1974 British League season

1974 British League season

League	British League
Season	1974
Champions	Exeter Falcons
No. of competitors	17

The 1974 British League season was the tenth season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain. 1973 Champions Reading didn't compete as they no longer had a stadium. Hull Vikings replaced them. The league was reduced to seventeen teams when the Coatbridge Tigers dropped down to Division Two. Overseas riders that rode in other leagues abroad were banned which meant that top Swedish riders such as Anders Michanek, Bernt Persson, Tommy Jansson and Christer Lofqvist didn't compete.

The Exeter Falcons won their first title. At the end of the season Oxford Rebels finished four points above the Hull Vikings courtesy of a protest over Hull's victory against the Rebels. Hull were later re-awarded the points after a close season hearing and moved above the Rebels.

Final table

Team	PL	W	D	L	Pts
Exeter Falcons	32	25	1	6	51
Belle Vue Aces	32	23	0	9	46
Ipswich Witches	32	22	1	9	45
Sheffield Tigers	32	21	0	11	42
King's Lynn Stars	32	20	1	11	41
Newport	32	17	3	12	37
Halifax Dukes	32	14	3	15	31
Wimbledon Dons	32	14	1	17	29
Hackney Hawks	32	13	2	17	28
Leicester Lions	32	13	1	18	27
Wolverhampton Wolves	32	13	1	18	27
Swindon Robins	32	12	2	18	26
Cradley United	32	12	1	19	25
Poole Pirates	32	12	1	19	25
Coventry Bees	32	12	0	20	24
Hull Vikings	32	10	0	22	20
Oxford Rebels	32	10	0	22	20

M = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Total Points

Top Ten Riders

	Rider	Nat	Team	C.M.A.
1	Ole Olsen		Wolverhampton Wolves	11.21
2	Ivan Mauger		Exeter Falcons	11.15
3	Phil Crump		Newport	10.77
4	Peter Collins		Belle Vue Aces	10.73
5	John Louis		Ipswich Witches	10.73
6	Terry Betts		King's Lynn Stars	10.26
7	Dag Lövaas		Hackney Hawks	10.15
8	Martin Ashby		Swindon Robins	10.10
9	John Boulger		Cradley United	9.94
10	Eric Boocock		Halifax Dukes	9.92

Photos from 1974 are being uploaded to Wiki Common where they can be accessed to illustrate entries for 1974 teams and riders.