Sheffield Tigers


The Sheffield 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 and were champions of Britain, in 2023.
The Tigers traditionally hold their race nights on Thursdays between March and October.

History

Origins & 1930s

In 1929 construction began on a 20-acre freehold site to build a new stadium in Owlerton. The Provincial Dirt Tracks Co. Ltd under the chairmanship of Edgar W. Hart opened the purpose-built Owlerton Stadium on 30 March 1929. The team known simply as Sheffield at the time were inaugural members of the English Dirt Track League and Northern League the following season. In 1930, they rode as the Sheffield Blades but soon adopted the name Tigers. The early stars of the team included Dusty Haigh, Clem Beckett, Broncho Dixon and Squib Burton.

1940s

The team re-opened for a short spell in 1945, following the disruption caused by World War II before returning to league action in 1946. The team operated in the Northern League of 1946 and in the National League Division Two between 1947 and 1950. The team spearheaded by Stan Williams and Tommy Bateman won their first trophy in 1947, after winning the British Speedway Cup.

1950s

The 1950s started with the unpopular decision to name the team the Tars and matters got worse despite the team reverting to the name Tigers at the end of the 1950 season because the team withdrew from the league part way through 1951.

1960s

The track re-opened in 1960, with the Tigers participating in the Provincial League. The team continued to ride in the Provincial League until 1964, when they moved up to the highest tier, known as the National League at the time before it was renamed the British League in 1965. The sixties brought little success with the best performances being a fourth place finish in 1960, 1963 and 1968. Notable riders during the decade were Clive Featherby, Jack Kitchen, John Dews, Billy Bales, Arnold Haley and Bob Paulson.

1970s

Sheffield had signed Jim Airey the Australian champion in 1969 and he led Sheffield into the seventies. In 1970, he finished third in the league averages and then steered Sheffield to a fourth place finish in 1971, when well supported by Haley and Bengt Larsson.
Despite the loss of Airey for 1972, the team rode well finishing fourth again before taking runner-up spot in 1973. Silverware finally arrived in 1974 when the Tigers won the Knockout Cup, easily defeating Ipswich Witches in the final. Bob Valentine recorded 22 points over the two legs and with heavy scoring from Haley and Doug Wyer, the Tigers won by a 25 point margin.
By the mid-seventies Reg Wilson was becoming an important rider for the club, topping the team's averages in 1975 and 1979 and establishing himself as one of two main riders alongside Doug Wyer.

1980s

The eighties started badly with a last place finish in 1980, but in 1981 the club signed American rising star Shawn Moran. He would spend eight seasons at Owlerton, developing into a world class rider and a fan's favourite.
In 1984, the Collins brothers Neil and Les arrived and in 1985, Peter Carr was signed, with the team only being denied the league title by the big spending Oxford Cheetahs. The following season, Reg Wilson retired after making a club record 470 appearances and Shawn Moran's older brother Kelly Moran was signed. Sheffield enjoyed large attendances throughout the 1980s but after the 1988 season, the landlords increased the rent and manager Eric Boocock was forced to disband the team and sell the riders.

1990s

Division 2 speedway returned to Owlerton in 1991 under the promotion of Cliff Carr and following the signing of a lease with the city council. Neil Evitts was number 1 before being replaced by Roman Matoušek, although it was not until 1999 that Sheffield experienced the taste of success again.
Inspired by Sean Wilson, Sheffield won the Premier League during the 1999 Premier League speedway season.

2000s

The club's junior side the Sheffield Prowlers won more silverware, winning the Conference League in 2000 and 2001 and the Tigers won the league and Knockout Cup in 2002 to complete the double, during the 2002 Premier League speedway season. Sean Wilson and Simon Stead both had great seasons and when Sean Wilson would retire in 2005, he was the Tigers all-time leading point scorer, with 4246 points.
The Tigers later recorded a second place finish in 2006 and a play off final appearance in 2007.

2010s

The Tigers reached another play off final during the 2010 Premier League speedway season, the same season that Ricky Ashworth and Josh Auty won the pairs championship.
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. Josh Grajczonek headed the team averages, supported by Kyle Howarth and Lasse Bjerre, the latter two also winning the championship pairs.

2020s

Following a season lost to the COVID-19 pandemic the team stepped up to the highest division for the first time since the 1995/1996 merged division. Jack Holder and Adam Ellis were signed, with the team finishing 4th but following the signing of Tobiasz Musielak the club topped the SGB Premiership 2022 table but controversially 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.
In 2023, the Tigers signed two former world champions in Tai Woffinden and Chris Holder and 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.
A track record that had stood for 4976 days was beaten on 30 May 2024. Ricky Ashworth's time of 59.1 seconds was bettered by Jack Holder, with a time of 58.92 seconds. Sheffield's success continued in 2024 with the club winning the Knockout Cup and the Tigers finished top of the regular season table in both 2024 and 2025 but were eliminated in the play of semi-finals.

Club honours

  • SGB Premiership winners 2023
  • SGB Premiership Knockout Cup winners 2024
  • British Championship League SGB Championship winners 2017
  • British Championship Pairs SGB Championship winners 2017, 2018
  • British Speedway Cup – 1947
  • British League Knockout Cup winners – 1974
  • Premier League Four-Team Championship winners – 1999, 2000
  • Premier League Play off winners – 1999, 2002
  • Premier League winners - 1999, 2002
  • Conference League Champions - 2000, 2001
  • Premier Trophy winners - 2001
  • Premier League Riders Championship winners -1996, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2014, 2016
  • Premier League Pairs winners – 2010

    Full seasons summary

Year and leagueTable positionNotes
1929 Speedway English Dirt Track League9th
1930 Speedway Northern League7thas the Blades
1931 Speedway Northern League3rd
1933 Speedway National League8th
1938 Speedway National League Division Two7th
1939 Speedway National League3rd++when season was suspended
1946 Speedway Northern League2nd
1947 Speedway National League Division Two2ndBritish Cup Div 2 winners
1948 Speedway National League Division Two4th
1949 Speedway National League Division Two2nd
1950 Speedway National League Division Two10thas the Tars
1951 Speedway National League Division TwoN/Awithdrew, results expunged
1960 Provincial Speedway League4th
1961 Provincial Speedway League7th
1962 Provincial Speedway League7th
1963 Provincial Speedway League4th
1964 Speedway National League8th
1965 British League season11th
1966 British League season11th
1967 British League season9th
1968 British League season4th
1969 British League season6th
1970 British League season7th
1971 British League season4th
1972 British League season4th
1973 British League season2nd
1974 British League season4thKnockout Cup winners
1975 British League season5th
1976 British League season17th
1977 British League season13th
1978 British League season8th
1979 British League season13th
1980 British League season17th
1981 British League season10th
1982 British League season5th
1983 British League season10th
1984 British League season5th
1985 British League season2nd
1986 British League season4th
1987 British League season4th
1988 British League season6th
1991 British League Division Two season5th
1992 British League Division Two season10th
1993 British League Division Two season9th
1994 British League Division Two season9th
1995 Premier League speedway season14th
1996 Premier League speedway season18th
1997 Premier League speedway season10th
1998 Premier League speedway season5th
1999 Premier League speedway season1stchampions
2000 Premier League speedway season4th
2001 Premier League speedway season3rd
2002 Premier League speedway season1stchampions & Knockout Cup winners
2003 Premier League speedway season2nd
2004 Premier League speedway season8th
2005 Premier League speedway season3rd
2006 Premier League speedway season2nd
2007 Premier League speedway season4thPO final
2008 Premier League speedway season8th
2009 Premier League speedway season9th
2010 Premier League speedway season4thPO final & Premier League Pairs
2011 Premier League speedway season2nd
2012 Premier League speedway season12th
2013 Premier League speedway season12th
2014 Premier League speedway season12th
2015 Premier League speedway season5th
2016 Premier League speedway season6thPO final
SGB Championship 20171stchampions
SGB Championship 201811th
SGB Championship 20196th
SGB Premiership 20214thPO semi final
SGB Premiership 20222ndPO finalist, League Cup winners
SGB Premiership 20233rdChampions
SGB Premiership 20241st**PO semi final, KO Cup winners
SGB Premiership 20251st**PO semi final