The Odsal Tudors were a motorcycle speedway

Motorcycle speedway

Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. Speedway motorcycles use only one gear and have no brakes and racing takes place on a flat oval track usually...

 team based at Odsal

Odsal

Odsal is a village in the metropolitan district of the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. It is situated outside the village of Wibsey. Odsal's main attraction is Odsal Stadium which is the home of the four times Super League champions the Bradford Bulls...

 in Bradford

Bradford

Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...

 from 1950 to 1956.

History

At the end of July 1950 the Odsal Tudors replaced the Odsal Boomerangs

Odsal Boomerangs

Odsal Boomerangs were a motorcycle speedway team based at Odsal in Bradford from 1945 to 1949. The team later become the Odsal Tudors. -History:...

. At the time it was said that the name change was due to the riders hating the Boomerang nickname, or maybe they believed that a change of name would herald a change of fortune. The Tudors of 1951 repeated the feat of the Boomerangs

Odsal Boomerangs

Odsal Boomerangs were a motorcycle speedway team based at Odsal in Bradford from 1945 to 1949. The team later become the Odsal Tudors. -History:...

 of 1948 and finished bottom of the National League

Speedway National League

The National League was the top division of Speedway in the United Kingdom from 1932 until 1965 when it became known as the British League. Prior to 1932 there were only small regional leagues competing within the sport in the UK. The National League was re-incarnated in 1975 as the second division...

.

One bright spot was Arthur Forrest

Arthur Forrest

Arthur Forrest was a former international speedway who qualified for the Speedway World Championship finals five times.-Career summary:...

, a local rider who was the product of the Monday night training school, finished third in the 1956 world final. With the decreasing attendances it was not a surprise that at the end of the 1956 season that it was announced that league racing would not be staged at Odsal in 1957.

In 1957 former riders Oliver Hart

Oliver Hart (speedway rider)

Oliver Hart is a former international speedway rider who first rode with the Liverpool Chads in 1936....

, Ron Clarke and Ron Mason took over as promoters and staged a number of open meetings and when in August, the Birmingham Brummies

Birmingham Brummies

Birmingham Brummies are a British speedway team, who were reformed in 2006 and then accepted into the Premier League in 2007. The club race at Perry Barr Stadium ....

 withdrew from the National League

Speedway National League

The National League was the top division of Speedway in the United Kingdom from 1932 until 1965 when it became known as the British League. Prior to 1932 there were only small regional leagues competing within the sport in the UK. The National League was re-incarnated in 1975 as the second division...

 as a result of internal speedway

Motorcycle speedway

Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. Speedway motorcycles use only one gear and have no brakes and racing takes place on a flat oval track usually...

 politics, Clarke and Mason took over their remaining fixtures riding as the Bradford (the Odsal name was dropped) Tudors.

Notable riders

• Ron Clarke
  Ron Clarke (speedway rider)
  Ronald Clarke was a former international speedway who qualified for the Speedway World Championship finals twice.-Career summary:...
  
  
• Oliver Hart
  Oliver Hart (speedway rider)
  Oliver Hart is a former international speedway rider who first rode with the Liverpool Chads in 1936....
  
  
• Jack Biggs
• Eddie Rigg
  Eddie Rigg
  Edward Rigg was a former international speedway who finished twice finished seventh in the Speedway World Championship final.-Career summary:...
  
  
• Dent Oliver
  Dent Oliver
  John Walter Denton Oliver was a former international speedway who qualified for the Speedway World Championship finals three times.-Career summary:...
  
  
• Arthur Forrest
  Arthur Forrest
  Arthur Forrest was a former international speedway who qualified for the Speedway World Championship finals five times.-Career summary:...
  
  
• Arthur Wright
• Jack Hughes
• Al Allison
• Guy Allott
• Nigel Boocock
  Nigel Boocock
  Nigel Boocock is a former speedway rider who appeared in eight Speedway World Championship finals and was a reserve in one other .-Career:...
  
  

See also

• Odsal Boomerangs
  Odsal Boomerangs
  Odsal Boomerangs were a motorcycle speedway team based at Odsal in Bradford from 1945 to 1949. The team later become the Odsal Tudors. -History:...
  
  
• Bradford Panthers
  Bradford Panthers
  The Bradford Panthers were a motorcycle speedway team based at Odsal in Bradford from 1960 to 1969.-Odsal:In 1960 the Bradford Tudors renamed themselves the Bradford Panthers. They had one disastrous season at Odsal before leaving for Greenfield Stadium at Dudley Hill...
  
  
• Bradford Northern (speedway)
• Bradford Barons
  Bradford Barons
  Bradford Barons were a motorcycle speedway team based at Odsal in Bradford from 1974 to 1975.-History:1974 saw yet another name change with Bradford Barons replacing Bradford Northern as Alan Knapkin began his first full season in charge...
  
  
• Bradford Dukes
  Bradford Dukes
  The Bradford Dukes were a British motorcycle speedway team which operated from the Odsal Stadium in Bradford from 1986 until their closure in 1997.-History:...