West Ham Hammers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

West Ham Hammers
West Ham Speedway Badge circa 1938
West Ham Speedway Badge circa 1938
Club Information
Track Address West Ham Stadium
Prince Regent Lane
London
Country England
Founded 1930
Closed    1971
Website West Ham website
Club Facts
Colours Claret and Blue
Track size    440 yards
Major Team Honours
National League Champions
British League Champions
British League KO Cup Winners
ACU Cup Winners
1937
1965
1965
1938

The West Ham Hammers were a speedway team, first promoted by Jimmy Baxter in 1929.[1]. They operated from the West Ham Stadium until the outbreak of World War Two under several different promotions, most successfully under the control of Johnnie Hoskins.

The track opened in 1928 and staged a few meetings during the early war years.

Meetings were staged in 1945 but the Hammers re-opened in 1946 and ran until 1955[2]. However dwindling crowds saw the promotion close. It did not re-open until 1964 and ran a further eight seasons until 1971 when they were informed that the stadium was being sold by the Greyhound Racing Authority to make way for building development. The Romford Bombers moved into the stadium for the 1972 season, racing under the name West Ham Bombers. [3]

Contents

[edit] Top 20 West Ham Riders

The top twenty West Ham riders as voted in Speedway '72 magazine published in 1972.

[edit] Meeting Details

Details of a number of meetings staged at West Ham in the pre-war (WW2), 1945 - 1955 and between 1965 and 1970 can be viewed on www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk . The records are not complete and any help to complete them would be welcomed.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Bamford, R & Jarvis J. (2001). Homes of British Speedway. ISBN 0-7524-2210-3
  2. ^ Belton, Brian (2003). Hammerin' Round. ISBN 0-7524-2438-6
  3. ^ Jacobs, N. Speedway in London. ISBN 0-7524-2221-9