Doncaster Speedway

Greyhound Stadium, York Road, Doncaster, South Yorkshire.  Speedway debuted here in 1929 there was no speedway after 1929 for 40 years, until division 2 racing wasn introduced in 1969 (Stallions) and 1970 (Dragons). The track was used for training purposes early in 1971.  The stadium was demolished in the 1980s and housing now occupies the site.

1969 Doncaster Stallions Race Jacket

The 1969 race jacket (images courtesy of John Mather)

John Mather says: attached are a couple of pictures of a Doncaster Stallions race jacket from 1969. Maybe the dirt on the back is all that remains of the York road stadium?

1969 Doncaster Stallions

Courtesy of Paul Froggatt

Paul Froggatt says Hi John, Thanks for producing a great website. I wonder if you have this shot of the Doncaster Stallions taken by W Wood. The riders I know are Dave Baugh Guy Hawkes on the bike.  Alan Bridgett and Terry Shearer. I Can't add much more I'm afraid

Steve Baker says: Riders are, left to right, Dave Baugh, Stuart Ulph, Peter Maxted, Neil Glover, Alan Bridgett, Terry Shearer and Guy Hawkes on bike.

John says: I remember a Brian Maxted.  He is probably related to Peter Maxted, named above

Doni Remembered

Wrocker 3 says: Hello John.  I have come across your site while researching something else.  I can remember going to the Doni stadium but i'm not quite sure if I was still at juniors or had moved up.  I went with one of my mate, or should I say his father took us, so it must have been late 60's or early 70's.  We lived at Sheffield at the time and had traveled over to watch bomber car racing.  We must have come in the old Doni Rd way from Sheffield passing Conisbrough etc before turning on to the York Rd. My mate said watch out for the sign for the Bomber car racing.  The York Rd hasn't really changed that much over the years and I can remember the sign for the bomber car racing being the back half of a Morris 1000 van. The van rear was on the slopping grass (where Halifax Crescent joins York Rd) banking on the right hand side as if you were going out of Doni. We turned in on our right hand side opposite the van which must have been Newlands drive, I'm not quite sure where we went from there but it was on our right somewhere. I moved to the Doni area in 1989 and a while after that did look for the as I remembered it the Bomber car track but couldn't find any trace.  Has any one else mentioned the old van back? my mate seamed to think it was something of a land mark.  I cringe now thinking of all them old cars getting trashed. Hope you like my little walk down memory lane and hope the above is of some use.  Rocker

Doncaster v Canterbury

8th June 1969

Doncaster v Middlesbrough

6th July 1969

Courtesy of Wattie Dunlop

Courtesy of Wattie Dunlop

1969 Terry Shearer

Terry Shearer in action

1969 Guy Hawkes

Alan Bridgett

John Mather's Photographs

Doncaster Dragons 1970

Chris Harrison (above left) and Chris Harrison and Gordon McGregor (above right)

Chris Roynon (above left) and Chris Roynon leading Dave Schofield (above right)

Steve Harland says: The photo of Doncaster's Chris Roynon leading Dave Schofield of Nelson Admirals dates from 3rd May, 1970. It's great to see so many photographs supplied by John Mather as you don't see many at all from York Road. I know former co-promoter John Berry is on record as saying that some meetings they only got 300 people there but Rod Swann who ran the Supporters Club reckons they used to average 1/1,200 for home meetings which I guess wasn't good for those days - C'est La Vie.

Cliff Emms (above left) and Gordon McGregor taking the chequered flag

Two pictures of Gordon MacGregor

2 pictures of George Major

2 pictures of Hec Haslinger

Hec Haslinger and Chris Roynon

Malcolm Corradine, Jack Lee  and Ian Wilson

Doncaster's First & Last Programmes

Courtesy of John Mather

John Mather says: The 1969 programme (shown above), is the first speedway meeting at the York Road stadium. It's actually printed as the 2nd meeting as they counted the previous weeks stock car event as number 1. The 1970 programme is from the last meeting at the stadium.

Doncaster Badge

Russell Earle says: Here is a Doncaster Stallion badge from 1970

Doncaster's York Road Stadium

Courtesy of John Mather

John says: This is Doncaster Stallion, Terry Shearer, taken in 1969.  By modern standards the crowd looks healthy but sadly it wasn't enough to keep Doncaster open after 1970

Doncaster Dragons 1970

Courtesy of John Mather

Can  you name these riders? John

Col Greenwell says: Hi John, Doncaster pic. This is Doncaster Dragons 1970. They were the Stallions in 1969. I only know Gordon McGregor on the bike.

Steve Baker says: Doncaster 1970 riders are as follows, left to right, Cliff Emms, Dennis Wasden, Hec Haslinger, Chris Harrison, Chris Roynon, Ian Wilson. On bike, Gordon McGregor.

Steve Harland says: I was looking at that fantastic colour photograph of the Doncaster team from 1970 and as no-one else has had a crack at it (Well Steve you were just beaten to it by Steve Baker) I think the line-up is as follows: Left to Right: Cliff Emms, Dennis Wasden, Hec Haslinger, Chris Harrison, Chris Roynon, Ian Wilson, Gordon McGregor (on bike)

Name These Doncaster Riders

Sports Journalist: Paul Goodwin of Doncaster Free Press is looking for some information, mainly the names of the riders depicted in the  Doncaster Team pic.  So if you can help, please email me with the riders names.  I am sure Paul would welcome some memories from Doncaster fans so please email to me and I will pass it on to Paul John

Courtesy of Rob Phinn

Doncaster Pic: 1  John says: I think Gordon McGregor, Cliff Emms, Chris Harrison and Ian Wilson are in this photo can you confirm and supply names for the rest John Steve Baker says 1970 team, Cliff Emms, Mike Holmes, manager Joe Thurley, Chris Harrison, Hec Haslinger, kneeling Dennis Wasden, Ian Wilson, on bike Gordon McGregor. If you look closely behind Cliff Emms you can see some of the opposition team and I would suggest, looking at their race jackets, that this picture was taken at the first match of the season, 29th March, a challenge match against the Sheffield Cubs.

Courtesy of Rob Phinn

Doncaster Pic 2:  This is Cliff Emms, I think but if you disagree please email me here John

Steve Baker says: I can confirm this is Cliff Emms

Courtesy of Rob Phinn

Doncaster Pic 3:  This is Ian Wilson I think, but if you disagree please email me here John

Steve Baker says:  I agree this is Ian Wilson

Courtesy of Rob Phinn

Doncaster Pics 4:  This maybe Chris Roynon, but if you disagree please email me here John

Steve Baker says: This is Dennis Wasden

Courtesy of Rob Phinn

Doncaster Pic 5:  This maybe Chris Harrison, but if you disagree please email me here John

Steve Baker says: This is Hec Haslinger

Doncaster Rosettes

Courtesy of Rob Phinn

Chris Harrison, Cliff Emms & Terry Shearer.  If you diagree please email me here John

Steve Baker says: The rosette's are Hec Haslinger, Cliff Emms and Terry Shearer

Gordon MacGregor

Courtesy of Rob Phinn

Doncaster Trivia From Steve Harland

Doncaster was the only track in the country that never had any pits. Henry Atkinson (Teesside team manager) attended the very first stock car meeting there in 1969 and saw the damage they did to the speedway track. A week later Eastbourne Eagles were there for the opening meeting and there was a mid-meeting halt to the proceedings because of the state of the track - mind you it was only the Eagles riders who were doing the complaining, so nowt new there then! After several home defeats in 1970 old stagers Gordon McGregor & George Major were signed to strengthen the team. There was an outcry among some existing old school promoters who said they were making a mockery of the league's policy of developing talent for Division 1 of the British League.

Doncaster Dragons Cheerleaders

Courtesy of John Mather

John says: The Doncaster Dragon cheerleaders from 1970. It would be interesting to know if any of the girls recognizes herself?

Sue Turner says: Came across your website and saw a blast from the past The Doncaster Dragons cheerleaders and yes, I was one. D is Lorna, R is Pam, A is Julie, G Linda, O is me Sue, N is Shirley and think S is Gail. We are all fit and well and in 2009 had a re-union. We wore orange tops, black skirts and orange pop socks, in the picture. I Think we would all have been about  14 or 15 years old.  Those were the days !!!! lol

Doncaster v Long Eaton

24 May 1970

Courtesy of John Mather

John Skinner says: Doncaster 1970. Hopefully someone can identify the two Dragons (4 and 5) inspecting the track and the visiting number 6 slipping by on the inside unnoticed. Next to impossible I know but I am here waiting for an email John

John Mather says: The meeting was Doncaster v Long Eaton on 24 May 1970. Pete Gay is the Long Eaton number 6 still upright. The two Doncaster riders are Chris Roynon (5) and Hec Haslinger (4). Thanks to Ian Gill for identifying Pete who went on to win the rerun.

Doncaster Poster 1970

Courtesy of John Mather

Guitar Playing Rider

Dave Beecroft's Memories

My first taste of working in speedway was at Doncaster in 1969. My pals and I travelled through on the train each Sunday afternoon from Bradford managing to persuade them to give us all jobs as pushers and graders. My memory of the track in 1969 was that it was extremely stony and rough but had improved to a redder shale for the next season. Mind, I wouldn't know I wasn't a rider!

I loved York Road, it was my first experience of a smaller track and the racing could be good. I preferred the Stallions name to the Dragons, perhaps just a race jacket preference. I only realised a short time ago that I appear on one of your pictures; to the back of Alan Bridgett and to his right. That's a 15 year old me, with hair and no beard!

Perhaps more importantly, I was recently looking through the Yorkshire Film Archive as I often do, and came across some incredible home movie. The story goes that speedway was staged at York Road in 1928 but there seems to be little or no detail. When running a film entitled “Bentley Floods, Air Show and Motorcycling”, I came across, at 0 mins.53 secs. “Motorcycle racing at the stadium”. It is definitely the same Doncaster stadium although the circuit looks more like a track marked out on the grass with little flags but the style of riding is leg trailing. The film runs for over two minutes and has probably been in someone's attic for years before being donated. The good news is that any of you can go online and watch it just go on to the YFA website and search on the name of the film! Anyone who knows cine will realise that the original images were shot on 9.5mm film, the central sprocket hole is a giveaway.

And that's not all! As soon as the Doncaster footage finishes we go over to Sheffield for some early speedway from there. Check it out.

The stills shown below are from Doncaster: -

John Skinner says: I have enhanced these atmospheric photos a little, they cannot be enhanced further using my software and really they should not be cleaned further as they are period pieces.  I hope you agree that they are worthy of a place on the website.  Thank you Dave for sending them.

Doncaster Stadium 1987

John says: The tall building with the tower is clearly visible on the first still sent by Dave Beecroft.

This photo redefines the phrase "Defunct Speedway".  Doncaster went the same journey as dozens of other speedways!  I hope my humble website is keeping the memories alive for any ex fan who strays onto it.

John says: A very sad sight.  But ever sadder is the fact that a housing estate now covers this area.  Doncaster needs a millionaire fan to bring back the sport. Stranger things have happened so do the Euro Millions next Friday

York Road Redevelopment

Courtesy of John Mather

John Mather says: Location of the stadium site. York road is the main road running at the top of the picture and the yellow line marks the approximate boundary of the stadium. Maybe someone could confirm I have that in the right place

If you can scan any Doncaster pictures, programmes or badges send me an email John

The contents of the site are © and should not be reproduced elsewhere for financial gain. The contributors to this site gave the pictures and information on that understanding.  If anyone has any issue or objections to any items on the site please e-mail and I will amend or remove the item.  Where possible credit has been given to the owner of each item