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| Cradley Heath |
| Bob Andrews |
| 1969 |
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| Articles & Photos marked with * are used with kind permission of Speedway Star |
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| World final appearances |
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| World pairs final appearances |
| Ralph (cant think of his surname), Bob, Irene Pritchard, Bernie Persson (on bike), and Ralph's son. |
| Mike Gardener and Bob, with Dudley Wolves Trophy ? |
| BEST EVER YEAR BRINGS CHEER TO HEATHENS |
| by Richard Frost BIRMINGHAM EVENING MAIL |
| Cradley Heath jetted into the 1970's with the super-boost of their best-ever season behind them, leaving their loyal fans thirsty for the success which has eluded them for so long. Too often in recent seasons Cradley supporters have been almost glad to see the end of the programme in the hope that next year would bring something better. |
| Well, 1969 was that year. Cradley finished their highest British League position, beating West Midland rivals Coventry and Wolverhampton, and reached the K.O. Cup semi-final before going down to Wimbledon. And that was no disgrace. But they retained the Cup that really matters up in the Black Country, the Dudley Wolves Trophy which is compete for on a two-leg basis. They took the Trophy to Dudley Wood in 1968 and to the discomfort of Wolves fans they made no mistakes about keeping it. The spearhead of their dash away from the foot of the table were the three heat leaders who took on manfully the job of scoring a very high proportion of Cradley's points. They were Swede Bernt Persson, who joined Kiwi Bobby Andrews and Englishman Roy Trigg from Coatbridge and soon settled in at his new home. This trio gave Cradley fans a lot they can remember with enthusiasm, either in Cradley colours or in their frequent incurions into international speedway. |
| Cradley looked like championship contenders early in the season. But their top trio did not always get the backing they needed from their second strings and their lack of consistency was the main reason for the Heathens not finishing nearer the top of the table. Cradley's search for improved second string power took them to Rayleigh who reluctantly allowed teenaged Londoner, Mike Gardner, to join the Dudley Wood outfit half-way through the season. Gardner, who learned his speedway at Olle Nygren's winter school at King's Lynn was keen to continue his "education" against the big boys in Division One. Cradley team manager, Ted Flanaghan said: "Mike is a natural. He has wonderful throttle control and uses his head to keep out of trouble during races. I think he is a wonderful prospect." |
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| Ted Flanaghan, Chris Bass, Ken Wakefield, Graham Coombes, Bob Andrews, Chris Wrathall, Bernt Persson, Russ Bragg, Roy Trigg (on bike). |
| Certainly young Mike improved from watching Messrs. Triigg, Andrews and Persson and the youngster turned in some useful performances. Graham Coombes had a fairly quiet season, his second at Cradley. He said "Goodbye" to the British League racing at the end of the season to return to his native New Zealand. Aussie Chris Bass has wintered on his native circuits after a fairly good first season at Dudley Wood. He was the most consistent of the Cradley second string riders but his progress was halted mid-season by a collar bone injury. Their improvements in 1969 should have given them momentum for a headlong dash towards top honours in the super-seventies. |
| Improved |
| 1969 Averages |
| Roy Trigg Bernt Persson Bob Andrews Chris Bass Graham Coombes Mike Gardner Ken Wakefield Also rode; Chris Hawkins Peter Wrathall Geoff Penniket Mike Holmes Guest |
| M 35 29 35 35 35 22 36 12 3 3 1 1 |
| Pts 353 279 288 152 120 63 101 9 |
| Bonus 6 4 19 31 29 10 25 1 |
| Total 359 283 307 183 149 73 126 10 |
| R 155 124 153 137 123 71 124 29 |
| Match Average 9.26 9.13 8.03 5.34 4.85 4.11 4.06 1.38 2.50 1.71 2.00 4.00 |
| Hackney Years 1970 |
| Wolverhampton Years 1965 |
| Early Years Cycle Speedway California Poppies |
| Fixtures and Results |
| Home Fixtures are printed in Bold type |
| Date |
| Opponent |
| Fixture |
| Own Pts |
| Opt Pts |
| April 4 5 11 12 19 21 26 May 1 3 5 10 12 17 19 24 31 June 7 9 12 14 20 21 23 28 July 1 5 11 12 19 21 25 26 August 2 7 9 13 16 20 23 25 29 30 September 1 3 6 8 12 15 18 19 20 27 30 October 4 6 11 17 |
| British League British League British League British League British League Midland Rider's Championship (QR) British League British League British League British League British League British League British League Alan Hunt Memorial Trophy World Championship Qualifying Round British League British League World Championship Qualifying Round British League Knockout Cup Round 2 British League British League Test Match Midland Cup Round 1* British League British League British League British League British League Knockout Cup Round 3 British League British League British League British League British League British League British League British League British League Midland Cup Semi Final*** Dudley Wolves Trophy** Dudley Wolves Trophy** British League Midland Cup Semi Final*** British League British League British League British League British League British League**** British League Knockout Cup Semi Final British League Challenge British League British League Challenge |
| Wolverhampton Wolverhampton Newport Newcastle Coventry Bernie Persson West Ham Wimbledon Wimbledon Newcastle Poole Halifax Belle Vue Bernie Persson postponed - rain Exeter Coventry Roy Trigg Halifax Glasgow Hackney Swindon Great Britain 63 Oxford Leicester Swindon Glasgow Belle Vue Coatbridge Swindon King's Lynn King's Lynn Newport Oxford Hackney Poole Glasgow Coatbridge Oxford Coventry Wolverhampton Wolverhampton Halifax Coventry Leicester Exeter Newport Newport Sheffield Newport Sheffield Wimbledon West Ham Midland Select Newcastle Coatbridge Wolverhampton |
| 32 36 37 28 41 38 54 37 rain 33 33 40 37 33 32 37 47 42 45 32 40 33 39 41 29 37 42 37 rain 33 28 58 32 rain 37 41 41 36 49 47 39 51 rain 35 52 46 36 42 44 41 53 42 71 |
| 46 42 35 50 37 15 40 24 40 postponed 44 45 38 14 41 45 15 45 41 31 35 Sweden 45 38 45 39 37 49 41 36 41 abandoned 45 49 20 46 postponed 41 37 37 42 29 31 39 27 postponed 42 26 32 42 36 34 37 25 36 37 |
| * aggregate score : Cradley Heath 84, Oxford 71) ** aggregate score : Cradley Heath 79, Wolverhampton 77) *** aggregate score : Cradley Heath 68, Coventry 88) **** SCB ordered match of April 11 to be re-run following an appeal |
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| Norman Hunter, Bob Andrews |
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