| League | National League | 
|---|---|
| Champions | Swindon Robins | 
| No. of competitors | 11 | 
| Highest average | Peter Craven | 
| Division/s below | 1957 Southern Area League | 
The 1957 National League was the 23rd season and the twelfth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1]
Summary
The closure of Wembley Lions, Bradford Tudors and Poole Pirates left the league with only four teams, so the seven sides in Division Two merged to make an eleven-team first tier and so Division Two became defunct.[2][3]
Bradford Tudors returned to replace Birmingham Brummies mid-season (in early August)[4][5] and Swindon Robins followed up their Division Two title in 1956 with the Division One title in 1957.[6]
Final table
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts | 
| 1 | Swindon Robins | 20 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 31 | 
| 2 | Belle Vue Aces | 20 | 15 | 0 | 5 | 30 | 
| 3 | Wimbledon Dons | 20 | 12 | 0 | 8 | 24 | 
| 4 | Norwich Stars | 20 | 11 | 0 | 9 | 22 | 
| 5 | Leicester Hunters | 20 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 21 | 
| 6 | Southampton Saints | 20 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 18 | 
| 7 | Bradford Tudors* | 20 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 18 | 
| 8 | Coventry Bees | 20 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 18 | 
| 9 | Oxford Cheetahs | 20 | 7 | 1 | 12 | 15 | 
| 10 | Ipswich Witches | 20 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 12 | 
| 11 | Rayleigh Rockets | 20 | 5 | 1 | 14 | 11 | 
- Bradford Tudors replaced Birmingham Brummies mid-season.
 
Top Ten Riders (League only)
| Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
| 1 | Peter Craven | Belle Vue Aces | 11.18 | |
| 2 | Ove Fundin | Norwich Stars | 10.38 | |
| 3 | Bob Roger | Swindon Robins | 10.27 | |
| 4 | Ron Johnston | Belle Vue Aces | 10.27 | |
| 5 | Barry Briggs | Wimbledon Dons | 10.00 | |
| 6 | Ken McKinlay | Leicester Hunters | 9.77 | |
| 7 | Brian Crutcher | Southampton Saints | 9.76 | |
| 8 | Aub Lawson | Norwich Stars | 9.73 | |
| 9 | Peter Moore | Ipswich Witches | 9.64 | |
| 10 | Dick Bradley | Southampton Saints | 9.48 | 
National Trophy
The National Trophy was not held during 1957.
Riders & final averages
Belle Vue
-  
 Peter Craven 11.18 -  
 Ron Johnston 10.27 -  
 Bob Duckworth 6.92 -  
 Eddie Rigg 6.78 -  
 Dick Fisher 6.00 -  
 Tink Maynard 5.60 -  
 Peter Williams 4.71 -  
 Slant Payling 3.73 -  
 Brian Craven 3.24 -  
 Lew Grepp 0.73 
Bradford/Birmingham
-  
 Dan Forsberg 9.42 -  
 Nigel Boocock 7.92 -  
 Ron Clarke 7.84 -  
 Eric Boothroyd 7.37/6.78 -  
 Ron Mountford 7.23 -  
 Arthur Forrest 7.15 -  
 Al Allison 5.21 -  
 Guy Allott 5.19/4.93 -  
 Jim Tolley 5.05 -  
 Trevor Redmond 4.76 -  
 Harry Bastable 4.00 -  
 Derrick Tailby 3.20 
Coventry
-  
 Per Olof Söderman 8.43 -  
 Ron Mountford 8.07 -  
 Jim Lightfoot 6.53 -  
 Charlie New 6.34 -  
 Reg Duval 6.04 -  
 Les Owen 4.00 -  
 Nick Nicholls 3.35 -  
 Jim Tolley 3.31 -  
 Eric Hockaday 3.07 -  
 Arthur Wright 2.81 -  
 Bob Mark 2.30 
Ipswich
-  
 Peter Moore 9.64 -  
 Cyril Roger 9.13 -  
 Aage Hansen 8.17 -  
 Bob Sharp 6.04 -  
 Bert Edwards 5.36 -  
 Junior Bainbridge 4.67 -  
 Jimmy Gooch 4.09 -  
 Wal Morton 3.79 -  
 Danny Dunton 3.84 -  
 Johnny Fitzpatrick 3.03 -  
 Len Silver 2.82 -  
 Ken Last 1.00 
Leicester
-  
 Ken McKinlay 9.77 -  
 Rune Sörmander 8.40 -  
 Jack Geran 8.04 -  
 Alf Hagon 6.71 -  
 Harry Bastable 6.47 -  
 Al Allison 4.67 -  
 Charlie Barsby 3.88 -  
 Bryan Elliott 3.31 -  
 Reg Fearman 3.25 -  
 Vic Hall 1.54 -  
 Des Haswell 0.62 
Norwich
-  
 Ove Fundin 10.38 -  
 Aub Lawson 9.73 -  
 Phil Clarke 9.41 -  
 Billy Bales 7.60 -  
 Harry Edwards 5.87 -  
 Geoff Pymar 3.91 -  
 Derek Strutt 3.68 -  
 Dave Hankins 2.75 -  
 Reg Trott 2.58 -  
 Barry East 2.33 -  
 Wal Morton 2.05 
Oxford
-  
 Jack Biggs 8.38 -  
 Gordon McGregor 6.92 -  
 Ronnie Genz 7.81 -  
 Dennis Newton 6.29 -  
 Roy Bowers 5.51 -  
 Howdy Byford 5.10 -  
 Ray Cresp 5.00 -  
 Maury McDermott 4.00 -  
 Frank Johnson 3.64 
Rayleigh
-  
 Les McGillivray 8.00 -  
 Jack Unstead 6.93 -  
 Birger Forsberg 6.38 -  
 Ken Adams 5.98 -  
 Eric French 5.97 -  
 Peter Clark 5.91 -  
 Pete Lansdale 5.40 -  
 Maury McDermott 3.72 
Southampton
-  
 Brian Crutcher 9.76 -  
 Dick Bradley 9.48 -  
 Brian Hanham 7.17 -  
 Alby Golden 6.00 -  
 Maury Mattingley 5.68 -  
 Bill Holden 5.54 -  
 Jimmy Squibb 5.03 -  
 Johnny Hole 5.06 
Swindon
-  
 Bob Roger 10.27 -  
 George White 8.61 -  
 Ian Williams 8.17 -  
 Ken Middleditch 7.54 -  
 Neil Street 6.70 -  
 Ernie Lessiter 6.44 -  
 Al Sparrey 6.40 -  
 Mike Broadbank 5.21 
Wimbledon
-  
 Barry Briggs 10.00 -  
 Ron How 8.31 -  
 Ronnie Moore 8.00 -  
 Gerald Jackson 7.29 -  
 Cyril Maidment 6.52 -  
 Cyril Brine 6.04 -  
 Split Waterman 5.86 -  
 Gerry King 4.00 -  
 Ivan Mauger 4.00 -  
 Bob Andrews 3.76 
See also
References
- ↑ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
 - ↑ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
 - ↑ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
 - ↑ "This was Birmingham Speedway". Sports Argus. 3 August 1957. Retrieved 5 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
 - ↑ "Norwich depleted". Leicester Evening Mail. 1 August 1957. Retrieved 5 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
 - ↑ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
 
    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.