The Crewe Kings was a British Speedway team which operated in

Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The Crewe built-up area had a total population of 75,556 in 2011, which also covers parts of the adjacent civil parishes of Willaston ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

from 1969 until its closure in 1975.

History

The team first competed in 1969 promoted by

Maury Littlechild Maury may refer to: Places United States * Maury Mountains, Oregon * Maury County, Tennessee * Maury River, Virginia, a tributary of the James River * Maury Island, a small island near Seattle, Washington France * Maury, Pyrénées-Orientales, a ...

for Allied Presentations who also promoted the Rayleigh Rockets, the

Sunderland Stars The Sunderland Stars were a motorcycle speedway team who raced at the Sunderland Greyhound Stadium from 1971 until 1974 in the Britrish League Division Two when Len Silver acted as promoter on behalf of Allied Presentations Ltd. History Spee ...

and the Reading Racers. Littlechild died on 12 July 1972 - a year when the Kings achieved the League and

Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, c ...

double and Phil Crump won the Division Two riders championship; Ken Adams took over until the end of the season. In 1973, Len Silver took over on behalf of Allied Presentations, continuing in that role until former Crewe rider

Dave Parry Dave Parry is a sound and lighting designer specializing in music venues. He has been involved in the designing of nightclubs, with the majority of his completed projects being UK based. Dave Parry lives between New Delhi, India and London, UK, ...

took over in 1975. The Earle Street track established itself as the fastest track in the UK. Originally 470 yards long, it was feared by many riders but was shortened to 436 yards in 1971, both versions had their track records in the''

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

'' for the fastest average speeds. The team was renowned for developing young riding talent, giving early opportunities to

Geoff Curtis Geoff Curtis (26 April 1943 – 15 December 1973) was a speedway rider from Australia. Speedway career Curtis rode in the top tier of British Speedway from 1969 to 1973, riding for various clubs. He was a finalist at the British Speedway Cha ...

, Phil Crump, Les Collins, John Jackson,

Dave Morton David James Morton (born 24 September 1953 in Eccles, Lancashire, England) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider who started his career with the Crewe Kings. He represented England at test level. His brother Chris Morton was also ...

Ian Cartwright Ian J. Cartwright (13 November 1964 – 7 December 2016) was an English footballer, who played in the Football League for Wolverhampton Wanderers. Career Ian Cartwright signed for First Division Wolverhampton Wanderers as a youth trainee ...

and Chris Turner. However, the club started to run into financial difficulties at the end of 1974 with Dave Parry taking over in 1975 before closing at the end of the season. It ran as a training school for two more years. A memorial plaque to Crewe Kings was unveiled in the nearby Kings Arms pub in September 2010.

Crewe LMR

The speedway track also operated for a short time in the late 1920s / early 1930s. Previously also used as a cycling and athletics track, it encircled a cricket pitch that was used by Crewe Alexandra cricket club from 1898 (following its relocation from the Alexandra Recreation Ground on Nantwich Road), and by its successor, Crewe LMR ( London Midland Region) cricket club until 1975. The track's site is now the location of the Grand Junction retail park.

History

Crewe LMR

Notable riders

Season summary

References