Belle Vue Colts
Encyclopedia
The Belle Vue Colts are the junior youth development team of the Belle Vue Aces
, the World's most famous motorcycle speedway
team, based in Manchester
in the northwest of England
.
The Belle Vue Colts side was formed by former Aces rider Dent Oliver
who became General Manager of Belle Vue Aces in 1967.
Oliver's arrival brought sweeping changes to the club's approach as he recognised that if the club was to remain at the very top of British Speedway it needed a way of developing its own young riders.
Oliver quickly introduced the now legendary Monday night training schools which he hoped would provide for Belle Vue's future.
His efforts brought huge and immediate rewards with youngsters flocking from all over the north of England and a constant flow of young talent finding its way onto Belle Vue's ever growing roster.
The astonishing success of the training schools brought the club one major headache, how could it accommodate the sudden influx of talent?
The answer was just around the corner with the formation, in 1968, of the new Second Division.
Belle Vue were invited to enter a team of their raw youngsters alongside former provincial league teams like Middlesbrough Bears
, Plymouth Devils
and Rayleigh Rockets
, and the new division roared into life on Wednesday 8 May 1968 with Belle Vue defeating Canterbury 55-23 in the first ever second division match.
The Colts went through that maiden season unbeaten at home and clinched the league title on Wednesday 28 August when they beat Weymouth 63-15 (the most convincing victory of the season). Twelve months later The Colts retained their Second Division title and even went one better by adding the Knock-Out Cup to the trophy cabinet.
Many of the riders used in those two debut seasons went on to further their careers at first division level.
In 1970 the Belle Vue management looked for a new home for their nursery team, and this was found just up the road at Rochdale where the Colts moved - still under the control of Belle Vue - to become the Rochdale Hornets
.
Rochdale finished third in the 1970 Second Division and reached the semi-finals of the knock-out cup.
The Hornets closed after finishing ninth in the 1971 championship, but not before unearthing the biggest talent that the second division was ever to produce - the 16 year old Peter Collins
.
Since then the Colts have continued in various competitions, usually as second half events after the Aces' matches, always with the same goal in mind - To discover new young British talent.
Notable successes include the 1978 Scottish Junior League title, the 1989 British League 2 Championship and K.O. Cup double and the 2001 and 2002 Northern Youth Development titles.
In recent years, Joe Screen
, Carl Stonehewer
, Scott Smith, Lee Smethills, Ricky Ashworth
and James Wright
have all moved on to a higher level.
Belle Vue operated "second" teams in the pre-war era. Examples are the Belle Vue Merseyiders team and the second team of 1939 which operated in that prematurely closed season. In the mid 1950s Belle Vue ran a few "second" team events when the Aces were away from home.
Belle Vue Aces
The Belle Vue Aces are a British speedway team from Manchester in the north west of England.-Brief history:Racing first took place in 1928 at the Belle Vue greyhound stadium in Kirkmanshulme Lane before moving the following year to a specially built stadium nearby on Hyde Road. The club raced there...
, the World's most famous motorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. Speedway motorcycles use only one gear and have no brakes and racing takes place on a flat oval track usually...
team, based in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
in the northwest of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
The Belle Vue Colts side was formed by former Aces rider Dent Oliver
Dent Oliver
John Walter Denton Oliver was a former international speedway who qualified for the Speedway World Championship finals three times.-Career summary:...
who became General Manager of Belle Vue Aces in 1967.
Oliver's arrival brought sweeping changes to the club's approach as he recognised that if the club was to remain at the very top of British Speedway it needed a way of developing its own young riders.
Oliver quickly introduced the now legendary Monday night training schools which he hoped would provide for Belle Vue's future.
His efforts brought huge and immediate rewards with youngsters flocking from all over the north of England and a constant flow of young talent finding its way onto Belle Vue's ever growing roster.
The astonishing success of the training schools brought the club one major headache, how could it accommodate the sudden influx of talent?
The answer was just around the corner with the formation, in 1968, of the new Second Division.
Belle Vue were invited to enter a team of their raw youngsters alongside former provincial league teams like Middlesbrough Bears
Middlesbrough Bears
The Middlesbrough Bears were a British speedway team which operated under various names from 1939 until their closure in 1996.-Brief history:The team was initially nicknamed the Bears in 1939...
, Plymouth Devils
Plymouth Devils
The Plymouth Devils are a speedway team in the British Premier League. The club was re-formed after a gap of thirty-six years in 2006 by former St Austell Gulls rider Mike Bowden....
and Rayleigh Rockets
Rayleigh Rockets
The Rayleigh Rockets were a Speedway team which operated from 1949 until their closure in 1973 from the Rayleigh Weir Stadium in Rayleigh, Essex . The Rockets closed in 1958 but re-opened again in 1960 and entered the Provincial League and then the Metropolitan League in 1964...
, and the new division roared into life on Wednesday 8 May 1968 with Belle Vue defeating Canterbury 55-23 in the first ever second division match.
The Colts went through that maiden season unbeaten at home and clinched the league title on Wednesday 28 August when they beat Weymouth 63-15 (the most convincing victory of the season). Twelve months later The Colts retained their Second Division title and even went one better by adding the Knock-Out Cup to the trophy cabinet.
Many of the riders used in those two debut seasons went on to further their careers at first division level.
In 1970 the Belle Vue management looked for a new home for their nursery team, and this was found just up the road at Rochdale where the Colts moved - still under the control of Belle Vue - to become the Rochdale Hornets
Rochdale Hornets
Rochdale Hornets RLFC is an English professional rugby league club from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. They currently play in Championship One...
.
Rochdale finished third in the 1970 Second Division and reached the semi-finals of the knock-out cup.
The Hornets closed after finishing ninth in the 1971 championship, but not before unearthing the biggest talent that the second division was ever to produce - the 16 year old Peter Collins
Peter Collins (speedway rider)
Peter Spencer Collins MBE is a former Speedway rider who spent his whole career with the Belle Vue Aces, the team he supported as a child...
.
Since then the Colts have continued in various competitions, usually as second half events after the Aces' matches, always with the same goal in mind - To discover new young British talent.
Notable successes include the 1978 Scottish Junior League title, the 1989 British League 2 Championship and K.O. Cup double and the 2001 and 2002 Northern Youth Development titles.
In recent years, Joe Screen
Joe Screen
Joseph 'Joe' Screen , is a British international speedway rider who rides for the Glasgow Tigers in the British Premier League. In 2011 While pairing with James Grieves he won the Premier league Pairs For the Tigers...
, Carl Stonehewer
Carl Stonehewer
Carl Bryan 'Stoney' Stonehewer is a former motorcycle speedway rider.-Speedway Grand Prix:* The first UK Premier League rider to qualify for the Speedway Grand Prix.**Grand Prix Series Rider 2000, 2001, 2002...
, Scott Smith, Lee Smethills, Ricky Ashworth
Ricky Ashworth
Richard David Ashworth is a professional speedway rider for Sheffield Tigers who has represented Great Britain....
and James Wright
James Wright (speedway rider)
James Wright , is a speedway rider in the United Kingdom, riding with the Belle Vue Aces in the Elite League. James is also a squad member for Unia Tarnow in Liga I in Poland along with his Belle Vue Aces team mates Steve Boxall and Patrick Hougaard.His Grandfather, Jim Yacoby rode for the Belle...
have all moved on to a higher level.
Belle Vue operated "second" teams in the pre-war era. Examples are the Belle Vue Merseyiders team and the second team of 1939 which operated in that prematurely closed season. In the mid 1950s Belle Vue ran a few "second" team events when the Aces were away from home.