1974 British League season

The 1974 British League season was the tenth season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1]

1974 British League season

League	British League
Season	1974
Champions	Exeter Falcons
No. of competitors	17
Knockout Cup	Sheffield Tigers
Division/s below	British League (Div 2)

Summary

1973 Champions Reading didn't compete as they no longer had a stadium. Hull Vikings replaced them. The league was reduced to seventeen teams when the Coatbridge Tigers dropped down to Division Two. Overseas riders that rode in other leagues abroad were banned which meant that top Swedish riders such as Anders Michanek, Bernt Persson, Tommy Jansson and Christer Lofqvist didn't compete.

The Exeter Falcons won their first title. At the end of the season Oxford Rebels finished four points above the Hull Vikings courtesy of a protest over Hull's victory against the Rebels. Hull were later re-awarded the points after a close season hearing and moved above the Rebels.

Final table

Team	PL	W	D	L	Pts
Exeter Falcons	32	25	1	6	51
Belle Vue Aces	32	23	0	9	46
Ipswich Witches	32	22	1	9	45
Sheffield Tigers	32	21	0	11	42
King's Lynn Stars	32	20	1	11	41
Newport	32	17	3	12	37
Halifax Dukes	32	14	3	15	31
Wimbledon Dons	32	14	1	17	29
Hackney Hawks	32	13	2	17	28
Leicester Lions	32	13	1	18	27
Wolverhampton Wolves	32	13	1	18	27
Swindon Robins	32	12	2	18	26
Cradley United	32	12	1	19	25
Poole Pirates	32	12	1	19	25
Coventry Bees	32	12	0	20	24
Hull Vikings	32	10	0	22	20
Oxford Rebels	32	10	0	22	20

M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points

Top Ten Riders

	Rider	Nat	Team	C.M.A.
1	Ole Olsen		Wolverhampton Wolves	11.21
2	Ivan Mauger		Exeter Falcons	11.15
3	Phil Crump		Newport	10.77
4	Peter Collins		Belle Vue Aces	10.73
5	John Louis		Ipswich Witches	10.73
6	Terry Betts		King's Lynn Stars	10.26
7	Dag Lövaas		Hackney Hawks	10.15
8	Martin Ashby		Swindon Robins	10.10
9	John Boulger		Cradley United	9.94
10	Eric Boocock		Halifax Dukes	9.92

British League Knockout Cup

The 1974 British League Knockout Cup was the 36th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Sheffield were the winners.[2]

First Round

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
20/04	Cradley United	40-38	Wolverhampton
19/04	Ipswich	50-28	Oxford
12/04	Wolverhampton	48-30	Cradley United
21/03	Oxford	40-37	Ipswich

Second Round

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
07/06	Wolverhampton	36-42	Kings Lynn
04/06	Wimbledon	38-40	Ipswich
30/05	Ipswich	52-26	Wimbledon
29/05	Hull	38-40	Sheffield
25/05	Coventry	42-36	Leicester
22/05	Belle Vue	53-25	Halifax
18/05	Kings Lynn	45-33	Wolverhampton
17/05	Hackney	40-38	Poole
15/05	Poole	42-36	Hackney
13/05	Halifax	35-43	Belle Vue
09/05	Sheffield	52-26	Hull
07/05	Leicester	43-35	Coventry
27/04	Swindon	40-38	Newport
26/04	Newport	42-36	Swindon

Quarter Finals

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
31/07	Poole	38-40	Kings Lynn
20/07	King's Lynn	38-40	Poole
16/07	Leicester	38-40	Ipswich
08/07	Sheffield	46-32	Newport
06/07	Belle Vue	44-32	Exeter
05/07	Newport	35-43	Sheffield
20/06	Ipswich	42-36	Leicester
10/06	Exeter	46-32	Belle Vue
24/08	Kings Lynn	42-36	Poole
21/08	Poole	45-32	Kings Lynn

Semi Finals

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
09/09	Sheffield	46-32	Poole
04/09	Poole	37-40	Sheffield
29/08	Ipswich	50-28	Exeter
19/08	Exeter	42-36	Ipswich

Final

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
07/10	Sheffield	49-29	Ipswich
06/10	Ipswich	37-41	Sheffield

See also

List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions

References

1. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
2. "1974 British League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.