Leeds Lions are a defunct British
motorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four clockwise, anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that ...
team who were based at
Fullerton Park Sports Stadium, adjacent to the
Elland Road
Elland Road, or Elland Road Stadium, is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the Home (sports), home of Leeds United F.C., Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the List of foot ...
football ground in
Leeds
Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
, England.
History
Origins
The city of Leeds first experienced the sport of speedway at a little known track at
Post Hill
Post Hill is a designated Leeds Nature Area on the western end of Farnley, Leeds, Farnley, and partly in Pudsey. It is situated mostly east of Pudsey Beck and Farnley Beck, between Wood Lane in the north and Troydale Lane in the south, and forms ...
on 9 April 1928.
Organised by the Leeds Motor Club events were held at the foot of Post Hill. Later that year on 13 October, speedway was introduced to
Fullerton Park, following an earlier inspection by the Auto-Cycle Union. The introduction of speedway at Fullerton Park in 1928 included a team fixture against
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
and seemed to end the planned expansion of the Post Hill track.
[
]
Team
League racing first took place in 1929 with the formation of the English Dirt Track League, effectively a Northern League, which ran alongside the Southern League. The inaugural season started with a home win against Barnsley
Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...
on 29 March and the Leeds team went on to win the league title. Their success was helped by the withdrawal of White City (Manchester) who were leading the league but failed to complete the season. The 1929 league winning team included riders such as George Greenwood, Arthur Atkinson and the Langton brothers Eric
The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization).
The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-N ...
and Oliver
Oliver may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and literature
Books
* ''Oliver the Western Engine'', volume 24 in ''The Railway Series'' by Rev. W. Awdry
* ''Oliver Twist'', a novel by Charles Dickens
Fictional characters
* Ariadne Oliver ...
.
After a season when Fullerton Park opted not to field a team, the club competed in the 1931 Speedway Northern League finishing second. The subsequent season saw the merger of the Northern and Southern Leagues to form the National League but Leeds di not participate. Despite a few fixtures being held at Fullerton Park in 1932, speedway would cease until 1938.
The team's final appearance was in the 1938 Speedway National League Division Two, where they finished 9th.
Season summary
Notable riders
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*
*
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*
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References
{{Reflist
Defunct speedway teams in the United Kingdom
Sport in Leeds