 1 18 3512 Crayford Kestrels 36 16 0 20 3213 Stoke Potters 36 15 2 19 3214 Nottingham Outlaws 36 14 1 21 2915 Workington Comets 36 14 1 21 2916 Boston Barracudas 36 13 2 21 2817 Edinburgh Monarchs 36 13 1 22 2718 Weymouth Wildcats 36 9 1 26 1919 Scunthorpe Stags 36 4 1 31 9 Fixtures and results main FBR grey BER BOS CAN CRY ED EP GLA MID MIL MK NEW NOT OX PET RH SCU STO WEY WOR Berwick 52–25 57–21 45–33 55–23 44–34 40–38 52–26 45–33 50–28 46–32 54–24 60–18 53–25 39–39 57–21 48–30 57–20 56–22 Boston 36–42 39–39 59–19 51–26 31–46 43–35 33–45 50–28 53–25 38–40 37–41 42–36 44–34 39–38 48–30 42–35 45–33 46–32 Canterbury 34–44 45–33 43–35 55–23 46–32 49–29 45–33 42–36 42–36 47–31 53–25 38–39 39–39 35–43 63–15 43–35 43–35 59–19 Crayford 45–33 53–25 41–37 40–38 45–33 49–29 40–37 30–47 40–38 33–45 48–29 34–44 46–31 31–47 60–18 47–31 40–38 45–33 Edinburgh 40.5–37.5 49–28 48–30 41–37 46–31 41–37 40–38 29–49 35–43 36–41 47–31 36–42 35–43 33–45 59–19 38–40 46–32 48–30 Ellesmere Port 39–39 45–33 46–32 43–35 51–26 49–29 48–30 36–42 45–33 43–35 40–38 45–32 56–22 38–40 60–16 56–22 56–22 49–29 Glasgow 45–33 52–25 52–26 46–30 51–27 51–27 62–16 47–31 41–37 43–35 52–26 41–37 44–33 45–32 51–27 50–27 51–27 53–25 Middlesbrough 42–36 41–37 40–38 38–40 33–44 43–35 50–27 34–43 48–30 44–34 46–32 45–33 43–35 34–44 42–36 56–22 42–36 47–31 Mildenhall 59–18 48–30 46–32 60–18 49–29 50–28 55–23 55–23 50–27 54–24 55–23 52–26 42–35 43–34 60–18 49–29 52–26 56–22 Milton Keynes 52–26 47–31 46–32 46–32 45–32 49–29 54–24 46–32 36–41 35–42 46–31 38–39 41–37 41–36 51–26 43–35 43–35 39–38 Newcastle 41–37 54–24 51–26 54–24 57–21 41–37 45–33 43–35 37–41 38–40 38–40 37–41 55–23 36–42 59–18 50–28 46–31 40–38 Nottingham 39–39 45–33 35–43 45–33 47–31 48–30 52–26 49–28 36.5–41.5 37–41 40–38 33–45 44–34 36–42 46–32 48–30 43–35 51–27 Oxford 49–29 53–24 46–32 48–30 54–23 53–24 52–26 52–26 40–37 38–40 41–37 43–34 50–28 37–41 57–21 58–20 58–20 57–21 Peterborough 45–33 39–39 49–29 51–27 55–23 46–32 46–32 46–32 35–43 43–35 37–41 41–37 41–36 41–37 57–21 49–29 52–26 46–32 Rye House 49–27 60–18 53–25 60–18 55–22 61–17 54–24 57–21 46–32 40–38 51–27 47–31 45–33 45–33 59–18 58–20 60–18 47–31 Scunthorpe 38–39 36–40 37–40 37–41 39–39 38–40 36–42 36–42 32–45 37–41 37–40 41–37 31–45 41–36 25–53 32–42 44–34 41–37 Stoke 40–38 41–37 49–29 42–36 42–36 40–38 42–36 39–39 32–45 38–40 33–44 44–34 38–40 36–42 47–31 58–19 52–26 50–28 Weymouth 37–41 53–25 37–41 42–36 56–21 37–41 41–36 38–40 29–49 40–38 41–37 46–32 39–39 36–42 26–52 46–32 33.5–44.5 41–37 Workington 42–36 44–34 50–28 43–35 36–42 42–36 49–29 43–34 38–40 45–33 43–35 46–32 42–36 47–31 37–41 54–23 39–39 47–31 complete https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/1979.html Speedway Researcher 1979 fixtures & results 19 March 2025 National League Knockout Cup The 1979 National League Knockout Cup was the 12th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Rye House Rockets were the winners of the competition.http://edinburghspeedway.blogspot.com/2013/06/national-league-ko-cup-1979.html 1979 National League Knockout Cup Speedway archive First round Date Team one Score Team two29/04 Rye House 56-22 Weymouth22/05 Weymouth 34-44 Rye House20/04 Edinburgh 46-32 Boston10/06 Boston 44-34 Edinburgh Second round Date Team one Score Team two03/06 Rye House 54-24 Glasgow08/06 Glasgow 47-31 Rye House15/06 Workington 46-30 Middlesbrough14/06 Middlesbrough 45-32 Workington10/06 Mildenhall 53-25 Ellesmere Port08/06 Ellesmere Port 41-37 Mildenhall19/06 Crayford 44-34 Edinburgh06/07 Edinburgh 39-39 Crayford09/06 Berwick 60-18 Scunthorpe04/06 Scunthorpe 38-40 Berwick14/06 Oxford 45-33 Peterborough08/06 Peterborough 34-44 Oxford18/06 Newcastle 57-21 Canterbury26/05 Canterbury 39-39 Newcastle12/06 Milton Keynes 50-28 Stoke09/06 Stoke 42-36 Milton Keynes Quarter-finals Date Team one Score Team two15/07 Rye House 59-19 Workington29/06 Workington 49-29 Rye House25/07 Mildenhall 56-22 Crayford10/07 Crayford 39-39 Mildenhall? Berwick 51-27 Oxford05/07 Oxford 44-34 Berwick09/07 Newcastle 53-25 Milton Keynes10/07 Milton Keynes 35-42 Newcastle Semi-finals Date Team one Score Team two27/08 Rye House 44-34 Mildenhall26/08 Mildenhall 38-40 Rye House22/09 Berwick 47-31 Newcastle19/08 Newcastle 46-32 Berwick Final First leg 14 October 1979 Rye House RocketsBob Garrad 10Karl Fiala 10Kelvin Mullarkey 10Ashley Pullen 9Ted Hubbar 8Peter Tarrant 6Simon Aindow 1 54 – 24 https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/1979record.pdf 1979 KO cup final Speedway Researcher 27 September 2021 Berwick BanditsWayne Brown 8Nigel Close 6Graham Jones 3Mike Fullerton 3Roger Wright 2Phil Kynman 2Rob Grant 0 Rye House Stadium Second leg 27 October 1979 Berwick BanditsRoger Wright 10Wayne Brown 10Nigel Close 8Graham Jones 4Mike Caroline 4Rob Grant 4Phil Kynman 0 40 – 38 Rye House RocketsKarl Fiala 11Bob Garrad 7Kelvin Mullarkey 7Ashley Pullen 5Ted Hubbard 5Peter Tarrant 3Simon Aindow 0 Shielfield Park Rye House were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 92–64. Riders' Championship Ian Gledhill won the Riders' Championship, sponsored by Gauloises and held at Wimbledon Stadium on 29 September 1979.Outlaw's Crash Derby Daily Telegraph 1 October 1979 20 June 2023 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000521/19791001/021/0021 British Newspaper Archive subscription Pos. Rider Pts Total1 ENG Ian Gledhill 3 3 3 3 214 2 ENG Steve Wilcock 2 2 3 3 2 12 3 ENG Andy Grahame 1 3 2 3 2 11+34 ENG Nigel Boocock 2 2 3 1 3 11+25 ENG Alan Emerson 1 1 1 3 3 9 6 ENG Karl Fiala 3 1 2 2 1 9 7 ENG Rob Hollingworth 0 3 3 1 1 8 8 ENG John Jackson 3 2 1 2 0 8 9ENG Les Rumsey 1 2 2 0 3 8 10 ENG Ray Bales 3 0 0 2 3 8 11 ENG Nigel Flatman 2 1 2 1 2 812 ENG Dave Perks 2 3 1 ret 1 7 13 ENG Steve Lawson 0 0 1 2 0 3 14 ENG Steve Naylor 0 1 0 1 1 3 15 ENG Brian Woodward 1 f 0 0 0 1 16 ENG Graham Jones0 0 0 0 0 0 17 ENG Dave Brewer (res) 0 0 f=fell, r-retired, ex=excluded, ef=engine failure Pairs The National League Pairs was held at The Shay on 21 July and was won by Milton Keynes Knights.https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/1979record.pdf 1979 season results Speedway Researcher 22 May 2023Diamonds out in semi finals Sunday Sun (Newcastle) 22 July 1979 22 May 2023 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001723/19790722/023/0023 British Newspaper Archive subscription Group APosTeamPtsRiders1Milton Keynes 13Humphreys 9Grahame 42Mildenhall13Hines 8Taylor 53Crayford 7 Naylor 5Etheridge 24Edinburgh5Mouncer 2Stansfield 1 Group BPosTeamPtsRiders1Nottingham15Perks 8Sampson 72Boston9Allen 6Featherstone 33Rye House6Pullen 4Fiala 24Workington6Havelock 6Dickinson 0 Group CPosTeamPtsRiders1Newcastle 12Owen T 7Blackadder 52Middlesbrough11Wilcock 9Courtney 23Glasgow9Richardson 6Lawson 34Berwick4Fullerton 3Jones 1 Group DPosTeamPtsRiders1Ellesmere P11Finch 6Jackson 52Stoke11Burton 6Gledhill 53Canterbury11Boocock 9Sheard (G) 24Oxford1Rumsey 1Hunter 0 Semi finals Milton Keynes bt Newcastle Ellesmere Port bt Nottingham Final Milton Keynes bt Ellesmere Port Fours Ellesmere Port Gunners won the fours championship final, held at the East of England Arena on 29 July.Speedway Daily Mirror 30 July 1979 10 May 2023 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000560/19790730/233/0027 British Newspaper Archive subscription https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/1979record.pdf 1979 full season results Speedway Researcher 11 May 2023 Semi finals SF1 = Peterborough 18, Ellesmere Port 14, Rye House 12, Oxford 4 SF2 = Mildenhall 18, Berwick 11, Newcastle 10, Boston 9 Final Pos TeamPts Riders1 Ellesmere Port Gunners 17 Jackson 6, Carr L 6, Finch 5, Ellams 0, Monaghan 02 Mildenhall Fen Tigers 15 Hines 5, Bales 4, Taylor 3, Henry 33 Peterborough Panthers 9 Gooderham 4, Flatman 2, Hines 1, Spink 1, Clark B 14 Berwick Bandits 7 Brown 5, Close 2, Kynman 0, Jones 0, Matthews 0 Final leading averages The top ten averages of the National League.Bott Richard The Peter Collins Speedway Book No.4 1980 96 Stanley Paul & Co Ltd 0-09-141751-1 Rider Nat Team C.M.A. 1 Tom Owen ENG Newcastle Diamonds 11.18 2 George Hunter SCO Oxford Cheetahs 10.86 3 Dave Perks ENG Nottingham Outlaws 10.13 4 Les Rumsey ENG Oxford Cheetahs 9.78 5 Mike Sampson ENG Nottingham Outlaws 9.62 6 Andy Grahame ENG Milton Keynes Knights 9.57 7 Steve Finch ENG Ellesmere Port Gunners 9.52 8 Ray Bales ENG Mildenhall Fen Tigers 9.51 9 Mick Hines ENG Mildenhall Fen Tigers 9.31 10 John Jackson ENG Ellesmere Port Gunners 9.27 Riders & final averages Berwick 22em Steve McDermott 9.13 Wayne Brown 9.00 Mike Fullerton 7.71 Graham Jones 7.58 Nigel Close 7.24 Phil Kynman 6.20 Roger Wright 6.16 Mike Caroline 4.36 Rob Grant Sr. 4.00 Boston 22em David Gagen 9.27 Rob Hollingworth 8.91 Dave Allen 8.23 Tony Featherstone 6.12 Dennis Mallett 4.85 Andy Fisher 4.48 Dave Mortiboys 3.80 Andy Hibbs 3.67 Colin Ackroyd 2.60 Canterbury 22em Mike Ferreira 8.35 Nigel Boocock 8.32 Barney Kennett 7.17 Dave Piddock 7.00 Tim Hunt 6.93 Roger Abel 5.08 Mick Wilde 4.13 Graham Clifton 4.11 Peter Christopher 4.00 Neil Farnish 3.92 Tony Reynolds 2.67 Crayford 22em Steve Naylor 9.03 Alan Sage 8.14 Laurie Etheridge 8.00 Paul Woods 7.63 Les Rumsey 4.76 Richard Davey 4.26 Paul Gilbert 3.53 Paul Hollingsbee 3.37 John Hooper 3.31 Jack Bibby 0.94 Edinburgh 22em Dave Trownson 7.78 Steve Lomas 7.18 Bert Harkins 6.72 Brian Collins 6.56 Alan Bridgett 5.51 Ivan Blacka 5.30 Benny Rourke 5.25 Rob Mouncer 5.21 Roger Lambert 3.03 Ellesmere Port 22em Steve Finch 9.52 John Jackson 9.27 Louis Carr 6.95 John Williams 5.98 Pete Ellams 5.23 Eric Monaghan 4.69 Robert Craven 4.00 Paul Tyrer 3.83 Paul Embley 3.80 Peter Carr 2.44 Glasgow 22em Merv Janke 9.06 Steve Lawson 9.06 Derek Richardson 8.05 Andy Reid 6.25 Colin Caffrey 6.12 Charlie McKinna 5.89 Jim Beaton 5.76 Keith Bloxsome 5.23 Middlesbrough 22em Steve Wilcock 8.97 Malcolm Corradine 7.88 Geoff Pusey 6.96 Mark Courtney 6.92 Martin Dixon 5.02 Martyn Cusworth 4.76 Paul Stead 3.77 Mike Sanderson 1.90 Mildenhall 22em Ray Bales 9.51 Mick Hines 9.31 Melvyn Taylor 9.06 Robert Henry 8.87 Mike Spink 6.58 Mick Bates 6.52 Richard Knight 5.66 Mark Baldwin 4.96 Milton Keynes 22em Andy Grahame 9.57 Bob Humphreys 9.29 Derek Harrison 8.04 Malcolm Holloway 5.96 David Ashby 5.43 Harry Maclean 4.41 Greg McNeill 3.93 Chris Robins 3.59 Newcastle 22em Tom Owen 11.18 Robbie Blackadder 7.93 Rod Hunter 7.86 Graeme Stapleton 6.57 David Bargh 5.91 Neil Coddington 5.75 Nigel Crabtree 4.72 Paul Brown 1.90 Mick Easton 1.60 Nottingham 22em Dave Perks 10.13 Mike Sampson 9.62 Kevin Hawkins 8.03 Glenn MacDonald 5.28 Les Sawyer 5.07 Nigel Wasley 4.83 Craig Featherby 4.82 John Homer 3.19 Mark Williams 1.07 Oxford 22em George Hunter 10.86 Les Rumsey 9.78 Pip Lamb 9.27 John Hack 6.81 Carl Askew 6.62 John Barker 6.47 Mick Handley 5.32 Colin Ackroyd 3.15 Rob Dole 2.60 Peterborough 22em Nigel Flatman 8.52 Richard Greer 7.50 Dave Gooderham 7.33 Andy Hines 7.26 Ian Clark 6.71 Nigel Couzens 6.06 Brian Clark 5.77 Peter Spink 5.70 Steve Popely 4.41 Paul Tapp 4.00 Ken Matthews 3.69 Rye House 22em Karl Fiala 9.20 Bobby Garrad 9.11 Kelvin Mullarkey 8.71 Kevin Smith 8.19 Ted Hubbard 8.16 Ashley Pullen 7.34 Hugh Saunders 6.57 Peter Tarrant 5.23 Scunthorpe 22em Phil White 7.59 Arthur Browning 7.28 Rob Maxfield 6.77 Arthur Price 4.73 Kevin Teager 4.18 Trevor Whiting 3.78 Stuart Cope 3.25 Ian Jeffcoate 3.19 Phil Cain 2.78 Rob Woffinden 2.50 Stoke 22em Ian Gledhill 8.21 Billy Burton 7.06 Tony Lomas 6.76 Chris Turner 6.42 Ian Robertson 6.19 Stuart Mountford 6.17 Nicky Allott 5.57 Frank Smith 5.53 Alan MacLean 3.33 Ian Jeffcoate 2.94 Paul Evitts 2.31 Weymouth 22em Brian Woodward 8.01 Doug Underwood 7.19 Bob Coles 7.09 Malcolm Shakespeare 6.23 Terry Tulloch 4.74 Garry May 4.20 Kevin Bowen 3.70 Nigel Davis 3.24 Mark DeKok 2.15 Workington 22em Alan Emerson 8.99 Brian Havelock 7.58 Arnold Haley 6.87 Ian Hindle 6.7 Mark Dickinson 6.54 Neil Collins 6.13 Andy Margarson Mick Blaynee 3.88 Des Wilson 3.60 Tim Nichol 1.91 See also List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions Knockout Cup (speedway) References Category:Speedway British League Division Two / National League