1960 Speedway National League Explained

The 1960 National League was the 26th season and the fifteenth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.^[1]

Summary

The number of competitors increased from nine to ten with New Cross Rangers returning after a seven-year absence, and Ipswich Witches returning after one year away replacing Poole Pirates who moved down to the newly formed Provincial League.^{[2] [3]}

Wimbledon Dons won their sixth title in just seven years.^[4]

Derek 'Tink' Maynard of the Belle Vue Aces was fatally injured in a crash at The Firs Stadium, on 23 July 1960. Maynard was competing in the second leg of the National Trophy against Norwich when Slant Payling lost control of his bike and it hit Maynard. Both riders were taken to Norwich Hospital but Maynard died the following morning.^[5]

Final table

Pos	Team	PL	W	D	L	Pts
1	Wimbledon Dons	17	13	0	4	26
2	Belle Vue Aces	18	11	1	6	23
3	Oxford Cheetahs	18	11	0	7	22
4	Ipswich Witches	18	10	0	8	20
5	Norwich Stars	17	8	1	8	17
6	Leicester Hunters	18	7	2	9	16
7	Southampton Saints	18	7	1	10	15
8	New Cross Rangers	18	7	1	10	15
9	Coventry Bees	18	7	0	11	14
10	Swindon Robins	18	5	0	13	10

Top Ten Riders (League only)

	Rider	Nat	Team	C.M.A.
1	Ove Fundin		Norwich	11.41
2	Peter Craven		Belle Vue	10.75
3	Ronnie Moore		Wimbledon	10.72
4	Björn Knutson		Southampton	10.08
5	Arne Pander		Oxford	10.06
6	Ken McKinlay		Leicester	9.98
7	Barry Briggs		New Cross	9.93
8	Peter Moore		Ipswich	9.89
9	Ron Johnston		Belle Vue	9.88
10	Olle Nygren		Southampton	9.40

National Trophy

The 1960 National Trophy was the 22nd edition of the Knockout Cup. Wimbledon were the winners.^[6]

First round

width=80	Date	width=250	Team one	width=80	Score	width=250	Team two
17/05	Southampton	55-53	Oxford
12/05	Oxford	54-54	Southampton
06/05	Leicester	52-56	Ipswich
05/05	Ipswich	64-44	Leicester

Second round

width=80	Date	width=250	Team one	width=80	Score	width=250	Team two
29/06	New Cross	61-46	Norwich
27/06	Wimbledon	73-34	Coventry
25/06	Belle Vue	71-37	Ipswich
25/06	Coventry	54-54	Wimbledon
25/06	Norwich	67-41	New Cross
25/06	Swindon	66-42	Southampton
23/06	Ipswich	52-56	Belle Vue
21/06	Southampton	55-52	Swindon

Semifinals

width=80	Date	width=250	Team one	width=80	Score	width=250	Team two
25/07	Wimbledon	71-36	Swindon
23/07	Norwich	65-41	Belle Vue
16/07	Belle Vue	66-42	Norwich
16/07	Swindon	48-60	Wimbledon
17/08 replay	Norwich	61-47	Belle Vue
26/08 replay	Belle Vue	53-55	Norwich

Final

First leg

Second leg

Wimbledon were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 115–101.

Midland Cup

Coventry won the Midland Cup, which consisted of four teams.^[7]

First round

width=150	Team one	width=150	Team two	width=120	Score
Coventry	Swindon	58–31, 32–58
Oxford	Leicester	45–45, 36–54

Final

First leg

Second leg

Coventry won on aggregate 92–87

Riders & final averages

Belle Vue

• 10.75
• 9.88
• 8.00
• 6.93
• 6.67
• 6.35
• 4.92
• 4.38
• 4.36
• 4.00
• 3.90
• 3.53

Coventry

• 9.01
• 8.31
• 7.37
• 6.60
• 5.79
• 5.63
• 5.50
• 5.13
• 4.18
• 3.60

Ipswich

• 9.89
• 6.86
• 6.67
• 6.00
• 5.80
• 5.60
• 4.71
• 4.50
• 4.12

Leicester

• 9.98
• 8.25
• 6.15
• 5.97
• 5.44
• 5.07
• 4.78
• 4.31
• 2.86

New Cross

• 9.93
• 9.33
• 7.32
• 6.08
• 4.96
• 3.74
• 3.57
• 3.43
• 3.00
• 2.93

Norwich

• 11.41
• 7.28
• 6.58
• 5.45
• 5.33
• 5.22
• 5.07
• 4.98
• 4.64
• 2.86
• 0.00

Oxford

• 10.06
• 8.41
• 7.95
• 7.32
• 5.53
• 5.05
• 4.92
• 4.87
• 4.67
• 4.59
• 2.44

Southampton

• 10.08
• 9.40
• 8.71
• 8.00
• 6.61
• 6.00
• 5.75
• 5.75
• 3.91
• 3.53
• 0.62
• injured after 2 matches

Swindon

• 8.33
• 8.00
• 6.92
• 6.85
• 6.74
• 4.68
• 4.19
• 3.60
• 2.45

Wimbledon

• 10.72
• 9.36
• 8.17
• 6.84
• 6.59
• 6.35
• 5.84
• 2.89
• 3.93

See also

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

Notes and References

1. Web site: Historic league tables. Speedway Archive.
2. Web site: Year by Year. Speedway Researcher. 12 August 2021.
3. Web site: BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964). Official British Speedway website. 12 August 2021.
4. Book: Rogers, Martin. The Illustrated History of Speedway. 1978. 129. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. 0-904584-45-3.
5. News: Speedway rider killed . Birmingham Daily Post . 25 July 1960 . 13 August 2021 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription .
6. Web site: 1960 National Trophy. Speedway archive.
7. News: Bees' Sparkling Win in Midland Cup Final . Coventry Evening Telegraph . 26 September 1960 . British Newspaper Archive. 19 October 2023 . subscription .