The 1961 Provincial Speedway League was the second season of the Provincial League.
Summary Eleven speedway teams took part. Liverpool, Yarmouth and Bristol had all folded at the end of the previous season and Bradford were unable to take their place in the league after the construction of their new track was delayed.
Exeter, Plymouth, Wolverhampton, Middlesbrough and Newcastle all re-opened their tracks and joined the league for the start of the season. Plymouth took on Bristol's riders and Bulldog nickname. Poole were champions, finishing seven points ahead of runners up Plymouth. After a couple of challenge meetings held throughout 1960 Exeter returned following a five-year league absence under the promotion of Wally Mawdsley and Pete Lansdale.
Final table Pos Team M W D L Pts1 Poole Pirates 20 15 1 4 312 Plymouth Bulldogs 20 12 0 8 243 Stoke Potters 20 12 0 8 244 Cradley Heath Heathens 20 11 1 8 235 Rayleigh Rockets 20 11 0 9 226 Edinburgh Monarchs 20 10 1 9 217 Sheffield Tigers 20 10 0 10 208 Exeter Falcons 20 9 0 11 189 Wolverhampton Wolves 20 7 0 13 1410 Middlesbrough Bears 20 6 1 13 1311 Newcastle Diamonds 20 5 0 15 10 M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points
Fixtures and results
Top Five Riders (League only) Rider Nat Team C.M.A. 1 Reg Reeves Rayleigh 11.43 2 Jack Scott Plymouth 11.08 3 Ken Middleditch Poole 10.55 4 Ross Gilbertson Poole 10.51 5 Tony Lewis Poole 10.32
Provincial League Knockout Cup The 1961 Provincial League Knockout Cup was the second edition of the Knockout Cup for the Provincial League teams. Cradley Heathens were the winners.
First round Date Team one Score Team two13/05Stoke 53–41 Middlesbrough19/05Rayleigh 50–46 Exeter
Second round Date Team one Score Team two18/05Sheffield 43–53 Plymouth21/06Poole 71–25 Wolverhampton24/06Stoke 46–50 Cradley Heath17/07Edinburgh 49–47 Rayleigh
Semifinals Date Team one Score Team two29/07Cradley Heath 55–41 Poole12/08Edinburgh 55–40 Plymouth
Final First leg
Second leg
Riders' Championship Reg Reeves won the Riders' Championship. The final was held at Harringay Stadium on 16 September in front of 20,000 spectators. Defending champion Trevor Redmond suffered a broken chain in his last race when leading Reeves, which prevented him from winning the title again.
Pos. Rider Pts Total1 Reg Reeves 3 3 3 3 3 152 Trevor Redmond 3 3 3 3 ef 123 Maury Mattingley 3 2 1 3 3 124 Jack Scott 2 3 2 2 2 115 Stan Stevens 2 1 2 2 3 116 Ivor Brown 3 3 2 ef 3 117 Harry Bastable 1 2 3 2 2 108 Graham Warren 1 1 2 f 2 69 Ken Middleditch 0 1 1 1 2 510 Len Silver 2 2 0 0 1511 Pete Lansdale 0 2 2 1 0 512 Tony Lewis exc 0 1 3 1 513 Vic Ridgeon 2 1 0 1 1 414 Rick France 1 0 0 2 0 315 Eric Boothroyd 2 0 1 1 0 316 Peter Jarman f 0 0 f 1 1 f=fell, r-retired, exc=excluded, ef=engine failure
Riders & final averages
Cradley Heath
10.14 8.88 7.54 7.14 6.15 5.97 5.29 5.04 4.44 4.00 2.97
Edinburgh
9.65 8.42 7.41 6.55 5.83 5.72 4.20
Exeter
9.33 8.81 8.12 8.00 7.66 6.75 4.90 3.84 3.60 2.25
Middlesbrough
9.05 8.50 7.50 7.00 6.49 6.18 5.65 5.56 4.42 4.00 3.83 (Jack Thorp) 3.78
Newcastle
8.65 7.05 (Jack Thorp) 5.85 5.67 5.55 George Glen 4.85 4.65 2.61
Plymouth
11.08 9.38 8.92 6.86 6.03 4.41 Chris Blewett 4.14 3.36 1.23
Poole
10.55 10.51 10.32 7.80 6.32 5.88 4.68
Rayleigh
11.43 8.53 8.44 6.68 5.12 4.89 4.39 4.36
Sheffield
9.64 9.59 8.80 7.20 6.97 6.86 6.27 6.21 3.64 3.40
Stoke
9.60 9.50 8.64 8.59 8.44 7.63 6.97 6.92 5.23 5.22 3.86 3.00 2.32
Wolverhampton
10.00 8.33 6.92 6.45 6.24 5.39 4.97 4.73 4.67 (Kid Bodie) 4.62 2.53 2.46
See also List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions Knockout Cup (speedway)
References