History
Origins
Speedway in Halifax began with a team called Halifax Speedway, who operated out of Thrum Hall between 1928 and 1930. Another team called Halifax Nomads operated racing a few away fixtures in 1948.1949 to 1952
At the end of the 1948 season Bruce Booth had replaced Johnnie Hoskins on the board of directors at Odsal Boomerangs and in early 1949 he took control of the new Halifax venture, bringing in Eric Langton as technical director. On 8 February 1949 construction began on a new speedway track at The Shay. The team enjoyed good support during the opening season with a crowd of over 18,000 attending one meeting in September. They finished in 4th place. During 1950, the team won their first silverware winning the National Trophy division 2. However, the season was marred by the death of Jock Shead on 1 July 1950, when riding for Dukes at The Firs Stadium in Norwich. Attendances dropped and at the end of the 1951 season and the club closed. On 31 March 1952, Dukes promoter Bruce Booth announced the end of speedway "while rates and taxation remains at the present levels".1960s
After a lengthy absence, the sport returned to The Shay in 1965, when Reg Fearman moved his Middlesbrough promotion. The 1965 season also saw a major transformation for the sport. Previously the old National and Provincial Leagues had run as separate organisations with the Provincial League initially being unrecognised by the sports controlling authorities, but the gradual decline in numbers of the "official" National League during the early Sixties led to a reconciliation between the two bodies and the merger of the two leagues leading to the establishment of a single British League for the 1965 Season. The new team opened to big attendances as the sport hit another "boom" period and the Dukes finished in a solid fifth place. The following season the Duke's riders' averages and form improved with Eric Boocock, Dave Younghusband, Eric Boothroyd and Tommy Roper leading the Dukes to a League and KO Cup double in only their second year of operation. In 1969, the team's captain, local greengrocer Eric Boothroyd retired from riding after a long and successful career to join Reg Fearman as Co-Promoter.1970s
By the early 1970s, the Dukes were enjoying higher attendances than the Shaymen ( Halifax Town). On the track the team were producing solid but uninspiring results, with a best league finish of 6th place at both ends of the decade in 1970 and 1979. Eric Boocock remained the star of the team until his retirement after the 1974 season. Chris Pusey was signed from Belle Vue Aces and his replacement. A young rider called Kenny Carter was brought in for the 1978 British League season and together with Ian Cartwright pushed the team from 12th in 1978 to 6th in 1979.1980s
Despite the efforts of Carter and Cartwright, the Dukes struggled to compete with the big spending clubs of the 1980s, such as the Cradley Heathens and Oxford Cheetahs. Carter did win theSeason summary
Notable riders
Seasons 1965 to 1971
1965 season
The new track at the Shay Grounds was a big, fast track laid around the existing Halifax Town football pitch with high banking around all corners - just the recipe for high speeds and exciting racing and a considerable home advantage for the new team. As a result of the merger of the two leagues prior to the start of the season, a control body had been set up to "equalise" the teams. This was needed because the remaining National League sides had team strengths way above those of the Provincial League teams and a certain redistribution of star riders from the stronger to the weaker sides was recognised by all as a necessity to ensure a competitive league competition. As with all such exercises though, the process was highly contentious as promoters tried to ensure the strongest possible line up and riders, naturally, had preferences about where they wanted to ride. From a Halifax perspective, the process looked like it had delivered a poor result. Reg Fearman had decided to close his operation at Middlesbrough (performing as a mid-table side in the Provincial League) at the end of 1964, and as a result was able to bring some of those riders to the new Halifax side - these consisted of the up-and coming Dave Younghusband and Eric Boocock, and a steady middle order man in Clive Hitch. He'd also been able to persuade ex-England international Eric Boothroyd (now running a grocer's business in Halifax) to come out of retirement and captain the new side. The rider control process had allocated the Dukes one ex-England international, Bryan Elliott from Coventry and the team was made up by a number of young, inexperienced Australians - Bert Kingston, Bob Jameson and later Dennis Gavros. Most experienced observers predicted a year of struggle for the new team. This feeling was initially confirmed when the team failed to make an impression in their first away matches at the Belle Vue Aces and1966 season
*finished 1st (54pts) out of 19 At the start of the 1966 season, it looked like the loss of Bryan Elliott who had emigrated to Australia during the winter would weaken the team as the only addition was Greg Kentwell who was yet another in the supply of promising young Aussies that promoter Reg Fearman had tapped into, but he was an unknown quantity in British League terms. Success therefore looked like depending on the heat leaders from the previous season maintaining their progress, and for last years Aussies (Kingston, Gavros and Jameson) building on their experience from 1965 and taking significant steps forward. A series of good away performances at the start of the season showed some promise although there was still only patchy support to Boocock, Younghusband and Boothroyd from the rest of the team. However, after a good 41-37 win over last years champions the1967 season
*finished 7th (37pts) out of 19 The successes of the previous year had provided a warm glow for all the supporters that lasted through most of the Winter. Then a cloud appeared on the horizon - in the shape of the dreaded Rider Control Committee. Other promoters were insistent that the Dukes were too strong and in the interests of keeping the league competitive should release a rider. Various rumours circulated at the start of the year, but Reg Fearman was clearly under pressure to make a concession and after some hard negotiations, Tommy Roper was whipped over the Pennines to bolster the Belle Vue Aces following the retirement of captain Dick Fisher. Halifax were given "permission" to replace him with one of their own assets - Greg Kentwell. However, despite Kentwell's promise of further progress in the coming year, it was effectively replacing a heat leader with a junior. The local supporters were not impressed, and Rider Control Committee members were not welcome in West Yorkshire. Nevertheless, the team still had the core strength of Eric Boocock, Dave Younghusband and Eric Boothroyd – a match for most. Some hoped that Bert Kingston and maybe Dennis Gavros could progress into the sort of solid scoring second strings that could fill the gap left by Roper. The season started on 1 April with an away defeat (26-52) at the Swindon Robins, without an ill Dave Younghusband. A narrow (37-41) defeat at the1968 season
During the Winter of 1967/8, it looked as though the Dukes would track an almost identical team in 1968 to the 1967 side. Bert Kingston had retired back to Australia, and Les Bentzen decided against another year with the team. Complications then arose in the New Year when Dave Younghusband put in a transfer request, which was eventually resolved by promoter Reg Fearman and later, when Dennis Gavros damaged a wrist in a garage accident that would mean missing the start of the season. However, Fearman had a ready made temporary replacement in Alan Jay, a useful rider at Sheffield for the past few seasons, but who'd been allowed to leave by the Owlerton management. Other new players included young Australian Les Sharpe, recommended by Aub Lawson, and Greg Kentwell. The season started at the end of March with another trip to a strong looking Swindon Robins side. The Robins comfortably saw off the Duke's challenge by 48-30, but Eric Boocock inflicted an early defeat on Swindon legend Barry Briggs on his way to 14 points. Boothroyd would score 9 points; however, the rest of the team found the going tough. April saw the Dukes kick-off the home campaign with a good win against the Wolverhampton Wolves by 49-29 setting a trend for solid, comfortable home wins against Swindon, Belle Vue and Leicester during the rest of the month. Away, the team seemed to find another gear after the Swindon drubbing to go down to relatively narrow defeats at Sheffield, Leicester and the1969 season
*finished 4th (46pts) out of 19 Popular club skipper, Eric Boothroyd, announced that he would retire and join management. Promoter Reg Fearman had been looking to expand his activities in the south, opening a new track at Reading, and Boothroyd' became co-promoter and team manager. That left a big hole to fill in the team because, although not quite as effective as in previous seasons, Eric had still comfortably held down a heat leader role in the team. The captaincy was quickly handed over to Eric Boocock, expected as ever to lead from the front again in 1969. But any hopes that a "superstar" replacement would be forthcoming were quickly dashed, and instead it was announced that the team would be much the same as the previous year, with the "full-time" return of Alan Jay after impressing in his "temporary" stint at the start of 1968. So, any hope of zooming up the league table rested on one of the "second-string" trio of Jay, Gavros or Kentwell upping their game and stepping up to the third heat-leader role, or maybe a jump in form from promising young Aussie Les Sharpe, coming back for a second year with the "Dukes". Then, just before the season started it was announced that ex-Oxford star, Arne Pander would be included in the side at reserve. Not that long ago, he had been a top-liner in the National League, but a recent run of injuries had hit his form and confidence. As usual the season started with a 34-43 away defeat at Swindon, but there was encouragement in the way that Eric Boocock twice beat Barry Briggs, relieving him of the Silver Sash match race title in the process, and the consensus was that Pander was worth more than a solitary point from his first match. A series of challenge matches involving Belle Vue and Sheffield followed, with Boocock again to the fore, lowering his own track record in the Sheffield match. There was good support from Dave Younghusband as usual, and a string of double figure scores from "new man" Alan Jay. A solid first league win, 45-33 at home against Wolves was highlighted by a developing partnership between Boocock and Gavros, and the following week the team lost by only four points at Oxford with Boocock, Younghusband and Pander getting ten points apiece. However, Pander crashed heavily in the second half and damaged his shoulder. It was the last that the "Dukes" were to see of him. Later in the season the authorities declared that match void and handed the match points to Halifax when it was determined that Oxford had fielded an illegal line-up. The loss of Pander brought Bob Jameson back into the team whose Shay contributions were good. The team, with Boocock scoring heavily everywhere, finally finished April with a couple of good away performances, a fine win at Wolves 41-36 where the heat leaders had good support from Jay, 9 and Gavros, 6 and then a controversial 39-39 draw at West Ham to push the "Dukes" up to 3rd in the League. May is traditionally World Championship month, with qualifiers across the country, but only Boocock managed the consistency to qualify for the semi-finals. In this month, Greg Kentwell registered three consecutive full maximums at home against Newcastle, King's Lynn and Newport. Nevertheless, and despite a first ever loss in the league against Cradley Heath by 32-45, The Dukes were still comfortably in 3rd place, one point behind Belle Vue and Cradley in the League as June arrived. The new month started encouragingly with a 41-37 win at the Glasgow "Tigers", with good returns from Gavros and Kentwell, 7 apiece, in support of Boocock and Younghusband. Good home wins against Wolves (43-35) in the Cup and Swindon (50-28) kept the momentum going but defeats at Belle Vue (28-50) and Exeter where the "Falcons" won by 43-35, despite an incredible 17 point haul by Boocock, held the team back. At mid term, the "Dukes" were still third in the league but had dropped 6 points behind Belle Vue. Eric Boocock was still unbeaten by an opposing rider round the Shay and averaging over 11 points a match. Younghusband too had been in good form, but tonsillitis problems interrupted his season. Jay had contributed good scores, particularly away and Gavros and Kentwell in particular were dominant around the Shay. July turned into a frustrating month though. Only one league match at home against Sheffield gave the Dukes a hard-fought 46-32 win and there was a cup win over Coventry (47-31) to cheer, but illness and injury robbed the team of Younghusband, Jay and Sharpe in important matches. As a result, there was a heavy defeat at Wimbledon (24-54) followed by a poor loss at Poole when the "Dukes" fielded a 6-man team, and then a controversial 38-40 loss at Coventry "Bees" when the "Dukes" finally fielded their first team again. Dennis Gavros was the meat in a Coventry first bend sandwich in heat 11 with the match in the balance, and the referee would exclude him as he was stretchered off. So, the lack of matches and poor away form dropped the "Dukes" down to eighth in the table, just as a resurgent Poole "Pirates" team surged clear at the top of the table after an unbeaten run. After comfortably seeing off the league leaders by 48-30 at home, the team ran riot 41-37 at Coatbridge to end their unbeaten home record with Boocock scoring another 12 point max and this time ably supported by the rest of the team, with Jay the hero after joining Boocock in a match winning 5-1 at the end. However, that good form petered out quickly with key defeats at Leicester (29-49) and King's Lynn (37-41) and, for good measure, Sheffield won the Cup Semi-Final showdown at Owlerton on a rain soaked track. To top it all, an under-par performance of 8 points by Boocock in the British Championship ended his World Championship hopes early, despite being in the top three of the League averages for practically the whole year. At least the "Dukes" shaded what was probably the best match of the season at the Shay by beating title challengers Belle Vue 40-38 on 16 August where Ivan Mauger and Soren Sjosten proved to be formidable opposition. After a tight match it went to a last heat decider but Kentwell's hard fought second place was enough to give "Dukes" the points. This match marked the first time that Boocock had dropped a point to an away rider at the Shay all season - March to 16 August. So, as September dawned, the Dukes still lay 7th in the table, with matches in hand, but at the top, leaders Poole, had pulled out a ten-point lead over the "Aces" and now seemed uncatchable. This was almost immediately confirmed in the first match in the month which brought a comfortable 49-29 win over Cradley, but also the loss of the flying Greg Kentwell at such a key time with a broken collarbone. September did finally bring a busy run of fixtures though with the "Dukes" still looking very comfortable at home but, missing Kentwell for most of the month, unable to quite do the business away although there was a creditable 39-39 draw at the Newcastle "Diamonds". It was notable for a first full 12 point max for Alan Jay (against Exeter) and a surge in scoring from Les Sharpe who picked up 12 in an away challenge at Leicester. The League season officially ended with a close 4-point win over Coventry in early October, the match winners being Boocock and Kentwell with a heat 12 5-1. By then the Dukes had climbed back up the table and ended in a very creditable 4th place on 46 points, equal to Wimbledon, one behind Belle Vue but still seven behind winners Poole. New captain Eric Boocock did manage to improve further, averaging almost 11 points a match, finishing as top Englishman and behind only world superstars Barry Briggs and Ivan Mauger in the league averages. Dave Younghusband had to overcome some niggling injuries and illness, but he also put 1/2 point on his average. In fact, every Dukes rider improved their average from the previous year. There were two reasons in the end why Eric Boothroyd was not missed as a rider as much as some had feared. They were Greg Kentwell and Alan Jay. Both of them put themselves up into third heat leader territory, and between them generally came up with the required points. Jay was stronger than Kentwell away from the Shay, but for a long period in the middle of the year, Kentwell was almost as "unbeatable" as the Captain over home shale. Dennis Gavros also put up his average to over 6, but still ended the year as a "good second-string". Les Sharpe had started steadily and didn't really get going until later in the year, but he finished the season in style and emphasized that the "promise" was still there. To say that Bob Jameson wasn't even in the team at the start of the year, it was maybe a surprise to see only Boocock and Gavros ride more matches for the team. And, when the team were short handed, they'd also been able to "blood" up-and-coming junior Terry Lee who'd rarely let them down either. 1969 Averages (League and Cup matches) :1970 season
At first it had looked like the team might be more or less unchanged from the one that had finished 4th in 1969. There were high hopes that any of Kentwell, Jay, Sharpe and Gavros might make that final step into a fully fledged heat leader slot. It was then announced that Dennis Gavros's brother, Jimmy had been killed in a track crash at Rowley Park in Adelaide. Shortly after, Dennis announced his retirement from Speedway. The management persuaded New Zealander Colin Mckee to come back to England, after playing with Edinburgh, Hackney and Poole a few years earlier. Les Sharpe had made big scores against the visiting English tourists, and scored well almost everywhere, way ahead of previous seasons. It was almost the same with Greg Kentwell, who'd done well in the Australian Test Matches until suffering a bad ankle injury that curtailed his Winter racing. At the top of the team, Eric Boocock had been retained, and Dave Younghusband had been persuaded not to go to Newcastle, so the "engine room" looked intact. At the other end of the squad, junior Terry Lee was promoted full-time at the expense of the loyal Bob Jameson. He'd had a good season at Middlesbrough the previous year so there was every reason to think that he'd hold his own in the higher division. The start of the season went pretty well for the "Dukes", and it was immediately evident that the "new" Les Sharpe was going to be a real force to contend with, scoring well home and away in challenge matches. As feared though, Greg Kentwell was finding it harder to manage on his weakened ankle. Big home wins over the Coventry "Bees" (49-29), the Wolverhampton "Wolves" (50-28) and the Swindon "Robins" (49-28) in April set the scene for another year of solid home performances. Boocock was unbeaten by an opponent in the first two, but unbeaten also was Les Sharpe. The Swindon match was raced in damp, heavy conditions and it was Alan Jay who came to the fore with 11 points and a win over Barry Briggs. Away from the Shay, the team had won by 40-37 at Cradley and had only gone down by two points at a strong looking Leicester "Lions" where Boocock had an engine failure in the last heat. May followed the same pattern with big home wins against West Ham and Newport before Coventry, who put up a much better showing than their first visit, were beaten again in the KO cup at the start of June by 43-35 as Dave Younghusband hit form with a good ten points. Again, the team went close away from home, but not quite close enough when they lost 38-40 at King's Lynn (where Sharpe had a paid max, but Kentwell and Lee failed to score) and then by 35-43 at Poole where Boocock had a 12-point max, but nobody else could score more than five. All three Halifax riders, Boocock (3), Sharpe(7) and Mckee (2) failed to qualify from a tough Sheffield World Championship semi-final. By the end of the month the "Dukes" were in 6th place in the league, but had three or four matches in hand on most of the teams above them. Later in the season, new sensation Les Sharpe started to struggle with illness, though it wasn't clear at first what the problem was. After missing a couple of matches, his return during June was short-lived, and soon after getting married in West Yorkshire he was on the boat home to Australia, having "retired" from British Speedway. During this difficult spell, the ultimately all-conquering Belle Vue "Aces" arrived at the Shay on 20 June and snatched a 41-37 win where the "Dukes" were handicapped by the loss of Dave Younghusband to an injury in an International match the previous night. This was to be the only home points dropped all year. For the rest of the year Halifax were allowed to use "Guest" riders in place of the absent Sharpe, but they generally scored at least a couple of points a match less than the absent star, and so, although still comfortable at home, the team struggled to bring back points from their travels. However, the team pulled off a draw at Coventry with Kentwell paid for 11 points, and a win at the Newcastle "Diamonds" where six of the team managed wins on the night. And, out of the last seven away matches, the "Dukes" suffered two point losses at Oxford, Wembley and Hackney and only lost by four at Swindon and West Ham. Ultimately, the team finished ten point clear at the top of the final league table. Captain Eric Boocock had a strong season, but at the end his average was about half a point down on 1969. Dave Younghusband ended up nearly 1.5 points down on the previous term. Alan Jay stayed the same as last year, his average almost identical. Greg Kentwell also lost about 1.5 points on the previous year, the foot injury hampering him all year. Colin Mckee's average was about the same as Gavros from the previous year. Final regular was Terry Lee, promoted from Second Division Middlesbrough, who averaged nearly 4.5 points a match in his first full season of senior racing. In the absence of Sharpe for so long, Halifax gave opportunities to a number of junior riders, Paul O'Neil just pipping Malcolm Mackay to the title of "best of the rest". 1970 Averages (League and Cup matches) :1971 season
*finished 14th (34pts) out of 19 Despite the unexpected loss of Aussie sensation Les Sharpe half way through the previous season, the "Dukes" had finished the year in a creditable 6th place in the League Table. So it was reasonable for supporters to expect that, with an adequate replacement from Rider Control, there could be even more success in 1971. Over the Winter though, these rosy expectations gradually took some significant blows. The Rider Control committee not only failed to find Halifax a replacement for Sharpe, but asked newcomer Colin Mckee to move away to Wimbledon instead, possibly in return for John Dews. There were also rumours that Dave Younghusband wanted away again, this time to Newcastle, a team nearer his North East home. However, they came to naught as the Newcastle promotion packed up and moved down South. The fact that Mckee failed to agree terms with Wimbledon and stayed at home in New Zealand instead was of no great help to Halifax. The club promotors came up with two new signings for 1971. Firstly they brought in another Aussie in promoting the promising Crewe captain, Paul O'Neil from Div2. He'd been top scorer for the "Kings" in 1970, but it was a big ask to jump straight into Div1 and fill Sharpe's scoring boots. The second newcomer was Chris Bailey, snaffled from the Belle Vue junior ranks, and after a promising Winter where he'd become New Zealand champion there was real hope that he could make the grade. However, both moves were risks, and both moves were based on "potential" rather than proven scoring power. The rest of the team was pretty familiar. Eric Boocock and Dave Younghusband were back to provide the spearhead, supported by the steady Alan Jay and the unpredictable Aussie Greg Kentwell. Greg was coming back after yet another "hot" close season in Australia, but also on the back of a big crash at the Sydney Showground. Last man in the team would be young Englishman Terry Lee, back for a second season at reserve, but with high hopes of pushing on after establishing himself the previous year. Perhaps the biggest change when the circuit re-opened in March was the track itself -- Boothroyd had spent the winter taking it further away from the football field and reshaping it slightly so that it was now an extra 22 yards in length at a 400. Not too much judging by the result of the first home match, a big 55-23 drubbing of the Poole "Pirates" with Boocock and Jay unbeaten by the opposition, Younghusband taking three wins and encouraging 8 and 6 point contributions from O'Neil and Bailey. During the rest of March there were mixed signals though. A fairly narrow home 41-37 win over Glasgow, and a more encouraging win by the same margin in front of a big crowd over the strong Belle Vue "Aces" in a challenge were decent results, but Bailey broke his wrist in the Belle Vue match and would be out for a while. Away though, the Dukes went down at King's Lynn 25-53, with Boocock getting 13 of them. Although improving at the Swindon "Robins" to lose by just six where Kentwell marked his return to the team with a couple of wins, it tended to confirm that the side would be largely relying heavily on the Boocock/Younghusband partnership again. At the start of May, after the Ole Olsen led "Wolves" had been beaten 44-34 at the Shay (with Boocock twice heading the redoubtable Olsen), Halifax were in mid-table with Belle Vue again in the lead. At home, Halifax were solid as ever. No repeats of the Poole massacre, but a 20 point win over West Ham (Younghusband max) in the KO Cup got things off nicely, and then wins over Newport "Wasps" (46-31), Hackney "Hawks" (49-29) and Exeter "Falcons" (44-34) consolidated the start. Away, the "Dukes" were competitive at Poole and Exeter where they lost by eight and four points respectively, without quite threatening to win, but Kentwell's 11 points at the "Falcons" was encouraging. There followed what was to be their only success on the "road" when the team picked up a draw at the Glasgow "Tigers" with a solid all-round performance, led by Boocock, Younghusband and Kentwell. But having lost an eight point lead over the last three heats, even this success had a tinge of frustration about it. On the individual front, the World Championship British Semi-Finals were held at West Ham and Sheffield in May, Ronnie Moore dominating with 14 points at Custom House, but at Owlerton, a single point separated the first four with Ivan Mauger eventually coming out on top over Ole Olsen and the Boocock brothers. Younghusband also qualified for the final from this one on 8 points. At the start of June, Halifax had climbed to sixth in the table, still well behind leaders Belle Vue, but handily placed if they could just get "on a roll", avoid injuries and get the best out of Jay, whose recent scoring had been badly affected whilst suffering from a mysterious virus. However, with only three league fixtures in the whole of June, there was little scope to make headway against the rest, and a 50-28 home win against a decent Wimbledon side in wet conditions which marked the return of Bailey from his wrist injury was the only league success. The "Dons" gained immediate revenge at Plough Lane where they won 48-30, although an 11-point return from Jay at reserve was an encouraging feature. Back in London at the end of the month, Halifax again suffered a heavy defeat, this time 26-52 to the Wembley "Lions" where Boocock (11) and Younghusband (8) picked up all but seven of the team's total. However, there was some good news in the KO Cup. Nigel Boocock's Coventry "Bees" were dispatched 42-36 in a tight, entertaining fixture at the Shay. A last heat 5-1 from Younghusband and the fighting O'Neil settled it in the home side's favour, and although Boocock (11) and Younghusband (9) were yet again the big hitters, it was two wins from reserve Lee that ultimately proved crucial. The British Final of the World Championship that month was a strange affair, with twelve of the sixteen riders progressing to the next round. It was won by the dominant Ivan Mauger with 14 points, but both Younghusband (7) and Boocock (6) qualified for the next round. July started badly for the "Dukes" as they were held at home to a 39-39 draw. Younghusband almost saved the day with 14 points, and Kentwell did well to pick up 9, but with Jim Airey unbeatable, the "Tigers" hung on to take a point. They lost 48-30 at Belle Vue with only Boocock troubling the League Leaders, and 45-33 at Reading where he got better support from Younghusband and O'Neil but the lack of strength in the lower order at away matches was becoming a cause for concern. Later in July came a 41-37 home win over Belle Vue, where Younghusband beat Ivan Mauger in a last heat decider. This match saw the introduction of young Mike Hiftle, recently transferred from the Aces, who earned 4 points. Hiftle's introduction was at the expense of Terry Lee, who'd finally been released after a string of low away scores appeared to have sapped his confidence. On 30 July Boocock progressed to the next round of the World Championship from the Nordic-British final at Glasgow with 9 points, but Younghusband with 7 just missed out. The next day at Halifax though, Younghusband was the star with an 18 point maximum for Great Britain as the Swedes were sent packing 63-45. The trend was set over July and August where the team was solid at home, with good contributions across the board in wins against West Ham(42-36), Oxford (50-28) and Cradley (42-36). Away, support for Boocock and Younghusband was sporadic at best although Jay did come up with 10 points at Cradley, but just at the time that Younghusband suffered a wrist injury that was to finish his season. In a rain affected match at the Oxford "Cheetahs" which the "Dukes" lost 31-46, Boocock weighed in with 17 points. The KO Cup was still providing a ray of hope for silverware and Halifax progressed to the Semi-Final by gaining revenge over Sheffield with a fine 43-35 win in the middle of August. Jim Airey was again untouchable with 15 points for the visitors, but this time all the Halifax team contributed decent scores on a damp track. The loss of Younghusband at the end of August was pretty much the end of any League ambitions. The side had already sunk to 14th place in the league. There were rumours that the German Josef Angermuller might be tempted over as a replacement, but continental commitments snuffed out that possibility, and no other continental top-liners seemed to be available. In the end the management continued to use "rider replacement" for the remaining matches where Younghusband's rides were shared out amongst the rest of the team. This worked okay for most of the remaining home matches and gave additional opportunities for the promising Malcolm Mackay, but left the side weak on their travels where Boocock continued to score well, but had only sporadic support from the other riders. However, one match that it didn't work in was at home to a strong Leicester side in September who were pressing Belle Vue for the title. The "Lions", who had ten heat winners, came away from the Shay with a convincing 44-34 win to inflict the only home defeat on the Dukes all year. The lack of strength to support Boocock brought the cup run to an end when the Dukes went down 27-50 at the Hackney "Hawks" in the Semi Final. The captain was magnificent, scoring an 18-point maximum, but the next best was 3 points each from Jay, Kentwell and O'Neil. Individually, Eric Boocock progressed comfortably through the European final at Wembley with 10 points to reach the World Final at Ullevi, Sweden in September. Ole Olsen was a winner on the night, but Boocock finished on four points, although he did manage a win in one heat. So, after being comprehensively wiped out at Leicester by 57-21, the Dukes brought the season to a close at home by seeing off the challenge of Reading by 46-32 with Boocock and Kentwell both being paid for 14 points. It left the team in 14th position in the league, pretty much where they'd been all the time from mid-season. It was another typical Halifax year. Dominant at home, but pretty poor on their travels. It was the first time that they'd failed to pick up at least one away win and, if anything the support for Boocock and Younghusband had gone backwards, not forwards. Statistically, Boocock led from the front and finished with a ten point average yet again. Younghusband seemed to regain his mojo and put a point on his average to get back to around the 9 point mark and was unlucky to get injured just when in good form, but after that the stats tell a different story. Jay struggled early on with a virus problem and, although popping in good scores from time to time, by the end, he'd lost a point on last year's average. Kentwell too struggled with an injured shoulder all season and never really looked like becoming the consistent third heat leader that the team so desperately needed. Newcomer Paul O'Neil proved a gutsy trier, getting good points at home, and some pretty important ones at times too, but many of the first division tracks were new to him so it was no surprise that he couldn't be as effective away from the Shay. At the tail-end of the team, Bailey started well, but the early wrist injury left him playing catch up when he finally got started again, but he did average over four. He produced some sterling rides, but not enough to keep him in the team all season. Mike Hiftle took over mid-season and, despite falling off a lot, was impressive at the Shay. He was equally unimpressive at away tracks but even so, managed to average more than the other two reserves. Last came Malcolm Mackay who was called up from Workington numerous times to cover for injuries and illness and produced some scoring. 1971 Averages (League and Cup matches) :References
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