The 1969 Season

In the year of the moon landing, the 1969 British League season saw the same 19 teams line up to challenge for the title, but with significant changes to the race format and team make-up.  Teams would now consist of a top five, with two designated reserves lining up at 6 and 7 - a format that would be the base of British Speedway team racing for the subsequent 20 years.  Halifax were forced into the season without their skipper Eric Boothroyd who announced his retirement at the end of 1968 to move onto the management team.  

To strengthen the team from 1968, the Dukes sought to bring back Alan Jay after a disappointing spell at Newcastle.  Maury Robinson was released, and joined second-tier Berwick, but with Jay joining Boocock, Younghusband and Kentwell, a strong top 4 looked possible.  Dennis Gavros would again return, after not returning home to Australia during the winter, and Les Sharpe also signed on after an improved second half of 1968.  Bob Jameson was also retained, but was not initially ear-marked for a team place, instead Halifax turned to the transfer market and brought in Danish star Arne Pander, a former 10 point rider as recently ago as 1967, but who had a '68 season blighted by injury at Poole and who was now available on a low average.  Pander would be an ideal fit in one of the two reserve berths to start the season, with the hope of returning to his former glories and replacing the scoring of the retired Boothroyd.

At the top of the side, Boocock started 1969 as expected, hitting big scores from the off, and relieving Barry Briggs of the Silver Sash at the first attempt.  Pander, on the other hand, was a disaster at reserve, failing to score in challenge match defeats at Sheffield and Belle Vue, and minor scores in his first league outings, before the Dukes went to Oxford.  Pander top scored in a 4 point defeat, but then crashed heavily in the second half and promptly retired from the sport, his injuries having taken their toll.  Halifax appealed the result, alleging an illegal line-up for the Cheetahs, and the Dukes were eventually awarded the league points and the win.

Ever-reliable Bob Jameson was drafted in place of Pander, and proved a solid reserve all season, sharing the role with Sharpe, Jay and Gavros at various stages.  Boocock and Younghusband continued to hit the high scores and headlines, with Greg Kentwell now looking like heat-leader material.  Away wins at Wolverhampton, Glasgow and Coatbridge, and a draw at West Ham had the Dukes comfortably in the top 6 of the league for most of the season, although they were still prone to heavy defeats on their travels, where Boocock was often the only Duke to cause problems for the home side.

In the Knock-out Cup, home wins over Wolverhampton and Coventry saw the Dukes a win away from another final, but drawn away at Sheffield, Halifax slumped to a 9 point defeat, with Boocock the only visitor to threaten the Tigers.

As the season wore on, the Dukes went on a late run of home victories which boosted them up to a final 4th place in the league, despite the absence of Kentwell for most of September, and every other rider for various spells, bar the ever-present Boocock.  The Dukes number 1 was now England's number 1, behind only Mauger and Briggs in the averages, but suffered disappointment in the World Championship, failing to qualify from the British Final at West Ham in a tough round where only 6 riders would go through, Boocock eventually finishing 8th.  

The Dukes ended the 1960s having improved from the frustrations of 1968, with most riders having improved their averages from the previous season.  But Younghusband's scores had started to dip in the latter half of the season, and could Kentwell, Jay or Sharpe be relied upon to become another consistently high scorer, particularly away from home?  Who could take the Dukes to the next level as they entered a new decade...?

The heat details, scorers and reports for each meeting through the season can be found by clicking on the pages for each month.