Speedway Provincial League
Encyclopedia
The Provincial League was a league
competition for speedway
teams in the United Kingdom
which operated alongside the National League
for five years between 1960 and 1964.
and Ian Hoskins met to discuss re-introducing speedway to lapsed venues and form a strong League and Promoters Association. The Provincial League was formed under the rules of the Speedway Control Board (SCB) and Auto Cycle Union (ACU).
The league re-introduced speedway to many lost venues and was a mostly a success, with crowds often outstripping the National League
, with its established star names like Peter Craven
of Belle Vue
, and Swedish
star Ove Fundin
of Norwich
.
In 1964 the Provincial League operated outside of Speedway Control Board authority following a major dispute over how Speedway should be run. The controversy was brought about by the refusal of Wolverhampton
to move up to the National League, which only had six teams at the time, after winning the Provincial League title in 1963. This caused a split between the leagues, and the Provincial League was outlawed by the Speedway Control Board and all National League riders were forbidden to ride on Provincial tracks. Provincial League riders were warned by the Speedway Control board that they were in breach of ACU regulations and could be suspended from all competitive racing. They were also barred from the World Speedway Championship. The Provincial League objected and went black
the 1964 season, racing under their own rules and arbitrator, and appointing their own officials and referees.
An enquiry was held that year set up by the Royal Automobile Club
(RAC) and chaired by Lord Shawcross who decided that the SCB was acting illegally. He recommended that the SCB be re-formed with a new Secretary/Manager and a new Chairman appointed from the RAC.
During the winter of 1964/65, meetings were held between the promoters of the two leagues and the SCB led to a reconciliation between the two bodies and the merger of the two leagues leading to the establishment of a single 18 team British League for the 1965. This reorganisation also led to the formation of the British Speedway Promoters Association.
Sports league
League is a term commonly used to describe a group of sports teams or individual athletes that compete against each other in a specific sport. At its simplest, it may be a local group of amateur athletes who form teams among themselves and compete on weekends; at its most complex, it can be an...
competition for speedway
Motorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. Speedway motorcycles use only one gear and have no brakes and racing takes place on a flat oval track usually...
teams in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
which operated alongside the National League
Speedway National League
The National League was the top division of Speedway in the United Kingdom from 1932 until 1965 when it became known as the British League. Prior to 1932 there were only small regional leagues competing within the sport in the UK. The National League was re-incarnated in 1975 as the second division...
for five years between 1960 and 1964.
History
The Provincial League was formed in the winter of 1959/60. Manchester businessman and sometime midget car driver Mike Parker had run a number of pirate meetings at Liverpool and Bradford and was involved with one at Cradley Heath in the summer of 1959. Interest was aroused by many people and a meeting was called in Manchester for like-minded people. A number of promoters and former riders including Reg FearmanReg Fearman
Reg Fearman is a former international speedway rider and promoter.-Riding career:He first received his speedway licence on his sixteenth birthday, presented to him in front of a forty thousand strong West Ham crowd at the West Ham Stadium in London...
and Ian Hoskins met to discuss re-introducing speedway to lapsed venues and form a strong League and Promoters Association. The Provincial League was formed under the rules of the Speedway Control Board (SCB) and Auto Cycle Union (ACU).
The league re-introduced speedway to many lost venues and was a mostly a success, with crowds often outstripping the National League
Speedway National League
The National League was the top division of Speedway in the United Kingdom from 1932 until 1965 when it became known as the British League. Prior to 1932 there were only small regional leagues competing within the sport in the UK. The National League was re-incarnated in 1975 as the second division...
, with its established star names like Peter Craven
Peter Craven
Peter Theodore Craven was an English motorcycle racer. He was a finalist in each FIM Speedway World Championship from 1954 to 1963 and he won the title twice . He was British Champion in 1962-63....
of Belle Vue
Belle Vue Aces
The Belle Vue Aces are a British speedway team from Manchester in the north west of England.-Brief history:Racing first took place in 1928 at the Belle Vue greyhound stadium in Kirkmanshulme Lane before moving the following year to a specially built stadium nearby on Hyde Road. The club raced there...
, and Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
star Ove Fundin
Ove Fundin
Ove Fundin is a former speedway rider who won the Speedway World Championship five times...
of Norwich
Norwich Stars
Norwich Stars were a motorcycle speedway team based in Norwich, England which operated from 1930 until their closure in 1964.-History:Speedway racing was staged in Norwich both before and after World War II at The Firs Stadium in Aylsham Road, Hellesdon. Pre-War Norwich were members of the National...
.
In 1964 the Provincial League operated outside of Speedway Control Board authority following a major dispute over how Speedway should be run. The controversy was brought about by the refusal of Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton Wolves
The Wolverhampton Wolves are a British Speedway team based in Wolverhampton, England. They are sponsored by Parry's International Travel, and have signed a new deal with owner Dave Parry for the 2008 season onwards. The team is managed by Peter Adams and the promoter of the club is Chris Van...
to move up to the National League, which only had six teams at the time, after winning the Provincial League title in 1963. This caused a split between the leagues, and the Provincial League was outlawed by the Speedway Control Board and all National League riders were forbidden to ride on Provincial tracks. Provincial League riders were warned by the Speedway Control board that they were in breach of ACU regulations and could be suspended from all competitive racing. They were also barred from the World Speedway Championship. The Provincial League objected and went black
Blacklist
A blacklist is a list or register of entities who, for one reason or another, are being denied a particular privilege, service, mobility, access or recognition. As a verb, to blacklist can mean to deny someone work in a particular field, or to ostracize a person from a certain social circle...
the 1964 season, racing under their own rules and arbitrator, and appointing their own officials and referees.
An enquiry was held that year set up by the Royal Automobile Club
Royal Automobile Club
The Royal Automobile Club is a private club and is not to be confused with RAC plc, a motorists' organisation, which it formerly owned.It has two club houses, one in London at 89-91 Pall Mall, and the other in the countryside at Woodcote Park, Surrey, next to the City of London Freemen's School...
(RAC) and chaired by Lord Shawcross who decided that the SCB was acting illegally. He recommended that the SCB be re-formed with a new Secretary/Manager and a new Chairman appointed from the RAC.
During the winter of 1964/65, meetings were held between the promoters of the two leagues and the SCB led to a reconciliation between the two bodies and the merger of the two leagues leading to the establishment of a single 18 team British League for the 1965. This reorganisation also led to the formation of the British Speedway Promoters Association.
Champions
| Season | Champions | Second | Third |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 1960 Provincial Speedway League The 1960 Provincial Speedway League was the first season of the Provincial League, ten motorcycle speedway teams took part. The league was dominated by Rayleigh, Poole and Bristol. Rayleigh and Poole finished on the same points, but Rayleigh triumphed with a superior amount of race points scored... |
Rayleigh Rockets Rayleigh Rockets The Rayleigh Rockets were a Speedway team which operated from 1949 until their closure in 1973 from the Rayleigh Weir Stadium in Rayleigh, Essex . The Rockets closed in 1958 but re-opened again in 1960 and entered the Provincial League and then the Metropolitan League in 1964... |
Poole Pirates Poole Pirates Poole Pirates are a motorcycle speedway team based in Poole, England, competing in the British Elite League... |
Bristol Bulldogs Bristol Bulldogs The Bristol Bulldogs were a British motorcycle speedway team based in the Knowle Stadium, Bristol, England.The club was formed prior to World War II. The track operated a season of challenge matches in 1946 with the team known as Ex-Bristol. They competed in the National League Division Two from 1947... |
| 1961 1961 Provincial Speedway League The 1961 Provincial Speedway League was the second season of the Provincial League. Eleven speedway teams took part. Bradford were unable to take their place in the league after the construction of their new track was delayed. Exeter, Plymouth, Wolverhampton, Middlesbrough and Newcastle all... |
Poole Pirates Poole Pirates Poole Pirates are a motorcycle speedway team based in Poole, England, competing in the British Elite League... |
Plymouth Devils Plymouth Devils The Plymouth Devils are a speedway team in the British Premier League. The club was re-formed after a gap of thirty-six years in 2006 by former St Austell Gulls rider Mike Bowden.... |
Stoke Potters Stoke Potters The Stoke Potters are a British Speedway team currently competing in the National League. The team races at Loomer Road Stadium.In the late 1940s, early 1950s and the early 1960s, the club was based in Sun Street in Hanley, and were originally known as the Hanley Potters when crowds of over 12,000... |
| 1962 1962 Provincial Speedway League The 1962 Provincial Speedway League was the third season of the Provincial League. Thirteen speedway teams took part. Poole won the league championship for the second year in a row. Bradford, at their new venue at Greenfields Stadium, returned to the league after missing the previous season due to... |
Poole Pirates Poole Pirates Poole Pirates are a motorcycle speedway team based in Poole, England, competing in the British Elite League... |
Neath Welsh Dragons | Exeter Falcons Exeter Falcons The Exeter Falcons were a speedway team which operated from 1947 until their closure in 2005 at the County Ground Stadium in Exeter. The track first operated in 1929.-Track:... |
| 1963 1963 Provincial Speedway League The 1963 Provincial Speedway League was the fourth season of the Provincial League in the United Kingdom. Thirteen speedway teams took part.-Season summary:... |
Wolverhampton Wolves Wolverhampton Wolves The Wolverhampton Wolves are a British Speedway team based in Wolverhampton, England. They are sponsored by Parry's International Travel, and have signed a new deal with owner Dave Parry for the 2008 season onwards. The team is managed by Peter Adams and the promoter of the club is Chris Van... |
Stoke Potters Stoke Potters The Stoke Potters are a British Speedway team currently competing in the National League. The team races at Loomer Road Stadium.In the late 1940s, early 1950s and the early 1960s, the club was based in Sun Street in Hanley, and were originally known as the Hanley Potters when crowds of over 12,000... |
Poole Pirates Poole Pirates Poole Pirates are a motorcycle speedway team based in Poole, England, competing in the British Elite League... |
| 1964 1964 Provincial Speedway League The 1964 Provincial Speedway League was the fifth and final season of the Provincial League in the United Kingdom. Twelve speedway teams took part.-Season summary:The 1964 season started in controversy which led to the Provincial League running 'black'... |
Newcastle Diamonds Newcastle Diamonds Newcastle Diamonds are a motorcycle speedway team who compete in the British Premier League. The club has a reputation of importing young foreign talent and have given starts to the British careers of six times World Champion Ivan Mauger, three times World Champion Ole Olsen, 1974 World Champion... |
Hackney Hawks Hackney Hawks Hackney Hawks speedway opened in 1963 at Hackney Wick Stadium, Waterden Road, London and operated until 1983.-Early days:Originally opened by Mike Parker, the promotion was then sold to Len Silver who was the club's promoter for the next twenty seasons.... |
Wolverhampton Wolves Wolverhampton Wolves The Wolverhampton Wolves are a British Speedway team based in Wolverhampton, England. They are sponsored by Parry's International Travel, and have signed a new deal with owner Dave Parry for the 2008 season onwards. The team is managed by Peter Adams and the promoter of the club is Chris Van... |
Individual Riders Championship
| Year | Location | Winner | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Cradley Heath | Trevor Redmond Trevor Redmond Trevor Redmond - died 1997) was a speedway rider who mainly rode for the Aldershot Shots, and the Wembley Lions. Redmond also opened a speedway track in Neath, Wales in 1962.-Rider:... |
Ken Middleditch Ken Middleditch Kenneth Arthur Middleditch is a British retired motorcycle speedway rider.-Career Summary:Middleditch served in the RAF in World War II as a rear gunner, and became interested in speedway while stationed in Egypt.... |
Eric Hockaday |
| 1961 | Harringay | Reg Reeves | Trevor Redmond Trevor Redmond Trevor Redmond - died 1997) was a speedway rider who mainly rode for the Aldershot Shots, and the Wembley Lions. Redmond also opened a speedway track in Neath, Wales in 1962.-Rider:... |
Maurie Mattingley |
| 1962 | Belle Vue | Len Silver Len Silver Len Silver is a former speedway rider and is currently promoter of the Rye House Rockets.-Racing career:Silver stopped racing in 1957 but returned to the Ipswich Witches in 1960 after a layoff due to injury... |
Wayne Briggs Wayne Briggs Wayne Briggs in Christchurch, New Zealand is a former speedway rider and a younger brother of Barry Briggs. He rode in the Provincial League with the Edinburgh Monarchs from 1961–1964 and 1965 in the British League. He then moved south and rode for Poole in 1966 and Exeter between 1967 and 1968.... |
Brian Craven |
| 1963 | Belle Vue | Ivan Mauger Ivan Mauger Ivan Mauger, OBE, MBE, is a retired motorcycle speedway rider. He won a record six World Championships, a feat only equalled by Tony Rickardsson of Sweden... |
Jack Kitchen | Ross Gilbertson |
| 1964 | Belle Vue | Ivan Mauger Ivan Mauger Ivan Mauger, OBE, MBE, is a retired motorcycle speedway rider. He won a record six World Championships, a feat only equalled by Tony Rickardsson of Sweden... |
Charlie Monk | Roy Trigg Roy Trigg Roy Trigg is a former motorcycle speedway rider.He was noticed as a teenager by the Wimbledon Dons management who signed him up but immediately loaned him out to lower league Poole Pirates. In 1964 the new Hackney Hawks promoter Len Silver signed him on a full transfer... |