1976 National League season

British motorcycle speedway season November 2023 November 2023 National League 18 Champions Newcastle Diamonds Knockout Cup Newcastle Diamonds Individual Joe Owen Pairs Ellesmere Port Gunners Fours Newcastle Diamonds Joe Owen 1976 British League 1975 1977 The 1976 National League was contested as the second division of Speedway in the United Kingdom having been renamed from the previous season's moniker of New National League.Oakes, P.(2006). Speedway Star Almanac. 0-9552376-1-0http://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 The league was reduced from 20 teams down to 18, following the loss of three teams and gain of one. Birmingham Brummies moved up to the British League and Bradford Barons and Crewe Kings both closed down.https://wwosbackup.proboards.com/board/71/teams Teams wwosbackup 26 September 2021 Sadly for Crewe the team would never return.http://www.defunctspeedway.co.uk/Crewe.htm Crewe Speedway Defunct Speedway 26 September 2021 The additional team was the Oxford Cheetahs, who had returned to their traditional name following a three year period known as the Oxford Rebels. The Rebels team and promoters had moved to White City during the winterLawson, K (2018) “Rebels 1975 – The Last Season”. 978-0-244-99725-0 but Oxford were saved by new promoters Harry Bastable and Tony Allsop after a committee of fans had created a "Save Our Stadium" campaign over the previous winter.Oakes P Speedway Star Almanac Pinegen Ltd 2006 0-9552376-1-0Lawson, K (2018) “The Cheetahs – The Resurrection”. 978-0-244-69934-5 Newcastle Diamonds comfortably won their first National League title, completing a cup double, and dropping only seven points.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 The Owen brothers Joe Owen and Tom Owen topped the averages for the second consecutive year. Joe finished with an 11+ average and won the British League Division Two Riders Championship and Newcastle completed the league and cup double. Final table Pos Team PL W D L Pts1 Newcastle Diamonds 34 30 1 3 612 Ellesmere Port Gunners 34 24 1 9 493 Workington Comets 34 20 1 13 414 Canterbury Crusaders 34 20 0 14 405 Rye House Rockets 34 17 2 15 366 Crayford Kestrels 34 17 1 16 357 Coatbridge Tigers 34 17 1 16 358 Eastbourne Eagles 34 17 0 17 349 Peterborough Panthers 34 16 2 16 3410 Berwick Bandits 34 17 0 17 3411 Stoke Potters 34 15 1 18 3112 Boston Barracudas 34 15 1 18 3113 Mildenhall Fen Tigers 34 15 1 18 3114 Oxford Cheetahs 34 14 1 19 2915 Weymouth Wizards 34 11 2 21 2416 Paisley Lions 34 12 0 22 2417 Scunthorpe Saints 34 11 1 22 2318 Teesside Tigers 34 10 0 24 20 Fixtures and results main FBR grey BER BOS CAN COA CRY EAS EP MIL NEW OX PAI PET RH SCU STO TEE WEY WOR Berwick 47–31 39–38 44–33 52–25 45–33 41–37 48–30 36–40 46–32 48–29 46–32 44–34 48–30 46–32 51–27 42–36 49–29 Boston 52–26 57–21 47–31 41–37 54–24 38–40 41–37 34–44 40–37 46–32 40–38 40–38 43–32 39–39 52–26 43–35 42–36 Canterbury 51–27 46–31 54–24 38–40 45–32 58–20 46–32 38–40 53–25 57–21 46–32 44–34 47–31 40–37 63–14 49–29 40–38 Coatbridge 48–29 51–26 56–22 60–18 45–32 40–37 56–22 32–46 40–38 43–35 47–31 42–35 47–31 41–37 53–24 56–19 38–40 Crayford 62–16 44–34 48–30 51–25 36–42 51–27 45–33 40–38 49–27 51–27 39–39 40–38 58–29 46–32 50–27 54–24 46–29 Eastbourne 50–26 42–36 53–24 59–19 57–21 50–28 45–33 38–40 49–29 54–24 41–36 45–33 59–19 52–26 46–32 55–23 41–35 Ellesmere Port 40–38 43–35 57–21 57–21 47–31 42–35 55–23 42–36 51–27 52–26 46–32 56–22 45–32 55–23 49–29 55–23 38.5–38.5 Mildenhall 42–36 38–40 55–23 41–37 40–37 50–28 34–44 41–37 48–30 50–28 38–40 48–30 43–35 40–38 49–28 48–30 41–37 Newcastle 43–35 53–25 62–16 52–26 53–25 55–23 48–30 54–24 54–24 55–22 47–31 57–21 57–21 53–25 60–18 57–21 46–32 Oxford 56–22 42–36 41–37 49–29 42–36 53–25 47–30 41–37 30–48 56–22 44–34 39–39 41–37 50–27 43–35 51–27 35–43 Paisley 35–43 52–25 38–40 29–49 43–35 41–37 32–46 53–24 25–53 48–30 49–29 43–35 48–29 40–37 50–27 48–30 49–29 Peterborough 47–31 44–33 47–31 39–39 60–18 49–29 36–42 49–29 36–42 40–0+ 60–18 47–30 45–33 42–36 46–32 52–26 46–32 Rye House 59–19 48–30 38–40 53–23 40–38 44–33 36–39 49–29 39–39 46–32 59–19 53–25 53–25 42–35 50–28 54.5–23.5 55–23 Scunthorpe 41–36 50–28 38–40 48–29 41–37 48–30 38–40 47–31 25–53 43–35 46–31 37–41 14–16+ 49–27 54–24 39–39 34–43 Stoke 53–25 43–35 43–35 42–36 43–33 43–35 40–38 45–33 29–49 45–33 57–21 41–37 42–36 38–40 40–38 37–41 55–23 Teesside 45–32 40–38 37–41 45–33 36–42 41–37 33–45 37–40 36–42 43–34 60–18 43–35 32–45 40–38 40–38 48–29 34–43 Weymouth 42–33 43–34 38–40 38–40 41–37 49–29 38–40 39–39 33–45 41–36 55–23 46–32 34–43 50–28 37–41 44–34 41–37 Workington 46–32 46–32 48–30 50–27 44–34 57–21 44–33 50–28 34–44 50–28 45–33 56–22 52–26 53–25 40–38 48–30 55–22 complete https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/1976.html Speedway Researcher 1976 fixtures & results 11 March 2025 +Oxford/Scunthorpe refused to ride Top five riders (league averages) Rider Nat Team C.M.A. 1 Joe Owen ENG Newcastle 11.55 2 Tom Owen ENG Newcastle 10.28 3 Steve Weatherley ENG Eastbourne 10.27 4 John Jackson ENG Ellesmere Port 10.20 5 Laurie Etheridge ENG Crayford 9.96 National League Knockout Cup The 1976 Speedway Star Knockout Cup was the ninth edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Newcastle Diamonds were the winners of the competition.http://edinburghspeedway.blogspot.com/2014/03/national-league-ko-cup-1976.html 1976 National League Knockout Cup Speedway archive First round Date Team one Score Team two22/04 Oxford 48-30 Weymouth20/04 Weymouth 40-38 Oxford Second round Date Team one Score Team two01/06 Ellesmere Port 46-32 Paisley27/05 Stoke 37-41 Newcastle24/05 Newcastle 59-19 Stoke23/05 Mildenhall 38-40 Peterborough22/05 Paisley 36-42 Ellesmere Port21/05 Peterborough 42-36 Mildenhall17/05 Scunthorpe 43-35 Berwick16/05 Eastbourne 41-37 Oxford16/05 Workington 46-32 Coatbridge14/05 Coatbridge 33-45 Workington13/05 Oxford 47-31 Eastbourne11/05 Crayford 46-32 Boston09/05 Boston 48-30 Crayford02/05 Rye House 45-32 Canterbury01/05 Berwick 45-32 Scunthorpe01/05 Canterbury 44-34 Rye House23/04 Coatbridge 52-25 Teesside22/04 Teesside 46-32 Coatbridge Quarter-finals Date Team one Score Team two23/07 Workington 46-31 Boston20/07 Ellesmere Port 50-28 Rye House18/07 Rye House 38-39 Ellesmere Port17/07 Berwick 48-30 Oxford11/07 Boston 48-29 Workington08/07 Oxford 40-38 Berwick05/07 Newcastle 47-31 Peterborough25/06 Peterborough 39-39 Newcastle Semi-finals Date Team one Score Team two05/09 Boston 42-35 Berwick28/08 Berwick 49-29 Boston17/08 Ellesmere Port 41-37 Newcastle16/08 Newcastle 46-31 Ellesmere Port Final First leg 18 September 1976 Berwick BanditsMike Hiftle 10Graham Jones 10Dave Gifford 9Willie Templeton 5Eddie Argall 5Robin Adlington 4Wayne Brown 0 43 – 35 https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/1976record.pdf 1976 KO cup final Speedway Researcher 26 September 2021 Newcastle DiamondsJoe Owen 15Tom Owen 14Robbie Blackadder 3Phil Michelidies 1Andy Cusworth 1Tim Swales 1Ron Henderson R/R Shielfield Park Second leg 27 September 1976 Newcastle DiamondsJoe Owen 12Tom Owen 12Ron Henderson 6Tim Swales 5Andy Cusworth 5Robbie Blackadder 4Phil Michelidies 4 48 – 29 Berwick BanditsEddie Argall 11Roger Wright (guest) 6Dave Gifford 6Graham Jones 4Willie Templeton 2Peter Waite 0Mike Hiftle R/R Brough Park Newcastle were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 83–72. Riders' Championship Joe Owen won the Riders' Championship, sponsored by Gauloises and held at Wimbledon Stadium on 2 October.Joe Owen gains speedway double Lincolnshire Echo 4 October 1976 17 June 2023 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000332/19761004/010/0010 British Newspaper Archive subscription Pos. Rider Pts Total1 ENG Joe Owen 3 3 3 3 2 142 ENG John Jackson 3 3 0 3 3 12+3 3 ENG Ted Hubbard 1 2 3 3 3 12+2 4 ENG Alan Emerson 2 2 3 2 2 115 ENG Steve Weatherley 2 3 1 3 1 106 ENG Brian Clark 2 2 2 1 3 107 AUS Lou Sansom 3 0 2 2 2 98 ENG Rob Hollingworth 1 1 1 2 3 89ENG Les Rumsey 3 0 2 1 1 710 ENG Bob Coles 1 1 2 1 2 711 SCO Brian Collins 2 3 0 0 1 612 ENG Laurie Etheridge 1 2 3 0 0 613 ENG Martin Yeates 0 1 0 1 1 314 ENG Graham Jones 0 1 1 0 0 215 AUS Carl Askew (res) 0 2 0 216 ENG Keith Evans 0 0 1 117 ENG Les Collins 0 018 ENG Ian Williams (res) 0 0 0 0 f=fell, r-retired, ex=excluded, ef=engine failure Pairs The National League Pairs was held at Hyde Road on 5 June and was won by Ellesmere Port Gunners.http://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/1976record.pdf 1976 season results Speedway Researcher 20 May 2023 Group APosTeamPtsRiders1Ellesmere P11Jackson 7Turner 42Eastbourne 10Weatherley 9Jarman 13Peterborough10Clark 7Featherstone 34Teesside5Emerson 5Reading 0 Group BPosTeamPtsRiders1Newcastle 15Owen J 9Owen T 62Boston9Burton 5Hollingworth 43Scunthorpe8Featherstone 6Baugh 34Coatbridge4Dawson 3Collins 1 Group CPosTeamPtsRiders1Workington11Sansom 6Goad 52Paisley9Farquharson 9Sheldrick 03Berwick8Hiftle 5Adlington 34Rye House8Hubbard 7Foote 1 Group DPosTeamPtsRiders1Mildenhall12Coles 8Jolly 42Stoke10Collins L 8 Millen 23Weymouth9Yeates 8 Harding 14Crayford5Etheridge 4 Johns 1 Semi finals Ellesmere Port bt Workington Newcastle bt Mildenhall Final Ellesmere Port bt Newcastle Fours Newcastle won the fours championship final, held at King's Lynn Stadium on 17 July.Brothers clinch win for Diamonds Lynn Advertiser 20 July 1976 9 May 2023 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003432/19760720/602/0033 British Newspaper Archive subscription Semi finals SF1 = Ellesmere Port 17, Workington 15, Rye House 10, Peterborough 5 SF2 = Newcastle 17, Eastbourne 13, Coatbridge 9, Boston 9 Final Pos TeamPts Riders1 Newcastle 18 Owen T 6, Owen J 6, Cusworth 3, Michelides 32 Eastbourne 13Weatherley 5, Sampson 4, Richardson 4, Dugard 0, Jarman 03 Ellesmere Port 12Jackson 6, Gardner 3, Turner 2, Finch 1 4 Workington 5Lawson 4, Goad 1, Havelock 0, Kelly 0 Leading final averages Rider Nat Team C.M.A. 1 Joe Owen ENG Newcastle 11.54 2 Tom Owen ENG Newcastle 10.43 3 Steve Weatherley ENG Eastbourne 10.35 4 John Jackson ENG Ellesmere Port 10.08 5 Laurie Etheridge ENG Crayford 9.87 Riders & final averages Berwick 22em Graham Jones 8.12 Dave Gifford 7.91 Mike Hiftle 7.17 Robin Adlington 6.84 Willie Templeton 6.63 Eddie Argall 6.54 Keith Williams 2.00 Peter Waite 1.80 Wayne Brown 1.71 Boston 22em Rob Hollingworth 9.63 Billy Burton 8.26 Paul Gilbert 6.58 Stuart Cope 5.82 Trevor Whiting 5.57 Chris Emery 5.56 Steve Clarke 5.28 Ron Cooper 5.00 Dave Allen 3.46 Canterbury 22em Graham Banks 8.06 Steve Koppe 7.85 Les Rumsey 7.50 Barney Kennett 6.84 Graham Clifton 6.55 Reg Luckhurst 6.51 Bob Spelta 5.47 Terry Casserley 5.13 Coatbridge 22em Brian Collins 9.09 Grahame Dawson 7.91 Mick McKeon 6.79 Jimmy Gallacher 5.68 Derek Richardson 5.65 Max Brown 5.18 Doug Templeton 5.18 Rob Maxfield 5.02 Benny Rourke 4.83 John Wilson 2.93 Crayford 22em Laurie Etheridge 9.87 Alan Sage 8.78 Mike Broadbank 7.33 Pete Wigley 7.22 Alan Johns 6.54 Trevor Barnwell 5.71 Bill Archer 5.45 Richard Davey 4.71 Gary Spencer 4.10 John Hooper 3.09 Dave Shepherd 2.77 Eastbourne 22em Steve Weatherley 10.35 Eric Dugard 7.03 Pete Jarman 6.75 Colin Richardson 6.50 Mike Sampson 6.49 Ian Gledhill 6.43 Steve Naylor 5.45 Roger Abel 5.27 Ian Fletcher 4.32 Ellesmere Port 22em John Jackson 10.08 Chris Turner 9.35 Steve Finch 8.07 Robbie Gardner 7.45 Duncan Meredith 6.09 Gerald Smitherman 5.80 Phil Collins 4.33 Geoff Jones 3.71 Louis Carr 2.78 Mildenhall 22em Bob Coles 9.21 Kevin Jolly 8.41 Trevor Jones 7.88 Alan Cowland 6.24 Fred Mills 5.67 John Gibbons 5.54 Stan Stevens 5.13 Robert Henry 4.93 Mick Bates 4.81 Neil Leeks 3.54 Newcastle 22em Joe Owen 11.54 Tom Owen 10.43 Ron Henderson 8.33 Phil Micheledies 7.54 Brian Havelock 7.51 Andy Cusworth 7.40 Robbie Blackadder 6.20 Tim Swales 5.91 Oxford 22em Carl Askew 8.03 Brian Leonard 7.33 Phil Bass 7.14 Mick Handley 7.02 Malcolm Corradine 6.10 Roy Sizmore 5.91 Jim Wells 5.88 Kevin Young 5.47 Steve Holden 3.69 Paisley 22em Colin Farquharson 8.22 Mick Fishwick 6.99 Stuart Mountford 6.79 Mike Fullerton 5.37 Alan Bridgett 5.17 Sid Sheldrick 5.10 Malcolm Chambers 3.96 Chris Roynon 3.91 Mick Sheldrick 3.83 Colin Caffrey 3.16 Tom Davie 2.34 Peterborough 22em Brian Clark 9.37 Tony Featherstone 8.11 Ian Clark 6.93 Roy Carter 6.85 Ken Matthews 6.53 Steve Taylor 6.42 Kevin Hawkins 5.33 Nigel Couzens 5.11 Alan Cowland 4.24 Paul Cooper 4.19 Russ Osborne 4.15 Rye House 22em Ted Hubbard 9.17 Kelvin Mullarkey 7.55 Hugh Saunders 7.47 Brian Foote 7.03 Karl Fiala 6.73 Bobby Garrad 6.13 Bob Cooper 5.11 Ashley Pullen 4.91 Scunthorpe 22em Keith Evans 9.27 Andy Hines 6.77 Tony Boyle 5.97 Phil Kynman 5.72 Colin Cook 5.34 Sid Sheldrick 5.10 Ray Watkins 4.98 Tony Gillias 4.75 Stoke 22em Les Collins 9.31 Jack Millen 7.90 Malcolm Corradine 7.35 Ricky Day 6.07 Jim Brett 5.74 Mick Newton 5.69 Steve McDermott 5.33 Tim Nunan 5.01 Colin Meredith 4.82 Teesside 22em Alan Emerson 8.41 Tom Leadbitter 7.67 Steve Wilcock 5.85 Pete Reading 5.54 Andy Cowan 5.27 Pete Smith 4.92 Nigel Close 4.78 John Robson 2.95 Martyn Cusworth 2.50 Weymouth 22em Martin Yeates 8.69 Vic Harding 7.18 Chris Robins 7.07 Gerald Purkiss 6.25 Danny Kennedy 5.82 Billy Spiers 5.32 Garry May 3.51 Trevor Vincent/Charley 3.94 Jack Walker 3.54 Roger Stratton 3.47 Workington 22em Lou Sansom 8.77 Steve Lawson 8.72 Taffy Owen 8.07 Colin Goad 7.67 Brian Havelock 7.67 Roger Wright 6.54 Terry Kelly 5.57 Chris Bevan 3.80 Stewart Collin 3.16 See also List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions Knockout Cup (speedway) References Category:Speedway British League Division Two / National League