1931 Speedway Northern League

The 1931 Northern League was the third season of speedway racing in the United Kingdom for Northern British teams,[1] but the final season of the Northern League before amalgamation with the Southern League.[2]

1931 Speedway Northern League

League	Northern League
Season	1931
Champions	Belle Vue Aces
No. of competitors	6
Division/s other	1931 Southern League

Summary

Following the closure of several clubs from the previous season, only 6 sides started the season and only 4 finished it. There were many team changes from the previous season. Liverpool, Manchester White City, Warrington, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Rochdale Hornets, Barnsley and Wombwell were all no longer participants, while Leeds rejoined after a year's absence.[2]

Belle Vue Aces retained their title, Glasgow White City and Leicester Super withdrew in mid-season but their results stood.[2]

Final table

Team	PL	W	D	L	Pts
Belle Vue Aces	18	12	0	6	24
Leeds Lions	18	10	1	7	21
Sheffield	17	10	0	7	20
Leicester Super	15	8	0	7	16
Preston	18	5	1	10	11
Glasgow White City	12	2	0	10	8

Top Five Riders

		Team	C.M.A.
1	Eric Langton	Belle Vue Aces	11.28
2	Arthur Jervis	Leicester Super	10.14
3	Ginger Lees	Preston	10.06
4	Dusty Haigh	Sheffield	9.45
5	Joe Abbott	Preston	8.97

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.[3]

First Round

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
11/05	Wimbledon	67-26	Hall Green
12/05	West Ham	51-45	Southampton
13/05	Lea Bridge	59-33	Nottingham
14/05	Exeter	34-59	High Beech
14/05	Leicester Stadium	39.5-54.5	Stamford Bridge
15/05	Hall Green	42.5-49.5	Wimbledon
16/05	High Beech	61-33	Exeter
16/05	Southampton	42-49	West Ham
16/05	Stamford Bridge	59-35	Leicester Stadium
21/05	Nottingham	46-47	Lea Bridge

Second Round

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
25/05	Belle Vue	73-22	Wombwell
25/05	York	42-53	Leicester Super
26/05	Glasgow White City	43-52	Preston
28/05	Sheffield	54-40	Leeds
30/05	Leeds	39-52	Sheffield
30/05	Leicester Super	69-26	York
30/05	Wombwell	27-64	Belle Vue
04/06	Preston	70-26	Glasgow White City
08/06	Wimbledon	60-36	Crystal Palace
09/06	Harringay	?	Stamford Bridge
09/06	West Ham	44-52	Wembley
10/06	Lea Bridge	52-38	High Beech
11/06	Wembley	56-37	West Ham
13/06	Crystal Palace	48-48	Wimbledon
13/06	High Beech	55-39	Lea Bridge

Quarter Finals

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
02/07	Preston	65-31	High Beech
11/07	Belle Vue	50-46	Wimbledon
11/07	Sheffield	41-55	Wembley
16/07	Leicester Super	44-50	Stamford Bridge
18/07	High Beech	48-42	Preston
23/07	Wembley	70-25	Sheffield
27/07	Wimbledon	55-41	Belle Vue
19/08	Stamford Bridge	61-31	Leicester Super

Semi Finals

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
10/09	Preston	43-51	Stamford Bridge
17/09	Wembley	48-47	Wimbledon
21/09	Wimbledon	46-49	Wembley
26/09	Stamford Bridge	66-30	Preston

Final

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
08/10	Wembley	71-24	Stamford Bridge
10/10	Stamford Bridge	68-40	Wembley

See also

List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions

References

1. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
2. The Speedway Researcher Speedway Researcher. Retrieved December 30, 2011.
3. "1931 National Trophy". Speedway archive.