| Sheffield Tigers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track address | Owlerton Stadium Penistone Road Sheffield South Yorkshire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Founded | 1929 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Promoter | Damien Bates, Julie Reading & Peter Mole | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team manager | Simon Stead | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team captain | Kyle Howarth | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | SGB Premiership National Development League | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | www | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club facts | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colours | Yellow and Blue | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track size | 361 metres (395 yd) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track record time | 59.1 seconds (54.66mph) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track record date | 15 October 2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track record holder | Ricky Ashworth | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current senior team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current junior team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Major team honours | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Sheffield 'Tru Plant' Tigers are a motorcycle speedway team based in Sheffield, England. They currently race in the British SGB Premiership, and their home meetings take place at Owlerton Stadium. They were founded in 1929[1] and were champions of Britain, in 2023.
The Tigers traditionally hold their race nights on Thursdays between March and October[2] and are sponsored by Tru Plant.
History
Owlerton was a purpose-built speedway track built in 1929. The team were inaugural members of the English Dirt Track League and Northern league the following season. In 1930 they rode as the Sheffield Blades.[3]
It operated for most of the pre-war years and re-opened for a short spell in 1945. The team operated in the Northern League of 1946 and in the National League Division Two between 1947 and 1950. The team won their first trophy in 1947, after winning the British Speedway Cup (Div 2).[4]
It closed part way through 1951 and staged open meetings in 1952. The track re-opened in 1960 and has operated most seasons since then.[5][6] The team has been known as The Tigers apart from part of 1950 when they were known as The Tars and 1930 when they were the Blades.
From 1970 to 1986, Reg Wilson made a club record 470 appearances.
Sheffield won the Premier League (speedway's second division) twice during the 1999 Premier League speedway season and the 2002 Premier League speedway season. They also won the Knockout Cup in 2002 to complete the double. The club's junior side the Sheffield Prowlers also won silverware winning the Conference League in 2000 and 2001. When Sean Wilson retired in 2005, he was the Tigers all-time leading point scorer, with 4246 points.[7]
The SGB Championship 2017 season was the 21st consecutive season that the Sheffield Tigers competed in division 2. The Tigers finished in 1st place having beaten Ipswich Witches in the two leg Play Off final 99–81.
In 2019, the club won their fourth historical league title winning the SGB Championship 2017 after finishing top of the regular season table and winning the playoffs. Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) the 2020 season did not take place. The club topped the SGB Premiership 2022 table but lost in the play off final to Belle Vue Aces, which foiled the chance for the club to win their first ever top-tier league title. However, they did gain compensation by winning the League Cup.[8]
In 2023, after finishing third in the SGB Premiership 2023 league standings, they went on to defeat Wolverhampton Wolves in the semi finals and then Ipswich Witches in the final. This was the first time in the club's history that were crowned champions of the United Kingdom. The success somewhat atoned for the final defeat the season before.[9]
Club honours
- SGB Premiership Winners 2023
- British Championship League SGB Championship Winners 2017
- British Championship Pairs SGB Championship Winners 2017 (Kyle Howarth & Lasse Bjerre), 2018 (Kyle Howarth and Charles Wright)
- British Speedway Cup (Division 2) - 1947
- British League Knockout Cup winners - 1974
- Premier League Four-Team Championship winners - 1999 (Wilson, Smith, Compton, Stead), 2000 (Wilson, Stead, Kessler, Lee)
- Premier League Play off winners - 1999, 2002[10]
- Premier League winners - 1999, 2002
- Conference League Champions - 2000, 2001
- Premier Trophy winners - 2001
- Premier League Riders Championship winners - Sam Ermolenko (1996), Sean Wilson (1999, 2003, 2005), Andre Compton (2004), Ricky Ashworth (2009), Simon Stead (2014, 2016).
- Premier League Pairs winners - Ricky Ashworth & Josh Auty 2010
Notable former riders
.svg.png.webp)
Jim Airey
Tommy Allott- Ricky Ashworth
- Josh Auty
- Billy Bales
- Tommy Bateman
- Cyril "Squib" Burton
- Peter Carr
- Les Collins
- Neil Collins
- Andre Compton
- John Dews
Sam Ermolenko- Neil Evitts
- Clive Featherby
- Carl Glover
- Dusty Haigh
- Arnold Haley
Robbie Kessler- Jack Kitchen
Bengt Larsson
Roman Matoušek- Kelly Moran
- Shawn Moran
- Shane Parker
- Bob Paulson
Jan O. Pedersen- Bruce Semmens
- Simon Stead
- Carl Stonehewer
- Bob Valentine
- Len Williams
- Stan Williams
- Reg Wilson
- Sean Wilson
- Tai Woffinden
- Doug Wyer
Full seasons summary
Season summary (juniors)
Extended content | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Previous seasons
References
- ↑ Bamford, Robert (1 March 2007). Tempus Speedway Yearbook 2007. NPI Media Group. ISBN 978-0-7524-4250-1.
- ↑ "Potters Will Get Respect". Sheffield Tigers. 18 April 2007. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
- ↑ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - PRE-WAR ERA (1929-1939)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
- ↑ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
- ↑ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
- ↑ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
- ↑ "Hungry Tigers edge first leg of Play-Offs". Sheffield Star. 15 October 2010. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
- ↑ "Tigers win League Cup". British Speedway. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- ↑ "Tigers champions in Grand Final drama". British Speedway. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
- ↑ Oakes, P (2006). Speedway Star Almanac. Pinegen Ltd. ISBN 0-9552376-1-0.
