Speedway Star World Ratings 1956-1966

[norbold 7,184]

Thanks for the info, BL.

 

I believe (if I remember right) that Bob Leverenz also made a very impressive transition to the First Division, being one of only four riders - along with Young, Ronnie Moore and Alan Hunt - to record a 10+ average in 1952.

[BOBBATH 467]

 

Statistics from the Speedway Researcher website show CMAs in league matches for Jack Young in 1951 (Edinburgh, Division 2) 11.72 and 1952 (West Ham, Division 1) 10.88, a very impressive transition to the higher division.

 

The CMA shown for Tommy Miller at Glasgow White City in 1951 is 10.70 and in the following two seasons for league matches 10.91 and 10.81, so no doubt the ranking was thoroughly justified. Sadly, his scoring declined significantly in the mid-50s after joining Motherwell and then Coventry.

 

Bob Leverenz achieved a CMA of 10.84 for Norwich in 1951 according to the Researcher website and he also reached the World Final that year, finishing in 8th position.

Hi BL65- I was on Speedway researcher website year by year section and it shows Jack Young in 1951 with a CMA of 11.63 not 11.72 and in 1952 with a CMA of 10.97 not 10.88-reckon maybe the ones I am using include more than NL League matches-although the title on both pages says NL Averages. Are you able to get to pages listing league matches only as you have different numbers-realise this is a nerd type comment but am trying to understand why your Speedway researcher website numbers are different from the ones I have.

[mickthemuppet 976]

That's not really very surprising given the dates of their respective careers.

I fail to understand what that has got to do with their head to heads

[stratton 1,491]

I fail to understand what that has got to do with their head to heads

Freddie was eight years older than Peter he finished in 1956, Peter rode another seven years until he was killed in 1963 only aged 29' probably nearing his peak so really you cannot compare them to be honest they were at different stages of there career's. I am sure if Freddie had have met Peter in those other seven years Craven would of won most of there battles. Edited November 18, 2015 by sidney

[BL65 658]

Hi BL65- I was on Speedway researcher website year by year section and it shows Jack Young in 1951 with a CMA of 11.63 not 11.72 and in 1952 with a CMA of 10.97 not 10.88-reckon maybe the ones I am using include more than NL League matches-although the title on both pages says NL Averages. Are you able to get to pages listing league matches only as you have different numbers-realise this is a nerd type comment but am trying to understand why your Speedway researcher website numbers are different from the ones I have.

 

Hi Bob. Under the Special Features section on the Researcher website the Riders Averages item shows a breakdown for each rider and a column for league averages only. In the details shown in the Year by Year section Jack Young is shown as scoring 404 points from 33 meetings, but this includes cup matches as there were only 30 league fixtures for each team in Division 2 that season, hence the difference between 11.72 for league and 11.63 for league and cup. Jack scored 339 points in 29 league matches and 65 in the cup, totalling 404.

[norbold 7,184]

I fail to understand what that has got to do with their head to heads

You don't surprise me.

[mickthemuppet 976]

You don't surprise me.

The year that peter Craven was world champion which was 1954 Freddie Williams met Peter craven eight times . Peter Craven won only two of those head to heads one of which was when Freddie Williams crashed with Jimmy Gooch

Through the 1950's Freddie Williams scored 1496 points over 7 seasons compared to Peter Craven scoring 1436 over nine seasons . FW won 2 world title during that period compared to PC one

Even in FW last season (1956) they met 4 times and the head to head was FW 3 PC 2

Overall there was very little between them ,possibly Peter Craven was slighly the better but during the 1950's FW was definately the better rider

.At least I saw all the riders in the 1950's ,I wonder if you saw any of them at all during that period.

[norbold 7,184]

Peter Craven won the World Title in 1955.

Edited November 18, 2015 by norbold

[The White Knight 9,039]

The year that peter Craven was world champion which was 1954 Freddie Williams met Peter craven eight times . Peter Craven won only two of those head to heads one of which was when Freddie Williams crashed with Jimmy Gooch

Through the 1950's Freddie Williams scored 1496 points over 7 seasons compared to Peter Craven scoring 1436 over nine seasons . FW won 2 world title during that period compared to PC one

Even in FW last season (1956) they met 4 times and the head to head was FW 3 PC 2

Overall there was very little between them ,possibly Peter Craven was slighly the better but during the 1950's FW was definately the better rider

.At least I saw all the riders in the 1950's ,I wonder if you saw any of them at all during that period.

Something doesn't add up mick. :unsure:

[BOBBATH 467]

 

Hi Bob. Under the Special Features section on the Researcher website the Riders Averages item shows a breakdown for each rider and a column for league averages only. In the details shown in the Year by Year section Jack Young is shown as scoring 404 points from 33 meetings, but this includes cup matches as there were only 30 league fixtures for each team in Division 2 that season, hence the difference between 11.72 for league and 11.63 for league and cup. Jack scored 339 points in 29 league matches and 65 in the cup, totalling 404.

Cheers mate, that explains it- thanx a million-I'm also glad to find out that I am not the only one interested in all these stats!!!

[BL65 658]

Cheers mate, that explains it- thanx a million-I'm also glad to find out that I am not the only one interested in all these stats!!!

 

Many, many years ago the mathematics teacher at my school was puzzled about the aptitude of a group of us who seemed to be surprisingly good at aspects of the subject. Every week we went into school with a copy of Speedway Star and spent the first hour updating the averages of all of the riders from the match reports. Two points - firstly, Bryan Seery (Seery's Statistics), you were an inspiration, secondly, it then came as a great shock many years later to discover that Speedway Star was not always 100% accurate!

[BOBBATH 467]

Re the posts about Jack Young, and Bob Leverenz making impressive leap to NL in 1952-the other guy who was a top NL2 rider but didn't move up was Tommy Miller, who seemed to lose his edge after Glasgow closed. I am interested whether anyone knows more about why he didn't go up with the others and also anything about his rapid decline in the mid fifties. -I think he may have passed away at a young age but am not sure-anybody out in forumland ever see Tommy ride??(or are we all too young)!!-for a while he seemed to be vying with Ken McKinlay as the top Scottish rider.

[norbold 7,184]

I'm not sure why Tommy Miller didn't fancy his chances in the higher league, but as far as the other two go, Jack Young really had no alternative as he was World Champion. It would have been very strange for him to have stayed in the second division. Bob Leverenz moved up because Norwich were promoted.

 

P.S. From Dick Barrie's Web Site:

"TOMMY MILLER They called him "Atomic Tommy" and he came from nowhere to zoom right to the top in a year and less. I first saw him as a second-half wobbler at the end of 1949, but he was a reserve when 1950 came around, in the team proper within the first month - and had bagged a couple of maximums and the track record by June! For the next three seasons, wee Tommy was the league's brightest star, succeeding Jack Young and Ken LeBreton (both also with Scottish tracks, of course) by the end of 1951. His mastery was total, it seemed - if he dropped a point, it was big news -- but after being sold on (to Motherwell, the club of his choice) in 1954, his descent was as sudden as his coming. Never accepted by the Eagles' fans, he moved to Coventry, then Oxford - but the new tyre regulations, and failing finances within the sport, saw Tommy out of racing by 1956. Plagued by ill-health, he died in the late 'sixties, having served one year (1964) as a referee, during the "black" PL administration's year of glory."

Edited November 20, 2015 by norbold

[BOBBATH 467]

I'm not sure why Tommy Miller didn't fancy his chances in the higher league, but as far as the other two go, Jack Young really had no alternative as he was World Champion. It would have been very strange for him to have stayed in the second division. Bob Leverenz moved up because Norwich were promoted.

 

P.S. From Dick Barrie's Web Site:

 

"TOMMY MILLER They called him "Atomic Tommy" and he came from nowhere to zoom right to the top in a year and less. I first saw him as a second-half wobbler at the end of 1949, but he was a reserve when 1950 came around, in the team proper within the first month - and had bagged a couple of maximums and the track record by June! For the next three seasons, wee Tommy was the league's brightest star, succeeding Jack Young and Ken LeBreton (both also with Scottish tracks, of course) by the end of 1951. His mastery was total, it seemed - if he dropped a point, it was big news -- but after being sold on (to Motherwell, the club of his choice) in 1954, his descent was as sudden as his coming. Never accepted by the Eagles' fans, he moved to Coventry, then Oxford - but the new tyre regulations, and failing finances within the sport, saw Tommy out of racing by 1956. Plagued by ill-health, he died in the late 'sixties, having served one year (1964) as a referee, during the "black" PL administration's year of glory."

Thanks norbold for updating the info re TM-think he also but not quite came close to qualifying for the World Final a couple of times

[BL65 658]

... after being sold on (to Motherwell, the club of his choice) in 1954, his descent was as sudden as his coming. Never accepted by the Eagles' fans, he moved to Coventry

 

Tommy Miller may not have been quite as dominant in the early part of the 1954 season for Motherwell as he had been in his Glasgow career, but he was not exactly a failure. Information on the Speedway Researcher website shows that during his time with the Eagles his record (including where paid for a first or second place) was 85 rides, 58 first places, 13 second places, 5 third places, 3 last places, 4 machine failures, one fall and one non-finish. This included a meeting at Oxford where he fell in his first ride, then gained two 3rd places before failing to finish his last race. In the next away meeting at Swindon he recorded a second and two third places before missing his scheduled 4th ride, maybe suffering the effects of the crash at Oxford. Tommy's next and final home meeting, against Bristol, saw him gain a win and two second places, followed by machine failure. (He may well have been less than fully fit in these 3 meetings, although he did manage 11 from 4 rides at Bristol the day after the Oxford meeting).

 

Ignoring his performances in the meetings against Oxford, Swindon and Bristol, Tommy won (including paid wins) 76% of his races in all other meetings for Motherwell and his CMA in those other meetings was 10.40.

 

After joining Coventry in August 1954, ignoring meetings against First Division opposition, Tommy won (including paid wins) 64% of his races for the Bees, with a CMA of 9.76. 32 out of 50 races were won (including paid wins), with 11 seconds, 4 thirds, 2 last places and an exclusion for unfair riding. Tommy did not enjoy a return visit to Oxford as he managed just 6 points from 5 rides. The Oxford meeting significantly affected his overall average, which was otherwise 10.40 (exactly the same as he achieved in the meetings referred to for Motherwell).

 

It is probably fair to conclude that Tommy Miller's scoring decline started in 1955 rather than 1954. Inconsistency throughout 1955 saw his average fall, with a good proportion of high scores interspersed with some disappointingly low returns. Three poor scores at Oxford again suggest that Tommy did not enjoy his visits there.

 

After some high scores and more inconsistency in the early part of the 1956 season, including another two poor returns for the Bees at Oxford, Tommy's scoring dipped and he moved to, of all places, Oxford in July. The move to Cowley was a disaster and his top score at home was 9 plus one bonus from 5 rides.