The Barrow Bombers were a
speedway
Speedway may refer to:
Racing Race tracks
*Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta
*Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana
Types of races and race cours ...
team promoted in
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...
that existed at various times from 1930 to 1985.
History
Speedway had been promoted at a number of venues in Barrow. In 1930, a number of meetings were held at
Holker Street
Holker Street ( known as the SO Legal Stadium for sponsorship purposes), is a sports stadium in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. As well as being a football ground, it has also been used for motorcycle speedway.[Barrow A.F.C.
Barrow Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. The club plays in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English league system. Since 1909, Barrow have played their home games at ...]
, the towns football club. Racing moved to Little Park, Roose in 1931 but crowd levels were insufficient.
In 1972, speedway returned to
Holker Street
Holker Street ( known as the SO Legal Stadium for sponsorship purposes), is a sports stadium in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. As well as being a football ground, it has also been used for motorcycle speedway.[Romford Bombers
The Romford Bombers were a speedway team which operated from 1969 until their closure in 1971.
History
In 1969, a team known as the Rochester Bombers started the 1969 British League Division Two season, at Rochester in Kent. However the local co ...]
promotion who started the season at the
West Ham Stadium
West Ham Stadium was a stadium that existed between 1928 and 1972 in Custom House, in East London (it was in the County Borough of West Ham, in the county of Essex, at the time of the stadium's construction). The stadium was built in 1928 on Pri ...
in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
moved the team north. The team were initially called the Barrow Happy Faces as their sponsor at the time was Duckhams Oil - its happy face logo was prominently displayed on the team's race jackets. The team finished 9th during the
1972 British League Division Two season
The 1972 British League Division Two season was the second tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.
Summary
The league still consisted of 17 teams with two teams leaving the league and two teams entering. The Rochdale Hornets had disbanded ...
.
The team were renamed Barrow Bombers for the 1973 and 1974 seasons, wher ethey finished 10th and 12th respectively. Despite good crowds, a new home had to be found for the team after the end of the 1974 season, when problems with ground sharing became insurmountable.
[Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''. ]
Local businessman Cliff Hindle built a new stadium at
Park Road, which opened halfway through the 1977 season for a short series of open meetings. In 1978 a team was entered under the name Barrow Furness Flyers, but they finished bottom of the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
. Crowds were poor and the track closed after only one season.
Speedway in Barrow was revived once again in 1984, under the promotion of ex-Barrow rider Chris Roynon. A series of challenge matches were held to gauge public support. Interest was such that a team was entered for the 1985 season under the name of the Barrow Blackhawks. After a disastrous start to the season with an understrength team, the Blackhawks were thrown out of the league. A number of challenge matches were held for the remainder of the season in front of low crowds before the track once again closed.
[
]
Season summary
See also
References
Sport in Barrow-in-Furness
Defunct British speedway teams
{{motorcycle-speedway-team-stub