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THE HISTORY OF WELSH CYCLE SPEEDWAY
spokesman-online is delighted to bring you the first chapter in the history of cycle speedway in Wales. This tremendous piece of work spanning over 50 years has been compliled by enthusiast Gerry Escott. Unfortunately space prevents us from reproducing the wealth of information Gerry has compiled after many years of painstaking research. Who knows - perhaps one day Gerry will publish his own web-site - or better still publish a book on the history of Welsh cycle speedway. In the meantime let's start our story where all good stories begin - at the very beginning.
1951 to 1965
When speedway returned to Cardiff in 1951, skid kid cycle speedway teams sprang-up all over the city. Tracks were a bit rough but every one of the riders seemed to be enjoying themselves, copying their favourite speedway riders of the Cardiff Dragons team.
By the end of the 1951 season there were over 20 teams competing against each other in friendly matches. The top ten teams by the end of the season were, Grange Panthers, Grange Gremlins, Grange Red Circles, Ely Pirates, Rumney Wildcats, Maitland Aces, Pengam Pirates, Splott Goblins, Adamsdown Eagles and Docks Devils.
During the close season some of the parents decided that racing should be organised and formed a league with two divisions. Unfortunately, for some of the riders, the fun had been taken out of racing and by the end of the 1952 season a few teams had disbanded. A few riders from these clubs transferred to other teams.
Publicity for the sport was quite good and the local newspaper, South Wales Sports Echo covered several matches including the
Cardiff League individual Final, held at The Marl Dust Bowl in September 1952. Winner was Gus Wilkinson of Ely Pirates with a 15 point maximum second place went to John Rees of Grange Gremlins and in third place was John Smith, Maitland Aces after a
run off with Colin Gunderson of Grange Red Circles.
I havent been able to confirm which team won the League in 1952 but I think it could have been Ely Pirates. The 1953 season started with 15 teams in one division. Unfortunately, one team Penylan Jacks dropped out because of a lack of riders.
The Cardiff Individual Championship was held at Splott Goblins track and was won by the Goblins' captain, Derek Parsons. Once again I do not have details of the team champions. Grange Dragons (formerly Panthers) won the Deakin Team Cup and Dragons captain Terry Vernicombe won the Deakin Individual Riders Cup. The Dragons team and Terry were presented with new Phillips track bikes by the owner of Deakins Fairground, which was sited in Sophia Gardens near Cardiff Castle.
Cardiff speedway closed down during the 1953 season and with National Service taking its toll of riders, the 1954 season started with just six teams. Shortly after the start of the season this was reduced to three. Two teams from Newport, Langstone Eagles and Thompson Tigers asked to join the league and it was renamed the Glam-Mon League.
Grange Dragons won the league and were NACSA County Champions. Trevor Jones of Langstone won the League Individual Championship. The two Newport teams plus Cardiff Hammers raced during 1955/6 but after that the sport ceased to exist in Wales - until 1965.
And that's where will be picking up the story in the next chapter.
A heat from the Cardiff Riders Championship final in 1952. Note how close the huge crowd is to the track!
Gus Wilkinson (Ely Pirates) pictured with the Cardiff Riders trophy - watched by his adoring supporters.
Cardiff Riders' final 1953 at Splott Goblins track in Cardiff. In second place is John Griffiths of Ely Pirates who went on to win the race. The champion was Derek Parsons of Splott Goblins
Cardiff Hammers v Whipps Cross Comets at Langstone Eagles' track. The riders featured are (left to right) Ray Isidoro, unknown, John Griffiths and Johnny Brown
1965 Onwards
In 1965 motor speedway once again had an influence on reviving cycle speedway in Wales. This time it was the turn of Newport Wasps who raced at Somerton Park, home of Newport County FC, to lead the way. The skid kid craze was re-invented by the Newport youngsters. The young riders had formed their own league, the Newport Inter-League. The top team was Rec Rockets, led by 17-year-old Kingsley Madden. Other teams in the league were Glebeland Vikings, Durham Wolves, Bettws Bulldogs, Pentonville Pirates, Eveswell Arrows, Clevedon Comets and Ringland. By June Gerry Escott had got in touch with Ray Isidoro who recruited a couple of former riders, Mike Mathews and Brian Richards and a few novices to form a Cardiff team.
Initially, Cardiff did not have a track so rode their early matches at Newport. After a series of Test matches between the teams Newport had three wins Cardiff two wins, with one match drawn. Cardiff also rode a match against Cleverton Hornets at Cleverton, losing by just one point, 48-47. Rec Rockets won the Inter-League with Eveswell as runners-up. Ray Isidoro (12+2) & Larry Taylor (11+2) 23 points won the League Pairs Championship with Gerry Escott (14+1) and Mike Escott (5+1) 19 points runners up and Barrie Tennent (12) and Gordon Delamare (2+1) 14 points, third.
Gerry Escott became the first Welsh champion since 1955 with a 15 point maximum; runner-up was Larry Taylor (12) and third Kingsley Madden (11) after a run-off with Eveswell captain, Howard Joyner. Gerry Escott (10), Kingsley Madden (3) and Ken Pike (3) represented their teams in the Bristol Riders Championship.
During the close season Gerry Escott transferred to Newport Monarchs, an amalgamation of several of the Newport League teams, which had opted to join the newly formed South Western League which included teams from Cardiff, Cleverton, Bristol and Dawlish. Unfortunately just prior to the start of the season 1966, Bristol said they would be unable to join because of BCSF commitments. To reduce the amount of travelling for Dawlish and Cleverton it was arranged for them to race at Cardiff on the Saturday and Newport on Sunday. After an exciting season, Cleverton Hornets were one point ahead of Newport Monarchs with one match remaining, between these two teams at Cleverton, to decide the champions!
Cleverton were without star rider Lawrence Telling but even with him it would have been difficult for them to win as Newport ran away winners by 6927. Newport had a very successful season in 1966 culminating with Newport Council building a track at Lliswerry Park which was used for the Rogers Welsh Championship and the South Western League Individual Riders Championship Final.
Cardiff, who acquired the services of Dave Mercer from Raynes Park, showed that they could also promote top matches when they hosted the Welsh Grand Prix at their track on the Cardiff City FC car park. The publicity they received during the season prompted the Cardiff & District Council to build a track, just yards from the car park track at Sloper Road, Cardiff.
During the close season Gerry Escott rejoined Cardiff due to problems with travelling to Newport. With several of the Newport youngsters showing excellent form towards the end of the season Newport had been left in a strong position ready for season 1967.
A disappointing start to the 1967 season for the Welsh teams, Dawlish and Cleverton withdrew from the South Western League. Both Welsh clubs decided to consolidate and wait until 1968 before applying for membership of the BCSF. In addition a Welsh Association was formed and both clubs organised their riders into teams of seven to ride in the newly formed Welsh League. These matches were to be held during midweek. It proved to be a successful venture and the league continued into the early Seventies.
The original teams at the start of the season were, Canton, Barry, Leckwith, Malpas, Durham, Ringland and Eveswell. Sadly, Barry and Leckwith could not complete their fixtures. Three teams, Canton, Malpas and Durham fought it out right to the final match and eventually it was Canton who triumphed.
Gerry Escott was the top Welsh rider with ten points in the NACSA individual championships round one held at Newport on Sunday 16th April 1967. He also captained and top scored for Wales against Surrey at Cardiff and broke the track record which he held for over a year until it was equalled by Dave Mercer (44.4) against Oldbury Lions.
In the Welsh individual championship, Gerry Escott was unable to defend his title but younger brother Mike rode well above himself to force a run-off with Micky Gale for third place, beating pre-meeting favourites Ray Isidoro, Kingsley Madden and Dave Mercer in the process.
Heat five of the Bristol Riders Championship 1965. Roger Davey leads Gerry Escott, Dave Roman and Steve Butler. Roger Davey won the title with 13 points
Newport Monarchs - South-West League Champions 1966
Back (l to r) Steve Smith, Kingsley Madden, Chris Thomas, Colin Dunn, Howard Joyner (on bike), Bruce Tovey
Front (l to r) Elwin Atkins, Gerry Escott and Russell Powell
Welsh Championship 1966
l to r Ray Isidoro, Kingsley Maddon, Gerry Escott, Geoff Decaux
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