1961 Speedway National LeagueLeague| National League

|

Champions| Wimbledon Dons
No. of competitors| 10
National Trophy| Southampton Saints
Highest average| Ove Fundin
Division/s below| 1961 Provincial League

* <- 1960
* 1962 ->

The 1961 National League was the 27th season and the sixteenth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1]

## Contents

* 1 Summary
* 2 Final table
* 3 Top Ten Riders (League only)
* 4 National Trophy
* 4.1 First Round
* 4.2 Second Round
* 4.3 Semi Finals
* 4.4 Final
* 4.4.1 First leg
* 4.4.2 Second leg
* 5 See also
* 6 References

## Summary[edit]

The entry list was identical to the previous year and although Wimbledon Dons won their seventh title in eight years, it would be their last.[2][3][4]

## Final table[edit]

Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts

|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | Wimbledon Dons | 18  | 15  | 0  | 3  | 30
2  | Southampton Saints | 18  | 13  | 2  | 3  | 28
3  | Coventry Bees | 18  | 10  | 1  | 7  | 21
4  | Belle Vue Aces | 18  | 10  | 0  | 8  | 20
5  | Swindon Robins | 18  | 8  | 0  | 10  | 16
6  | Ipswich Witches | 18  | 7  | 1  | 10  | 15
7  | Norwich Stars | 18  | 7  | 0  | 11  | 14
8  | New Cross Rangers | 18  | 7  | 0  | 11  | 14
9  | Oxford Cheetahs | 18  | 6  | 1  | 11  | 13
10  | Leicester Hunters | 18  | 4  | 1  | 13  | 9

## Top Ten Riders (League only)[edit]

| Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A.

|
|
|
|

1  | Ove Fundin |  | Norwich Stars | 11.51
2  | Ronnie Moore |  | Wimbledon Dons | 11.17
3  | Peter Craven |  | Belle Vue Aces | 10.95
4  | Björn Knutsson |  | Southampton Saints | 10.79
5  | Arne Pander |  | Oxford Cheetahs | 10.60
6  | Barry Briggs |  | Southampton Saints | 10.13
7  | Ron How |  | Wimbledon Dons | 10.05
8  | Ron Johnston |  | Belle Vue Aces | 10.00
9  | Ken McKinlay |  | Leicester Hunters | 9.57
10  | Bob Duckworth |  | Belle Vue Aces | 9.48

## National Trophy[edit]

The 1961 National Trophy was the 23rd edition of the Knockout Cup. Southampton were the winners.[5]

### First Round[edit]

Date  | Team One  | Score  | Team Two

|
|
|

15/06 | Oxford | 43-40 | Southampton
13/06 | Southampton | 58-26 | Oxford
10/06 | Belle Vue | 55-28 | New Cross
07/06 | New Cross | 46-37 | Belle Vue

### Second Round[edit]

Date  | Team One  | Score  | Team Two

|
|
|

17/08 | Ipswich | 44-40 | Coventry
09/08 | Norwich | 43-40 | Swindon
08/08 | Southampton | 52-32 | Belle Vue
29/07 | Belle Vue | 47-37 | Southampton
24/07 | Wimbledon | 46-38 | Norwich
22/07 | Norwich | 52-32 | Wimbledon
22/07 | Swindon | 66-18 | Leicester
21/07 | Leicester | 38-45 | Swindon

### Semi Finals[edit]

Date  | Team One  | Score  | Team Two

|
|
|

09/09 | Swindon | 56-28 | Norwich
29/08 | Southampton | 57-27 | Coventry
26/08 | Coventry | 49-35 | Southampton
09/08 | Norwich | 43-40 | Swindon

### Final[edit]

#### First leg[edit]

19 September 1961

Southampton Saints
Björn Knutsson 15
Barry Briggs 14
Dick Bradley 9
Alby Golden 6
Peter Vandenberg 4
Cyril Roger 4
Chum Taylor 3| 55 – 29| Swindon Robins
Tadeusz Teodorowicz 7
Neil Street 6
Ian Williams 5
Brian Brett 4
George White 4
Mike Broadbank 2
Brian Meredith 1

|
|

| [6] |

Banister Court Stadium

#### Second leg[edit]

23 September 1961

Swindon Robins
Tadeusz Teodorowicz 9
Mike Broadbank 8
George White 8
Brian Meredith 5
Ian Williams 4
Brian Brett 4
Neil Street 3| 41 – 43| Southampton Saints
Björn Knutsson 15
Barry Briggs 13
Chum Taylor 8
Peter Vandenberg 4
Dick Bradley 3
Cyril Roger 0
Alby Golden 0

|
|

| [6] |

Abbey Stadium

Southampton were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 98–70.

## See also[edit]

* List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions
* Knockout Cup (speedway)

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
2. ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
3. ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129\. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
4. ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
5. ^ "1961 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
6. ^ a b "1961 National Trophy". Speedway Archive. Retrieved 12 August 2021.

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Speedway in the United Kingdom

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See also|

* Knockout Cups
* League Riders' champions
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* British Speedway Championship
* British U-21
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* Craven and Young Shields
* Elite Shield

See also|

* Speedway
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Third division|

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Champions|

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National League seasons 1932–1964

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