1968 British League season

The 1968 British League season was the fourth season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1]

1968 British League season

League	British League
Season	1968
Champions	Coventry Bees
No. of competitors	19
Knockout Cup	Wimbledon Dons
Division/s below	British League (Div 2)

Summary

Edinburgh relocated to become the Coatbridge Monarchs. The Long Eaton team closed its doors, but a new team in Leicester returned to Speedway to join the League. Coventry Bees secured their first title on points scored in the last heat of their last match away at King's Lynn.

Final table

		M	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Coventry Bees	36	22	0	14	1436	1369	44
2	Hackney Hawks	36	21	2	13	1421	1383	44
3	Exeter Falcons	36	20	1	15	1556.5	1248.5	41
4	Sheffield Tigers	36	20	1	15	1463.5	1337.5	41
5	Newcastle Diamonds	36	20	0	16	1454	1350	40
6	West Ham Hammers	36	19	1	16	1454	1348	39
7	Halifax Dukes	36	19	1	16	1424	1379	39
8	Coatbridge Monarchs	36	18	1	17	1404	1397	37
9	Wimbledon Dons	36	18	0	18	1411	1384	36
10	Belle Vue Aces	36	18	0	18	1387	1417	36
11	Swindon Robins	36	17	1	18	1448	1353	35
12	Leicester Lions	36	17	1	18	1373	1430	35
13	Newport Wasps	36	17	1	18	1348	1457	35
14	Cradley Heath Heathens	36	15	4	17	1373	1430	34
15	Oxford Cheetahs	36	17	0	19	1319	1487	34
16	Wolverhampton Wolves	36	16	0	20	1388	1413	32
17	Poole Pirates	36	13	2	21	1327	1478	28
18	King's Lynn Stars	36	13	1	22	1330	1473	27
19	Glasgow Tigers	36	13	1	22	1312	1495	27

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

Top Ten Riders

	Rider	Nat	Team	C.M.A.
1	Ivan Mauger		Newcastle Diamonds	11.40
2	Barry Briggs		Swindon Robins	10.88
3	Nigel Boocock		Coventry Bees	10.79
4	Martin Ashby		Exeter Falcons	10.68
5	Charlie Monk		Sheffield Tigers	10.14
6	Eric Boocock		Halifax Dukes	10.13
7	Anders Michanek		Leicester Lions	10.07
8	Norman Hunter		West Ham Hammers	9.94
9	Sverre Harrfeldt		West Ham Hammers	9.88
10	Torbjorn Harryson		Newport Wasps	9.82

British League Knockout Cup

The 1968 British League Knockout Cup was the 30th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Wimbledon were the winners.[2]

First Round

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
27/04	Coatbridge	66-42	Glasgow
27/04	Halifax	57-51	Exeter
16/04	West Ham	55-52	Hackney

Second Round

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
01/06	Belle Vue	64-44	West Ham
14/05	Leicester	52-56	Coventry
20/05	Newcastle	77-30	Coatbridge
23/05	Sheffield	71-37	Cradley Heath
25/05	Swindon	58-50	Oxford
23/05	Wimbledon	60-48	Kings Lynn
22/05	Poole	56-52	Newport
17/05	Wolverhampton	60-47	Halifax

Third Round

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
17/08	Belle Vue	65-42	Sheffield
26/07	Poole	54-54	Swindon
27/06	Wimbledon	64-44	Newcastle
28/06	Wolverhampton	58-50	Coventry
23/08 replay	Swindon	60-47	Poole

Semi Finals

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
20/09	Wolverhampton	67-40	Belle Vue
12/09	Wimbledon	80-28	Swindon

Final

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
18/10	Wolverhampton	53-55	Wimbledon
31/10	Wimbledon	63-45	Wolverhampton

See also

List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions

References

1. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
2. "1968 British League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.

• Cradley Heath Heathens