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Poole Pirates
Poole Pirates (also known as Poole Speedway) are a motorcycle speedway team based in Poole, England, competing in the SGB Championship. The club have been the champions of the United Kingdom on ten occasions.
Poole Speedway is promoted by local businessman Matt Ford and son Danny Ford, who took over promoting rights of the club in 1998. The team is managed by past rider and former Great Britain team manager Neil Middleditch. Poole Stadium (known as Wimborne Road when speedway takes place) has been home to the club since it was founded in 1948.
In 1947, Bournemouth based Exeter Falcons riders Tommy Crutcher and Charlie Hayden created a consortium, which also included Crutcher's brother Jack and Herby Hayden, with the aim of opening a speedway club closer to their home. The consortium applied to Poole Borough Council in 1947 to stage speedway racing in the town and the council approved their request on 6 January 1948.
The home ground of the Poole Pirates would be Poole Stadium, which had been used primarily by Poole Town F.C. up to that point. The cycle track around the football pitch was replaced by a speedway track in preparation for the 1948 Speedway National League Division Three season. The first fixture held by the team was away to Tamworth Hounds, on 14 April 1948 and the first home match followed shortly afterwards, on 26 April against Yarmouth Bloaters.
Terry Small was signed for 1949, as the team improved on their inaugural season by finishing sixth.
Tony Lewis and Ken Middleditch (the latter signed from Hastings) formed an effective pairing for the Pirates in 1950. Middleditch topped the league averages that season and led the Pirates to the runner-up position behind Oxford Cheetahs. Poole strengthened the team further by bringing in Brian Crutcher, Bill Holden and Roy Craighead, which resulted in the Pirates winning their first title in 1951 and subsequently being promoted to the National League Division Two. Crutcher became the first Poole rider to reach a World Speedway Final in 1952 and Ken Middleditch won the Riders' Championship.
Poole won the Division Two title and National Trophy (tier 2) double at the first attempt, but were denied first division status by the Speedway Control Board, who claimed that Poole were not a big enough club to be able to sustain top flight racing. The following two years (1953 and 1954) saw the Pirates narrowly finishing as Division Two runners up. Brian Crutcher left Poole for Wembley at the start of the 1953 season but Ken Middleditch won a second Riders' Championshiop in 1954.
In 1955, the Pirates again won the league and National Trophy double and were allowed promotion to division oOne of the National League, becoming the only club to ever have won promotion from the bottom league to the top tier. However, by the end of the 1956 season, the Poole promoters closed the club, blaming poor attendances and the introduction of fuel rationing due to the Suez Crisis. Despite losing their league status, Poole Stadium continued to stage meetings during 1957, including two National League meetings. Rayleigh Rockets promoter Vic Gooden took over the promoting rights of Poole at the end of the year and transferred his team to Poole, who rejoined the National League in 1958.
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Poole Pirates
Poole Pirates (also known as Poole Speedway) are a motorcycle speedway team based in Poole, England, competing in the SGB Championship. The club have been the champions of the United Kingdom on ten occasions.
Poole Speedway is promoted by local businessman Matt Ford and son Danny Ford, who took over promoting rights of the club in 1998. The team is managed by past rider and former Great Britain team manager Neil Middleditch. Poole Stadium (known as Wimborne Road when speedway takes place) has been home to the club since it was founded in 1948.
In 1947, Bournemouth based Exeter Falcons riders Tommy Crutcher and Charlie Hayden created a consortium, which also included Crutcher's brother Jack and Herby Hayden, with the aim of opening a speedway club closer to their home. The consortium applied to Poole Borough Council in 1947 to stage speedway racing in the town and the council approved their request on 6 January 1948.
The home ground of the Poole Pirates would be Poole Stadium, which had been used primarily by Poole Town F.C. up to that point. The cycle track around the football pitch was replaced by a speedway track in preparation for the 1948 Speedway National League Division Three season. The first fixture held by the team was away to Tamworth Hounds, on 14 April 1948 and the first home match followed shortly afterwards, on 26 April against Yarmouth Bloaters.
Terry Small was signed for 1949, as the team improved on their inaugural season by finishing sixth.
Tony Lewis and Ken Middleditch (the latter signed from Hastings) formed an effective pairing for the Pirates in 1950. Middleditch topped the league averages that season and led the Pirates to the runner-up position behind Oxford Cheetahs. Poole strengthened the team further by bringing in Brian Crutcher, Bill Holden and Roy Craighead, which resulted in the Pirates winning their first title in 1951 and subsequently being promoted to the National League Division Two. Crutcher became the first Poole rider to reach a World Speedway Final in 1952 and Ken Middleditch won the Riders' Championship.
Poole won the Division Two title and National Trophy (tier 2) double at the first attempt, but were denied first division status by the Speedway Control Board, who claimed that Poole were not a big enough club to be able to sustain top flight racing. The following two years (1953 and 1954) saw the Pirates narrowly finishing as Division Two runners up. Brian Crutcher left Poole for Wembley at the start of the 1953 season but Ken Middleditch won a second Riders' Championshiop in 1954.
In 1955, the Pirates again won the league and National Trophy double and were allowed promotion to division oOne of the National League, becoming the only club to ever have won promotion from the bottom league to the top tier. However, by the end of the 1956 season, the Poole promoters closed the club, blaming poor attendances and the introduction of fuel rationing due to the Suez Crisis. Despite losing their league status, Poole Stadium continued to stage meetings during 1957, including two National League meetings. Rayleigh Rockets promoter Vic Gooden took over the promoting rights of Poole at the end of the year and transferred his team to Poole, who rejoined the National League in 1958.