Hackney Wick Wolves speedway opened in 1935 at

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

, Waterden Road,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, and operated until the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

in 1939. Many years later the

Hackney Hawks Hackney Hawks speedway opened in 1963 at Hackney Wick Stadium, Waterden Road, London and operated until 1983. The team replaced the Hackney Wick Wolves who had raced at the stadium from 1935 to 1939. The Hawks were then themselves replaced by the ...

and

Hackney Kestrels The Hackney Kestrels were a Speedway team which operated from 1984, when the Crayford Kestrels transferred the promotion to Hackney, until their closure in 1990. History During their first season in the 1984 National League season the team f ...

rode at Hackney Wick Stadium.

History

The Walthamstow Wolves closed at the end of the 1934 season and the team moved into Hackney Stadium.Jacobs, Norman (2001). ''Speedway in London''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing 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 The New Cross Rangers were a Speedway team which operated from 1934 until their closure in 1953. They also rode as the New Cross Lambs from 1934 to 1935 and then the New Cross Tamers in 1936. The team were League Champions in 1938 and 1948. Hi ...

in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

. On 15 May 1936, Hackney rider Dusty Haigh 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. Captain

Dicky Case Roy George Arthur 'Dicky' Case (7 June 1910 Toowoomba, QueenslandBamford, R. & Stallworthy, D. (2003) ''Speedway - The Pre War Years'', Stroud: Tempus Publishing. - 1980) was an Australian international speedway rider who finished sixth in ...

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 north-west Londo ...

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

, 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 in the Knowle Stadium, Bristol, England from 1928 to 1978.Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''. History The club was formed in 1928. Their first trophy ...

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 The 1938 National League Division Two was the inaugural season of British speedway's National League Division Two albeit a continuation of the Provincial League from the previous season in all but name. The list of teams had several changes. Br ...

that season. Hackney stadium did not host speedway again immediately after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

until 1963 when the

were founded.

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 disestablished in 1939

History

Season summary

Notable riders

See also

References