| Clubname: | Barrow Bombers |
| Track: | Holker Street Barrow-in-Furness |
| Country: | England |
| Founded: | 1930 |
| Closed: | 1985 |
| Colours: | Yellow |
| Tracksize: | 379m (1,243feet) |
The Barrow Bombers were a speedway team promoted in Barrow-in-Furness that existed at various times from 1930 to 1985.[1]
Speedway arrived in Barrow during 1930 when a number of meetings were conducted at Holker Street, the home of Barrow A.F.C., the town's football club.[2] Organised by the Northern Sports Club, the first meeting was held on 12 June 1930.[3]
Racing moved to Little Park in Roose during 1931 but crowd levels were insufficient.[4] [5]
In 1972, speedway returned to Barrow after a 42-year absence. The former Romford Bombers promotion who started the season at the West Ham Stadium in London moved the team north to Holker Street, which had recently installed a circuit around the pitch.[6] The team were initially called the Barrow Happy Faces as their sponsor at the time was Duckhams Oil - its happy face logo was prominently displayed on the team's race jackets. The team finished 9th during the 1972 British League Division Two season.[7]
The team were renamed Barrow Bombers for the 1973 and 1974 seasons, where they finished 10th and 12th respectively.[8] Despite good crowds, a new home had to be found for the team after the end of the 1974 season, when problems with ground sharing became insurmountable.[9]
Local businessman Cliff Hindle built a new stadium at Park Road, which opened halfway through the 1977 season for a short series of open meetings. In 1978 a team was entered under the name Barrow Furness Flyers, but they finished bottom of the National League. Crowds were poor and the track closed after only one season.[10]
Speedway in Barrow was revived once again in 1984, under the promotion of ex-Barrow rider Chris Roynon. A series of challenge matches were held to gauge public support. Interest was such that a team was entered for the 1985 season under the name of the Barrow Blackhawks.[11] After a disastrous start to the season with an understrength team, the Blackhawks were thrown out of the league. A number of challenge matches were held for the remainder of the season in front of low crowds before the track once again closed.[10]
| width=350 | Year and league | width=50 | Position | width=350 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9th | rode as Happy Faces | ||||
| 10th | |||||
| 12th | |||||
| 20th | rode as Furness Flyers | ||||
| N/A | rode as Blackhawks, withdrew, results expunged |