The Provincial League was a

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competition for speedway teams 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 ...

. The Provincial League created as a breakaway league from 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 ...

and continued for five seasons between 1960 and 1964.

History

The 'Provincial League' name had previously been used for the second tier of the National League in the 1930s, although the name was dropped after two seasons, when it was renamed to National League Division Two. The new Provincial League was formed in the winter of 1959/60, when a group of promoters dissatisfied with the declining National League decided to form a breakaway league. Manchester businessman and sometime midget car driver Mike Parker had run a number of pirate meetings at Liverpool and Bradford and was involved with one at Cradley Heath in the summer of 1959. Interest was aroused by many people and a meeting was called in Manchester for like-minded people. A number of promoters and former riders including

Reg Fearman Reg Fearman (born 26 April 1933 in London, England) is a former international speedway rider and promoter. Riding career He first received his speedway licence on his sixteenth birthday, presented to him in front of a forty thousand strong ...

and Ian Hoskins met to discuss re-introducing speedway to lapsed venues and form a strong League and Promoters Association. The Provincial League was formed under the rules of the

Speedway Control Board The Speedway Control Bureau (SCB), known as the Speedway Control Board between 1948 and 2002, governs the sport of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom on behalf of the Auto Cycle Union (ACU). The directors are appointed by the ACU and Bri ...

(SCB) and

Auto Cycle Union The Auto-Cycle Union (ACU) is the governing body of motorcycle sport in Great Britain, including the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, but excluding Northern Ireland.

(ACU). The league re-introduced speedway to many lost venues (particularly outside of London) and was a mostly a success, with crowds often outstripping the

, with its established star names like

Peter Craven Peter Theodore Craven
, fansite biography by Jim Blanchard. (accessed 12 July 2006). (21 June 1934 – 2 ...

of Belle Vue, and Swedish star Ove Fundin of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the Episcopal see, See of ...

. In 1964 the Provincial League operated outside of Speedway Control Board authority following a major dispute over how Speedway should be run. The controversy was brought about by the refusal of

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunians ...

to move up to the National League, which only had six teams at the time, after winning the Provincial League title in 1963. This caused a split between the leagues, and the Provincial League was outlawed by the Speedway Control Board and all National League riders were forbidden to ride on Provincial tracks. Provincial League riders were warned by the Speedway Control board that they were in breach of ACU regulations and could be suspended from all competitive racing. They were also barred from the

World Speedway Championship The World Championship of Speedway is an international competition between the highest-ranked motorcycle speedway riders of the world, run under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). The first official championsh ...

. The Provincial League objected and went

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the 1964 season, racing under their own rules and arbitrator, and appointing their own officials and referees. An enquiry was held that year set up by the

Royal Automobile Club The Royal Automobile Club is a British private social and athletic club. It has two clubhouses: one in London at 89 Pall Mall, and the other in the countryside at Woodcote Park, near Epsom in Surrey. Both provide accommodation and a range ...

(RAC) and chaired by

Lord Shawcross Hartley William Shawcross, Baron Shawcross, (4 February 1902 – 10 July 2003), known from 1945 to 1959 as Sir Hartley Shawcross, was an English barrister and Labour politician who served as the lead British prosecutor at the Nuremberg War C ...

who decided that the SCB was acting illegally. He recommended that the SCB be re-formed with a new Secretary/Manager and a new Chairman appointed from the RAC. During the winter of 1964/65, meetings were held between the promoters of the two leagues and the SCB led to a reconciliation between the two bodies and the merger of the two leagues leading to the establishment of a single 18 team

British League The British League was the main motorcycle speedway league in Britain from its formation in 1965 until 1995 when British speedway was restructured. It initially had a single division, with a second division starting in 1968 (which was renamed the ...

for the 1965 season. This reorganisation also led to the formation of the British Speedway Promoters Association.

Champions

Individual Riders Championship

References

{{Authority control Speedway leagues Speedway competitions in the United Kingdom

History

Champions

Individual Riders Championship

See also

References