1979 British League season

The 1979 Gulf British League season was the 15th season on the British League, the top tier of speedway in the UK since 1965.[1]

1979 British League season

League	British League
Season	1979
Champions	Coventry Bees
No. of competitors	18
Knockout Cup	Cradley Heath Heathens
Division/s below	1979 National League

Summary

The league was sponsored by Gulf Oil for a fifth season. It comprised 18 teams - one fewer than the previous season. White City Rebels had folded and their riders became Eastbourne Eagles assets as Eastbourne were promoted from the National League. Bristol Bulldogs also dropped out after only two seasons back in the top flight. Coventry Bees won the league for the second year running. Hull Vikings' second place was their best ever finish.[2]

Final table

Team	PL	W	D	L	Pts
Coventry Bees	34	26	0	8	52
Hull Vikings	34	24	2	8	50
Cradley Heath Heathens	34	24	0	10	48
King's Lynn Stars	34	22	1	11	45
Exeter Falcons	33	20	0	13	40
Halifax Dukes	34	18	0	16	36
Reading Racers	34	17	0	17	34
Swindon Robins	33	15	3	15	33
Wimbledon Dons	34	16	1	17	33
Belle Vue Aces	34	14	4	16	32
Wolverhampton Wolves	34	15	1	18	31
Poole Pirates	34	14	3	17	31
Sheffield Tigers	34	14	2	18	30
Birmingham Brummies	34	13	2	19	28
Ipswich Witches	34	12	2	20	26
Eastbourne Eagles	34	10	2	22	22
Leicester Lions	34	10	0	24	20
Hackney Hawks	34	9	1	24	19

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

Top Ten Riders

	Rider	Nat	Team	C.M.A.
1	Scott Autrey		Exeter Falcons	10.91
2	Ivan Mauger		Hull Vikings	10.54
3	Phil Crump		Swindon Robins	10.36
4	Michael Lee		King's Lynn Stars	10.29
5	John Davis		Reading Racers	10.22
6	Hans Nielsen		Wolverhampton Wolves	10.16
7	Gordon Kennett		Eastbourne Eagles	10.13
8	Ole Olsen		Coventry Bees	10.03
9	Bruce Penhall		Cradley Heathens	10.02
10	Dave Jessup		King's Lynn Stars	9.80

British League Knockout Cup

The 1979 British League Knockout Cup was the 41st edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Cradley Heath were the winners.[3]

First Round

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
16/06	Cradley Heath	66-42	Leicester
29/05	Leicester	40-68	Cradley Heath
20/04	Eastbourne	65-43	Ipswich
19/04	Ipswich	53-54	Eastbourne

Second Round

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
10/09	Cradley Heath	78-29	Wimbledon
09/08	Wimbledon	54-53	Cradley Heath
06/07	Eastbourne	65-43	Reading
18/06	Birmingham	59-49	Swindon
16/06	Coventry	74-34	Poole
16/06	King's Lynn	53-55	Wolverhampton
16/06	Swindon	62-46	Birmingham
15/06	Poole	59-48	Coventry
15/06	Wolverhampton	56-52	King's Lynn
11/06	Reading	77-31	Eastbourne
02/06	Belle Vue	61-47	Exeter
01/06	Hull	81-25	Sheffield
31/05	Exeter	70-38	Belle Vue
31/05	Sheffield	60-48	Hull

Quarter Finals

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
24/09	Cradley Heath	71-37	Wolverhampton
21/09	Wolverhampton	52-56	Cradley Heath
20/08	Reading	53-55	Halifax
14/07	Halifax	79-29	Reading
03/08	Exeter	56-52	Swindon
18/07	Hull	75-34	Coventry
14/07	Coventry	60-48	Hull
14/07	Swindon	46-62	Exeter

Semi Finals

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
07/10	Halifax	49-59	Cradley Heath
06/10	Cradley Heath	43-23	Halifax
19/09	Hull	70-38	Exeter
17/09	Exeter	60-48	Hull

Final

Date	Team One	Score	Team Two
15/10	Cradley Heath	62-46	Hull
31/10	Hull	50-58	Cradley Heath

See also

List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions

References

1. "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
2. "1979 league tables". Speedway GB.
3. "1979 British League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.