Cradley Heathens

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Cradley Heathens
Club information
Track address Monmore Green, Wolverhampton
Country England
Founded 1947, 2010
Closed    1995
Team manager    Will Pottinger
League National League
Website www.dudleyheathens.co
Club facts
Colours Green, white and red
Current Team
Rider CMA
England Paul Starke 9.93
England Steve Worrall 7.09
England Tom Perry 6.30
England Max Clegg 6.27
TBA
TBA
TBA
Total TBC
Major team honours
British League Champions
British League KO Cup Winners

British League Pairs Champions
Four-Team Champions
National Shield
National League Fours
National League Pairs
National League
National League Knockout Cup		 1981, 1983
1979, 1980, 1982, 1983,
1986, 1987, 1988, 1989
1978
1980, 1995
2011, 2012, 2013
2011, 2013
2013
2013
2013

Cradley Heathens are a motorcycle speedway team from Dudley, England. The team was founded in 1945 and competed at the top level of British speedway until its closure in 1995. It was revived as Dudley Heathens in 2010, competing in the National League, reverting back to the Cradley Heathens name in 2013.

History

Cradley Heath speedway team was formed in 1947 and first raced at Dudley Wood Stadium on 21 June 1947 after a number of away appearances prior to the opening of the newly built stadium. After closure at the end of the 1952 season the track reopened in 1959 for one unlicensed meeting and in 1960 the Heathens entered the newly formed Provincial League. The club then operated continuously, - at top flight level from 1965 -, until 1995 when they were evicted by the new landlords who had bought the stadium to redevelop into housing. The team survived for one additional year, competing at the Loomer Road Stadium in Stoke in 1996 under the name 'Cradley and Stoke' Heathens. The club was one of the most successful in the sport throughout the 1980s, winning the British League in 1981 and 1983 and eight Knockout Cup competitions. Seven Speedway World Championships were won by Cradley riders between 1981 and 1996.

Revival

Supporters of the club campaigned to resurrect speedway in the local area. Plans were submitted to Dudley Council for a new site. The Birmingham Brummies promoter, Tony Mole and Bob Edwards (on behalf of supporters group, CRASH – Cradley Raising Aid Saving Heathens) led the planning application and it was hoped that the team would return to racing in 2009.[1] There was an online petition to show support for the application which was linked from the Cradley Heath Speedway website.[2]

The Heathens returned in 2010 but with a changed name. The Cradley name was changed to Dudley Heathens temporarily until a new stadium could be found to call their own. They joined the National League and their home meetings were initially shared between two stadiums – Monmore Green (home track of the Wolverhampton Wolves) and the Perry Bar Stadium (home track of the Birmingham Brummies).[3] The team manager was Will Pottinger, and the club was be promoted by Sky Sports speedway presenter Nigel Pearson, and now by Chris Van Straaten & Gary Patchett. Since 2011 home matches were solely at Monmore Green.[4]

Name

The team name is taken from the Dudley Wood stadium's proximity to Cradley Heath town centre, though it lies in the borough of Dudley, centred about 3 miles (4.8 km) away. At the time of formation the two towns were in different counties - Staffordshire and Worcestershire, but both towns are now part of the county of West Midlands. The Cradley team initially took the nickname "Cubs" but during the 1949 season, having gained promotion from the National League Division Three to the National League Division Two, they adopted the name of Cradley Heathens, which was retained through to their final days in 1996 but for the period of 1973-76 when they raced as Cradley United and 1996 when they became 'Cradley and Stoke' and raced in Stoke. The club was revived as Dudley Heathens in 2010, reverting to Cradley Heathens after the 2013 season.[5]

Team Status

YEAR LEAGUE POS'N / Nos. ADD'L TROPHIES
1947 Nat.Lge Div'n 3 Runner-Up / 8
1948 Nat.Lge Div'n 3 Runner-Up / 13
1949 Nat.Lge Div'n 2 4th / 12
1950 Nat.Lge Div'n 2 3rd / 15 Midland Cup
1951 Nat.Lge Div'n 2 15th / 16 Central Shield
1952 Nat.Lge Div'n 2 4th / 12
- - closure - - -
1959 Open (1 mtg, unlicensed)
1960 Provincial Lge. 6th / 10
1961 Provincial Lge. 4th / 11 KO Cup
1962 Provincial Lge. 8th / 13
1963 Provincial Lge. 9th / 13 KO Cup; Midland Lge
1964 Provincial Lge. 10th / 12 (all 12 tracks unlicensed by ACU)
1965 British Lge. 16th / 18 (senior league racing hereonafter)
1966 British Lge. 19th / 19 Wooden Spoon
1967 British Lge. 18th / 19
1968 British Lge. 14th / 19
1969 British Lge. 7th / 19
1970 British Lge. 15th / 19
1971 British Lge. 18th / 19
1972 British Lge. 16th / 18
1973 British Lge. 18th / 18 Wooden Spoon
1974 British Lge. 13th / 17
1975 British Lge. 11th / 18
1976 British Lge. 9th / 19
1977 British Lge. 7th / 19
1978 British Lge. 5th / 19
1979 British Lge. 3rd / 18 KO Cup; Inter-Lge Cup
1980 British Lge. 5th / 17 Midland Cup
1981 British Lge. Winner / 16
1982 British Lge. Runner-Up /15 KO Cup; Lge Cup; Premiership
1983 British Lge. Winner / 15 KO Cup; Midland Cup
1984 British Lge. 3rd / 16 Lge.Cup; Midland Cup; Prem'ship
1985 British Lge. 7th / 11 Premiership
1986 British Lge. Runner-Up / 11 Lge.Cup
1987 British Lge. Runner-Up / 12 KO Cup;Midland Cup;Brit.Trophy
1988 British Lge. 3rd / 11 KO Cup; Premiership
1989 British Lge. 3rd / 9 KO Cup; Premiership
1990 British Lge. 7th / 9 Premiership
1991 British Lge. 3rd / 13
1992 British Lge. 4th / 13
1993 British Lge. 11th / 11 Wooden Spoon
1994 British Lge. 9th / 11
1995 British Premier Lge. 3rd / 21 Prem.Lge Fours
1996 British Premier Lge. 5th / 19 (operating from Chesterton, Stoke)
- - closure - - -
2010 National League 3rd / 10 (operating from Perry Barr and Monmore Green)
2011 National League 7th / 10 (operating from Monmore Green)
2012 National League 2nd / 8 (operating from Monmore Green)
2013 National League 1st / 8 (operating from Monmore Green)

The club also operated a junior team in the British Junior League in the years 1986 to 1992 inclusive,

being Runners-Up in 1986 and Winners in 1991.

Club honours list

British League

Champions: 1981, 1983

Knockout Cup

Winners: 1961, 1963, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989

League Cup

Winners: 1982, 1984, 1986 (shared with Oxford)

Inter-League Cup

Winners: 1979

Premiership

Winners: 1982, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990

British League Four Team Tournament

Winners: 1980, 1995

Midland Cup/Lge/Shield

Winners: 1950, 1951, 1963, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1987

National League

  • National Shield - 2011, 2012 and 2013[6]
  • National League Fours Winners - 2011 and 2013[7]
  • National League Pairs Winners - 2013[7]
  • National League Champions - 2013[7]
  • National League Knock Out Cup - 2013[7]

Individual Champions

World Champion

World Under-21 Champion

British Under-21 Champion

  • Scott Smith 1992

Inter-Continental Champion

Overseas Champion

British League Riders Champion

National League Riders Champion

Notable riders

References

  1. ↑ "Cradley bid lodged". British Speedway Promoters' Association. 1 November 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-02. 
  2. ↑ "Heathens plans given boost". BBC Sport. 10 August 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-02. 
  3. ↑ "Dudley Heathens given National League speedway go-ahead", BBC, 28 January 2010. Retrieved 18 January 2013
  4. ↑ "Dudley Heathens choose to race at Wolverhampton", BBC, 27 January 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2013
  5. ↑ "National League Statement", speedwaygb.co, 10 December 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2013
  6. ↑ "Mildenhall Speedway: Fen Tigers miss out on National Shield.", worldspeedway.com, 1 May 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2013
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 "British Speedway Roll of Honour 2013", speedwaygb.co, 31 October 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2013

External links

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