clevelandbay

Buzz Burrows - we had him as the talisman of the Cleveland Bays in 2007 and he was so unpredictable on track you never quite knew what you were going to get with him. He always caused a reaction wherever he raced. He would produce 4/5 very different rides in one meeting. My first memory of him in Middlesbrough colours goes back to 1987 when he joined us from Edinburgh via Scunthorpe, it was indeed Martin 'Mad Dog' Dixon who ghad recommended we sign him to promoter Tim Swales. i remember him having an altercation with Peterborough's Pete Chapman at Cleveland Park. As they both came off the fourth bend they somehow managed to get their handlebars tangled up and both came crashing down. There was a bit of argy bargy but to these eyes it was purely a racing accident. After the meeting that was not the way Chapman and his mechanic had viewed the incident and a heated discussion with Buzz took place as they left the pits. Just as if it looked like it was ettting out of hand the pits marshal Jimmy Elsdon went over and separated them and told Chapman and his mechanic to sling ther hook. Away from the track Buzz was a gentleman but at several away tracks he would make moves on opposing riders that no-one else would. We took Plymouth to a last heat decider at St.Boniface Arena even though they had beaten us 49-40 at home. As they came down the third bend Buzz flew under both Devils riders and moved them out as they came out of the fourth bend one of the Devils riders bailed out and the referee blamed Buzz and promptly excluded him. it wasn't dirty and I have seen other riders do exactly the same move on that bend with Redcar. At Weymouth he got involved in a last bend last lap incident whilst racing for the points to the finish line but both riders came off yards from the starting line. The Wildcats rider was not happy and tried to take revenge on the way back to the pits and also inside them - once again it was purely a racing incident. At King's Lynn against Boston Barracudas, Buzz and his former Wimbledon teammate Matthew Wright got their handlebars locked up as they left the tapes and went headfirst at frigntening speed into the safety fence - both riders took heavy falls into a very unforgiving fence. It took some time before both riders got to their feet and Buzz was down for what seemed an eternity and looked concussed to these eyes. They were both checked over by the medical crew on duty that night and it was classed as first bend bunching by the referee. Buzz came out and duly won the re-run!

Out of interest Tim Swales took his first rides on a speedway track at Wombwell in 1964. When Ron Wilson brought league speedway back to Middlesbrough in 1968 Tim was one of the first local lads to emerge from that era. From memory he started to appear regular in 1969 and was a fixture in the team until 1974 when his business interests conflicted, he initially chose Scunthorpe at Quibell Park on Monday evenings but it soon became obvious it wasn't going to work out so he joined Sunderland instead. We had Bruce Forrester, Dave Durham & Pete Reading loyal to the club for a number of years and it was a great time to be a supporter. I sometimes wish I could bring such halcyon days back.

GEOFF AMBROSE - whatever happened to him? He was one of the first riders who made an impression on me - even though he rode for Crayford Highwaymen! DAVE DURHAM - rode at Middlesbrough between 1969 and 1975 and then was injured in a second half crash involving Newcastle's Robbie Blackadder and never appeared again. DOUG UNDERWOOD - rode for Scunthorpe, Leicester, Teesside, Reading & Weymouth between 1972 and 1981 - once did an interview with him and he was full of stories about his speedway career. GEOFF PUSEY - 10 years at Middlesbrough but also rode for Belle Vue, Stoke & Barrow. ROGER WRIGHT - First rode for Rayleigh and Hackney and later for Teesside, Workington & Berwick.

Myself and Colin Greenwell have done years of research on pre-war dirt track racing at Cleveland Park and have looked everywhere for a team photograph of the Middlesbrough team that competed in the English Dirt Track League of 1929. We have even been down to the reference library and sadly could not find one. If anyone out there could help us locate one it would be most appreciated but having exhausted all avenues we don't hold much hope up for acquiring one, perhaps someone out there knows someone who has a copy - it will be worth a fortune if you do! We have just completed an article for the Redcar programme for future reference so if anything turns up it will be a bonus. If you do uncover one please get in touch with me on sm.harland@googlemail.com Regards Steve

Doug Underwood - I once had the pleasure of interviewing him and he was full of little anecdotes about his riding days. Doug rode for Scunthorpe, Leicester, Teesside, Reading and Weymouth and would make a great interviewee.

Geoff Ambrose - one of my favourite opposition riders. No-one ever seems to write anything about him but he looked awesome when he rode for Crayford at Cleveland Park in 1969/70. Pete Reading - The first second division rider to be granted a testimonial in September 1977. He remains an elusive person to track down. Never an out and out No.1 but formed part of the 'engine room' of the team at Middlesbrough for 12 years. Dave Durham - Rode at Middlesbrough between 1969 and 1975 until a second half crash with Newcastle's Robbie Blackadder. Slightly more consistent than Pete but once he walked away he never returned. Was fantastic to see him turn up at a reunion in Middlesbrough in 2005. Dave Schofield - Impressive in the early days of the British League Division Two and won the Silver Helmet at Teesside in 1968. Signed for Workington in 1972 and was involved in a crash with Jack Millen, promptly retired from the sport never to be seen again. Brian Whaley - Scored an impressive 15pt maximum on his debut at Cleveland Park for Berwick in May 1968. Moved abroad and worked on the US Apollo and then returned to the UK. Teesside promoter Ron Wilson signed him mid season 1970 and he was a total flop. He moved to Sunderland in 1971 and maintained a four point average in a mediocre team (sorry Ian!). Henry Atkinson - Hugely influential team manager at Middlesbrough in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Henry's tales have often kept myself and Jason Pipe amused for hours on long away journeys. Fascinating to talk too and a very understated sense of humour.

I was in Barrow on Sunday evening and had a quick look around Park Road Industrial Estate. Wasn't the track next to Sovereign Chemicals? There's no trace of any speedway track which I think was demolished in 1990 and built upon. Just down the road from the track towards the docks area Barrow has undergone quite a transformation. We called in at Dominos Pizzas and noticed the football ground in the distance about 250 yards away. Incredible to think how popular speedway was at Holker Street and then Cliff Hindle built a Mildenhall-style speedway track in 1977 racing a series of challenge matches against other northern clubs. I could be wrong but I do not think the people of Barrow would support a Conference League club. Chris Roynon owned the stadium and tried to bring speedway back in 1984 and applied for National League in 1985. He succeeded but had little money to put together a competitive enough team and come May the Blackhawks were kicked out of the league with a team compromising of Eric Broadbelt, Paul Price, Bernie Collier and John Walmsley. Chris tried greyhound and stock car racing after that and neither drew enough crowds to make it viable. The longest period of speedway in Barrow was just three years between 1972 and 1974 and that was when speedway was a much popular sport so what would the chances of it succeeding be now? It could probably work in Crewe but that's another story.

Miffy the Bean! I remember his times at Middlesbrough with great fondness. Does anyone remember his mate Mike Sanderson who rode in the Scottish Junior League with Barry Simpson and Tim Nichol?

Can confirm Gerry was from Nottingham as I met him at a Sunderland reunion a few years ago. He has a job in vehicle licensing or something similar to that. I was quite surprised when he told me he was from Nottingham as I had him down a bit further north.

Mac Woolford had a bad crash at Middlesbrough's Cleveland Park on the back straight and ended up on the wrong side of the greyhound track. It must have been with Eastbourne in 1971 but I could check my programmes for confirmation.

I used to love reading The Pocket Size History of Defunct Speedway Tracks, thought it was a fantastic idea especially the early issues which featured some of the more unfashionable northern tracks. Somewhere down the line its lost my interest. The likes of White City and Cradley Heath hold no interest to me but I can see why it would to others but the editor Howard Jones seems to have put the cost up quite considerably. It's initial format was great and left you wanting to know more but as issues went by the material was diluted. I could handle the likes of Crayford and Canterbury but southern clubs I never saw do not interest me. I find it fascinating that Howard produces so many different publications these days, he did one called 'The Speedway Years' and I bought one from 1981 expecting to see some comprehensive stuff on Middlesbrough having won the National League title that season but it was all about Cradley Heath. Apparently its Howard who does the programme reviews for the Speedway Star end of season reviews.