Hackney Speedway opened in 1935 at

Hackney Wick Stadium Hackney Wick Stadium was a greyhound racing and speedway stadium located at Waterden Road in Hackney Wick, London, England. Origins The site chosen for the stadium was on land known as Hackney Marshes west of the River Lea and on the west side ...

, Waterden Road, London, and operated until 1996. The team raced under various names, known as Hackney Wick Wolves, Hackney Hawks, Hackney Kestrels and London Lions.

History

Origins & 1930s

A turbulent 1935 season for

Lea Bridge Lea Bridge is a district in the London Borough of Hackney and the London Borough of Waltham Forest in London, England. It lies 7 miles (11.3 km) northeast of Charing Cross. The area it takes its name from a bridge built over the River Le ...

and Walthamstow Wolves resulted in the relocation of the speedway into Hackney Stadium, with the team riding as the Hackney Wick Wolves.Jacobs, Norman (2001). ''Speedway in London''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing The track measuring 310 metres, was granted a licence by the Speedway Control Board. The first meeting was held on 26 April 1935, although the first official meeting was a week later on 3 May, when Hackney lost to the New Cross Lambs in the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

. Australian Dicky Case starred for the team that finished 5th in the league. The following season was overshadowed by the death of Hackney rider

Dusty Haigh Herbert Haigh known as Dusty Haigh (Q1 1906 – 15 May 1936) was an international motorcycle speedway rider, who rode in the earliest days of the sport in Britain. Speedway career Haigh started riding in 1928 at Halifax before moving to Sheff ...

on 15 May 1936, he died from a broken skull in a crash at the track after falling whilst in the lead and being struck by another rider's machine.Fenn, C.(2003). ''Hackney Speedway, Friday at Eight''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. Meanwhile, Dicky Case qualified for the first ever

Speedway World Championship The World Championship of Speedway is an international competition between the highest-ranked motorcycle speedway riders of the world, run under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). The first official championsh ...

final at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

, but decided to retire at the end of the 1937 season. Crowds were not large enough to support top level speedway so, in 1938, Hackney swapped licences with the

Bristol Bulldogs The Bristol Bulldogs were a British motorcycle speedway team based at the Knowle Stadium, Bristol, England from 1928 to 1961Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''. and later Eastville Stadium from 1977 to 1978. History ...

and dropped down to the second tier. This meant the big name stars at the Wick went too. However, the Wolves won the 1938 Speedway National League Division Two that season, led by their number 1 rider Frank Hodgson who averaged 10.06. The speedway ceased during 1939 following the suspension of the league due to the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

1960s

Hackney Stadium did not host speedway again until 1963 when the Hackney Hawks were formed by promoters Mike Parker and Reg Fearman, the team joined the

Provincial League Provincial League (formerly known as Professional League) also known as Pro League was the old regional Football league in Thailand in 1999–2008. It was founded in 1999 under the name "Provincial League" organized by Sports Authority of Thailan ...

Rogers, Martin (1963) "Hackney Hawks Here to Stay?", ''

Speedway Star Speedway Star is a national motorcycle speedway magazine. The magazine is published every week of the year and the emphasis of the publication is on British speedway but also features international speedway from around the world. The magazine is ...

'', 1 June 1963, p. 16 and finished 10th in their debut season in the

1963 Provincial Speedway League The 1963 Provincial Speedway League was the fourth season of the Provincial League in the United Kingdom. Thirteen speedway teams took part. Season summary Thirteen teams competed again as in 1962, despite the loss of four teams. At the star ...

. The promotion was then sold to rider/promoter

Len Silver Leonard George Silver (2 February 1932 – 13 October 2024) was an English motorcycle speedway rider and promoter. He has also served as the Team Manager for the England and Great Britain national speedway team during two separate spells in 197 ...

who was the club's promoter for the next twenty seasons.Fenn, C.(2003). ''Hackney Speedway, Friday at Eight''. The riders and track staff marched onto the track to the sound of the theme tune of the film

The Magnificent Seven ''The Magnificent Seven'' is a 1960 American Western film directed by John Sturges. The screenplay, credited to William Roberts, is a remake – in an Old West-style – of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 Japanese film '' Seven Samurai'' (itself init ...

and that tune inspires more memories for Hackney Hawks fans than anything else. The Hawks were closely linked with sister track the

Rayleigh Rockets The Rayleigh Rockets were a Motorcycle speedway, Speedway team which operated from 1949 until their closure in 1973 from the Rayleigh Weir Stadium in Rayleigh, Essex, Rayleigh, Essex . History Origins and 1940s In June 1948, the Speedway ...

and latterly the

Rye House Rockets The Rye House Rockets were a motorcycle speedway, speedway team based at Rye House Stadium, Hoddesdon, England. They competed in various British speedway leagues from 1954 to 2018. History Origins & 1930s Rye House began life in 1934, host ...

. The Hawks finished runner-up to

Newcastle Diamonds Newcastle Diamonds were a motorcycle speedway team that raced in the British speedway leagues from 1929 to 2022. They were based at Newcastle Stadium on the Fossway, Byker. The Stadium was previously known as Brough Park. History Origins and ...

in 1964 before becoming founder members of the new

British League The British League was the main motorcycle speedway league in Britain from its formation in 1965 until 1995 when British speedway was restructured. It initially had a single division, with a British League Division Two, second division starting i ...

in 1965. Swede

Bengt Jansson Bengt Gustaf Jansson (born 9 January 1943 in Stockholm, Sweden) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider from Sweden. He earned 107 caps for the Sweden national speedway team. Career Jansson was runner up in the 1967 World Final ...

was brought into the club and together with

Colin Pratt Colin George Pratt (10 October 1938 – 2 October 2021) was a British motorcycle speedway rider and later promoter of the Coventry Bees who compete in the British Elite League. He earned 14 international caps for the England national speedway t ...

they nearly won the 1968 league title, only losing out on points difference to

Coventry Bees Coventry Bees are a motorcycle speedway team that existed from 1929 to 2018. They raced at Brandon Stadium, Brandon, Warwickshire, Brandon near Coventry, England. They are eight times champions of Britain. History Origins and 1920s The firs ...

1970s

In 1971, Hackney won their first major honour when they beat

Cradley Heath Heathens Cradley Heathens were a motorcycle speedway team from Dudley, England. The team was founded in 1947 and competed primarily at the top level of British speedway at Dudley Wood Stadium until its closure in 1995. The team was revived as Dudley Heath ...

to win the

British League Knockout Cup The British League Knockout Cup was a speedway Knockout Cup competition in the United Kingdom governed by the Speedway Control Board (SCB) in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA), that was staged between 1965 and ...

. The team also won the London Cup in 1971 and 1973. The remainder of the decade was relatively average with a best finish of 7th in 1976. Riders leading the team during the period included Dag Lövaas, Dave Morton and

Zenon Plech Zenon Plech (1 January 1953 – 25 November 2020) was a Polish international motorcycle speedway rider. He finished third in the Speedway World Championship in 1973 and as the runner-up in 1979. He earned 76 international caps for the Poland nat ...

. The decade ended tragically after popular rider Vic Harding was killed on 8 June 1979, whilst racing for the team. A Vic Harding Memorial Trophy meeting was held in his memory in the seasons following his death.

1980s

The team finished runner-up again during the

1980 British League season The 1980 British League season was the 46th season of the top tier of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom and the 16th season known as the British League. Summary The league comprised 17 teams - one fewer than the previous season. Exet ...

with Danish duo

Bo Petersen Bo Petersen (born 21 February 1958 Bolbro, Denmark) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from Denmark. He was the 1980 Danish champion and earned 59 caps for the Denmark national speedway team. Career Petersen first rode in the United King ...

and

Finn Thomsen Finn Thomsen (born 16 February 1955 in Arhus, Denmark) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from Denmark. He earned 30 caps for the Denmark national speedway team. Career Thomsen was a Speedway World Team Cup winner with the D ...

adding valuable support to Plech. At the completion of the 1983 British League season there was major disruption after

Oxford Cheetahs The Oxford Cheetahs are a British Motorcycle speedway, speedway teamLawson,K (2018) “Riders, Teams and Stadiums”. based at Oxford Stadium, in Oxford, England. They were founded in 1939 and are five times champions of Britain, in 1964 Speed ...

bought Len Silver's division 1 licence. This led to the Crayford Kestrels promotion transferring their licence to race at Hackney because their home at

Crayford & Bexleyheath Stadium Crayford & Bexleyheath Stadium was a greyhound racing and motorcycle speedway stadium in the London Borough of Bexley. Origins and Opening In 1930 the Bexleyheath and District Motorcycle Club started making plans for a grass speedway track ...

had closed. The team became known as the Hackney Kestrels. During their first season as the Kestrels in the 1984 National League season and led by Barry Thomas and

Trevor Banks Trevor Charles Banks (born 4 October 1955) is a former Motorcycle racing, motorcycle racer from England, who competed in grasstrack and Long track motorcycle racing, longtrack. Career Banks was an established grasstrack and longtrack rider b ...

, the team finished 4th and won the Knockout Cup (div 2). The Kestrels competed in the highest league for a one-off season in 1987 and signed

Simon Wigg Simon Antony Wigg (15 October 1960 – 15 November 2000) was an English speedway, grasstrack and longtrack rider. He won five World Long Track Championships and finished runner-up in the Speedway World Championship in 1989.Rogers, G.(2005 ...

but dropped back down again in 1988. The decision proved to be wise as the Kestrels won the Division 2 League Championship, winning twenty-six of their thirty league matches and the Knockout Cup for the second time, beating the

Wimbledon Dons The Wimbledon Dons were a professional motorcycle speedway team who operated from the Wimbledon Stadium, Plough Lane in London from 1929 until 1991. The team were seven times champions of Britain. History Origins The speedway track opened ...

on aggregate in the final. Young English riders

Mark Loram Mark Roysten Gregory Loram (born 12 January 1971) is a British former motorcycle speedway rider, who won the World Speedway Championship in 2000 and won the British Championship in 1997, 1999, and 2001. He earned 36 international caps for t ...

, Andy Galvin and

Chris Louis Christopher Louis (born 9 July 1969) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider from England, who primarily rode for the Ipswich Witches. He earned 41 international caps for the England national speedway team and 3 caps for the Great ...

starred.Jacobs, N. ''Speedway in London''.

1990s

A 5th-place finish in 1990 and a pairs success by Steve Schofield and Andy Galvin was followed by the team reverting to the Hawks nickname for the 1991 season. Unfortunately promoter Derek Howes withdrew the team from the league mid-season, citing injuries and the recession. Hackney Stadium underwent financial turmoil followed by significant development from 1991 to 1994, with a new £14 million scheme to develop the neglected stadium. The new stadium opened in October 1995 but went into receivership the same evening. Under the receivers a new speedway promotion arrived when Ivan Henry and Terry Russell moved their

Arena Essex Hammers The Lakeside Hammers (formerly the Arena-Essex Hammers) were a speedway team who raced in the British league system from 1984 to 2018, most recently racing in the SGB Championship in 2018. The team were nicknamed the Hammers after the West Ham H ...

team to Hackney and rode as the London Lions. Team manager for that season was former Hackney rider Colin Pratt. The Lions finished the season in ninth place (out of nineteen), At the end of the 1996 season, there was no stadium owner and speedway was never seen at the stadium again.

2010s

The Hackney Hawks name was revived again during the 2011 National League speedway season (third-tier league), as a joint promotion between the promotions at Lakeside and Rye House with the Hawks home matches being divided between the two parent tracks.

Season summary

Notable riders

References

{{Reflist Defunct speedway teams in the United Kingdom Sport in the London Borough of Hackney History of the London Borough of Hackney Sports venues completed in 1935 Sports clubs and teams established in 1935 Speedway teams in London Hackney Wick Hackney, London Speedway National League teams Sports clubs and teams disestablished in 1996