1991 British League season
League | British League |
---|---|
Champions | Wolverhampton Wolves |
No. of competitors | 13 |
Knockout Cup | Bradford Dukes |
Individual | Sam Ermolenko |
Highest average | Sam Ermolenko |
Division/s below | British League (Div 2) |
The 1991 British League season was the 57th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the 27th known as the British League.[1][2]
Summary
Wolverhampton Wolves won the league for the first time in their history. The club which was first founded in 1928 had only ever won the Provincial Midland League in 1962 and the Provincial League in 1963. They were led by their American star Sam Ermolenko, who became the first rider to push Hans Nielsen from the top of the averages after eight consecutive years at the top. The Wolves team relied on two more American riders, Ronnie Correy and Sam's younger brother Charles Ermolenko, in addition to Englishman Graham Jones to seal the title from Bradford. Bradford gained consolation by winning the Knockout Cup, led by English international pair Simon Wigg and Gary Havelock.[3][4]
Final table
Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | BP | Pts |
1 | Wolverhampton Wolves | 24 | 19 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 49 |
2 | Bradford Dukes | 24 | 15 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 43 |
3 | Cradley Heath Heathens | 24 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 10 | 41 |
4 | Belle Vue Aces | 24 | 12 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 33 |
5 | Berwick Bandits | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 6 | 32 |
6 | Ipswich Witches | 24 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 7 | 32 |
7 | Coventry Bees | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 6 | 30 |
8 | King's Lynn Stars | 24 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 30 |
9 | Oxford Cheetahs | 24 | 8 | 3 | 13 | 6 | 25 |
10 | Poole Pirates | 24 | 8 | 2 | 14 | 5 | 23 |
11 | Reading Racers | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 21 |
12 | Eastbourne Eagles | 24 | 6 | 3 | 15 | 3 | 18 |
13 | Swindon Robins | 24 | 5 | 1 | 18 | 2 | 13 |
M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points
Leading averages
Rider | Team | Average |
---|---|---|
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Wolverhampton | 10.74 |
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Oxford | 10.50 |
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Berwick | 9.92 |
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Bradford | 9.89 |
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Berwick | 9.63 |
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Wolverhampton | 9.58 |
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Cradley Heath | 9.54 |
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Eastbourne | 9.44 |
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Oxford | 9.12 |
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Kings Lynn | 9.06 |
British League Knockout Cup
The 1991 British League Knockout Cup was the 53rd edition of the Knockout Cup for tier one teams. Bradford Dukes were the winners.[5][4]
First Round
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
25/05 | Cradley Heath | 50-39 | Ipswich |
22/05 | Wimbledon | 52-38 | Kings Lynn |
20/05 | Reading | 48-42 | Poole |
16/05 | Ipswich | 46-44 | Cradley Heath |
13/05 | Wolverhampton | 50-40 | Oxford |
10/05 | Oxford | 49-41 | Wolverhampton |
30/04 | Poole | 47-43 | Reading |
27/04 | Kings Lynn | 40-50 | Wimbledon |
27/04 | Swindon | 46-44 | Belle Vue |
26/04 | Belle Vue | 55-35 | Swindon |
26/04 | Berwick | 47-43 | Coventry |
20/04 | Coventry | 46-44 | Berwick |
Quarter Finals
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
07/09 | Cradley Heath | 50-39 | Reading |
02/09 | Reading | 46-43 | Cradley Heath |
02/08 | Berwick | 43-47 | Bradford |
02/08 | Eastbourne | 50-40 | Reading |
16/07 | Bradford | 50-40 | Berwick |
01/07 | Reading | 56-34 | Eastbourne |
14/06 | Belle Vue | 44-46 | Wolverhampton |
10/06 | Wolverhampton | 42.5-47.5 | Belle Vue |
Semi Finals
Date | Team One | Score | Team Two |
---|---|---|---|
02/09 | Reading | 46-43 | Cradley |
07/09 | Cradley | 50-39 | Reading |
05/10 | Bradford | 56-34 | Belle Vue |
11/10 | Belle Vue | 51-39 | Bradford |
Final
First leg
Second leg
Bradford Dukes were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 97-83.
Teams
Belle Vue Aces
-
Frank Andersen
-
David Bargh
-
Neil Collins
-
Phil Disney
-
Nigel Leaver
-
Kelly Moran
-
Shawn Moran
-
Tony Olsson
-
Joe Screen
-
Paul Smith
-
Carl Stonehewer
-
Darren Sumner
Berwick Bandits
-
David Blackburn
-
Mikael Blixt
-
Rob Grant Sr.
-
Richard Knight
-
Kevin Little
-
Michael Lowrie
-
David Nagel
-
Jimmy Nilsen
-
Scott Robson
-
Frede Schött
-
Troy Scott
-
Fraser Smith
-
Kelvin Tatum
-
David Walsh
Bradford Dukes
-
Phil Disney
-
Glenn Doyle
-
Michael Graves
-
Gary Havelock
-
Craig Hodgson
-
Darren Pearson
-
Paul Thorp
-
Simon Wigg
-
Sean Wilson
Coventry Bees
-
Chris Clarence
-
Andy Hackett
-
David Haynes
-
John Jørgensen
-
Tommy Knudsen
-
Roman Matoušek
-
Andy Meredith
-
Rick Miller
-
Peter Ravn
-
Mark Robinson
-
Michael Warren
Cradley Heath
-
Anthony Boyd
-
Simon Cross
-
Wayne Garratt
-
Alan Grahame
-
Billy Hamill
-
Greg Hancock
-
Gert Handberg
-
Mark Meredith
-
Jan O. Pedersen
-
Mark Robinson
-
Scott Smith
Eastbourne Eagles
-
Armando Castagna
-
John Davis
-
Andy Grahame
-
Gordon Kennett
-
Steve Masters
-
Jesper Olsen
-
Bobby Ott
-
Deon Prinsloo
-
Nathan Simpson
-
Scott Swain
-
Neville Tatum
Ipswich Witches
-
Darren Fitch
-
Lawrence Hare
-
Ben Howe
-
Chris Louis
-
David Norris
-
Shane Parker
-
Tony Rickardsson
-
Alastair Stevens
-
Neville Tatum
-
Zdeněk Tesař
King's Lynn Stars
-
Bohumil Brhel
-
Kevin Brice
-
Armando Dal Chiele
-
Paul Fry
-
Jason Gage
-
Henka Gustaffson
-
Nigel Leaver
-
Michael Lee
-
Mark Loram
-
Dennis Lofqvist
-
Darren Spicer
Oxford Cheetahs
-
Dean Barker
-
Craig Boyce
-
Mark Carlson
-
Glenn Cunningham
-
Martin Dugard
-
Darren Grayling
-
Kieran McCullagh
-
Hans Nielsen
-
Tony Primmer
-
Peter Schroeck
-
Lance Sealey
-
Jon Surman
-
Spencer Timmo
Poole Pirates
-
Gary Allan
-
Glenn Allan
-
Marvyn Cox
-
Jason Crump
-
Peter Jeffery
-
Tom Knudsen
-
Tony Langdon
-
Mark Lemon
-
Steve Leigh
-
Mick Poole
-
Alun Rossiter
-
Steve Schofield
Reading Racers
-
Jan Andersson
-
Jeremy Doncaster
-
Jason Green
-
Scott Humphries
-
Tim Korneliussen
-
Sean McCullagh
-
Ray Morton
-
Phil Morris
-
Dave Mullett
-
Terry Mussett
-
Mitch Shirra
-
Davd Steen
-
Mike Tomlin
-
Todd Wiltshire
Swindon Robins
-
Leigh Adams
-
Morten Andersen
-
Steve Camden
-
Rod Colquhoun
-
Matthew Cross
-
John Davis
-
Paul Dugard
-
Brian Karger
-
Peter Nahlin
-
Andrew Silver
-
Andy Smith
-
Paul Smith
-
Dean Standing
Wimbledon Dons
(Eastbourne took over Wimbledon's fixtures mid-season)
Wolverhampton Wolves
-
Wayne Carter
-
Ronnie Correy
-
Charles Ermolenko
-
Sam Ermolenko
-
Graham Jones
-
Stephen Morris
-
Lars Munkedal
-
Scott Norman
-
Andy Phillips
See also
References
- ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
- ^ "HISTORY ARCHIVE". British Speedway. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- ^ "1991 league tables". Speedway GB.
- ^ a b "1991 Season Review". Cradley Speedway.
- ^ "1991 British League Knockout Cup". Speedway archive.