Oxford Stadium, set to close at the end of the year
Nthe class Top of
EWS that Oxford Stadium is to close will sadden the many campaigners who have fought so hard to bring the bikes back to Sandy Lane.
The club enjoyed a chequered history in the
sport, from its humble beginnings as a Third Division side in 1949 through to British League founders in 1965, the all-conquering outfit of 1985/86 which included being unbeaten British League champions in the latter year, to the struggles that finally saw the shutters go up at the end of the 2007 campaign. For this week’s trot down past corridors, we thought we’d blow the dust off our 1964 archive and try and bring some joy into Oxford fans’ lives. For ’64 was a vintage year as far as the Cheetahs
were concerned. Yet, it had all began worryingly for them. In 1961 they had finished ninth in a ten-team National League, ’62 and they were seventh out of seven, ’63 seventh out of seven again.
As the 1964 campaign approached, speedway was in turmoil, let alone Oxford. The ’pirate’ Provincial League was going from strength to strength and preparing for a 12-team competition whilst the National League looked set to limp along with just six members until West Ham re-opened, boosting their numbers by one.
So, it came as a surprise when NL promoters voted to host just one home and one away in their league encounters, preferring to fill the vacant dates with a Britannia Shield competition and the National Trophy, essentially the KO Cup. Biggest worry for Oxford was that promoter Dickie
Worth had reached the end of his lease agreement with the stadium. But, just a fortnight before tapes-up, Cyril Melville and Rodney Rycroft took over the reins
and vowed to turn the Cheetahs’ fortunes around. To show they meant business, in came international Ron How from Wimbledon, Jimmy Gooch from Norwich and Eddie Reeves from New Cross. The Britannia Shield, another league competition in all but name, opened the campaign and, as June dawned, Coventry and Oxford were setting the pace at the top of the table.
But the Bees blotted their copybook somewhat when they visited The Firs on Saturday, June 6, for their final match in the competition. A win against struggling Norwich would land Coventry the title and, with two heats to go, Bees were just two points adrift. In Heat 13, Jack Biggs and Nigel Boocock hit the
front for the visitors with Ove Fundin behind them and Billy Bales stranded at the gate with the tapes tangled in his front wheel. The referee let the race run for three laps before calling a halt and ordering a re-run with all four. Coventry protested to no avail, so walked out, leaving Norwich to register two unopposed 5-0s and win 47-35. That left Oxford trailing by a point from the Bees at the top of the table with a home clash against Swindon to come. They duly beat the Robins 51-33 on July 2 and took the Shield. And it was against their arch rivals Swindon that they also clinched the National League trophy, with a 45-39 victory on September 17, despite Barry Briggs’ best efforts for the Robins with a 15-point maximum. Heat 13 was the decider as Colin Gooddy and Ronnie Genz tucked in behind Briggo for a match- winning, and title-clinching, 3-3. Now it was down to Tuesday, September 22, and Thursday, September 24,to see if Oxford could claim a memorable treble in the two-legged National Trophy Final against West Ham.
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