Sunderland Stars Explained

Clubname:Sunderland Stars
Track:Sunderland Greyhound Stadium
Newcastle Road
East Boldon
Durham
Country:England
Founded:1971
Closed:1974
Colours:Red, white and gold
Tracksize:310yd

The Sunderland Stars were a motorcycle speedway team who raced at the Sunderland Greyhound Stadium from 1971 until 1974 in the Britrish League Division Two when Len Silver acted as promoter on behalf of Allied Presentations Ltd.[1] [2]

History

Speedway was operational at the venue for part of one season when eight meetings were staged in 1964 under the "Saints" nickname. The Saints introduced Aussies Jim Airey and Gordon Guasco to British Speedway during 1964.[3]

The inaugural season of league speedway took place during the 1971 British League Division Two season but unfortunately the team finished 17th out of 17.[4] This was followed by two seasons with 12th and 11th place finishes.[5]

In 1974, the club came under new ownership and were nicknamed the "Gladiators". It was also their final season before closure.[6] In November 1974, Ian Thomas bought the defunct Sunderland licence and transferred it to re-form the Newcastle Diamonds.[7]

Season summary

width=350Year and leaguewidth=50Positionwidth=350Notes
N/A Saints, withdrew results expunged
17th Stars
12th Stars
11th Stars
18th Gladiators

Notable riders

Notes and References

  1. Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). Homes of British Speedway.
  2. Web site: Sunderland Speedway. Defunct Speedway. 31 August 2021.
  3. Web site: Jim Airey. wwosbackup. 31 August 2021.
  4. Book: Rogers, Martin. The Illustrated History of Speedway. 1978. 129. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. 0-904584-45-3.
  5. Web site: British League Tables - British League Era (1965-1990). Official British Speedway website. 31 August 2021.
  6. Web site: Year by Year. Speedway Researcher. 31 August 2021.
  7. News: Ian Thomas buys out Sunderland . Hull Daily Mail . 28 November 1974. 4 May 2024. British Newspaper Archive. subscription .