1977 National League season

The 1977 National League was contested as the second division of Speedway in the United Kingdom.[1]

1977 National League season

League	National League
Season	1977
Champions	Eastbourne Eagles
No. of competitors	19
Knockout Cup	Eastbourne Eagles
Division/s above	1977 British League

Summary

Newport had moved down from the British League. Their riders were transferred to Bristol Bulldogs but they acquired new riders and were renamed Newport Dragons. Paisley Lions dropped out so the league had 19 teams, the same as the previous season. Part way through the season, Coatbridge Tigers relocated and changed name to Glasgow Tigers.

Eastbourne Eagles won the National League title, completing a league and cup double.

Final table

Team	PL	W	D	L	Pts
Eastbourne Eagles	36	29	0	7	58
Rye House Rockets	36	24	3	9	51
Ellesmere Port Gunners	36	22	2	12	46
Canterbury Crusaders	36	23	0	13	46
Peterborough Panthers	36	22	0	14	44
Newcastle Diamonds	36	21	1	14	43
Boston Barracudas	36	20	0	16	40
Mildenhall Fen Tigers	36	16	4	16	36
Teesside Tigers	36	17	1	18	35
Crayford Kestrels	36	17	0	19	34
Glasgow Tigers	36	16	0	20	32
Newport Dragons	36	16	0	20	32
Oxford Cheetahs	36	15	1	20	31
Scunthorpe Saints	36	15	1	20	31
Edinburgh Monarchs	36	15	0	21	30
Workington Comets	36	14	1	21	29
Weymouth Wizards	36	11	3	22	25
Berwick Bandits	36	11	1	24	23
Stoke Potters	36	9	0	27	18

Top Five Riders

	Rider	Nat	Team	C.M.A.
1	Tom Owen		Newcastle Diamonds	11.01
2	Colin Richardson		Eastbourne Eagles	10.70
3	Martin Yeates		Oxford Cheetahs	10.59
4	John Jackson		Ellesmere Port Gunners	10.22
5	Mike Sampson		Eastbourne Eagles	10.18

National League Knockout Cup

The 1977 National League Knockout Cup was the tenth edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Eastbourne Eagles were the winners of the competition.[2]

First Round

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
03/04	Eastbourne	55-23	Canterbury
23/04	Canterbury	26-52	Eastbourne
14/04	Oxford	44-34	Rye House
17/04	Rye House	44-34	Oxford
22/04	Edinburgh	48-30	Scunthorpe
25/04	Scunthorpe	43-34	Edinburgh
02/06 replay	Oxford	45-32	Rye House
29/05 replay	Rye House	42-36	Oxford

Second Round

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
15/05	Eastbourne	54-23	Crayford
03/05	Crayford	35-43	Eastbourne
22/05	Newcastle	49-29	Glasgow
29/04	Glasgow	47-30	Newcastle
17/05	Ellesmere Port	46-32	Workington
03/06	Workington	42-36	Ellesmere Port
12/06	Oxford	50-28	Newport
23/06	Newport	41-37	Oxford
28/05	Berwick	46-32	Teesside
02/06	Teesside	44-34	Berwick
27/05	Edinburgh	44-34	Stoke
21/05	Stoke	40-38	Edinburgh
22/05	Boston	43-34	Weymouth
24/05	Weymouth	35-43	Boston
20/05	Peterborough	44-34	Mildenhall
22/05	Mildenhall	38-40	Peterborough

Quarter Finals

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
10/07	Eastbourne	54-24	Newcastle
08/08	Newcastle	34-43	Eastbourne
26/07	Ellesmere Port	46½-31½	Oxford
14/07	Oxford	37-41	Ellesmere Port
25/06	Berwick	46-32	Edinburgh
15/07	Edinburgh	41-37	Berwick
17/07	Boston	45-33	Peterborough
01/07	Peterborough	40-38	Boston

Semi Finals

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
25/09	Eastbourne	57-21	Ellesmere Port
02/09	Ellesmere Port	50-28	Eastbourne
27/08	Berwick	45-33	Boston
19/08	Boston	38-40	Berwick

Final

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
23/10	Eastbourne	61-16	Berwick
08/10	Berwick	37-41	Eastbourne

See also

List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions

References

1. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
2. "1977 National League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.