Glasgow Tigers are a motorcycle speedway team from Glasgow, Scotland. Formed in 1928, the club adopted the Tigers nickname in 1946 and compete in the British SGB Championship. The team race at Ashfield Stadium and celebrated their 75th anniversary in 2021.
Speedway in Glasgow began during 1928, starting with the Nelson Recreation Ground on 9 April, followed by Celtic Park on 28 April and Carntyne Stadium on 25 May. The origins of the Tigers team can be traced to the first meeting held at White City Stadium on Paisley Road West in Ibrox, Glasgow on 29 June 1928, although at this stage only open meetings were held.[1] White City had been built in 1928 as a greyhound track.[2] A Glasgow White City team raced several challenge matches during the 1929 season before becoming members of the Northern League for 1930.[3]
1930s
The first Northern League fixture at White City was held on 22 April 1930 against Leicester Super.[4] The team eventually finished tenth in their inaugural league season. However, the team abruptly withdrew mid-way through the 1931 season following a meeting by the directors.[5]
Speedway ceased not only at White City but also the other tracks in Glasgow and no racing was seen for seven years before 'the Lions' under the promotion of Johnnie Hoskins raced Union Cup matches, in addition to challenge meetings during 1939.[6][7]
1940s
The team raced as the Tigers for the first time in 1946
Several fixtures were held in 1940 before the threat of bombing during World War II closed the track to speedway for another five years.[6][7] Several fixtures were held in late Summer of 1945 and league speedway finally returned for the 1946 Speedway Northern League season. Led by number 1 rider Will Lowther the team adopted the nickname 'Tigers' for the first time[8] and Johnnie Hoskins handed the promotion role over to his son Ian who promoted from 1946 to 1953.
Despite signings, including the likes of Junior Bainbridge and Ken McKinlay, the White City Tigers experienced several underwhelming seasons and ended the decade with an eighth place finish.
1950s
The 1950s began much better with the Tigers finishing the 1950 season as runners-up, just one point behind Norwich Stars.[9] The team included new signing Tommy Miller and the Hodgson brothers Frank and Jack. One of the team's league rivals was Ashfield Giants, who were formed in 1949 and raced at Saracen Park in Glasgow.
Tommy Miller topped the league averages in 1953 and the team won the Scottish Cup but as the team headed into the 1954 season matters deteriorated. Miller, McKinlay and Bainbridge were all put on the transfer list.[10] The club eventually pulled out of the league following several fixtures in early 1954, citing financial losses despite the sale of its stars.[11] Miller and Bainbridge were responsible for a short-lived venture in 1956 but speedway ended for another ten years.
1960s
Jimmy McMillan was signed in 1966
Trevor Redmond, in concert with the Hoskins family, reopened the track at White City in 1964 and rode for the Tigers that season before finally retiring as a rider and continued as promoter until 1967. The 1964 season started with the signing of Australian Charlie Monk but ended with a last place finish in the league.[12]
The team finished in 13th place during the inaugural 1965 British League season[13] and Jimmy McMillan was signed in 1966. Danny Taylor arrived as promoter in 1967 but left after just one season due to travel problems from Glasgow to his chicken farm business in Jedburgh. He moved on to form the Berwick Bandits in 1968 and Les Whaley took over Glasgow.[14]
The Tigers moved to Hampden Park in 1969 in anticipation of the White City stadium demolition to make way for the M8 motorway through Glasgow. White City did not close until a few years later. A nomadic existence was then experienced by the club for a prolonged period.
1970s
Cliftonhill
Hampden Park witnessed recent signing Svein Kaasa being killed during a race on 29 September 1972.[15] Problems continued at Hampden Park with poor crowds, escalating costs and the refusal of the city council to allow music to be played at the venue, so the club moved again to Cliftonhill in Coatbridge in 1973, becoming the Coatbridge Tigers.[16]
The next issue arose in early 1977 when Cliftonhill's owners Albion Rovers F.C. applied for permission to convert the track into a greyhound racing track and gave the speedway Managing Director Jimmy Beaton notice to vacate.[17]
The Tigers moved to their fourth different home at the Blantyre Greyhound Stadium in Blantyre during the middle of the 1977 season but fans received some good news when the club re-introduced the name Glasgow Tigers.[18]Steve Lawson was signed in 1978 and Kenny McKinna joined the following season to end a most turbulent decade.
1980s
The greyhound stadium was demolished in advance of the construction of the East Kilbride Expressway and the Tigers moved to yet another home (their fifth) in 1982 to Craighead Park. The track at Craighead Park was shoe-horned into a football stadium but was a more traditional oval shape than the previous one.[19]
During all the turmoil the team unsurprisingly failed to win any silverware and then in 1987 matters worsened further. The Tigers moved to Derwent Park in Workington[20] and although they started the year named as Glasgow, they were renamed Workington Tigers for the rest of what was an uncompleted season. This was the only time in the team's history that they have been based in England.[21]
The team began to show promise and in 1991 James Grieves joined the club, teaming up with Steve Lawson, Mick Powell and Shane Bowes. Together they helped Glasgow finish runner-up behind Arena Essex Hammers in 1991. A third place finish in 1992 was followed by the League and Knockout Cup double to bring Glasgow their first major success in the club's history. The double team included Bowes, Powell, Grieves, number 1 Róbert Nagy, Nigel Crabtree, Jesper Olsen and David Walsh. The following season the team achieved the 'double double' feat, winning both the League and Cup again in consecutive years.[23][24]
The success was abruptly ended by the merger of the first and second tiers of the British league into the one division Premier League. The following season in 1996, the Tigers and Edinburgh Monarchs effectively merged in one unpopular team known as the Scottish Monarchs. The formation of the Elite League allowed the Tigers and Monarchs to revert to their normal routine.
The decade ended on a sour note when the team's owner Brian Sands and general manager Bob Sneddon were connected to a racing application for Ashfield Stadium (the former venue of the Ashfield Giants). This caused Shawfield's owner Billy King to threaten eviction.[25][26] The club eventually moved to Ashfield Stadium, with the speedway track replacing the old greyhound racing track.[27][28]
Prior to the 2011 season the club embarked on significant changes to the Ashfield track, extending its length by 17 meters on the inside, but more significantly widening the bends and increasing the banking, especially on bends three and four, opening up new racing lines in an effort to up the entertainment value of the meetings. The changes proved successful as the Tigers won the league title led by heat leaders Joe Screen, Josh Grajczonek and James Grieves and in addition Screen and Grieves won The Premier League Pairs Championship, held at Oaktree Arena on 24 June.[33][34]
With debts still hanging over the club at the end of the 2012 season, following the track alterations and championship season, club owners A&S Entertainments decided to sell the club, a new company was created with several key fans taking control of the club prior to the 2013 season. The club logo was also re-branded with the change of company, the old logo continues to be the club badge, and is still used for the Hall of Fame. In 2015, the stadium went under a multi-million pound redevelopment.
In 2016, the Tigers won the KO cup final against Newcastle Diamonds.[35] For the 2018 season, the Tigers signed Craig Cook, who went on to win the Riders' Championship and record the highest league average for the season, as Glasgow finished 2nd on the league standings.
The 2019 season saw the Tigers finish in second place again in the SGB Championship. They reached the play-off finals, but fell short by losing to league winners Leicester Lions by two points but did win the Pairs Championship with Craig Cook and Rasmus Jensen.
2020s
Following a season lost to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tigers finished runners-up in both the 2021 and 2022 SGB Championship league standings, losing in the play-off final against the Poole Pirates in the former.[36]
In 2023, the team won the league title after winning the play offs and gaining revenge over Poole for their 2021 and 2022 losses. Having already won the pairs title with Chris Harris and Benjamin Basso, Glasgow signed Russian Vadim Tarasenko late in the season, which proved to be the catalyst for winning the play offs, defeating Oxford Cheetahs and Poole to claim only their fourth ever title.[37]
Tigers at White City: Glasgow Speedway 1928 to 1968, published in 2023 by London League Publications Ltd, ISBN978-1909885318
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References
↑ "1928 season"(PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
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James Grieves
Josh Grajczonek
