Bob Coles

Robert John Coles (born 12 February 1944) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider from England. He earned one international cap for the England national speedway team.^[1]

Bob Coles

Born	12 February 1944 Exeter, England
Nationality	British (English)
Career history
1968-1969	Plymouth Devils
1970-1973, 1977 1981-1984	Exeter Falcons
1971	Romford Bombers
1972	West Ham Hammers
1972, 1985	Barrow Happy Faces/Blackhawks
1974-1976	Newport
1975-1978	Mildenhall Fen Tigers
1978	Bristol Bulldogs
1979-1981	Weymouth Wildcats
1979	Poole Pirates
1979	Cradley Heathens
1979	Hackney Hawks
Team honours
1983	National League KO Cup
1974, 1975	Spring Gold Cup

Biography

Coles first rode in the British speedway leagues for Plymouth Devils during the 1968 British League Division Two season. However, he was not a regular starter for the south west team until the following season in 1969.^[2]

In 1970, Plymouth dropped out of the league, so Coles switched to rival club Exeter Falcons in the British League (the highest division of the United Kingdom at the time). While at Exeter in 1971, he doubled up with Romford Bombers in division 2 and recorded an average of 8.06.^[3] However, his season was curtailed by an accident that saw him break his leg.^[4] The 1972 season was a turbulent one, in terms of his team place, he had a solid season for Exeter but in division 2 he followed the Romford relocation of the team to West Ham Hammers. Then in mid-season West Ham folded and were replaced by Barrow Happy Faces (the name was courtesy of their sponsor at the time was Duckhams Oil - its happy face logo was prominently displayed on the team's race jackets).^[5] During the turmoil Coles recorded his best average to date, which was 8.61.^[3]

After four seasons with Exeter he joined the Newport for the 1974 British League season and would double up for Mildenhall Fen Tigers in the National League.^[6] He stayed with Mildenhall from 1975 to 1978, where he topped the Mildenhall team averages during three of his four seasons with the club and became the club captain.^[3] Coles joined Weymouth Wildcats in 1980 but poor form as team captain in 1981 led to his transfer back to his old club Exeter.^[7] His form returned and he finally won a team honour during the 1983 National League season, when he helped Exeter win the Knockout Cup.^[8]

Personal life

His son Michael Coles and grandson Connor Coles both became professional speedway riders.^[9][10]

References

1. "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
2. "1968 season results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
3. "Rider averages 1929 to 2009" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
4. "Vic all set for return". Lincolnshire Echo. 3 September 1971. Retrieved 7 November 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
5. "teams". wwosbackup. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
6. "Fen Tigers sign Coles". Cambridge Daily News. 1 May 1975. Retrieved 7 November 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
7. "Coles on his way back to Exeter". Western Daily Press. 28 August 1981. Retrieved 7 November 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
8. Bamford, Reg (2004). Speedway Yearbook. Tempus Publishing, Stroud. ISBN 978-0-7524-2955-7.
9. "British Speedway rider profile". British Speedway. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
10. "Fen Tigers complete their 2014 line-up with a look to the future and a link to their past!". East Anglian Daily Times. Retrieved 7 November 2023.