Leeds Lions

Last updated

Leeds Lions
Leeds Lions motorcycle speedway logo.jpg
Club information
Track address Fullerton Park
Leeds
CountryEngland
Founded1928
Closed1938
League Northern League
National League
Major team honours
Northern League Champions 1929

Leeds Lions are a defunct British motorcycle speedway team who were based at Fullerton Park Sports Stadium, adjacent to the Elland Road football ground in Leeds, England. [1]

Contents

History

Origins

The city of Leeds first experienced the sport of speedway at a little known track at Post Hill on 9 April 1928. [2] Organised by the Leeds Motor Club events were held at the foot of Post Hill. [3] Later that year on 13 October, speedway was introduced to Fullerton Park, following an earlier inspection by the Auto-Cycle Union. [4] [5] The introduction of speedway at Fullerton Park in 1928 included a team fixture against Middlesbrough and seemed to end the planned expansion of the Post Hill track. [2]

Team

League racing first took place in 1929 with the formation of the English Dirt Track League, effectively a Northern League, which ran alongside the Southern League. [6] The inaugural season started with a home win against Barnsley on 29 March and the Leeds team went on to win the league title. [7] Their success was helped by the withdrawal of White City (Manchester) who were leading the league but failed to complete the season. [8] The 1929 league winning team included riders such as George Greenwood, Arthur Atkinson and the Langton brothers Eric and Oliver. [9]

After a season when Fullerton Park opted not to field a team, the club competed in the 1931 Speedway Northern League finishing second. [10] The subsequent season saw the merger of the Northern and Southern Leagues to form the National League but Leeds di not participate. Despite a few fixtures being held at Fullerton Park in 1932, speedway would cease until 1938.

The team's final appearance was in the 1938 Speedway National League Division Two, where they finished 9th. [11] [12]

Season summary

Year and leaguePositionNotes
1929 Speedway English Dirt Track League 1stChampions
1931 Speedway Northern League 2nd
1938 Speedway National League Division Two 9th

Notable riders

References

  1. ↑ "Leeds 1928".
  2. 1 2 "1928 fixtures and results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  3. ↑ "The New Motor Sport" . Leeds Mercury. 9 April 1928. Retrieved 17 January 2025– via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ↑ "Leeds Dirt Track Approved" . Leeds Mercury. 9 October 1928. Retrieved 17 January 2025– via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ↑ "Fullerton Park Sports Stadium". National Speedway Museum.
  6. ↑ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  7. ↑ Oakes, Peter (1978). 1978 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. ISBN   978-0904584509.
  8. ↑ "Exeter 1929". Exeter Speedway. 2004. Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2008.
  9. ↑ "Rider averages 1929 to 2009" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  10. ↑ "Speedway Teams UK 1929-1934". Cyber Motorcycle. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  11. ↑ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN   0-904584-45-3.
  12. ↑ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - PRE-WAR ERA (1929-1939)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
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