| Bristol Bulldogs | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bulldog rider, possibly Phil Crump | |||||||||
| Club information | |||||||||
| Track address | Knowle Stadium Wells Road Knowle Bristol | ||||||||
| Country | England | ||||||||
| Founded | 1928 | ||||||||
| Closed | 1978 | ||||||||
| League | Provincial League National League British League | ||||||||
| Major team honours | |||||||||
| |||||||||
The Bristol Bulldogs were a British motorcycle speedway team based at the Knowle Stadium, Bristol, England from 1928 to 1961 [1] and later Eastville Stadium from 1977 to 1978.
The club was formed in 1928. [2] Their first trophy was the Provincial League title in 1937. [3] The track operated a season of challenge matches in 1946 with the team known as Ex-Bristol. They competed in the National League Division Two from 1947. The team was promoted to National League Division One in 1950 after back to back Championship titles. The Division One Bulldogs team featured most of the Division Two men and as a result they reverted to Division Two for the 1954 season. [1] [4]
Bristol's team of 1949 has a rare record in that it whitewashed the visiting Glasgow Tigers 70 -14 in a fourteen heat National League fixture. [5]
The Bulldogs were founder members of the Provincial League, winning the Provincial League Knockout Cup, but the track closed for the site to be re-developed and the team operated out of Plymouth for 1961 as Plymouth Bulldogs. [5] [6]
Speedway returned to Bristol at Eastville Stadium in 1977, in what was effectively the Newport Wasps team becoming the Bristol Bulldogs for one season. The track also operated in 1978 and crowds of 7,000+ were averaged in both 1977 and 1978, far larger than most clubs. The track size was 390 metres and visiting teams disliked the sandy surface that also cut into the Bristol Rovers football pitch. After the 1978 British League season the track was closed due to planning matters. [7]
A year or two after closing a Bristol Select team rode at Birmingham (for legal reasons they could not use the Bulldogs name). Over 1,000 Bristol speedway fans travelled up to Birmingham, such was their love for the sport. Stars of the former team included Australian Phil Crump, father of world champion Jason Crump. [1]
In February 2010, Bristol Speedway Ltd lodged a pre-application for planning permission to build a Speedway track on the former Shell Tankers site, Avonmouth, Bristol and on 15 October 2012, they re-submitted a pre-application for a new Speedway track and Moto Cross track at Avonmouth, Bristol.[ citation needed ] In 2017, plans were being worked on bringing the Bulldogs team back on the track in 2018 in a series of away challenge meetings.[ citation needed ]
| Year and league | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1936 Provincial Speedway League | 2nd | |
| 1937 Provincial Speedway League | 1st | champions |
| 1938 Speedway National League | 7th | |
| 1939 Speedway National League | 5th+ | + when league was suspended |
| 1947 Speedway National League Division Two | 6th | |
| 1948 Speedway National League Division Two | 1st | champions |
| 1949 Speedway National League Division Two | 1st | champions & National Trophy (div 2) winners |
| 1950 Speedway National League | 7th | |
| 1951 Speedway National League | 6th | |
| 1952 Speedway National League | 8th | |
| 1953 Speedway National League | 9th | |
| 1954 Speedway National League Division Two | 1st | champions |
| 1960 Provincial Speedway League | 3rd | Provincial Cup winners |
| 1977 British League season | 12th | at Eastville Stadium |
| 1978 British League season | 9th | at Eastville Stadium |
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