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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]
| Fleetwood Flyers | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Club information | |
| Track address | Highbury Stadium Park Avenue Fleetwood Lancashire |
| Country | England |
| Founded | 1948 |
| Closed | 1952 |
| League | National League Division Two |
| Club facts | |
| Colours | green and red |
| Track record time | 63.8 |
| Track record date | 1948-06-29 |
| Track record holder | Dick Geary |
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]
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.[4]
They competed in Division Two in 1949, 1950 and 1951.[5][6][7]
In 1952, they dropped out of the league and operated on an open licence riding challenge matches as Fleetwood Knights.[8]
| 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
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The first three meetings of the season were run by Wigan Warriors. As the Warriors they lost two and won one meetings. The first meeting at home was against Edinburgh Monarchs on 14 April, which they lost 35–49 with Norman Hargreaves top scoring on ten points. The track had been made available for practice on the afternoon prior to the meeting and the Monarchs took advantage of the session whilst the home riders did not. The track record race time was set as 70.4 seconds in the second heat by Jack Gordon. The track record was broken at the next home meeting in at 68.8 seconds set by Sheffield Tigers rider Jack Bibby. The Flyers first victory came in an away meeting over Birmingham Brummies on 24 April. On 27 April Norwich Stars rider Syd Littlewood set a new track record of 66.8 seconds. In the 44–39 win over Newcastle Diamonds on 18 May the track record was again broken, by Wilf Plant at 65.4 seconds. As results gradually improved the track record was broken in the 48–36 win over Glasgow Tigers on 1 June, set by Dick Geary at 65.0 seconds. Bristol Bulldogs rider Fred Tuck broke the track record again on 15 June in a cup meeting at 64.8 seconds and he broke it again a week later in a National Trophy meeting at 64.6 seconds. On 29 June Flyers rider Dick Geary broke the track record for a second time, setting a new record of 63.8 seconds.[9] League results
Cup results
National Trophy results
Challenge meetings
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1949 season
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1950 season
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1951 season
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1952 season
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In 1952 a number of open meetings were held with the team renamed the Fleetwood Knights.[1]
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The most notable rider who rode for the Flyers was Peter Craven who rode in one meeting in 1951.[10]
Most appearances
The riders who made the most appearances for the Flyers were –
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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.[11][12]
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.[13]
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