Newcastle Diamonds were a motorcycle speedway team that raced in the British speedway leagues from 1929 to 2022. They were based at Newcastle Stadium on the Fossway, Byker. The Stadium was previously known as Brough Park.
History
Origins and 1930s
The Diamonds in the 1930s
The construction of a speedway track at Brough Park began in early 1929, under the supervision of Lindon Travers.[1] The Newcastle team were inaugural members of the 1929 Speedway English Dirt Track League and following an open meeting on 17 May, the first league home fixture was held three days later on 20 May against Halifax Speedway.[2] The team finished in fourth place during their debut season.
In 1930, both Brough Park and Gosforth speedway (the latter promoted by Tyneside Speedways Ltd) intended to compete in the Northern League but Gosforth signed the majority of Brough Park's riders and then Brough Park speedway closed. The team competed at the Gosforth Greyhound Stadium during 1930[3] but then Gosforth closed to speedway after the season[4] and the city of Newcastle would not see a return of speedway until 1938, when they joined the National League.[5]
The team in 1938 was coached by former rider Gordon Byers and consisted of four Canadians, a season that saw the Diamonds nickname first used.[6] The outbreak of World War II ruined a potential league winning season in 1939.
1940s
After the war, the team raced as Newcastle Brough in 1946 before Jeff Lloyd topped the league averages in 1947 for the Diamonds. The Diamonds promotion moved the team to Saracen Park after the 1948 season to become Ashfield Giants[7] but a new promotion formed the Newcastle Magpies from the disbanded Middlesbrough Bears.
1950s
After finishing last during the 1951 Speedway National League Division Two season,[8] the promoter J. S. Smith pulled out and team disbanded and did not race in the league for the remainder of the decade.[9]
1960s
Ivan Mauger
Ole Olsen
Newcastle returned in 1961 competing in the Provincial League and gradually progressed from 1961 to 1963. In 1963, the team signed New Zealander Ivan Mauger, who would go on to become six times World Champion. Under Mauger's leadership the Diamonds thrived, winning the club's first major trophy by sealing the 1964 league title.[10] In 1965, the team were founder members of the British League.
In 1967, 21-year-old Ole Olsen made his British debut for Newcastle and would later be a three times World Champion.[11] Olsen arrived after Mauger persuaded the promoter Mike Parker to sign him.[12]
The 1967 and 1968 seasons were one of the rare occurrences where two of the greatest riders of all-time rode for the same team, although Olsen was in his early part of his career at the time.
The following season they won the double of National League title and Knockout Cup, in addition to winning the fours.[16] The 1976 team was Tom Owen, Brian Havelock, Ron Henderson, Joe Owen, Andy Cusworth, Phil Michelides and Robbie Blackadder. Tom Owen then topped the averages for three consecutive years in 1977, 1978 and 1979 becoming arguably the National League's leading rider during the period.
1980s
Joe Owen
Tom Owen
Another treble of league, cup and fours came their way during the 1982 National League season, when led by Joe Owen, Rod Hunter and Bobby Beaton. One year later, led by the same three riders they won their third National League title and the Fours title during the 1983 National League season.[17] The Diamonds moved up a division to compete in the British League during 1984 but due to financial issues, the promoters Ian Thomas and Robin Stannard did not enter a team for 1985.[18]
After missing 1985 they were brought back by Stannard and renamed the Newcastle Federation Specials for the 1986 National League season. After just two seasons they were once again disbanded for the 1988 season before retunign in 1989.
1990s
David Bargh was re-signed in 1990 and helped the Diamonds finish third in 1991. The 1992 season was overshadowed by the death of Wayne Garratt after crashing at the track.[19]
Following the merger of the divisions in 1995 and 1996, the Diamonds chose not to compete due to the expected increase in operational costs and the Diamonds' riders were put on the transfer list.[20] The team returned when the league split again in 1997.[21] The 1990s was a fractured existence for the club but the Diamonds did finish the decade with three full seasons of speedway.
2000s
Team changes for 2000 saw the signings of Bjarne Pedersen and Andre Compton and together with Jesper Olsen they steered Newcastle to their first league title for 18 years. Winning the 2001 Premier League was the Diamonds fifth league title in total.
A second successive league title in 2002 was denied by Sheffield Tigers on points difference. Czech rider Josef Franc topped the Diamonds averages from 2006 to 2008.
2010s
Stuart Robson spent nine seasons with the club
The 2010 season was a very successful campaign for the Diamonds. Although the Edinburgh Monarchs dominated the League, it was the Diamonds that took most silverware of the season by winning the Premier League play-offs, the Premier Trophy and the Premier League KOC (against Edinburgh Monarchs). The Diamonds also found success when the Dane Kenni Larsen won the Premier League Riders' Championship to add a fourth honour to the club's successful season. In recognition of their achievements the team was awarded the prestigious 'Team of the Year' award by Sports North-East, shortly before the 2011 campaign commenced, ahead of the Championship League winning football side Newcastle United.
Despite winning the season opening Premier Shield, the team struggled in 2011 but bounced back strongly winning the Knockout Cup for the fourth time in 2012. Steve Worrall was the Diamonds leading rider for several seasons until Robert Lambert took over as the number 1 rider in 2016, both experienced success with the Great Britain national speedway team. The Premier League became the Championship in 2017, with the Diamonds finishing 7th.
On 16 September 2018, Newcastle Diamonds legend Stuart Robson announced his retirement from the sport. He first rode for the Diamonds at the age of 16 in 1993. Newcastle Diamonds' celebrated their 90th anniversary season in 2019. After the 2019 season Rob Grant and former Stoke Potters promoter Dave Tattum took ownership of the club.[22]
2020s
After the leagues were cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the team club came close to closing in 2021 before ultimately committing to the SGB Championship 2021, under Grant's ownership.[23] Going into 2022, speedway clubs in the UK were challenged by the impacts of Brexit and European rider availability.[24] Grant cited a rider shortage and low crowd numbers as reasons for temporarily closing the club in June 2022, with the goal of maintaining the club's financial resources to resume in 2023.[23] Grant also cited his other business ventures, finances, and mental health as reasons to close the club before the completion of the league season. Speedway promoter and BSP Chairman Rob Godfrey stated that "[w]e had been working with the Newcastle promotion in an attempt to get them to the end of the season...but sadly that’s proved not to be the case."[25]
80th anniversary series
In 2009 to commemorate the Diamonds 80th anniversary a series of 50 cigarette cards were produced by the club. Riders included:
Finished second on 58 points. Won away at Glasgow (37-53), Newport (44-46), Redcar (40-50), Sheffield (43-47), Somerset (42-48), Stoke (42-48). Picked up one point from King's Lynn (51-45) and Workington (47-43). Won all home matches apart from Edinburgh, which they lost by 41-51.
Only lost one match in the entire competition - Glasgow at home (43-47). Unbeaten away. Finished top of the Northern Group on 20 points. Defeated King's Lynn Stars 103-81 in the semi-final, and the Birmingham Brummies 104-80 in the Final to win the trophy.
Defeated Birmingham 92-90 in the semi-finals, and Sheffield 101-89 in the Final. Went on to lose to the Ipswich Witches in the promotion / relegation battle 110-76.
Represented by Kenni Larsen and Rene Bach who was awarded a wildcard spot for been the highest averaged rider, after all clubs were allocated one place. Larsen won the competition with a total of 16 points, and Bach finished 4th with 13. Scorers: Larsen (3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 3), Bach (3, 3, 3, 3, 1, 0 ).
Represented by Mark Lemon and Kenni Larsen. Eliminated on 20 points, the same as Somerset who advanced to the semi-final, as they had previously won the Somerset vs Newcastle Heat 6-3. Scorers: Larsen (4, EF, 3, 3), Lemon (3, 3, 0, 4).
Represented by Mark Lemon, Kenni Larsen, Rene Bach, Jason King, and reserve Dakota North. Finished third in Group A. Scorers: Larsen (3, 1) Lemon (3, 3) Bach (EF, EF) King (1, 1) North (DNR).
2010 team and statisticsGreensheet averages
The following averages take into account league and trophy matches only, excluding playoffs, semi-finals, and finals. These averages are used for team building purposes and riding order.
Represented by Derek Sneddon (for Mark Lemon ) and Stuart Robson. Eliminated on 17 points, finished 3rd in Group A. Scorers: Sneddon (3, 0, 0, 0), Robson (2, 4, 4, 4).
Jason Lyons for Lemon - 10+1 points. Jan Graversen for Sneddon - 4+1 points r/r for King - 6 points. Robson - punctured lung and broken ribs. Nedermark - knees. Entire top five of the team injured.
Team Change: Rene Bach to return from injury Team Change: Joe Haines signed for King.
Note: Top scorer in italics, indicates a full or paid maximum. Fixtures: TTW: Tyne/Tweed Trophy, CHAL: Challenge, PS: Premier Shield, PL: Premier League Coloring: Green: Won, Red: Lost, Yellow: Draw, Blue: Lost, but still gained league points (PL matches only)
2018 season
Personnel
George English, Andrew Dalby & Martin Phillips (club owners)
The full team was confirmed on 22 December 2018 with only Matthew Wethers retained from the 2018 season. Thomas Jorgensen joined the Diamonds following 2018 with neighbours and rivals Redcar Bears. Danny Phillips was on loan from the Diamonds at Scunthorpe during 2018. Max Clegg travelled south from Edinburgh Monarchs, while Steve Worrall and Simon Lambert were late additions to the team from Workington. Finally, Lasse Bjerre, younger brother of Newcastle legend Kenneth Bjerre who started his British career with the Diamonds in the early 2000s before going on to star in the Speedway Grand Prix series, was on the team.
Personnel
George English, Andrew Dalby & Martin Phillips (club owners)
George English & Martin Phillips (club promoters)
Technical Services (team sponsor)
Team and statistics
Steve Worrall 7.97*
Thomas Jorgensen 7.66
Lasse Bjerre 7.08
Matthew Wethers 5.78
Simon Lambert 4.18
Max Clegg 3.17
Danny Phillips 2.00
2020 to 2022 seasons
The 2020 SGB Championship season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, Newcastle entered a junior team, named the Newcastle Gems to compete in the National Development League National Trophy competition.
