The Leicester Hunters were a

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 which operated from 1948 until 1962.Bamford, R & Jarvis J. (2001) ''Homes of British Speedway'', , p. 147-149

History

Speedway had operated before the war at both

Leicester Stadium Leicester Stadium also known as the Blackbird Road Stadium, was a sports stadium on Parker Drive in Leicester. The stadium was initially used for Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom, greyhound racing with motorcycle speedway starting there fi ...

and the

Syston Sports Stadium Syston Sports Stadium also known as Syston Greyhound Stadium was a greyhound racing and Motorcycle speedway track located at Central Avenue and East Avenue, off the Melton Road in Syston, Leicestershire. Origins The stadium was built in 1929 in ...

. Speedway was proposed to return to Leicester in 1948 at Leicester Stadium, led by A. D. Sanderson with Roy Dook and later Bob Peett managing the team, but concerns from local residents over noise levels delayed the return until the following year, with the newly formed team limited to away challenge matches in 1948. To go with the team name, the riders wore hunting pink race bibs featuring a gold horseshoe. The Hunters joined 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 ...

in Division 3, where they finished 10th. Former rider

Cyril "Squib" Burton Cyril Frederick "Squib" Burton (16 January 1908 – June 1990) was a motorcycle speedway rider who was one of the sport's early stars, becoming a leading rider for the Leicester Stadium team and for Rochdale, and going on to represent England. ...

, who had been one of the top riders of the Leicester Stadium team in the early 1930s, took over as manager in 1950 and the team joined division 2 at the end of the season, after finishing in third place.Hoare, Ron (1979) ''Speedway Panorama'', Haynes, , p. 122 The team spent six seasons in division 2 and by 1957, the dwindling number of teams meant that the National League operated as a single division and the Hunters stayed in the top division until 1961, their best placing being as runners up in 1959. Mike Parker then took over the club, and opted to join 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 ...

in 1962, finishing in 12th position. This was to be the Hunters' final season, with the team transferring to

Long Eaton Long Eaton is a town in the Borough of Erewash, Erewash district of Derbyshire, England, just north of the River Trent, about south-west of Nottingham and south-east of Derby. The town population was 37,760 at the 2011 census. It has been part ...

for the 1963 season. Speedway returned to Leicester Stadium for a period but the team were renamed

Leicester Lions Leicester Lions are a speedway team which originally operated from 1968 until 1983Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''. and again from 2011. The team race at the Beaumont Park Stadium (or Hydroscand Arena for sponsorsh ...

Season summary

Notable riders

* Harry Bastable * Ivor Brown *

Jack Geran John Francis Geran (10 December 1929 – 20 June 2021) was an international motorcycle speedway rider from Australia. Speedway career Geran reached the final of the Speedway World Championship on two occasions: in the 1957 Individual Speedw ...

* Norman Hunter *

Ken McKinlay John Robert Vickers (Ken) McKinlay (7 June 1928 – 9 February 2003) was a British international motorcycle speedway rider. He earned 23 caps for the Scotland national speedway team, 92 caps for the England national speedway team and 23 caps fo ...

* Paweł Waloszek * Len Williams

References

{{Reflist Sport in Leicester Defunct speedway teams in the United Kingdom 1948 establishments in England 1962 disestablishments in England Auto racing teams established in 1948 Auto racing teams disestablished in 1962

History

Season summary

Notable riders

See also

References