Query on first ever league match in Britain

[Guest compost]

I always understood that the first ever Speedway League match took place on the 6th April 1929 between Barnsley & Burnley in the EDTL (and incidentially the only 4 heat League match run that year).

However, the Speedway Researcher file for Leeds has Leeds racing a home League match against Barnsley on the 29th March 1929 (using a standard 9 heat format).  The result of this match, 38-24, is confirmed in the results grid on that website and elsewhere.  According to the Leeds file Leeds did not race at home to Barnsley in the League at a later date (they are listed as having met in a challenge match on the 23rd March for completness).

So the question is, when did Leeds race Barnsley and was the first League match held at Leeds and not Barnsley ?

Any ideas ?

Edited May 12, 2020 by compost
Typo corrected

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, compost said:

I always understood that the first ever Speedway League match took place on the 6th April 1929 between Barnsley & Burnley in the EDTL (and incidentially the only 4 heat League match run that year).

However, the Speedway Researcher file for Leeds has Leeds racing a home League match against Barnsley on the 29th March 1929 (using a standard 9 heat format).  The result of this match, 38-24, is confirmed in the results grid on that website and elsewhere.  According to the Leeds file Leeds did not race at home to Barnsley in the League at a later date (they are listed as having met in a challenge match on the 23rd March for completness).

So the question is, when did Leeds race Barnsley and did was the first League match held at Leeds and not Barnsley ?

Any ideas ?

Very interesting matter. May I suggest you contact Jim Henry at Speedway Researcher or the question section on the website. Possibly also there is a BSF member who will view your query and provide an answer. Such a verified answer will also name who the first rider to win a league match race was. This is an intriguing query on your part compost.

[BL65 656]

1 hour ago, compost said:

I always understood that the first ever Speedway League match took place on the 6th April 1929 between Barnsley & Burnley in the EDTL (and incidentially the only 4 heat League match run that year).

However, the Speedway Researcher file for Leeds has Leeds racing a home League match against Barnsley on the 29th March 1929 (using a standard 9 heat format).  The result of this match, 38-24, is confirmed in the results grid on that website and elsewhere.  According to the Leeds file Leeds did not race at home to Barnsley in the League at a later date (they are listed as having met in a challenge match on the 23rd March for completness).

So the question is, when did Leeds race Barnsley and did was the first League match held at Leeds and not Barnsley ?

Any ideas ?

On the Researcher website, Brian Collins compiled the Barnsley team file and made the comment that the meeting on 6th April 1929 was the first league meeting staged anywhere in the world.  However, when Bob Ozanne put together the year by year file for 1929 he included the comment that the Leeds meeting on 29th March was the first league match staged in Britain.  The status of the meeting at Leeds as a league fixture was confirmed by press reports at the time and the subsequent inclusion in the league table is correct.  The Burnley match at Barnsley was reported in the Lancashire press as being the first league meeting of the season, but this cannot be correct if the Leeds meeting was a league fixture and the Barnsley comment needs to be removed from the file.   Brian Collins created a number of files for the website, but not the Leeds one, which was added subsequently using a variety of sources of information.

Edited May 12, 2020 by BL65

[Lefty 1,257]

When did we see the first guests and r/r in League racing?

[BL65 656]

24 minutes ago, Lefty said:

When did we see the first guests and r/r in League racing?

The first Rider Replacement scheme that I remember was introduced in 1966, used for the first time by Long Eaton in a Midland Cup match at home to Oxford on 28th June after Ove Fundin had been suspended by the Swedish authorities.  The first time it was used in a league match that season was by Wolverhampton for the injured Peter Jarman, at Cradley Heath on 2nd July.

[BL65 656]

The Russian tourists also used an improvised form of R/R at Norwich on 10th July 1964.  As a result of double booking, with some of the tourists riding in a pairs event at Swindon, 4 Russians took on the Norwich team in an 18 heat match, taking 9 rides each instead of 6.  Although Fundin scored 18 and Nygren 17 from their 6 rides each, the visitors won 55-53, with Plechanov top scoring with 19.

Edited May 12, 2020 by BL65

[BL65 656]

48 minutes ago, Lefty said:

When did we see the first guests and r/r in League racing?

Newcastle's Ron Dirkin guested for injury-hit Liverpool at Brough Park in an English Dirt Track League match on 28th June 1929 and top-scored.

[steve roberts 9,242]

T/S I believe in 1955?

[BL65 656]

1 hour ago, steve roberts said:

T/S I believe in 1955?

Yes, the first tactical substitution was in heat 11 of the challenge match between Leicester and Coventry on 1st April 1955, when Johnny Green replaced Dennis Gray.  The first t/s in a league match that year was in heat 5 of the Southampton v Poole Division 2 match on 8th April, when Bluey Scott replaced Brian Hanham.

[Guest]

10 hours ago, compost said:

I always understood that the first ever Speedway League match took place on the 6th April 1929 between Barnsley & Burnley in the EDTL (and incidentially the only 4 heat League match run that year).

However, the Speedway Researcher file for Leeds has Leeds racing a home League match against Barnsley on the 29th March 1929 (using a standard 9 heat format).  The result of this match, 38-24, is confirmed in the results grid on that website and elsewhere.  According to the Leeds file Leeds did not race at home to Barnsley in the League at a later date (they are listed as having met in a challenge match on the 23rd March for completness).

So the question is, when did Leeds race Barnsley and did was the first League match held at Leeds and not Barnsley ?

Any ideas ?

A reference to 'the first league match' as on the DEFUNCT SPEEDWAY TRACKS website: http://www.defunctspeedway.co.uk/Barnsley.htm

[Guest compost]

7 hours ago, Lefty said:

When did we see the first guests and r/r in League racing?

Guests in 1929.  Yes they are not a new idea.  Used in the EDTL when several riders were banned for riding at blacklisted Belle Vue/Warrigton/White City Manchester if I remember correctly.  If you want more details I'll look them up.

 

Thanks for the replies chaps.  Interestingly the Bamford book on 'pre war racing' says the first match was at Barnsley against Leeds on the 29th March which was part of my confusion.

[BL65 656]

13 minutes ago, gustix said:

A reference to 'the first league match' as on the DEFUNCT SPEEDWAY TRACKS website: http://www.defunctspeedway.co.uk/Barnsley.htm

 

3 minutes ago, compost said:

Thanks for the replies chaps.  Interestingly the Bamford book on 'pre war racing' says the first match was at Barnsley against Leeds on the 29th March which was part of my confusion.

The newspaper report on the defunct tracks site is the one printed in the Burnley News on 10th April 1929.  This article relating to the league match at Leeds on 29th March was printed in the Leeds Mercury and the Yorkshire Post on 30th March.

 

[Guest compost]

13 hours ago, BL65 said:

 

The newspaper report on the defunct tracks site is the one printed in the Burnley News on 10th April 1929.  This article relating to the league match at Leeds on 29th March was printed in the Leeds Mercury and the Yorkshire Post on 30th March.

 

Very interesting and thanks BL. 

But, despite them saying it was the first EDTL fixture, why didn't they give the heat results !  arghh (I know different times but really frustrating and also sad that this piece of history appears to have been unrecorded except in passing).