1978 National League season

British motorcycle speedway season November 2023 November 2023 National League 20 Champions Canterbury Crusaders Knockout Cup Eastbourne Eagles Individual Steve Koppe Pairs Ellesmere Port Gunners Fours Peterborough Panthers Tom Owen 1978 British League 1977 1979 The 1978 National League was contested as the second division of Speedway in the United Kingdom.http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/speedwayyears/1978.html About - Exeter Speedway 1978 2012-08-21 2012-10-23 https://web.archive.org/web/20121023050330/http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/speedwayyears/1978.html dead Summary Newport Dragons dropped out of the league after just one season of second tier racing following a dispute over rent at Somerton Park.https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001336/19780303/018/0018 Saints' breather Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph 3 March 1978 British Newspaper Archive subscription 18 February 2025 Ttwo new entrants – Milton Keynes Knights and Barrow Furness Flyers – saw the league expanded to twenty teams. Weymouth changed their nickname from Wizards to Wildcats. Former Leicester and Teesside promoter Ron Wilson brought speedway to Milton Keyneshttps://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001336/19780121/010/0010 Talking Sport Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph 21 January 1978 British Newspaper Archive subscription 29 September 2024 with a team called the Knights who would race at the Milton Keynes Greyhound Stadium (known in speedway circles as the Groveway).https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000560/19780321/246/0030 Join out joust with Knights of Milton Keynes Daily Mirror 21 March 1978 British Newspaper Archive subscription 29 September 2024 Canterbury Crusaders won the National League title.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 Although equal on points with Newcastle Diamonds they won by virtue of the fact that their race points difference was greater than their rival.http://edinburghspeedway.blogspot.com/p/compet.html Historic league tables Speedway Archive It was Canterbury's second title win in eight years, previously winning in 1970. The Crusaders were led by heavy scoring from Les Rumsey and Riders' Champion Steve Koppe, while Newcastle's Tom Owen topped the averages for the second consecutive year.https://wwosbackup.proboards.com/board/71/teams Teams wwosbackup 14 October 2021 Earlier in the season 18 year-old junior rider Chris Prime was representing Newcastle when he was killed in the National League match against Mildenhall on 3 April.http://www.newcastlespeedwayhistory.co.uk/1970s%20part%20three.htm#Chris%20Prime Chris Prime Newcastle History Newcastle Speedway 29 July 2021 Final table Pos Team PL W D L Pts1 Canterbury Crusaders 38 30 0 8 602 Newcastle Diamonds 38 29 2 7 603 Rye House Rockets 38 27 0 11 544 Eastbourne Eagles 38 25 1 12 515 Ellesmere Port Gunners 38 24 0 14 486 Peterborough Panthers 38 22 1 15 457 Oxford Cheetahs 38 20 4 14 448 Stoke Potters 38 21 1 16 439 Glasgow Tigers 38 19 1 18 3910 Crayford Kestrels 38 16 2 20 3411 Berwick Bandits 38 17 0 21 3412 Mildenhall Fen Tigers 38 16 1 21 3313 Weymouth Wildcats 38 16 0 22 3214 Workington Comets 38 16 0 22 3215 Edinburgh Monarchs 38 15 1 22 3116 Milton Keynes Knights 38 12 6 20 3017 Boston Barracudas 38 13 2 23 2818 Teesside Tigers 38 12 0 26 2419 Scunthorpe Saints 38 9 2 27 2020 Barrow Furness Flyers 38 8 2 28 18 Fixtures and results main FBR grey BAR BER BOS CAN CRY EAS ED EP GLA MIL MK NEW OX PET RH SCU STO TEE WEY WOR Barrow 52–25 41–37 28–50 43–35 39–39 33–45 35–43 40–37 20–58 39–39 24–54 34–44 35–43 36.5–41.5 48–30 34–43 44–34 43–35 41–37 Berwick 45–33 52–26 42–36 50–28 46–32 54–24 46–31 53–25 44–34 37–41 37–41 48–29 56–22 40–38 57–21 55–23 54–24 47–31 45–33 Boston 48–29 45–32 35–42 42–35 40–38 34–44 37–41 40–37 42–36 40–38 41–37 39–39 26–51 37–41 46–32 43–35 49–29 45–33 38–40 Canterbury 53–25 59–19 53–25 56–22 45–33 51–27 47–31 53–25 48–30 47–31 36–42 44–34 49–29 59–17 48–30 40–38 48–30 50–28 47–31 Crayford 53–25 52–25 47–31 37–41 34–44 44–34 47–31 55–23 48–29 42–36 39–39 41–37 45–33 32–44 54–24 52–25 44–34 49–28 49–29 Eastbourne 54–24 61–17 42–35 48–29 58–20 46–31 46–32 57–21 54–24 61–17 42–35 51–27 46–32 54–24 56–22 56–20 57–20 49–26 54–23 Edinburgh 50–28 55–22 63–14 36–42 40–38 32–46 29–49 41–37 35–43 37–40 32–46 41–37 43–35 36–42 45–33 46–32 46–32 40–36 53–25 Ellesmere Port 61–17 53–25 50–28 40–38 44–34 48–30 46–31 48–30 45–32 46–32 43–35 50–28 40–38 43–35 38–16 52–26 53–25 50–28 46–32 Glasgow 45–33 49–27 53–22 33–45 42–36 45–33 48–30 37–40 49–28 45–33 40–38 41–37 51–27 41–37 49–29 44–34 50–28 42–36 46–32 Mildenhall 50–28 50–28 47–30 35–43 56–22 38–40 38–40 37–41 55–23 54–24 36–42 45–33 48–30 45–33 41–36 41–37 38–40 51–27 53–25 Milton Keynes 57–20 41–37 39–39 31–47 43–35 42–35 39–39 43–35 39–39 44–34 26–52 39–39 38–40 37–41 39–39 33–45 48–30 41–37 40–38 Newcastle 52–26 57–21 50–28 42–36 52–25 40–38 61–17 41–37 62–16 40–38 47–31 32–45 49–29 37–41 48–30 53–25 56–22 45–32 48–30 Oxford 62.5–15.5 61–17 55–23 41–37 57–21 42–36 51–27 50–28 58–19 39–39 58–20 39–39 38–40 43–35 47–31 43–35 50–27 42–35 57–21 Peterborough 56–22 51–27 44–34 36–42 54–24 47–31 51–27 51–27 51–27 43–35 47–30 33–45 56–22 41–37 44–34 39–39 50–28 55–23 56–22 Rye House 59–19 54–24 60–18 42–36 48–30 42–36 54–24 40–38 58–20 40–38 59–19 45–33 46–31 46–32 50–28 52–26 58–20 45–33 57–21 Scunthorpe 45–33 48–30 43–35 31–47 39–39 37–41 50–28 40–38 38–40 35–43 46–30 35–43 28–50 42–36 36–42 35–43 42–36 34–43 43–35 Stoke 53–25 57–21 56–22 29–49 57–21 48–30 51–27 42–36 54–24 42–36 41–37 38–40 45–33 44–34 47–31 47–31 55–23 43–35 43–35 Teesside 48–30 50–28 36–42 42–36 34–44 33–45 41–37 40–38 46–31 40–37 38–40 36–41 38–40 44–34 36–42 42–36 47–31 34–44 44–34 Weymouth 54–24 49–28 51–27 32–45 41–37 28–50 41–37 50–28 46–32 42–36 54–24 34–44 43–35 32–45 42–36 56–22 38–40 57–21 45–32 Workington 40–38 49–28 53–25 33–45 51–27 43–35 47–31 41–36 37–41 48–30 49–29 38–40 52–26 35–43 40–38 58–20 40–38 53–25 42–35 complete https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/1978.html Speedway Researcher 1978 fixtures & results 18 March 2025 National League Knockout Cup The 1978 National League Knockout Cup was the 11th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Eastbourne Eagles were the winners of the competition for the second successive year.http://edinburghspeedway.blogspot.com/2013/06/national-league-ko-cup-1978.html 1978 National League Knockout Cup Speedway archive First round Date Team one Score Team two13/05Stoke 51–27 Workington12/05 Workington 40–38 Stoke29/05 Newcastle 43–33 Teesside01/06 Teesside 39–39 Newcastle21/05 Rye House 58–20 Milton Keynes23/05 Milton Keynes 26–52 Rye House19/05 Ellesmere Port 47–31 Berwick21/05 Berwick 35–42 Ellesmere Port Second round Date Team one Score Team two11/06 Eastbourne 57–21 Scunthorpe12/06 Scunthorpe 28–47 Eastbourne23/06 Peterborough 43–35 Barrow20/06 Barrow 33–45 Peterborough08/06 Oxford 47–31 Stoke10/06 Stoke 43–35 Oxford25/06 Mildenhall 56–21 Newcastle26/06Newcastle 40–38 Mildenhall11/06 Rye House 52–26 Glasgow16/06Glasgow 39–39 Rye House04/07 Crayford 46–32 Edinburgh30/06 Edinburgh 40–38 Crayford17/06 Canterbury 48–27 Weymouth20/06 Weymouth 37–41 Canterbury07/07 Ellesmere Port 54–23 Boston25/06 Boston 36–42 Ellesmere Port Quarter-finals Date Team one Score Team two06/08 Eastbourne 45–30 Peterborough11/08 Peterborough 39–38 Eastbourne10/08 Oxford 43–34 Mildenhall09/07 Mildenhall 40–38 Oxford09/07Rye House 44–34 Crayford18/07 Crayford 39–39 Rye House12/08 Canterbury 55–23 Ellesmere28/07 Ellesmere 48–30 Canterbury Semi-finals Date Team one Score Team two27/08 Eastbourne 56–22 Oxford07/09 Oxford 32–45 Eastbourne24/09 Rye House 57–20 Canterbury30/09 Canterbury 41–37 Rye House Final First leg 22 October 1978 Eastbourne EaglesDave Kennett 10Mike Sampson 9Steve Naylor 9Eric Dugard 8Roger Abel 6Paul Woods 4Ian Fletcher 0 46–32 https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/1978record.pdf 1978 KO cup final Speedway Researcher 27 September 2021 Rye House RocketsBob Garrad 11Ted Hubbard 7Ashley Pullen 6Kelvin Mullarkey 4Kevin Smith 2Karl Fiala 1Hugh Saunders 1 Arlington Stadium Second leg 29 October 1978 Rye House RocketsTed Hubbard 10Kelvin Mullarkey 9Bob Garrad 9Hugh Saunders 5Karl Fiala 4Kevin Smith 4Ashley Pullen 0 41–37 Eastbourne EaglesEric Dugard 11Dave Kennett 7Mike Sampson 6Roger Abel 4Paul Woods 4Steve Naylor 3Ian Fletcher 2 Rye House Stadium Eastbourne were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 83–73. Riders' Championship Steve Koppe won the Riders' Championship, held at Wimbledon Stadium on 23 September 1978.Bales edged out Cambridge Daily News 25 September 1978 20 June 2023 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003740/19780925/016/0016 British Newspaper Archive subscription Pos. Rider Pts Total1 AUS Steve Koppe 3 3 3 2 3 142 ENG John Jackson 3 3 2 2 3 133 ENG Ted Hubbard 3 2 2 3 2 12+3 4 ENG Dave Gooderham 1 2 3 3 3 12+25 ENG Ray Bales 2 0 3 3 3 116 ENG Tom Owen 1 1 2 3 2 97 ENG Arthur Price 3 2 2 1 1 98 ENG Danny Kennedy 0 1 3 2 2 89ENG Laurie Etheridge 2 3 0 1 1 710 ENG Tony Lomas 1 1 1 2 1 611 ENG Graham Jones 1 3 1 0 0 512 ENG Rob Hollingworth 0 2 1 1 0 413 SCO George Hunter 2 1 314 ENG Steve Wilcock (res) 1 1 0 1 315 ENG Nicky Allott 0 0 0 0 2 216 ENG Mike Sampson 2217 ENG Steve Lawson 0 0 0 0 0 0 Pairs The National League Pairs was held at The Shay on 15 July and was won by Ellesmere Port.http://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/1978record.pdf 1978 season results Speedway Researcher 20 May 2023 Group APosTeamPtsRiders1Newcastle 15Owen T 9 Blackadder 62Stoke10Lomas 6Harrhy 43Crayford 6 Etheridge 3Sage 34Oxford5Hunter 3Hack 2 Group BPosTeamPtsRiders1Eastbourne11Sampson 9Naylor 22Peterborough10Gooderham 8Hines A 23Workington9Price 6Maxfield 34Berwick6Jones 4Hiftle 2 Group CPosTeamPtsRiders1Canterbury13Rumsey 7Koppe 62Edinburgh8Hollingworth 4Lomas 43Mildenhall8Coles 4Taylor 44Scunthorpe7White 4Allott 3 Group DPosTeamPtsRiders1Ellesmere P15Jackson 9Finch 62Rye House8Fiala 5Hubbard 33Glasgow7Lawson 5Janke 24Weymouth5Kennedy 4Shakespeare 1 Semi finals Newcastle bt Canterbury Ellesmere Port bt Eastbourne Final Ellesmere Port bt Newcastle Fours Peterborough won the fours championship final for the second successive year, held at the East of England Arena on 30 July.Speedway Daily Mirror 31 July 1978 10 May 2023 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000560/19780731/225/0027 British Newspaper Archive subscription https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/1978record.pdf 1978 full season results Speedway Researcher 11 May 2023 Semi finals SF1 = Stoke 13, Peterborough 12, Newcastle 12, Edinburgh 10 SF2 = Canterbury 16, Weymouth 12, Ellesmere Port 12, Eastbourne 8 Final Pos TeamPts Riders1 Peterborough Panthers 18 Couzens 6, Flatman 5, Hunt 4, Gooderham 32 Stoke Potters 12 Robertson 4, Lomas 3, Harrhy 3, Mountford 23 Canterbury Crusaders 9 Koppe 4, Clifton 3, Ferreira 2, Rumsey 04 Ellesmere Port Gunners 9 Ellams 4, Collins 3, Carr L 2, Finch 0, Jackson 0 Top Five Riders Rider Nat Team C.M.A. 1 Tom Owen ENG Newcastle 10.82 2 Bob Humphreys AUS Milton Keynes 10.59 3 John Jackson ENG Ellesmere Port 10.36 4 Les Rumsey ENG Canterbury 9.81 5 Mike Sampson ENG Eastbourne 9.74 Riders & final averages Barrow 22em Charlie Monk 8.20 Geoff Pusey 7.22 Chris Bevan 6.82 Andy Reid 5.53 Chris Roynon 5.01 Ken Murray 4.23 Mark Courtney 3.61 Chris Robins 3.13 Malcolm Chambers 2.29 Gary Pottenger 2.29 Les Race 1.74 Dave Butt 1.73 Des Wilson 1.25 Berwick 22em Graham Jones 8.79 Roger Wright 7.66 Mike Hiftle 6.40 Willie Templeton 6.12 Mike Fullerton 6.02 Dave Gifford 5.62 Colin Caffrey 4.25 Wayne Brown 3.94 Ian Darling 2.72 Boston 22em Gary Guglielmi 8.38 Tony Boyle 7.95 Steve Clarke 7.11 Dave Allen 7.02 Paul Gilbert 6.50 Stuart Cope 5.36 Andy Fisher 5.33 Craig Featherby 5.26 Dave Mortiboys 4.94 Ron Cooper 4.13 Roger Lambert 4.00 Keith Bloxsome 3.79 Dennis Mallett 2.93 Canterbury 22em Les Rumsey 9.81 Steve Koppe 9.68 Graham Banks 8.11 Mike Ferreira 7.65 Bob Spelta 7.54 Graham Clifton 7.48 Brendan Shiletto 6.58 Barney Kennett 6.48 Dave Piddock 5.65 Derek Hole 3.71 Crayford 22em Laurie Etheridge 9.34 Alan Sage 8.63 Alan Johns 6.28 Pete Wigley 5.19 Richard Davey 5.18 Tony Featherstone 5.02 John Hooper 4.36 Eastbourne 22em Mike Sampson 9.74 Dave Kennett 8.93 Eric Dugard 8.88 Roger Abel 7.40 Steve Naylor 7.31 Paul Woods 6.64 Colin Ackroyd 5.94 John Barker 5.78 Edinburgh 22em Rob Hollingworth 7.39 Bert Harkins 7.17 Steve Lomas 6.93 Dave Trownson 6.55 Brian Collins 6.04 Steve McDermott 6.00 Ivan Blacka 5.11 Alan Morrison 4.67 Alan Bridgett 4.75 Mark Stokes 2.00 Ellesmere Port 22em John Jackson 10.36 Steve Finch 9.28 Phil Collins 8.70 John Williams 5.77 Louis Carr 5.73 Paul Tyrer 5.13 Pete Ellams 4.39 Steve Taylor 4.06 Neil Collins 2.87 Glasgow 22em Steve Lawson 7.93 Derek Richardson 7.52 Merv Janke 7.51 Benny Rourke 6.68 Colin Farquharson 4.64 Jim Beaton 4.49 Charlie McKinna 3.54 Keith Bloxsome 3.50 Terry Kelly 3.48 Mick Newton 2.97 Mildenhall 22em Ray Bales 9.12 Bob Coles 8.35 Melvyn Taylor 8.35 Robert Henry 6.47 Neil Leeks 6.31 Mike Spink 6.26 Mick Bates 5.43 Richard Knight 4.31 Milton Keynes 22em Bob Humphreys 10.59 Derek Harrison 6.87 Chris Robins 6.52 Andy Grahame 6.17 Malcolm Holloway 5.39 Cliff Anderson 4.93 Phil Bass 4.82 Harry Maclean 4.57 Richard Evans 3.04 Newcastle 22em Tom Owen 10.82 Robbie Blackadder 9.10 Kenny Carter 7.58 Robbie Gardner 7.40 Graeme Stapleton 6.55 Rod Hunter 6.54 Neil Coddington 4.16 Nigel Crabtree 3.56 Oxford 22em George Hunter 9.53 David Shields 8.75 John Hack 7.37 Carl Askew 7.08 Colin Meredith 6.87 Pip Lamb 6.39 James Moore 5.81 Mick Handley 5.47 Les Sawyer 3.26 Peterborough 22em Dave Gooderham 8.36 Ian Clark 8.03 Andy Hines 7.97 Nigel Flatman 7.48 Kevin Hawkins 6.67 Tim Hunt 6.54 Brian Clark 6.38 Nigel Couzens 6.07 Peter Spink 4.74 Rye House 22em Ted Hubbard 9.32 Kelvin Mullarkey 9.11 Karl Fiala 7.81 Hugh Saunders 7.74 Bobby Garrad 7.52 Ashley Pullen 6.86 Peter Tarrant 4.85 Bob Cooper 4.84 Kevin Smith 4.82 Scunthorpe 22em Nicky Allott 9.03 John McNeill 7.96 Arthur Browning 6.03 Phil White 5.63 Mick Handley 4.29 Danny Boyle 4.00 Trevor Whiting 4.00 Danny Young 3.47 Paul Cooper 2.77 John Priest 2.24 Stoke 22em Tony Lomas 9.07 Ian Gledhill 7.45 John Harrhy 6.98 Stuart Mountford 6.93 Ian Robertson 6.89 Tim Nunan 6.20 Frank Smith 6.05 Ian Jeffcoate 4.20 Teesside 22em Steve Wilcock 7.94 Nigel Close 7.39 Pete Smith 7.23 Pete Reading 6.13 Martyn Cusworth 4.75 Peter Spink 4.46 Martin Dixon 4.09 Bob Watts 3.79 John Robson 3.14 Dave Gatenby 2.90 Weymouth 22em Danny Kennedy 9.16 Malcolm Shakespeare 7.49 Sean Willmott 6.96 Malcolm Corradine 6.76 Geoff Swindells 6.56 Gary Ford 5.46 Mick Conroy 3.77 Nigel Davis 2.83 Workington 22em Arthur Price 8.63 Brian Havelock 8.39 Rob Maxfield 7.66 Ian Hindle 6.40 Mark Dickinson 5.14 David Coles 4.82 Andy Margarson 4.79 Des Wilson 4.43 Tony Childs 3.27 See also List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions Knockout Cup (speedway) References Category:Speedway British League Division Two / National League