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1965 British League season

The 1965 British League season was the 31st season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom. It was also first known as the new British League which was formed in 1965, along with the British Speedway Promoters Association (BSPA). The league was an amalgamation of the National League and the Provincial League.

Summary

Norwich Stars had closed and therefore did not compete and Reg Fearman moved his Middlesbrough promotion to The Shay, which revived the Halifax Dukes who had last competed in the 1951 division 2.

West Ham Hammers were the first ever British League winners. It was their first league success since 1937. The West Ham team included Scot Ken McKinlay who finished the season third with an average of 10.72 and the Norwegian champion Sverre Harrfeldt who finished fifth in the averages. They were supported well by British internationals Norman Hunter and Malcolm Simmons. The West Ham team completed the double winning the British League Knockout Cup. In the final they defeated Exeter Falcons 63–33. The season was not a complete success because during a challenge match at West Ham Stadium a junior rider called David John Wills was killed in a race after a crash. West Ham also won the London Cup but the competition only had three teams competing.

Wimbledon Dons headed by leading Swedish rider Olle Nygren fought West Ham throughout the season and only lost the league by a single point.

Final table

<small>M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points</small>

Fixtures & results

Top Ten Riders (League Average)

Knockout Cup

West Ham Hammers won the Knockout Cup and completed the double of league and cup.

Riders' Championship

Barry Briggs won the British League Riders' Championship, held at Hyde Road on 16 October.

  • ef=engine failure, f=fell, exc=excluded

Final leading averages

London Cup

Results

Riders & final averages

Belle Vue

  • 9.65
  • 8.06
  • 7.52
  • 6.37
  • 6.03
  • 5.50
  • 5.25
  • 4.12
  • 4.10
  • 1.67

Coventry

  • 11.12
  • 8.74
  • 8.65
  • 6.30
  • 6.00
  • 4.27
  • 3.08
  • 2.12
  • 0.64

Cradley Heath

  • 9.27
  • 7.78
  • 7.63
  • 6.29
  • 5.87
  • 5.10
  • 5.09
  • 4.79
  • 3.35
  • 3.31
  • 2.89
  • 1.65

Edinburgh

  • 9.35
  • 7.34
  • 6.61
  • 5.42
  • 4.94
  • 4.83
  • 4.42
  • 4.17
  • 3.88
  • 2.50

Exeter

  • 9.24
  • 7.72
  • 7.62
  • 7.37
  • 6.05
  • 6.00
  • 6.00
  • 5.78
  • 4.36
  • 3.61

Glasgow

  • 10.28
  • 7.61
  • 7.16
  • 6.58
  • 6.12
  • 5.23
  • 4.76
  • 4.12

Hackney

  • 8.69
  • 8.51
  • 7.51
  • 6.79
  • 6.60
  • 5.49
  • 5.15
  • 5.04
  • 3.45

Halifax

  • 9.43
  • 9.06
  • 8.00
  • 7.29
  • 6.30
  • 4.91
  • 4.07
  • 4.00
  • 3.75
  • 2.93

Long Eaton

  • 7.96
  • (Kid Bodie) 6.84
  • 6.64
  • 6.55
  • 5.19
  • 5.08
  • 4.77
  • 3.45
  • 2.61

Newcastle

  • 8.76
  • 8.75
  • 7.35
  • 7.30
  • 6.23
  • 5.92
  • 5.77
  • 5.44
  • 2.92

Newport

  • 9.00
  • 7.90
  • 7.78
  • 7.74
  • 5.88
  • 5.77
  • 5.41
  • 4.88

Oxford

  • 10.16
  • 10.03
  • 9.90
  • 4.53
  • 4.51
  • 4.34
  • 4.25
  • 3.83
  • 3.32
  • 2.45
  • 1.71

Poole

  • 9.45
  • 9.07
  • 7.76
  • 7.43
  • 6.14
  • 5.52
  • 3.23
  • 3.04
  • 0.61

Sheffield

  • 8.69
  • 8.06
  • 7.43
  • 6.05
  • 5.63
  • 5.08
  • 4.54

Swindon

  • 10.93
  • 10.48
  • 8.83
  • 4.29
  • 4.00
  • 3.93
  • 3.24
  • 2.00
  • 1.47

West Ham

  • 10.83
  • 10.46
  • 9.42
  • 6.56
  • 4.65
  • 4.48
  • 3.65
  • 2.80
  • 2.40

Wimbledon

  • 10.22
  • 9.14
  • 8.55
  • 6.77
  • 6.01
  • 4.91
  • 2.60
  • 1.44

Wolverhampton

  • 8.70
  • 8.33
  • 8.19
  • 7.39
  • 7.20
  • 6.98
  • 5.64
  • 4.62

See also

References