| Southampton Saints | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club information | |||||||||||||
| Track address | Banister Court Stadium Southampton Hampshire | ||||||||||||
| Country | England | ||||||||||||
| Founded | 1928 | ||||||||||||
| Closed | 1963 | ||||||||||||
| Club facts | |||||||||||||
| Colours | Red and White stripes | ||||||||||||
| Track size | 333 yards (304 m) | ||||||||||||
| Major team honours | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Southampton Saints were a motorcycle speedway team which operated from 1928 until its closure in 1963. Its track was located at Banister Court Stadium in Southampton, Hampshire.
History
[edit]Southampton was one of the founder members of the 1929 Speedway Southern League, one of the two leagues that came into existence that year. They finished runner-up in the 1929 league and the 1930 Speedway Southern League before joining the National league in 1932.
However, in May 1932 and halfway through the 1932 National Association Trophy, the Southampton promotion left Banister Court Stadium to take over the licence at Lea Bridge in London, with the team becoming the Clapton Saints.[1][2] The Southampton team returned in 1936 and won the second tier of British speedway, the 1936 Provincial Speedway League.[3]
The Saints won the National trophy (tier 2) in 1956.[4]
They were National League runners up in 1961 and National League champions in 1962. The club closed in 1963 when the promoter, Charles Knott, sold the stadium to developers.[5][6][7][8]
Notable riders
[edit]
Season summary
[edit]+ 6th when league was suspended
References
[edit]- ^ "Speedway Racing". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 21 May 1932. Retrieved 17 January 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
- ^ "Southampton Saints". Greyhound Derby. Retrieved 6 August 2021.[unreliable source?]
- ^ "Hunters' Draw was not enough:Exit". Leicester Evening Mail. 23 June 1956. Retrieved 5 October 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Hopes that speedway will one day return to city". Southern Daily Echo. 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2008.
- "Happy memories of Southampton speedway in print". Southern Daily Echo. 22 May 2002. Retrieved 10 August 2021. - ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
- ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - PRE-WAR ERA (1929-1939)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 13 August 2021.