| Competition: | English Dirt Track League |
| Competitors: | 11 |
| Domesticcup1: | Champions |
| Domesticcup2: | Knockout Cup |
| Domesticcup2 Winners: | Preston |
| Highestaverage: | Syd Jackson |
| League Other: | 1929 Southern League |
| Nextseason: | 1930 |
The 1929 English Dirt Track League was the inaugural season of speedway in the United Kingdom, featuring from Northern England.[1] In the same year, the 1929 Speedway Southern League also commenced, catering to teams from Southern England[2] [3] [4]
The season was marked by mid-season withdrawals, but Leeds were ultimately crowned champions. In 1930, the league was renamed the Northern League, thus existing for only one year. White City Speedway (Manchester) withdrew from the league following a dispute[5] and would have been crowned champions if they had not withdrawn. At the time of their departure, they were leading the table by four points, having won 18 of their 20 matches.[6]
The introduction of speedway in Middlesbrough at the Cleveland Park Stadium was a success with the team holding their first home fixture was on 16 May 1929 against Salford.[7] [8] However, on 12 July 1929, Dennis Atkinson suffered critical injuries following an accident at Cleveland Park, riding in a Golden Helmet meeting. He died the following day.[9]
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 33 | ||
| 2 | Preston | 20 | 14 | 0 | 6 | 28 | |
| 3 | Halifax | 19 | 12 | 1 | 6 | 25 | |
| 4 | Newcastle | 20 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 20 | |
| 5 | Salford | 20 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 20 | |
| 6 | Rochdale | 20 | 9 | 1 | 19 | 19 | |
| 7 | Leicester Stadium | 20 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 18 | |
| 8 | Liverpool | 18 | 8 | 0 | 10 | 16 | |
| 9 | Sheffield | 20 | 6 | 1 | 13 | 13 | |
| 10 | Middlesbrough | 19 | 6 | 0 | 13 | 12 | |
| 11 | Barnsley Lundwood | 20 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 12 |
Withdrawals (Records expunged) :
| Team | C.M.A. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Syd Jackson | Leicester | 10.71 |
| 2 | Joe Abbott | Burnley/Preston | 10.50 |
| 3 | Ham Burrill | Preston | 9.44 |
| 4 | Charlie Hornby | Warrington | 8.88 |
| 5 | Walter Creasor | Newcastle/Halifax | 8.50 |
First round
| width=80 | Date | width=250 | Team one | width=80 | Score | width=250 | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03/08 | Barnsley Lundwood | 32–30 | Sheffield | ||||
| 10/08 | Rochdale | 39–23 | Salford | ||||
| 10/08 | Sheffield | 33–30 | Barnsley Lundwood | ||||
| 13/08 | Middlesbrough | 25–38 | Newcastle | ||||
| 16/08 | Manchester White City | 50–13 | Warrington | ||||
| 21/08 | Liverpool | 16–47 | Preston | ||||
| 22/08 | Halifax | 49–13 | Leeds | ||||
| 22/08 | Leicester Stadium | 34–27 | Leicester Super | ||||
| 22/08 | Preston | 44–19 | Liverpool | ||||
| 23/08 | Newcastle | 38–24 | Middlesbrough | ||||
| 23/08 | Warrington | 33–29 | Manchester White City | ||||
| 24/08 | Leeds | 32–31 | Halifax | ||||
| 24/08 | Leicester Super | 30–32 | Leicester Stadium | ||||
| 24/08 | Nottingham | 35–23 | Wombwell | ||||
| 26/08 | Salford | 37–26 | Rochdale | ||||
| 29/08 | Wombwell | 38–24 | Nottingham |
| width=80 | Date | width=250 | Team one | width=80 | Score | width=250 | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/09 | Halifax | 35–25 | Wombwell | ||||
| 14/09 | Rochdale | 30–33 | Leicester Stadium | ||||
| 16/09 | Wombwell | 31–31 | Halifax | ||||
| 18/09 | Sheffield | 35–28 | Preston | ||||
| 19/09 | Leicester Stadium | 35–27 | Rochdale | ||||
| 19/09 | Preston | 55–11 | Sheffield | ||||
| Manchester White City | w/o | Newcastle |
| width=80 | Date | width=250 | Team one | width=80 | Score | width=250 | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19/09 | Halifax | 44–19 | Newcastle | ||||
| 20/09 | Newcastle | 37–25 | Halifax | ||||
| 21/09 | Preston | 48–14 | Leicester Stadium | ||||
| 03/10 | Leicester Stadium | 39–24 | Preston |
First leg
Second leg
Preston were Knockout Cup winners, winning on aggregate 87–39.
Barnsley
Halifax
Leeds
Leicester
Liverpool
Manchester White City (withdrew)
Middlesbrough
Newcastle
Preston
Rochdale
Salford
Sheffield
Warrington (withdrew)