1976 Miscellany

Other Fixtures:  

In a packed season, the Dukes took part in numerous non-league fixtures.  The early season Northern Trophy saw two home wins and, remarkably two away draws, but the campaign was notable for the early season loss of Cartwright and Monk, both injured on opening night.  In addition, the Dukes faced both Sheffield and Belle Vue again in home challenge matches in the Autumn, snatching a win against the Aces but losing to the Tigers as the injuries mounted up.  And they lost both legs of the Yorkshire Cup against Hull as the season drew to a close.

International action returned to the Shay at the end of April, with Halifax taking on and defeating the Polish touring team, including a number of world stars.

The Dukes were also involved in a number of 4-Team tournaments, with limited success.  An early season warm up at Ellesmere Port saw the Dukes finish 3rd, whilst a make-shift four travelled to Coatbridge in September and were well beaten.  The Dukes staged a home fixture at the start of September, tracking two teams against Sheffield and Belle Vue with the main team taking the win.  

Details of each match can be found in the archive pages for 1976.

Individual Meetings:  

The Shay staged 3 individual meetings during 1976, details of each match can be found in the archive pages for 1976.  With the end of the World Championship qualifying rounds at each track, and the end to the Northern Riders Championship qualifiers, Halifax staged the annual Dews Trophy in June, with Graham Plant a popular home winner.  Plant was also the winner of the Shay round of the inaugural Daily Mirror Grand Prix, although he suffered his season ending injury later that week and could not participate in the final.  And the Autumn Classic returned, after being postponed and not re-arranged in 1975, with Sheffield's Reg Wilson winning the meeting after a run-off with Hull's Mitch Graham, after home-star Henny Kroeze suffered a tapes exclusion in his final race.

The Juniors/Second-Half Riders:  

The second half opportunities were limited during the first part of 1976, with the reserves and loanees/number eights contesting a race.  But the bulk of the new faces from 1975 were back, with several "junior" meetings against other teams as the Dukes looked to develop a new batch of talent for the future.  Special thanks to: Phil Ball, Les Race, Phil Greenwood, Malcolm Barrett, Trevor Myers, Dave Hudson, Graham Dawson, Steen Rasmussen and Pete Adams.

Golden Helmet Match-Race Championship:

No Dukes were nominated to challenge for the Golden Helmet during 1976.  1975 holder Martin Ashby lost the title to Wimbledon's Tommy Jansson in April, and Jansson had defended the title against Dave Jessup days before his death in Sweden in May.  Malcolm Simmons defeated Dave Morton when the competition was resumed, with Phil Crump eventually deposing the British Champion, and going on to retain the helmet into 1977.