Stamford Bridge Pensioners

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Stamford Bridge Pensioners
Stamford Bridge Pensioners motorcycle speedway logo.jpg
Club information
Track address Stamford Bridge Stadium
Fulham Road
London
CountryEngland
Founded1929
Closed1932
Team captain Gus Kuhn
League Southern League (1929-1931)
National League (1932)
Club facts
ColoursBlue and white
Track size345 yards (315 m)
Major team honours
Southern League Champions 1929
National Association Trophy1932

The Stamford Bridge Pensioners were a speedway team which operated from 1929 until their closure in 1932. [1]

Contents

History

In 1928 the new sport known as dirt track arrived from Australia and a speedway track was constructed around the football pitch at the Stamford Bridge Stadium, home to Chelsea F.C.. [2] The first fixture was held on 5 May 1928. [3]

The following year a team was created known as the Stamford Bridge Pensioners. The team were one of the pioneers of British speedway, entering and winning the inaugural Southern League championship in 1929. [4] [5] The track was made from black cinders and was also used as an athletics track, and after speedway finished it was used as a greyhound racing track. [6]

The team became the first champions of the United Kingdom when they won the 1929 Speedway Southern League, alongside Leeds Lions who won the Northern League. [7] [8] [9]

The league winning team included their captain Gus Kuhn, one of the early stars. [10] Four seasons of league speedway were held with riders such as Frank Arthur, Arthur Warwick, Dick Smythe and Wal Phillips impressing.

The team disbanded after the 1932 Speedway National League season, when a greyhound racing track replaced it due to the profits being established by the totalisator takings at greyhound tracks. [11]

Notable riders

Season summary

Year and leaguePositionNotes
1929 Speedway Southern League 1stChampions
1930 Speedway Southern League 3rd
1931 Speedway Southern League 2nd
1932 Speedway National League 4thNational Association Trophy winners

References

  1. ↑ Bamford, R. & Stallworthy, D. (2003) Speedway - The Pre War Years, Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN   0-7524-2749-0
  2. ↑ "The New Sport" . Western Morning News. 4 April 1928. Retrieved 22 February 2025– via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ↑ "1928 season" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
  4. ↑ "On the Speedway" . Coventry Evening Telegraph. 23 September 1929. Retrieved 4 April 2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ↑ Jacobs, N. (2003) Speedway in London, Tempus Publishing Ltd. ISBN   978-0-7524-2221-3
  6. ↑ Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). Homes of British Speedway. ISBN   0-7524-2210-3
  7. ↑ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  8. ↑ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN   0-904584-45-3.
  9. ↑ "British league tables - Pre-war Era (1929-1939)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  10. ↑ "Gus Kuhn the famous Stamford Bridge star" . Coventry Evening Telegraph. 14 August 1929. Retrieved 26 September 2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ↑ "Future of Speedway" . Sunday Express. 16 October 1932. Retrieved 22 February 2025– via British Newspaper Archive.
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