Hull Vikings
| Hull Vikings | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club information | |||||||||
| Track address | The Boulevard Stadium and Craven Park Hull | ||||||||
| Country | England | ||||||||
| Founded | 1971 | ||||||||
| Closed | 2005 | ||||||||
| Team manager | Eric Boocock | ||||||||
| Team captain | Paul Thorp | ||||||||
| League | Premier | ||||||||
| Club facts | |||||||||
| Colours | Blue and White | ||||||||
| Track size | 346 metres (378 yd) | ||||||||
| Track record time | 64.4 seconds[1] | ||||||||
| Track record date | 30 June 2004 | ||||||||
| Track record holder | Magnus Karlsson | ||||||||
| Major team honours | |||||||||
| |||||||||
The Hull Vikings were a speedway team from Hull, England, who operated from 1971 to 2005, primarily from The Boulevard (stadium) and Craven Park.[2][3]
History
1948 to 1949
The team originated as the Hull Angels and were based at Hedon Stadium in Hedon on the outskirts of Hull between 1948 and mid-1949.[4] Their inaugural league season was in the 1948 Speedway National League Division Three where they finished 9th.[5][6] On 27 August 1949, the Angels raced their last match at home to Liverpool Chads and then after one more away match they withdrew from the league to be replaced by Swindon Robins.[7][8] The speedway promotion applied, without success, to Hull City FC to see if they could use their old Anlaby Road ground.[9]
1971 to 2005
When speedway came back to Hull for the 1971 British League Division Two season, the team were known as the Vikings and raced at the Boulevard, a 380 metres (420 yards) long track. The Boulevard was famous as the long time home of Rugby Football League team Hull FC. During the years of racing at The Boulevard, the Vikings had the dubious distinction of being the last league speedway team ever to appear at the famous West Ham Stadium, on 23 May 1972, when they beat the closing West Ham Hammers 40–38. The team raced at the Boulevard for 11 seasons[10] and in 1978 they signed the legendary New Zealander Ivan Mauger, a five times world champion at the time. The team finished third in the league during 1978 and then finished second the following season, during the 1979 British League season.[11] The 1979 season also saw Mauger become the world champion for a record sixth time.[12] Promotional changes, falling crowds and financial problems eventually saw the Vikings demise after the 1981 season.
On 5 April 1995, speedway came back to Hull, this time at Craven Park, the home of the city's other rugby league team, Hull Kingston Rovers.[13] The 346 metres (378 yards) long speedway track ran inside the greyhound racing track.
Although the Vikings have raced in speedway's top flight, the
The prospect of speedway returning to Hull would require a new venue to be built as The Boulevard was closed in 2009 and demolished in 2010 while Craven Park was redeveloped after the Vikings departure with the speedway track removed and the ground becoming a rectangular sports venue suited to rugby league.
Season summary
Notable riders
References
- ISBN 0-9552376-1-0.
- ^ "Hull Speedway (Craven Park)". Defunct Speedway Tracks. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
- ^ "Hull Speedway (Boulevard)". Defunct Speedway Tracks. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
- ^ "Hull Speedway (Hedon)". Defunct Speedway Tracks. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
- ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES – POST-WAR ERA (1946–1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
- ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
- ^ "1949 season" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
- ^ "Hull Speedway". Hull Daily Mail. 3 September 1949. Retrieved 4 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Grimsby will miss Hull Speedway". Grimsby Daily Telegraph. 5 September 1949. Retrieved 4 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
- ^ "British League Tables – British League Era (1965–1990)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
- ISBN 0-09-141751-1.
- ISBN 0-7524-2210-3.
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