Odsal Boomerangs
Encyclopedia
Odsal Boomerangs were a motorcycle speedway
team based at Odsal
in Bradford
from 1945 to 1949. The team later become the Odsal Tudors.
Rugby League
club's Harry Hornby and the local MP H Hepworth investigated the possibility of introducing speedway racing to Odsal
, but the outbreak of World War Two put an end to their plans. In 1945, with victory in Europe within sight, Harry Hornby joined together with the man who always claimed to have invented the sport, Johnnie S Hoskins, to reactive the plans. On 23 June 1945 before a crowd of over 20,000 the Lord Mayor, Alderman Cecil Barnett, officially opened the track.
The first season was a series of open and challenge meetings, as speedway, along with other professional sports, recovered from the war years. In 1946 league racing was introduced and Odsal joined the six strong National League, the highest league, which apart from Belle Vue consisted of London based tracks. All tracks, with the exception of Odsal, had staged speedway in the pre-war years. Interestingly, Odsal featured on 2 April 1946 in the first post war league meeting, when they won 45-39 at Wimbledon.
The teams’ nickname was 'Boomerangs', a name giving the nod to the sports Australian roots. The first season was marred when the promising Huddersfield born junior Albert “Aussie” Rosenfeld died on 16 July, ten days after hitting the back wheel of Belle Vue’s Wally Lloyd. This accident was followed a week later by a further crash which ended the career of the veteran rider Colin Watson. It resulted in the sports governing body, the Speedway Control Board, issuing an ultimatum that the Odsal track shape be changed or its license would be withdrawn. This resulted in the square corners disappearing and a more typical oval shape emerging.
The post war period was a boom time for speedway, and other professional sports, as British sports starved fans flocked to stadiums throughout the county. Crowds of over 20,000 were regular at Odsal
, the average in 1946 being 31,000, the high point was the 47,050 who saw England defeat Australia 65-43 on 5 July 1947, a figure that remains the highest crowd for a speedway meeting at Odsal
.
At the end of the 1948 season, when Odsal
finished bottom of the league, Johnnie Hoskins
resigned, due he claimed to the increasing time demanded by his speedway interests in Scotland. Hoskins was replaced on the board of directors by Bruce Booth, Hornby’s nephew, and Eric Langton
, the former Belle Vue
rider who finished runner up in the first world championship in 1936.
The worst day in the history of Bradford speedway was on 1 July 1950 in the league match against the West Ham Hammers
when the now 48 year old veteran rider Joe Abbott
fell in his second race and was hit by a following rider and was instantly killed. The riders and promoters decided to carry on with the meeting, as they believed Joe would have wished it. Fans left Odsal unaware that Joe, nicknamed the Ironman, had ridden his last race. On the same night Odsal’s sister track, the Halifax Dukes
, were riding at Norwich and the Dukes rider Jock Sheard, born in the same Burnley street as Abbott, crashed in his second race and was killed.
Sheet music exists for a song - Boom Boom Boomerangs - written especially for the speedway team.
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 1945 to 1949. The team later become the Odsal Tudors.
History
During 1939 Bradford NorthernBradford Bulls
Bradford Bulls is a professional rugby league club based in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. They play in the European Super League and are currently joint 10th in the league....
Rugby League
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
club's Harry Hornby and the local MP H Hepworth investigated the possibility of introducing speedway racing to 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...
, but the outbreak of World War Two put an end to their plans. In 1945, with victory in Europe within sight, Harry Hornby joined together with the man who always claimed to have invented the sport, Johnnie S Hoskins, to reactive the plans. On 23 June 1945 before a crowd of over 20,000 the Lord Mayor, Alderman Cecil Barnett, officially opened the track.
The first season was a series of open and challenge meetings, as speedway, along with other professional sports, recovered from the war years. In 1946 league racing was introduced and Odsal joined the six strong National League, the highest league, which apart from Belle Vue consisted of London based tracks. All tracks, with the exception of Odsal, had staged speedway in the pre-war years. Interestingly, Odsal featured on 2 April 1946 in the first post war league meeting, when they won 45-39 at Wimbledon.
The teams’ nickname was 'Boomerangs', a name giving the nod to the sports Australian roots. The first season was marred when the promising Huddersfield born junior Albert “Aussie” Rosenfeld died on 16 July, ten days after hitting the back wheel of Belle Vue’s Wally Lloyd. This accident was followed a week later by a further crash which ended the career of the veteran rider Colin Watson. It resulted in the sports governing body, the Speedway Control Board, issuing an ultimatum that the Odsal track shape be changed or its license would be withdrawn. This resulted in the square corners disappearing and a more typical oval shape emerging.
The post war period was a boom time for speedway, and other professional sports, as British sports starved fans flocked to stadiums throughout the county. Crowds of over 20,000 were regular 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...
, the average in 1946 being 31,000, the high point was the 47,050 who saw England defeat Australia 65-43 on 5 July 1947, a figure that remains the highest crowd for a speedway meeting 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...
.
At the end of the 1948 season, when 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...
finished bottom of the league, Johnnie Hoskins
Johnnie Hoskins
Johnnie S. Hoskins MBE is the man who is considered to have 'invented' motorcycle speedway. If it cannot be established he invented the sport, he certainly played the largest role in promoting the sport in the United Kingdom.-Early life:He left school at thirteen and worked on a farm and then as...
resigned, due he claimed to the increasing time demanded by his speedway interests in Scotland. Hoskins was replaced on the board of directors by Bruce Booth, Hornby’s nephew, and Eric Langton
Eric Langton
Eric Langton was a motorcycle speedway who won the Star Riders' Championship in 1932, the forerunner to the Speedway World Championship. He also finished runner-up in 1934...
, the former Belle Vue
Belle Vue Aces
The Belle Vue Aces are a British speedway team from Manchester in the north west of England.-Brief history:Racing first took place in 1928 at the Belle Vue greyhound stadium in Kirkmanshulme Lane before moving the following year to a specially built stadium nearby on Hyde Road. The club raced there...
rider who finished runner up in the first world championship in 1936.
The worst day in the history of Bradford speedway was on 1 July 1950 in the league match against the West Ham Hammers
West Ham Hammers
The West Ham Hammers were a speedway team, first promoted by Jimmy Baxter in 1929.. They operated from the West Ham Stadium until the outbreak of World War II under several different promotions, most successfully under the control of Johnnie Hoskins....
when the now 48 year old veteran rider Joe Abbott
Joe Abbott (speedway rider)
John Patrick 'Joe' Abbott was an international motorcycle speedway rider who rode in the World Championship final in 1937.- Career summary :...
fell in his second race and was hit by a following rider and was instantly killed. The riders and promoters decided to carry on with the meeting, as they believed Joe would have wished it. Fans left Odsal unaware that Joe, nicknamed the Ironman, had ridden his last race. On the same night Odsal’s sister track, the Halifax Dukes
Halifax Dukes
The Halifax Dukes were a Speedway team which operated from 1949-1951 and again from 1965 until their closure in 1985 at The Shay Stadium in Halifax...
, were riding at Norwich and the Dukes rider Jock Sheard, born in the same Burnley street as Abbott, crashed in his second race and was killed.
Sheet music exists for a song - Boom Boom Boomerangs - written especially for the speedway team.
Notable riders
- Alec StathamAlec StathamAlec Statham was a Speedway rider who won the London Riders' Championship in 1949 whilst with the Wimbledon Dons....
- Ron ClarkeRon Clarke (speedway rider)Ronald Clarke was a former international speedway who qualified for the Speedway World Championship finals twice.-Career summary:...
- Max GrosskreutzMax GrosskreutzMax Octavius Grosskreutz was a Speedway who finished third in the Star Riders' Championship in 1935, the forerunner to the Speedway World Championship....
- Oliver HartOliver Hart (speedway rider)Oliver Hart is a former international speedway rider who first rode with the Liverpool Chads in 1936....
- Joe AbbottJoe Abbott (speedway rider)John Patrick 'Joe' Abbott was an international motorcycle speedway rider who rode in the World Championship final in 1937.- Career summary :...
- Ernie Price
- Bill LongleyBill Longley (speedway rider)Bill Longley was a former Australian international speedway rider who made his started his career with the New Cross Lambs in 1936, where he remained until the outbreak of World War II, winning the National League Championship in 1938.-Career summary:In 1946 he rode for Odsal but returned to New...
See also
- Bradford TudorsBradford TudorsThe Odsal Tudors were a motorcycle speedway team based at Odsal in Bradford from 1950 to 1956.-History:At the end of July 1950 the Odsal Tudors replaced the Odsal Boomerangs. At the time it was said that the name change was due to the riders hating the Boomerang nickname, or maybe they believed...
- Bradford PanthersBradford PanthersThe 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 BaronsBradford BaronsBradford 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 DukesBradford DukesThe Bradford Dukes were a British motorcycle speedway team which operated from the Odsal Stadium in Bradford from 1986 until their closure in 1997.-History:...