1931 Speedway Southern League
LeagueSouthern League
No. of competitors11
ChampionsWembley Lions
National TrophyWembley Lions
London CupCrystal Palace Glaziers
Highest averageTommy Croombs
Division/s other1931 Northern League

The 1931 Southern League was the third season of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom for Southern British teams, and its final season before amalgamation of the Southern and Northern Leagues.[1] The Northern teams also had their third season known as the 1931 Speedway Northern League.[2][3][4]

Summary

Both Birmingham teams based at Perry Barr and Hall Green had left, as had Coventry but the latter returned mid-season to replace Leicester who were liquidated in April.[5] Harringay Canaries resigned in June to be replaced by Belle Vue who then rode both in the Northern and Southern Leagues. Nottingham closed in July but they were not replaced and their results stood. The league season was the longest in the short history of the competition as teams met each other four times instead of twice.

The Wembley Lions won their second consecutive title[6] finishing three points clear of 1929 champions Stamford Bridge. The league suffered a fatality during the match between Belle Vue and Wembley at Hyde Road. James Allen (known as Indian Allen) was thrown from his bike and hit his head on a fence, trying to avoid a rider who had fallen in front of him. He died three days later in hospital on 12 September 1931.[7]

Final table

Pos Team PL W D L Pts
1 Wembley Lions 37 28 1 8 57
2 Stamford Bridge Pensioners 38 27 0 11 54
3 West Ham Hammers 38 23 0 15 46
4 Crystal Palace Glaziers 38 22 0 16 44
5 Wimbledon Dons 38 19 1 18 39
6 High Beech 38 19 1 18 39
7 Southampton Saints 38 18 0 20 36
8 Harringay Canaries + Belle Vue 38 14 0 24 28*
9 Lea Bridge 38 11 0 27 22
10 Leicester Stadium + Coventry 37 8 1 28 17**
11 Nottingham 20 8 0 12 16
* Harringay scored 12 points from 14 matches, Belle Vue scored 16 from 24
** Leicester scored 1 point from 8 matches, Coventry scored 16 from 30

Top Five Riders

Team C.M.A.
1 Tommy Croombs West Ham 10.41
2 Dicky Case Wimbledon 10.14
3 Jack Parker Southampton 10.02
4 Frank Arthur Stamford Bridge 9.97
5 Vic Huxley Harringay/Wimbledon 9.87

National Trophy

The 1931 National Trophy was the first edition of the Knockout Cup. It was contested between teams from the Southern and Northern Leagues.[8]

First round

Date Team one Score Team two
11/05Wimbledon67-26Hall Green
12/05West Ham51-45Southampton
13/05Lea Bridge59-33Nottingham
14/05Exeter34-59High Beech
14/05Leicester Stadium39.5-54.5Stamford Bridge
15/05Hall Green42.5-49.5Wimbledon
16/05High Beech61-33Exeter
16/05Southampton42-49West Ham
16/05Stamford Bridge59-35Leicester Stadium
21/05Nottingham46-47Lea Bridge

Second round

Date Team one Score Team two
25/05Belle Vue73-22Wombwell
25/05York42-53Leicester Super
26/05Glasgow White City43-52Preston
28/05Sheffield54-40Leeds
30/05Leeds39-52Sheffield
30/05Leicester Super69-26York
30/05Wombwell27-64Belle Vue
04/06Preston70-26Glasgow White City
08/06Wimbledon60-36Crystal Palace
09/06Harringay?Stamford Bridge
09/06West Ham44-52Wembley
10/06Lea Bridge52-38High Beech
11/06Wembley56-37West Ham
13/06Crystal Palace48-48Wimbledon
13/06High Beech55-39Lea Bridge

Quarterfinals

Date Team one Score Team two
02/07Preston65-31High Beech
11/07Belle Vue50-46Wimbledon
11/07Sheffield41-55Wembley
16/07Leicester Super44-50Stamford Bridge
18/07High Beech48-42Preston
23/07Wembley70-25Sheffield
27/07Wimbledon55-41Belle Vue
19/08Stamford Bridge61-31Leicester Super

Semifinals

Date Team one Score Team two
10/09Preston43-51Stamford Bridge
17/09Wembley48-47Wimbledon
21/09Wimbledon46-49Wembley
26/09Stamford Bridge66-30Preston

Final

First leg

Wembley
Lionel Van Praag 12
George Greenwood 11
Colin Watson 9
Wally Kilmister 9
Harry Whitfield 9
Jack Ormston 8
Norman Evans 7
Jack Jackson 6		71 – 24Stamford Bridge
Frank Arthur 10
Dick Smythe 5
Percy Dunn 3
Mick Murphy 3
Bill Stanley 2
Cliff Watson 1
Dick Wise 0
Frank Duckett 0
Hal Herbert 0
[9]

Second leg

Stamford Bridge
Frank Arthur 12
Arthur Warwick 11
Bill Stanley 8
Cliff Watson 3
Dick Smythe 2
Percy Dunn 2
Hal Herbert 2
Gus Kuhn 1
Mick Murphy 1		45 – 49Wembley
Wally Kilmister 9
Lionel Van Praag 8
Colin Watson 8
Jack Ormston 6
George Greenwood 5
Harry Whitfield 5
Norman Evans 4
Charlie Shelton 3
Jack Jackson 1
Col Stewart 0
[9]

Wembley were declared National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 120-69.

London Cup

First round

Team one Score Team two
Wimbledon46–50, 45–49Wembley
West Ham41.5–53.5, 36–58Stamford Bridge
Lea Bridge60–35, 48–46High Beech
Crystal Palace bye

Semi final round

Team one Score Team two
Lea Bridge41–55, 27–69Crystal Palace
Stamford Bridge50–46, 41.5–35.5Wembley

Final

First leg

Crystal Palace
Ron Johnson 12
Tom Farndon 9
Joe Francis 9
Nobby Key 7
Roger Frogley 6
Triss Sharp 6
Harry Shepherd 5
Alf Sawford 5		59–36Wembley
Colin Watson 7
Jack Ormston 7
Norman Evans 7
Lionel Van Praag 5
Wally Kilmister 4
Jack Jackson 3
Charlie Shelton 2
Col Stewart 1
Cliff Parkinson 0

Second leg

Wembley
Norman Evans 8
Colin Watson 7
Jack Ormston 6
Jack Jackson 5
George Greenwood 5
Wally Kilmister 3
Lionel Van Praag 2
Buster Frogley 2
Charlie Shelton 2		40–55Crystal Palace
Tom Farndon 12
Ron Johnson 12
Joe Francis 11
Nobby Key 9
Roger Frogley 6
Triss Sharp 3
Alf Sawford 2
Harry Shepherd 0

Crystal Palace won on aggregate 114–76

Riders & final averages

Crystal Palace

Harringay & Belle Vue

  • Australia Vic Huxley 10.56
  • England Don Durant 6.95
  • England Alf Sawford 5.94
  • England Bill Clibbett 5.65
  • England Clem Cort 5.41
  • England Eric Spencer 5.33
  • Wales Ivor Hill 5.33

High Beech

  • England Phil Bishop 7.26
  • England Billy Dallison 6.76
  • England Syd Edmonds 6.69
  • England Jack Barnett 6.43
  • England George Bishop 6.37
  • England Reg Hutchins 6.09
  • Australia Bobby Blake 5.56
  • England Stan Baines 4.80
  • England Tiger Hart 4.79
  • Australia Art Fenn 4.57
  • England Tommy McDonald 4.23
  • England Henry Taft 4.00
  • England Frank Pearce 3.83

Lea Bridge

Leicester/Coventry

  • England Syd Jackson 6.86/9.22
  • England Squib Burton 8.20/x
  • England Arthur Tims 6.27/7.10
  • England Bunny Wilcox x/6.50
  • Australia Alby Taylor 5.86/5.35
  • England Stan Greatrex 2.40/5.16
  • England John Deeley 5.00/4.27
  • England Henry Taft x/4.98
  • England Lew Lancaster x/4.89
  • England Bill Pitcher 4.55/x
  • England Albert Wilkinson] x/4.55
  • Guernsey Stan Mauger x/4.31
  • England Cyril Taft x/4.00
  • England Les Patrick 3.14/3.47

Nottingham

  • England George Wigfield 8.93
  • England Fred Strecker 8.26
  • England Billy Ellmore 7.58
  • England Nobby Key 7.29
  • England Buster Brown 5.07
  • England George Dykes 5.03
  • England Nobby Kendrick 4.57
  • England Bert Fairweather 4.00
  • England Wally Humphry 4.00
  • England Joe Gooding 3.72

Southampton

Stamford Bridge

Wembley

West Ham

Wimbledon

See also

References

  1. ↑ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  2. ↑ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  3. ↑ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - PRE-WAR ERA (1929-1939)". British Speedway. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  4. ↑ "Speedway Teams UK 1929-1934". Cyber Motorcycle. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  5. ↑ "Coventry Take Over League Fixtures". Leicester Evening Mail. 26 May 1931. Retrieved 25 July 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ↑ Speedway Researcher
  7. ↑ "Indian Allen". Motorsport Memorial. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  8. ↑ "1931 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  9. 1 2 "1931 National Trophy" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
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