The Northern League was founded in 1929 when it was known as the English Dirt Track League, the earliest league (along with the Southern League) in

speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cours ...

racing in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, comprising teams from Northern Britain. The addition of two Scottish teams prompted a name change in 1930. The league existed between 1929 and 1931, after which, with many teams folding, it was amalgamated with the Southern League to form the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

.Rogers, Martin (1978) ''The Illustrated History of Speedway'', Studio Publications, , p. 21 In the 1929 season, White City (Manchester) won all 18 matches but resigned from the league after a dispute, leaving

Leeds Lions Leeds Lions are a defunct British motorcycle speedway team who were based at Fullerton Park Sports Stadium, adjacent to the Elland Road football ground in Leeds, England. History Leeds Lions operated between 1928 and 1938. League racing firs ...

as champions. The season was beset with problems with Warrington being expelled, Bolton completing only one match before their fixtures were taken over by Hanley, and

Long Eaton Long Eaton is a town in the Erewash district of Derbyshire, England, just north of the River Trent, about south-west of Nottingham and some 8½ miles (13.7 km) south-east of Derby. The town population was 37,760 at the 2011 census. It has ...

entering the league but not completing a match. Belle Vue won the league in both 1930 and 1931. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

a one-off division 2 competition was held called the 1946 Speedway Northern League. This was effectively the National League Division 2 because it was sandwiched between the

1939 Speedway National League Division Two The 1939 National League Division Two was the second season of British speedway's National League Division Two. The season was never completed, due to the outbreak of World War II. Summary As with the previous season, there were several team ch ...

and the 1947 Speedway National League Division Two.

Middlesbrough Bears The Middlesbrough Bears were a British speedway team which operated under various names from 1939 until their closure in 1996. History The team was initially nicknamed the Bears in 1939 by the club's general manager Vic Wieland. The track at Cl ...

were the winners.

Champions

References

Speedway leagues Speedway competitions in the United Kingdom {{UK-motorcycle-speedway-competition-stub

Champions

See also

References