The 1929 English Dirt Track League was the inaugural season of speedway in the United Kingdom, featuring from Northern England. In the same year, the 1929 Speedway Southern League also commenced, catering to teams from Southern England The sport had been introduced to England in 1928 at High Beech Speedway.
The season was marked by mid-season withdrawals, but Leeds were ultimately crowned champions. In 1930, the league was renamed the Northern League, thus existing for only one year. White City Speedway (Manchester) withdrew from the league following a dispute and would have been crowned champions if they had not withdrawn. At the time of their departure, they were leading the table by four points, having won 18 of their 20 matches.
The introduction of speedway in Middlesbrough at the Cleveland Park Stadium was a success with the team holding their first home fixture was on 16 May 1929 against Salford. However, on 12 July 1929, Dennis Atkinson suffered critical injuries following an accident at Cleveland Park, riding in a Golden Helmet meeting. He died the following day.
Withdrawals (Records expunged) :
First round
Second round
Semifinals
First leg
Second leg
Preston were Knockout Cup winners, winning on aggregate 87âÂÂ39.
Barnsley
Halifax
Leeds
Leicester
Liverpool
Manchester White City (withdrew)
Middlesbrough
Newcastle
Preston
Rochdale
Salford
Sheffield
Warrington (withdrew)