Wimbledon Dons

Wimbledon Dons
Barry Briggs (Dons) and Gordon Kennett (Rebels) as captains
Club information
Track address	Wimbledon Stadium Plough Lane Wimbledon London
Country	England
Founded	1928
Closed	2005
Website	Official Website
Club facts
Colours	Yellow Star on Red
Track size	355 yards (325 m)
Major team honours
National League Champions 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961 National Trophy Winners 1938, 1950, 1951, 1953, 1956, 1959, 1960, 1962 KO Cup Winners 1962, 1968, 1969, 1970 London Cup Winners 1938, 1939, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985

The Wimbledon Dons were a professional motorcycle speedway team who operated from the Wimbledon Stadium, Plough Lane in London.^[1][2]

The track opened in 1928 and the Dons operated there from 1929 until 1991. They were closed during the Second World War but upon their re-opening in 1946 there were 42,000 people in attendance with an estimated 10,000 more locked outside. The club were very successful at the highest level of British speedway during the 1950s and 1960s, and attracted numerous famous riders.

Having been defunct for eleven years, the team were reopened again in 2002 by Steve Ribbons & David Croucher in the Conference League^[3] but were forced to close in 2005, with Ian Perkin, Dingle Brown & Perry Attwood being joint owners of the club, when the stadium owners insisted on dramatically increasing the rent paid by the team to the stadium.^[4]

Honours

National League

Champions: 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961

National Trophy

Winners: 1938, 1950, 1951, 1953, 1956, 1959, 1960, 1962

London Cup

Winners: 1938, 1939, 1961, 1964, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985

RAC Cup

Winners: 1954

Britannia Shield

Winner: 1959

KO Cup

Winners: 1962, 1968, 1969, 1970

Spring Gold Cup

Winners: 1979

Conference Pairs Champions

Winners: 2004, 2005

Notable Wimbledon Riders

Barry Briggs (World Champion 1957, 1958, 1964, 1966) Cyril Brine Vic Duggan Andy Grahame Oliver Hart Trevor Hedge Dicky Case Vic Huxley Edward Jancarz Tommy Jansson Gus Kuhn Wilbur Lamoreaux Geoff Mardon Ivan Mauger (World Champion 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1977, 1979) Garry Middleton Cyril Maidment

Ronnie Moore (World Champion 1954, 1959) Olle Nygren Dave Jessup Gordon Kennett John Davis Roger Johns (570 most appearances for the club) Kai Niemi Bobby Ott Norman Parker Geoff Pymar Colin Richardson Larry Ross Malcolm Simmons Kelvin Tatum (World Longtrack Champion 1995, 1998, 2000) Roy Trigg Todd Wiltshire

References

1. Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). Homes of British Speedway. ISBN 0-7524-2210-3
2. Jacobs, N. Speedway in London, ISBN 0-7524-2221-9
3. Findon, Ben (2002-05-01). "Speedway: Rebirth of glory club". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-10-01.
4. . Oakes, P (2006). Speedway Star Almanac. Pinegen Ltd. ISBN 0-9552376-1-0.

External links

• Official website