Fleetwood Flyers

Fleetwood Flyers
Club information
Track addressHighbury Stadium
Park Avenue
Fleetwood
Lancashire
CountryEngland
Founded1948
Closed1952
LeagueNational League Division Two
Club facts
Coloursgreen and red
Track record time63.8
Track record date1948-06-29
Track record holderDick Geary

Fleetwood Flyers were a speedway team in Fleetwood, England, that operated from 1948 until 1952.[1] Home meetings were raced at Highbury Stadium, Park Avenue in Fleetwood.[2]

History

In March 1948, following a meeting of the Corporation Finance and General Purposes Committee, permission was granted to the speedway promoter Mr. J.Waxman to allow the football ground to be used for speedway.[3] A quickfire 19 days effort resulted in the concrete wall surrounding the pitch being demolished and a 30 feet wide track being constructed. Flaxman paid £225 rent per year.[4]

The Flyers first competed in the National League Division Two in 1948, when they replaced Wigan Warriors after three matches. The first home match was a fixture against Edinburgh Monarchs.[5]

They competed in Division Two in 1949, 1950 and 1951.[6][7][8]

In 1952, they dropped out of the league and operated on an open licence riding challenge matches as Fleetwood Knights.[9]

Season summary

Year and league Position Notes
1948 Speedway National League Division Two 8th replaced Wigan Warriors
1949 Speedway National League Division Two 9th
1950 Speedway National League Division Two 15th
1951 Speedway National League Division Two 14th

1948 season

1949 season

1950 season

1951 season

1952 season

Notable riders

The most notable rider who rode for the Flyers was Peter Craven who rode in one meeting in 1951.[11]

Most appearances

The riders who made the most appearances for the Flyers were –

Highbury stadium

For many years a feature of the Highbury stadium was the 'setback' on the west side of the ground where part of the speedway track used to be. Both the main stand and the long covered standing area known as the Scratching Shed were set back from the pitch by a large gap, where there was formerly one corner of the track. This was the legacy of the speedway years.[12][13]

In 2008 when a new West Stand was built, it was constructed over the set back area, close to the pitch. To construct the stand, the builders had to clear about 5,000 tonnes of cinder and ash still left over from the speedway track.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b "The Speedway Researcher, Fleetwood". The Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 5 October 2008.
  2. ^ "Flyers brought to book 60 years on". Blackpool Gazette. 12 November 2009. Retrieved 12 November 2008.
  3. ^ "Speedway Racing at Highbury". Fleetwood Chronicle. 5 March 1948. Retrieved 6 December 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ^ "Fleetwood Speedway plans". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. 9 March 1948. Retrieved 21 February 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ "1948 season" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  6. ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  7. ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  9. ^ "Fleetwood Speedway". Defunct Speedway. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  10. ^ "Fleetwood 1948" (PDF). The Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 4 October 2008.
  11. ^ "Fleetwood A-Z" (PDF). The Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 4 October 2008.
  12. ^ "Fleetwood Town's stand hit by hold-up". Blackpool Gazette. 3 October 2006. Retrieved 5 October 2008.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  13. ^ "Motorbiking ace dies at 90". Blackpool Gazette. 8 May 2003. Archived from the original on 17 August 2003. Retrieved 5 October 2008.
  14. ^ "Fleetwood Town's new stands- first look". Blackpool Gazette. 19 June 2008. Retrieved 20 October 2008.

Further reading

  • Craven, Mike (1 December 2009). The Flyers Remembered. Howard Jones.
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