Birmingham Brummies are a British speedway team founded in 1928. They were inaugural members of the Southern League in 1929.[1] The team have twice finished runner-up in the highest tier of British speedway, during the 1952 Speedway National League and 2013 Elite League speedway season. After four years in the National League, in 2019 they moved up to the second tier of British speedway in the SGB Championship.
| Birmingham Brummies | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Track address | Perry Barr Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Country | England | ||||||||||||||||||
| Founded | 1928 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Promoter | Nigel Tolley & Laurence Rogers | ||||||||||||||||||
| Team manager | Sam Ermolenko | ||||||||||||||||||
| League | SGB Premiership | ||||||||||||||||||
| Website | www | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Colours | Yellow & Red | ||||||||||||||||||
| Track size | 292 metres (319 yd) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Track record time | 56.6 seconds | ||||||||||||||||||
| Track record date | 25 June 2008 & 2 July 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Track record holder | Jason Lyons & Kevin Doolan | ||||||||||||||||||
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History
edit1928–1930
editThe city of Birmingham had two teams in the Southern League of the inaugural season of British speedway in 1929. One was based at the (old Perry Barr stadium) and the other was based at Hall Green Stadium. The Perry Barr based team withdrew from the 1930 league season and had their results expunged. The Hall Green team, known as Birmingham Bulldogs fared a little better but closed in 1938.
1947–1953
edit
Birmingham first raced league speedway as the Brummies during the 1946 Speedway Northern League, finishing in a respectable 4th place, but the season was marred by the death of their Canadian rider Charlie Appleby in a crash at Brough Park.[2] The Brummies continued to race and experienced success in 1948, when they won the division 2 National Trophy, during the 1948 season. In 1949 they competed in the highest league for the first time and in 1952 finished runner-up to Wembley Lions.
Birmingham raced in the top division until the August of the 1957 Speedway National League season, when they withdrew and were replaced by the Bradford Tudors. The promoter Leslie Marshall quoted financial issues and decreasing attendances and the ban of two riders Ron Mountford and Eric Boothroyd for riding in South Africa.[3][4]
1970s
edit
The Brummies reopened at Perry Barr for the 1971 British League Division Two season. In 1974 and 1975, the club gained silverware, winning the league and KO Cup double in 1974 and then successfully defending their league title in 1975.[5] The 1974 team included Phil Herne and Arthur Browning who both recorded season averages above 10 and finished first and third respectively in the league averages. They were strongly supported by John Hart and George Major. The team lost Herne to Newport in 1975 but Birmingham still managed to successfully defend their title with Alan Grahame improving his average significantly.[6]
It would be their greatest period of success at the old Perry Barr stadium and resulted in the team moving to the top division for 1976. The first five seasons in the division were a struggle, with a best place finish of 14th.
1980s
editIn 1981, Birmingham signned a Dane called Hans Nielsen from Wolves. He helped the team improve to 6th place and a cup final before repeating the 6th place finish again in 1982. Despite Nielsen topping the 1983 league averages, he lacked support with the exception of Alan Grahame and Birmingham's last season at the old perry Barr Stadium ended with a 9th place finish. The stadium closed for good by the Spring of 1984 and the Brummies were left without a home.
A home was found at the Wheels Project in Bordesley Green in 1985[7] and the team raced for two seasons in the National League before closing after at the end of the 1986 season.[8] The last home fixture was on 26 September 1986.[9]
Although Birmingham did win trophies during their initial spell in Speedway these achievements were often dwarfed by the success of fellow West Midlands Speedway teams, the Wolverhampton Wolves, Coventry Bees and Cradley Heathens.
2000s
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After twenty years away from the sport Birmingham were reformed in 2006 and then accepted into the Premier League in 2007. The first meeting of the new era, the Alan Hunt Memorial, took place on 21 March 2007 at Perry Barr Stadium. In a successful first season the team finished in second place in the league table, and runner-up in both the Premier Trophy and the Young Shield, despite having only two members of their own team actually fit to ride. During the majority of their time in the Premier League they were captained by Australian Jason Lyons who went on to become extremely popular at the club and is now a member of the club's Hall of Fame. The club when re founded was sponsored by Richard Meredith of Mercom Water Products.[10]
2010s
edit
Birmingham were accepted into the Elite League for 2011 and finished their first season in ninth place out of ten. Ahead of their second season in the top flight they retained the services of the previous season's star performers Danny King and Ben Barker as well as adding Speedway Grand Prix star Bjarne Pedersen. Although Pedersen's time at Birmingham was an unhappy one the team made a big improvement on their first season in the Elite League, finishing in 3rd place and achieving a spot in the play-offs. The 2013 season was filled with success, with the Brummies finishing in first place in the Elite League and achieving a place in the Elite League Grand Final.[11] However, despite being led by Jason Doyle and Chris Harris, they found themselves outclassed in the final, losing out on aggregate 104-79 to the Poole Pirates, who were inspired by Greg Hancock.[12]
Despite the success of the 2013 season there were regular reports of turmoil behind the scenes at the club, and at the end of the season team manager Phil Morris walked away from the club. The off season was a difficult time for the club, with captain Danny King handing in a transfer request, although he was later convinced to stay. Once the season began the troubles only intensified, and on 14 July 2014 it was announced that the club would cease to operate.[13] The team was taken over later that year by Tony Mole and entered into the National League (the third tier) for 2015. Under the stewardship of Mole and Drury, the Brummies would crown a superb season back on track by winning the National League title. The Brummies defended their National League title in 2016, beating Eastbourne in a two leg play off and would also win the National Trophy to crown a superb double.
Ahead of the 2017 season owner Tony Mole announced that he will be walking away from the sport after the 2017 season, after 31 years promoting in the sport. The Birmingham Brummies had their future secured when they were bought by David and Peter Mason toward the end of the 2017 season. The team moved up to the SGB Championship (2nd tier) in 2019.
2020s
editOn 7 December 2021, an announcement was made that Nigel Tolley would purchase the club from outgoing owners David and Peter Mason, which ensured the Brummies would continue racing in 2022.[14] On 17 November 2023, it was announced that the Brummies would return to the top-flight for the first time in a decade joining the 2024 Premiership season. Nigel Tolley revealed the decision was made as Perry Barr would only be available for Monday night racing making the Premiership the only option.[15]
Perry Barr Stadium
editSeason summary
editNotable riders
edit-
Carl Askew - Steve Bastable
- Geoff Bennett
- Nigel Boocock
- Eric Boothroyd
- Arthur Browning
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Bruce Cribb - Stan Dell
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Jason Doyle - Alan Grahame
- Andy Grahame
- John Hart
- Phil Herne
- Alan Hunt
- Danny King
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Zdeněk Kudrna -
Wilbur Lamoreaux - Jason Lyons
- George Major
- Ron Mountford
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Hans Nielsen - Arthur Payne
- Billy Sanders
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Sören Sjösten - Graham Warren
- Ray Wilson
Riders previous seasons
editExtended content
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2007 team
Also rode 2008 team Also rode 2009 team Also rode 2010 team Also rode 2011 team Also rode 2012 team Also rode 2013 team 2014 team Also rode 2015 team Also rode 2016 team
2017 team Also rode 2018 team 2019 team
2021 team
2022 team Also Rode |
Club honours
edit- Division 2 Anniversary Cup Winners - 1948
- Division 2 National Trophy Winners - 1948
- Midland Cup - 1953, 1954, 1955
- British League Division 2 Champions - 1974
- British League Division 2 Knock-Out Cup - 1974
- National League Champions - 1975
- Midland Shield - 2007
- Premier League Pairs - 2009
- Premier League Fours - 2010
- National League Fours - 2015
- National League Champions - 2015, 2016
- National Trophy Winners - 2016
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - PRE-WAR ERA (1929-1939)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
- ^ "Speedway crash". Lincolnshire Echo. 8 October 1946. Retrieved 11 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "This was Birmingham Speedway". Sports Argus. 3 August 1957. Retrieved 5 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Norwich depleted". Leicester Evening Mail. 1 August 1957. Retrieved 5 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Oakes, Peter (1978). 1978 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 252. ISBN 978-0904584509.
- ^ "Rider averages 1929 to 2009" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
- ^ "Visionaries can now see wheels in motion". Birmingham Weekly Mercury. 10 February 1985. Retrieved 15 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Birmingham Brummies". Defunct Speedway. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
- ^ "Brummies on Brink". Birmingham News. 11 December 1986. Retrieved 15 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "BACKING THE BRUMMIES". Birmingham Speedway. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
- ^ "Elite League Table 2013". Speedway365.com. Archived from the original on 21 July 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
- ^ "Elite League Grand Final: Poole Pirates complete thrashing of Birmingham Brummies". Skysports.com. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
- ^ "Birmingham Brummies – Weightlifting Group". Birmingham Brummies.
- ^ "Birmingham Speedway - Club Statement".
- ^ "BRUMMIES STEP UP".