The Big Split

     The 1963 season ended on a very low note for the National League. Along with the rest of the speedway world, they were mourning the loss of Peter Craven, tragically killed in a track crash at Edinburgh. The news was also breaking that Southampton’s Bannister Court stadium had been sold for redevelopment. Unlike the Provincial League which had always managed to come up with replacement tracks when venues closed, the National League seemed locked in a downward spiral with New Cross, Ipswich and now Southampton all pulling out of the league. There were now only six NL tracks – Belle Vue, Coventry, Oxford, Swindon, Norwich and Wimbledon. The New Year brought even more disturbing news. Belle Vue were considering joining the Provincial League. It would seem they had been talked out of it when the SCB issued their plans for the 1964 season, the major point of which was that Wolverhampton, the 1963 PL champions would be lining up in the NL. “Not so!” said Wolves promoter and PLPA chairman Mike Parker, claiming it would increase their costs by over five thousand pounds over the course of a season. The rebuffed SCB came back with the idea that the ten PL teams who had completed the 1963 season would join with the six NL teams for one big league of sixteen. Again this was refused by the PLPA who had already laid plans of their own for 1964, with new tracks at Glasgow, Sunderland and Newport swelling their numbers. Parker suggested the NL should do likewise and go and find new centres of their own. He also offered to send a PL select, the Provincial League Lions, to ride in meetings at NL tracks. This was refused by the SCB who stated that the PL would be riding “black” and that their riders would have their licences revoked.

Who’ll Blink First?

It was now a test of nerve, watching to see who would blink first. Two weeks before the season started, the PL promoters held a meeting with the top PL riders in the Midlands and outlined what riding “black” would mean. Interestingly, it was stated that “it would all blow over before the World Championship rounds started”. This would prove a deep bone of contention between Ivan Mauger and Mike Parker, although it has to be said that few other PL riders were too concerned about this. There were rumours of the NL opening tracks at West Ham, Wembley, Rayleigh and Reading, with the latter being a non league circuit. As it turned out, only West Ham, funded by Coventry Speedway Ltd, actually opened. The SRA had initially taken the stance that none of their riders should ride in either league until the matter was resolved. Unsurprisingly that received little enthusiastic support.

The PL season opened down in Exeter in mid March when Exeter raced a Cradley Select. Neither Ivor Brown nor Eric Hockaday turned out for Cradley. Brown was reportedly taken sick en route, while Hockaday seemed to be following the SRA line. Ivan Mauger had been booked to ride in the second half and travelled down to the County Ground to explain publicly why he wasn’t riding that night. However things had crystallised by the time the teams met in the return leg five nights later. Brown turned out for the Heathens and Mauger fulfilled his second half booking with only Hockaday  “waiting to see what happens”. Both NL and PL teams were planning to use guests until the situation became clearer