Liverpool Chads
| Liverpool Chads | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Club information | |
| Track address | Stanley Stadium Prescot Road Fairfield, Liverpool |
| Country | England |
| Founded | 1929 |
| Closed | 1960 |
| League | Northern League Provincial League National League |
Liverpool Chads are a defunct motorcycle speedway team who were based at the Stanley Stadium in Prescot Road, Fairfield, Liverpool, England.[1]
History
[edit]Speedway in Liverpool began in the summer of 1928 when a track was constructed inside the greyhound track at Stanley greyhound stadium. The sport which had recently been introduced to the United Kingdom from Australia, attracted an audience to the first practice on 21 August,[2] with a full race meeting held a few days later on 25 August.[3]
A Liverpool speedway's team was duly established and the first league racing took place in 1929, with the formation of the English Dirt Track League, effectively a Northern League, which ran alongside the Southern League. The Liverpool team's first fixture was a home match against Burnley on 4 May 1929.[4] The following year in 1930, the team competed in the Northern League and finished runner-up in the league that season.[5] Although declaring for the 1931 season the speedway ended at Stanley for several years, although there were events held at the rival track Seaforth Greyhound Stadium from 1934 to 1935.[6]
Speedway returned with the Liverpool Merseysiders for the start of the 1936 Provincial Speedway League season[7] and continued into 1937[8] but in mid-July the Liverpool promotion dropped out of the league due to financial problems and was replaced by the Belle Vue Aces promotion led by Mr E. C. Spence.[9] Belle Vue also had a team in the National League so at this point the Provincial League team were renamed the Belle Vue Merseysiders.[10]
The sport was revived in 1949 by James Baxter (a promoter at Southampton and Plymouth) who agreed a deal with the Electric Hare Greyhound Racing Ltd, the stadium owners.[11] The team's new nickname Liverpool Chads' referred to a popular piece of cartoon graffiti at the time known as a Chad. They opened again in the National League Division Three and were again based at Stanley Stadium, Liverpool.[12]
The team moved up to National League Division Two for the 1951 season and operated there until 1953 when the track closed, again in mid season. A new side now called Liverpool Eagles were created in 1957 but closed after a few meetings. A few open meetings were staged in 1959 and the club, now racing as the Liverpool Pirates, competed in the 1960 Provincial League.[13]
The club again closed at the end of the year and the Stanley Stadium was demolished and a fruit market was constructed on the site.[1][14]
Speedway was also staged in Liverpool in the 1930s at Seaforth Greyhound Stadium.
Notable riders
[edit]- Peter Craven (World Champion)[15]
- Oliver Hart
- Ginger Lees (rode in the first ever Speedway World Championship final in 1936)[16]
- Tommy Price
Season summary
[edit]| Year and league | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1929 Speedway English Dirt Track League | 8th | |
| 1930 Speedway Northern League | 2nd | |
| 1936 Provincial Speedway League | 4th | |
| 1937 Provincial Speedway League | 4th | withdrew, fixtures taken over by Belle Vue Aces |
| 1949 Speedway National League Division Three | 9th | |
| 1950 Speedway National League Division Three | 8th | |
| 1951 Speedway National League Division Two | 13th | |
| 1952 Speedway National League Division Two | 11th | |
| 1953 Speedway National League Division Two | N/A | withdrew, record expunged |
| 1960 Provincial Speedway League | 9th |
References
[edit]- ^ a b Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). Homes of British Speedway. Stroud: Tempus Publishing ISBN 0-7524-2210-3
- ^ "New Motor-Cycling Sport". Liverpool Daily Post. 22 August 1928. Retrieved 8 February 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "1928 full results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
- ^ "Won Every Race". Burnley News. 4 May 1929. Retrieved 8 February 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Exeter 1929". Exeter Speedway. 2004. Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2008.
- ^ "Dog Track as Speedway". Liverpool Echo. 16 August 1934. Retrieved 8 February 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Speedway Racing". Liverpool Echo. 2 May 1936. Retrieved 8 February 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Speedway Again". Liverpool Echo. 26 April 1937. Retrieved 8 February 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Belle Vue take over Liverpool". Weekly Dispatch (London). 11 July 1937. Retrieved 11 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - PRE-WAR ERA (1929-1939)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
- ^ "Liverpool's Restart". Liverpool Evening Express. 19 January 1949. Retrieved 8 February 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
- ^ "Speedway again in Liverpool". Liverpool Echo. 18 July 1959. Retrieved 25 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
- ^ Bam ford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5
- ^ Jacobs, N & Lipscombe, P (2005). Wembley Speedway : The Pre-War Years. Stroud: Tempus Publishing ISBN 0-7524-3750-X