Middlesbrough Bears

The Middlesbrough Bears were a British speedway team which operated under various names from 1939 until their closure in 1996.^[1]

Brief history

The team was initially nicknamed the Bears in 1939 by the club's general manager Vic Wieland. The track at Cleveland Park, which operated in the pioneer days of the late 1920s, was promoted by Albion Auto Racers of Stockport, Cheshire, ran sporadically throughout the 1930s and for a short spell in 1939, staged a couple of open meetings in 1945, then saw competitive league speedway from 1946 until 1948. The Bears won the Northern League in 1946 and Division Two in 1947 before the promotion moved to Newcastle in 1949. The Bears nickname was again used when the track re-opened in 1961. At the end of the 1964 season the Bears team moved to Halifax and the track staged challenge matches 1965 and 1966 before folding. The track was used in the 1950s for amateur / club events.

The track opened again from 1968 to 1972 but were named the Teesside Teessiders although the record books incorrectly called them Middlesbrough Teessiders. During 1971 they were again renamed, this time as the Teesside Tigers and then Middlesbrough Tigers in 1979 which they used until the end of the 1988 season. During this period they became National League Champions in 1981 and twice won the National League Fours Championship in 1985/6. In 1989, the club reverted once again to the Bears until their permanent closure in 1996 when Cleveland Park was sold for re-development. The promoter in 1968 Ron Wilson changed the name to Teesside because he wanted it to be a new beginning and to take in the whole area not just Middlesbrough. Other promoters included Ken Knott, Wally Martin, Tim Swales & Malcolm Wright.

In 2003 the Bears came back at Hull's Craven Park albeit racing in junior events against two teams from Hull and one from Scunthorpe. They competed in the Humber League and East Riding Cup and also raced at various 'away' tracks including Belle Vue (Manchester), Buxton, Edinburgh, Glasgow, King's Lynn, Newcastle, Oxford, Scunthorpe, Sheffield & Workington. After two years using Hull as a 'home' track they then relocated to Newcastle's Brough Park when the Newcastle Gems folded.

In 2006 a new track opened at South Tees Motorsport Park South Bank, Middlesbrough and entered the Premier League under the name Redcar Bears. A junior team known as the Cleveland Bays - named after a horse, competed in the Conference Shield against teams from Plymouth, Scunthorpe, Sittingbourne, Stoke & Weymouth. Promoters include Chris Van Straaten, Glyn Taylor, Brian Havelock, former junior riders Kevin Keay and Jitendra Duffill. Havelock's eight year reign was tainted by three wooden spoon finishes and eighties junior Kevin Keay, whom had retired from the police force, was asked to take over. Team manager Jitendra Duffill was officially accepted as a co-promoter in September 2017. The club signed a 15-year lease with landowners Redcar & Cleveland Council at the back end of 2016 and competed in the renamed Championship in 2017 just failing to make the end of season play-offs.

Famous riders

• Jack Ormston
• Frank Hodgson
• Jack Hodgson
• Eric Boocock
• Dave Younghusband
• Tom Leadbitter - all round motorcyclist who competed in speedway, grasstrack, longtrack and scrambling events (motocross)
• Martin Dixon
• Gary Havelock - Speedway World Champion in 1992, he returned to the Bears in 2006 to spearhead their return to action after a 10-year wait.
• Shane Parker
• Steve Regeling
• Steve Wilcock - Bears legend who spent 17 seasons with the club, later becoming team manager.
• Mark Lemon
• Mark Fiora
• Bruce Forrester
• Pete Reading
• Pete Smith
• Geoff Pusey

Individual honours

• Graham Plant - British League Second Division Riders Champion 1968 at Hackney, London.
• Paul Bentley - British League Division Two Riders Champion 1994 at Coventry, UK.
• Andy Howe (ClevelandBays) - Academy League Riders Champion 1994 at Long Eaton, Nottinghamshire

References