The Bristol Bulldogs were a British

motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that use only ...

team based in the

Knowle Stadium The Knowle Stadium was a greyhound racing and speedway venue in Bristol. Origins In March 1924 fifteen acres of land on Wells Road, in the Knowle area of Bristol was secured by Albert Ford, chairman of the Bristol Greyhound Club. A stadium ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

from 1928 to 1978.Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''.

History

The club was formed in 1928. Their first trophy was the Provincial League title in 1937. The track operated a season of challenge matches in 1946 with the team known as Ex-Bristol. They competed in the National League Division Two from 1947. The team was promoted to National League Division One in 1950 after back to back Championship titles. The Division One Bulldogs team featured most of the Division Two men and as a result they reverted to Division Two for the 1954 season. Bristol's team of 1949 has a rare record in that it whitewashed the visiting Glasgow Tigers 70 -14 in a fourteen heat National League fixture.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2003) ''Bristol Bulldogs Speedway'', NPI Media Group. The Bulldogs were founder members of the Provincial League, winning the Provincial League Knockout Cup, but the track closed for the site to be re-developed and the team operated out of

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

for 1961 as Plymouth Bulldogs. Speedway returned to Bristol and

Eastville Stadium Eastville Stadium, also known as Bristol Stadium and Bristol Stadium – Eastville, was a stadium in Eastville, a northern suburb of the English city of Bristol. Constructed in 1897, it was the home of Bristol Rovers F.C., the Bristol Bulldog ...

in 1977 in what was effectively the

Newport Wasps Newport Wasps were a British motorcycle speedway team based in Newport, South Wales from 1964 to 2012. They were the 1999 Conference League champions. The Wasp logo incorporates the traditional black and amber colours of the City of Newport. ...

becoming the Bristol Bulldogs for one season. Crowds of 7,000+ were averaged in both years, far larger than most clubs. The track operated in 1978 but was closed due to planning matters. A year or two after closing a Bristol Select team rode at Birmingham (for legal reasons they could not use the Bulldogs name). Over 1,000 Bristol speedway fans travelled up to Birmingham, such was their love for the sport. Stars of the former team included Australian Phil Crump, father of world champion Jason Crump. In February 2010, Bristol Speedway Ltd lodged a pre-application for planning permission to build a Speedway track on the former Shell Tankers site, Avonmouth, Bristol and on 15 October 2012, they re-submitted a pre-application for a new Speedway track and Moto Cross track at Avonmouth, Bristol. In 2017, plans were being worked on bringing the Bulldogs team back on the track in 2018 in a series of away challenge meetings.

History

Season summary

Notable riders

See also

References