Cradley Heathens were a motorcycle speedway team from Dudley , England. The team was founded in 1947 and competed primarily at the top level of British speedway at Dudley Wood Stadium until its closure in 1995. The team was revived as Dudley Heathens in 2010, competing in the National League , reverting to the Cradley Heathens name in 2013 but ceased operating after the 2019 season.
25-555: In 1917, Cradley Heath St Lukes Football Club found farmland that was suitable for a pitch and constructed a basic football ground and stadium east of the Dudley Wood Road. Due to financial issues, members of the club formed Cradley Sports Enterprise, who constructed speedway and greyhound tracks around the pitch. The Cradley Heath speedway team was formed for the 1947 season , with the team name taken from Dudley Wood stadium's proximity to Cradley Heath town centre, though it lies in
50-684: A 7.20 league average and Cradley's team total soared over 60-plus points as they won the British League and cup double again and the Midland Cup . The decision was then made by new manager Colin Pratt to loan the Dane out and he spent 1984 with Sheffield . Despite that season being marred by a broken arm, he did enough to convince Tigers' promoter Maurice Ducker that he was worth buying. However, Pratt refused to sell and Pedersen's return to Dudley Wood for 1985 saw
75-607: A championship in his first season. He has also had one year spells as team manager with Oxford and promoter with Cradley when the Cradley team spent the 1996 season riding at Stoke. In 1999, he raced in the 25th Anniversary meeting at Denmark's Vojens track. A series of competitive races were held involving old and current international stars, including Gary Havelock , Henrik Gustafsson and Jesper B. Monberg . Pedersen managed to win every one of his races in his first track return since his career-ending accident in 1992. In 2012, he joined
100-521: A lease was signed by Motor Sports (Exeter) Ltd (led by Frank Buckland) with the landlords County Athletic Ground Company. Eastbourne Eagles won the title in their first season of league speedway. Peter Robinson of Southampton topped the averages. Cradley Heath Eastbourne Exeter Hanley Plymouth Southampton Tamworth Wombwell Jan O. Pedersen Jan Osvald Pedersen (born 9 November 1962 in Middelfart , Denmark)
125-467: A merger with the Stoke Potters . Supporters of the club continued to campaign to resurrect speedway in the local area and plans were submitted to Dudley Council for a new site in 2009. The Birmingham promoter, Tony Mole and Bob Edwards (on behalf of supporters group, CRASH – Cradley Raising Aid Saving Heathens) led the planning application and an online petition to show support for the application which
150-487: A much improved 7th place finish, which was then followed in 1978 by new signings; Bruce Penhall replacing Michanek at number 1 and Alan Grahame arriving from Birmingham. The Heathens won their first top division silverware in 1978 (jointly with Coventry Bees ), winning the British League Pairs Championship held at Foxhall Stadium on 12 October. The meeting was abandoned after 14 heats due to fog but
175-623: Is a former Speedway rider who became Speedway World Champion in 1991 after finishing runner-up in 1986 and in third place in 1988 behind fellow Danes Erik Gundersen and Hans Nielsen . He also won the Speedway World Pairs Championship in 1990 and 1991, both times partnered by Hans Nielsen . He earned 42 caps for the Denmark national speedway team . In 1982 Pedersen signed for the Cradley Heathens but did not ride until
200-472: The British League Riders' Championship , held at Belle Vue Stadium on 9 October 1988. He topped the Cradley team averages in 1989 and then led the team during the 1990 British League season , following Cradley's loss of Gundersen. That season he also won his first Speedway World Pairs Championship riding with Nielsen but it was the 1991 season that became the pinnacle of Pedersen's career. He won
225-636: The Premier League Four-Team Championship , which was held on 6 August 1995, at the East of England Arena . Unfortunately after the 1995 season, the team were evicted by the new landlords, who had bought the stadium to redevelop into housing. The team survived for one additional year, competing at the Loomer Road Stadium in Stoke in 1996, under the name 'Cradley and Stoke' Heathens, following
250-1004: The Heathens finished in fourth place. A team bearing the Heathens name has operated under the NORA umbrella on the Isle of Wight in 2021 and 2022 and in 2022 won the Michael Richardson Trophy. The club also operated a junior team in the British Junior League in the years 1986 to 1992 inclusive, being Runners-Up in 1986 and Winners in 1991. British League Champions: 1981, 1983 Knockout Cup (Div 1) Winners: 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1986+, 1987, 1988, 1989 (+shared with Oxford) Knockout Cup (Div 2) Winners: 1961, 1963 League Cup Winners: 1982, 1984, 1986+ (+shared with Oxford) Inter-League Cup Winners: 1979 Premiership A season-opening challenge match, held over two legs, between
275-477: The September two-legged final, with Ivor Brown and Harry Bastable scoring heavily. Ivor Brown topped the league averages in 1962 before the team secured a second Knockout Cup title during the 1963 season, defeating Newcastle Diamonds in the final. After one more season in division 2, the Heathens were founder members of the new British League (the top division of British speedway). The Heathens struggled for
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#1732847699267300-598: The borough of Dudley, centred about 3 miles (4.8 km) away. At the time of formation the two towns were in different counties - Staffordshire and Worcestershire , but both towns are now part of the county of West Midlands . Riding as the Cradley Heath Cubs they competed in their first match away to Hanley Potters on 8 May 1947. They first raced at Dudley Wood Stadium on 21 June 1947 against Wombwell Colliers . The Cubs would finish runner-up in their inaugural league season to Eastbourne Eagles , only missing out on
325-579: The following season when his first British meeting heralded a five-point return in Birmingham's Second City individual Trophy on 18 March. His future had been plotted for Dudley Wood almost a year earlier when he was recommended to Heathens team manager Peter Adams by his countryman, Bent Rasmussen . The ensuing months brought three more clubs knocking on his door but in August, Pedersen publicly pledged his future to Cradley. Pedersen finished his debut season with
350-496: The next few years, managing a best placed finish of 7th in 1969. The Heathens continued to find the British League a challenge, continually finishing in the lower half of the league table despite the performances of Bernt Persson , Bob Andrews and Roy Trigg . From 1973 to 1976 they rode under the name Cradley United but results only marginally improved. The United name was dropped for the 1977 season and Cradley signed former world champion Anders Michanek . The season resulted in
375-891: The previous year's League and KO Cup winners (similar to English football 's Charity Shield ). Winners: 1982, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990 Inter-League Four Team Tournament Winners: 1980 Premier League Four Team Tournament Winners: 1995 Midland Cup/Lge/Shield Winners: 1950, 1951, 1963, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1987 National League World Champion Under-21 World Champion Long Track World Champion British Under-21 Champion Intercontinental Champion Overseas Champion British League Riders Champion National League Riders Champion American Champion Danish Champion Swedish Champion Scottish Open Champion Australasian Champion South Australian Champion Western Australian Champion Victorian Champion (Aust) 1947 Speedway National League Division Three The 1947 National League Division Three
400-497: The promoter Eli Sumner due to financial issues. The track reopened seven years later in 1959 for one unlicensed meeting. In 1960 the Heathens entered the newly formed Provincial League under the promotion of Morris Jephcott. The club won their first major silverware in 1961, winning the Provincial League Knockout Cup (the second division cup). Watched by 10,000 in the home leg, they defeated Edinburgh Monarchs in
425-468: The result stood, with Steve Bastable and Penhall claiming the honours. The decade ended with further success when the team won the 1979 Knockout Cup, a season which also saw the arrival of the 19-year-old Dane Erik Gundersen . The golden years of Cradley speedway arrived during the 1980s, the club won two league titles (1981 and 1983), a further seven Knockout Cups from 1980 to 1989 and four Midland Cups . Along with Oxford Cheetahs and Coventry Bees,
450-509: The start of an uninterrupted 8-year stint with the club. Pedersen achieved success for club, country and individually. In 1985 he was a heat leader for the Heathens and became part of the dominant Danish national team of the era. In the Cradley team he was second only to Erik Gundersen and won three consecutive Speedway World Team Cups in 1986, 1987 and 1988, riding alongside the Danish greats of Hans Nielsen , Gundersen and Tommy Knudsen . He won
475-489: The team experienced considerable success as a third tier team, winning the league and cup double in both 2013 and 2014, in addition to various other trophies. The Heathens raced at Perry Barr Stadium in Birmingham for the 2015 season Monmore Green during 2016. Max Clegg won the Riders' Championship during the 2016 National League speedway season . The team's final season was the 2019 National League speedway season , in which
500-402: The three teams dominated British speedway during the decade and several of the world's leading riders rode for Cradley, including Bruce Penhall, Erik Gundersen and Jan O. Pedersen and these were well supported by the likes of Alan Grahame, Phil Collins , Simon Wigg , Lance King and Simon Cross . The 1980s promotion teams consisted of Dan McCormick, followed by Peter Adams in 1981 and then he
525-548: The title on points difference. The team finished runner-up again in 1948 before a change in the club's nickname and division ensued for 1949. Having gained promotion from the National League Division Three to the National League Division Two , they adopted the name of Cradley Heathens. The Heathens raced in division 2 from 1950 to 1952 before they were forced to disband following the withdrawal of
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#1732847699267550-626: The ultimate prize of winning the Speedway World Championship in addition to the winning a second World pairs title with Nielsen and Knudsen and a fourth World Cup win. Still aged only 29 his speedway career was brought to a premature end in his testimonial year. Less than a fortnight after Pedersen's 10-year testimonial at Cradley, he crashed in Denmark and suffered a serious back injury and never raced competitively again. Since 1993 he has been doing some saloon car racing in Denmark and won
575-719: Was linked from the Cradley Heath speedway website. The team returned in 2010 as the Dudley Heathens , competing in the third tier National League , with home meetings initially shared between two stadiums – Monmore Green (home track of Wolverhampton) and the Perry Bar Stadium (home track of Birmingham). The team manager was Will Pottinger, and the club was promoted by Sky Sports speedway presenter Nigel Pearson, and then by Chris Van Straaten & Gary Patchett. Between 2011 and 2014 home matches were solely at Monmore Green and
600-464: Was replaced by former rider Colin Pratt , who joined in 1984. The club had operated continuously at top flight level from 1965 but the decade started without Gundersen, who had suffered a horrific accident on 17 September 1989, that left him paralysed. The glory years began to fade despite the signings of American stars Greg Hancock in 1989 and Billy Hamill in 1990. Some success was experienced when in 1995, Hancock, Hamill, Cross and Scott Smith won
625-544: Was the inaugural season of British speedway's National League Division Three Speedway in 1947 was restricted in terms of fixtures and attendances following the fallout from World War II . With several new teams joining British Speedway in 1947, a third league tier was created for the first time. The new teams included the Cradley Heath Cubs, racing at Dudley Wood Stadium , Hanley Potters following an eight year absence from British speedway and Exeter Falcons after
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