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Wimbledon Dons

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Wimbledon Dons
Wimbledon Dons captain Barry Briggs (centre) shaking hands with Oxford Rebels captain Gordon Kennett in 1975
Club information
Track addressWimbledon Stadium
Plough Lane
Wimbledon
London
CountryEngland
Founded1928
Closed2005
Websitewww.wimbledon-speedway.com
Club facts
ColoursYellow Star on Red
Track size355 yards (325 m)
Major team honours
National League Champions1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961
National Trophy Winners1938, 1950, 1951, 1953, 1956, 1959, 1960, 1962
KO Cup Winners1962, 1968, 1969, 1970
London Cup Winners1938, 1939, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985
RAC Cup1954
Britannia Shield1959
Gauntlet Spring Gold Cup Winners1979

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 reopening 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 was 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

KO Cup (formerly National League Trophy)

Winners: 1968, 1969, 1970

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

Gauntlet Spring Gold Cup

Winners: 1979

Conference Pairs Champions

Winners: 2004, 2005

Notable Wimbledon Riders

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 (1 May 2002). "Speedway: Rebirth of glory club". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 1 October 2008.
  4. ^ . Oakes, P (2006). Speedway Star Almanac. Pinegen Ltd. ISBN 0-9552376-1-0.