1932 Speedway National League Explained

The National League was formed in 1932 combining teams from the Northern League and Southern League.^[1] It was the fourth season of speedway in the United Kingdom.^{[2] [3]}

Summary

From the teams that finished the 1931 Northern League, Leeds Lions and Preston closed down, leaving only Belle Vue Aces and Sheffield. From the 1931 Southern League, High Beech and Lea Bridge had closed Plymouth Tigers were new competitors.

In the first half of the season, the teams competed for the National Association Trophy in a league format won by Stamford Bridge Pensioners. During this phase Southampton Saints moved to Lea Bridge and rode as Clapton Saints and at the end of the phase Sheffield dropped out.

In the second half of the season Wembley Lions won the inaugural National League title. Dicky Case of the Wimbledon Dons finished with the highest average.

Final table

Pos	Team	PL	W	D	L	Pts
1	Wembley Lions	16	13	0	3	26
2	Crystal Palace Glaziers	16	11	1	4	23
3	Belle Vue Aces	16	9	1	6	19
4	Stamford Bridge Pensioners	16	8	1	7	17
5	Wimbledon Dons	16	8	1	7	17
6	West Ham Hammers	16	7	0	9	14
7	Coventry	16	6	0	10	12
8	Clapton Saints	16	4	0	12	8
9	Plymouth Tigers	16	4	0	12	8

Top Ten Riders

		Nat	Team	C.M.A.
1	Dicky Case		Wimbledon	10.42
2	Ginger Lees		Wembley	10.40
3	Wal Phillips		Stamford Bridge	10.33
4	Syd Jackson		Coventry	10.13
5	Ron Johnson		Crystal Palace	9.60
6	Vic Huxley		Wimbledon	9.50
7	Eric Langton		Belle Vue	9.33
8	Nobby Key		Crystal Palace	8.89
9	Jack Parker		Clapton	8.80
10	Frank Arthur		Stamford Bridge	8.64

National Trophy

The 1932 National Trophy was the second edition of the Knockout Cup.^[4]

First round

width=80	Date	width=250	Team one	width=80	Score	width=250	Team two
06/07	Clapton	57-35	Plymouth
05/07	Plymouth	44-50	Clapton

Quarterfinals

width=80	Date	width=250	Team one	width=80	Score	width=250	Team two
27/07	Clapton	50-44	Coventry
28/07	Coventry	55-41	Clapton
30/07	Crystal Palace	51-43	Wimbledon
13/08	Stamford Bridge	46-45	Wembley
04/08	Wembley	54-42	Stamford Bridge
26/07	West Ham	51-42	Belle Vue
15/08	Wimbledon	54-42	Crystal Palace
23/07	Belle Vue	64-32	West Ham

Semifinals

width=80	Date	width=250	Team one	width=80	Score	width=250	Team two
10/09	Belle Vue	56-37	Wimbledon
03/09	Coventry	38-56	Wembley
08/09	Wembley	63-33	Coventry
19/09	Wimbledon	50-46	Belle Vue

Final

First leg

Second leg

Wembley were declared National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 103-87.

National Association Trophy

The National Association Trophy was won by Stamford Bridge.^[5]

Final table

Team	PL	W	D	L	Pts
Stamford Bridge Pensioners	18	16	0	2	32
Wembley Lions	18	14	0	4	28
Crystal Palace Glaziers	18	12	0	6	24
Belle Vue Aces	18	11	0	7	22
West Ham Hammers	18	11	0	7	22
Wimbledon Dons	18	11	0	7	22
Clapton Saints	18	5	0	13	10
Coventry	18	5	0	13	10
Sheffield	18	3	0	15	6
Plymouth Tigers	18	2	0	16	4

London Cup

First round

width=250	Team one	width=120	Score	width=250	Team two
Wimbledon	53–38 , 37–57	Stamford Bridge
Clapton	42–48, 42–54	Crystal Palace
West Ham bye
Wembley bye

Semi final round

width=250	Team one	width=120	Score	width=250	Team two
West Ham	47–49, 41.5–46.5	Stamford Bridge
Wembley	65–30, 37–56	Crystal Palace

Final

First leg

Second leg

Wembley won on aggregate 99–92

Riders & final averages

Belle Vue

• 9.33
• 8.15
• 8.00
• 7.15
• 7.00
• 6.84
• 6.67
• 4.38
• 4.35
• 3.33
• 2.67

Clapton

• 8.80
• 7.50
• 7.38
• 6.97
• 6.50
• 5.65
• 5.44
• 5.24
• 4.50
• 4.44
• 4.00
• 3.69
• 3.50
• 2.32
• 2.00

Coventry

• 10.13
• 6.18
• 5.94
• 5.26
• 5.00
• 4.94
• 4.18
• 3.84
• 3.66
• 3.11

Crystal Palace

• 9.67
• 8.75
• 8.00
• 7.33
• 5.89
• 5.85
• 5.50
• 4.86
• 4.43
• 3.50

Plymouth

• 8.11
• 7.38
• 6.37
• 5.96
• 4.60
• 4.53
• 4.00
• 3.56
• 3.14
• 2.67

Stamford Bridge

• 10.33
• 8.64
• 7.72
• 7.65
• 6.42
• 6.00
• 4.27
• 4.00
• 2.40
• 0.57

Wembley

• 10.40
• 8.17
• 7.68
• 7.30
• 6.95
• 6.92
• 6.90
• 6.67
• 6.29
• 6.12

West Ham

• 8.00
• 7.67
• 7.20
• 5.80
• 5.11
• 4.94
• 4.00
• 3.81
• 2.86

Wimbledon

• 10.42
• 9.50
• 6.62
• 5.76
• 5.22
• 5.02
• 2.74
• 2.70
• 1.71

See also

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

Notes and References

1. Book: Rogers, Martin. The Illustrated History of Speedway. 1978. 129. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. 0-904584-45-3.
2. Web site: Historic league tables. Speedway Archive.
3. Web site: BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - PRE-WAR ERA (1929-1939). British Speedway. 4 July 2021.
4. Web site: 1932 National Trophy. Speedway archive.
5. Web site: 1932 National Association Trophy. Speedway Researcher. 5 August 2021.