| Sheffield Tigers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Club information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track address | Owlerton Stadium Penistone Road Sheffield South Yorkshire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Founded | 1929 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Promoter | Damien Bates, Julie Reading & Peter Mole | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team manager | Simon Stead | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | SGB Premiership National Development League | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | www | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club facts | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colours | Yellow and Blue | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track size | 361 metres (395 yd) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track record time | 58.92 seconds (57.86 mph / 84 ft per second) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track record date | 30 May 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track record holder | Jack Holder | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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TheSheffield Tigers (sponsored by Tru Plant) are amotorcycle speedway team based inSheffield, England. They currently race in the BritishSGB Premiership, and their home meetings take place atOwlerton Stadium. They were founded in 1929[1] and were champions of Britain, in2023.
The Tigers traditionally hold their race nights on Thursdays between March and October.[2]
In 1929 construction began on a 20-acre freehold site to build a new stadium in Owlerton. The Provincial Dirt Tracks (Sheffield) Co. Ltd under the chaimanship of Edgar W. Hart[3] opened the purpose-builtOwlerton Stadium on 30 March 1929.[4] The team known simply as Sheffield at the time were inaugural members of the English Dirt Track League andNorthern League the following season. In 1930, they rode as the Sheffield Blades but soon adopted the name Tigers.[5] The early stars of the team includedDusty Haigh,Clem Beckett,Broncho Dixon andSquib Burton.
The team re-opened for a short spell in 1945, following the disruption caused byWorld War II before returning to league action in 1946. The team operated in the Northern League of 1946 and in theNational League Division Two between 1947 and 1950. The team spearheaded byStan Williams andTommy Bateman won their first trophy in 1947, after winning theBritish Speedway Cup (Div 2).[6]
The 1950s started with the unpopular decision to name the team the Tars[7] and matters got worse despite the team reverting to the name Tigers at the end of the 1950 season because the team withdrew from the league part way through 1951.
The track re-opened in 1960, with the Tigers participating in theProvincial League.[8] The team continued to ride in the Provincial League until 1964, when they moved up to the highest tier, known as the National League at the time before it was renamed theBritish League in 1965.[9] The sixties brought little success with the best performances being a fourth place finish in 1960, 1963 and 1968. Notable riders during the decade wereClive Featherby,Jack Kitchen,John Dews,Billy Bales,Arnold Haley andBob Paulson.
Sheffield had signedJim Airey theAustralian champion in 1969[10] and he led Sheffield into the seventies. In 1970, he finished third in the league averages and then steered Sheffield to a fourth place finish in 1971, when well supported by Haley andBengt Larsson.
Despite the loss of Airey for 1972, the team rode well finishing fourth again before taking runner-up spot in 1973. Silverware finally arrived in 1974 when the Tigers won theKnockout Cup, easily defeatingIpswich Witches in the final.Bob Valentine recorded 22 points over the two legs and with heavy scoring from Haley andDoug Wyer, the Tigers won by a 25 point margin.[11]
By the mid-seventiesReg Wilson was becoming an important rider for the club, topping the team's averages in 1975 and 1979 and establishing himself as one of two main riders alongside Doug Wyer.[12]
The eighties started badly with a last place finish in 1980, but in 1981 the club signed American rising starShawn Moran. He would spend eight seasons at Owlerton, developing into a world class rider and a fan's favourite.[13]
In 1984, the Collins brothersNeil andLes arrived and in 1985,Peter Carr was signed, with the team only being denied the league title by the big spendingOxford Cheetahs. The following season,Reg Wilson retired after making a club record 470 appearances and Shawn Moran's older brotherKelly Moran was signed. Sheffield enjoyed large attendances throughout the 1980s but after the 1988 season, the landlords increased the rent and managerEric Boocock was forced to disband the team and sell the riders.[14]
Division 2 speedway returned to Owlerton in 1991 under the promotion of Cliff Carr and following the signing of a lease with the city council.[15]Neil Evitts was number 1 before being replaced byRoman Matoušek, although it was not until 1999 that Sheffield experienced the taste of success again.
Inspired bySean Wilson, Sheffield won the Premier League (speedway's second division) during the1999 Premier League speedway season.[16]
The club's junior side the Sheffield Prowlers won more silverware, winning theConference League in 2000 and 2001 and the Tigers won the league andKnockout Cup in 2002 to complete the double, during the2002 Premier League speedway season. Sean Wilson andSimon Stead both had great seasons and when Sean Wilson would retire in 2005, he was the Tigers all-time leading point scorer, with 4246 points.[17]
The Tigers later recorded a second place finish in 2006 and a play off final appearance in 2007.
The Tigers reached another play off final during the2010 Premier League speedway season, the same season thatRicky Ashworth andJosh Auty won thepairs championship.[18]
TheSGB Championship 2017 season was the 21st consecutive season that the Sheffield Tigers competed in division 2. The Tigers finished in 1st place having beatenIpswich Witches in the two leg play off final 99–81.Josh Grajczonek headed the team averages, supported byKyle Howarth andLasse Bjerre, the latter two also winning the championship pairs.
Following a season lost to theCOVID-19 pandemic the team stepped up to the highest division for the first time since the 1995/1996 merged division.Jack Holder andAdam Ellis were signed, with the team finishing 4th but following the signing ofTobiasz Musielak the club topped theSGB Premiership 2022 table but controversially lost in the play off final toBelle Vue Aces, which foiled the chance for the club to win their first ever top-tier league title. However, they did gain compensation by winning the League Cup.[19]
In 2023, the Tigers signed two former world champions inTai Woffinden andChris Holder and after finishing third in theSGB Premiership 2023 league standings, they went on to defeatWolverhampton Wolves in the semi finals and then Ipswich Witches in the final. This was the first time in the club's history that were crowned champions of the United Kingdom. The success somewhat atoned for the final defeat the season before.[20]
A track record that had stood for 4976 days (from 15 October 2010) was beaten on 30 May 2024. Ricky Ashworth's time of 59.1 seconds was bettered byJack Holder, with a time of 58.92 seconds.[21] Sheffield's success continued in 2024 with the club winning the Knockout Cup.
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Jim Airey
Tommy AllottRicky AshworthJosh AutyBilly BalesTommy BatemanClem BeckettSquib BurtonPeter CarrLes CollinsNeil CollinsAndre ComptonJohn DewsBroncho DixonNeil EvittsClive FeatherbyDusty HaighArnold HaleyJack HolderChris Holder
Robbie KesslerJack Kitchen
Bengt Larsson
Roman Matoušek
Kelly MoranShawn MoranBob PaulsonBruce SemmensSimon SteadBob ValentineLen WilliamsStan WilliamsReg WilsonSean WilsonTai WoffindenDoug Wyer| 2025 Teams |  | |
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| Former Teams | ||
| Seasons | ||
| Domestic cups | ||