1965 Miscellany
Other Fixtures:
The Dukes inaugural British League season saw the team involved in 33 official league matches, with the away fixture at Cradley Heath never staged, plus a single Knock-out Cup match fixture at Long Eaton. The Dukes also took part in 7 unofficial matches, one away at Fife, and the remaining 6 at The Shay. A defeat by Coventry and a draw against Polish tourists Gornik were offset by victories against Long Eaton, West Ham, Wimbledon and a London Stars team. Details of these fixtures can be found on the relevant archive pages for 1965.
Individual Meetings:
Halifax additionally staged a further 3 individual meetings during 1965:
Meeting 11 (19/6/65) World Championship Qualifying Round, won by Oxford's Jimmy Gooch.
Meeting 13 (3/7/65) Whitaker Trophy, won by Eric Boocock.
Meeting 28 (13/10/65) Champions Trophy, won by Dave Younghusband.
Details of individual heat results and scores can be found on the respective archive pages for 1965.
The Juniors/Second-Half Riders: During 1965, the following riders took part in various junior matches for the Dukes - those who rode for the main team are not included in this list, but will have their own biography in the riders archive - many thanks to:
Alan Butterfield, Vic Lonsdale, Jack Swales, Peter Thompson, Ian Thomas, Brian Oliver, Maury Robinson, Taffy Owen, Bob Bruce, Steve Walpington and Bernie Lagrosse.
Silver Sash Match-Race Championship:
The Silver Sash was the old Provincial League match-race championship, and the decision was made to keep the competition in addition to the Golden Helmet competition following the creation of the new British League. During the 1965 season, Dukes riders were involved in the match-races on several occasions, most notably with Eric Boocock being the holder of the title for several weeks. Details of the various races are as follows:
