1931 Speedway Southern League

The 1931 Southern League was the third season of 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]

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

Summary

Both Birmingham teams based at Perry Barr and Hall Green had left as had Coventry who returned mid-season to replace Leicester who were liquidated in April. 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[5] 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.[6]

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 Hammers 10.41
2 Dicky Case Wimbledon Dons 10.14
3 Jack Parker Southampton Saints 10.02
4 Frank Arthur Stamford Bridge Pensioners 9.97
5 Vic Huxley Harringay Canaries/Wimbledon Dons 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.[7]

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

First leg
Wembley Lions
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 Pensioners
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
[8]

Second leg
Stamford Bridge Pensioners
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 Lions
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
[8]

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

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. Speedway Researcher
  6. "Indian Allen". Motorsport Memorial. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  7. "1931 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  8. "1931 National Trophy" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
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