Halifax Dukes - 1967 Season - Finished 7th (37pts) Out of 19

Finished 7th (37pts) Out of 19

The successes of the previous year had provided a warm glow for all the supporters that lasted through most of the Winter. Then a cloud appeared on the horizon - in the shape of the dreaded Rider Control Committee.

Other promoters were insistent that the Dukes were too strong and in the interests of keeping the league competitive should release a rider. Various rumours circulated at the start of the year but Reg Fearman was clearly under pressure to make a concession and after some hard negotiations, Tommy Roper was whipped over the Pennines to bolster the Belle Vue Aces following the retirement of captain Dick Fisher. Halifax were given “permission” to replace him with one of their own assets - Greg Kentwell. However, despite Kentwell's promise of further progress in the coming year, it was effectively replacing a heat leader with a junior. The local supporters were not impressed, and Rider Control Committee members were not welcome in West Yorkshire!

Nevertheless, the team still had the core strength of Eric Boocock, Dave Younghusband and Eric Boothroyd – a match for most. There was also good reason to believe that Bert Kingston and maybe Dennis Gavros could progress into the sort of solid scoring second strings that could fill the gap left by Roper. So most supporters viewed the coming season with some hope of success – if only things went the Dukes way!

The season started on Apr 1st with a disappointingly comprehensive away defeat (26-52) at the Swindon Robins and even though this was without an ill Dave Younghusband it wasn’t the start that the team needed. A narrow (37-41) defeat at the Newport Wasps showed more promise and a win (47-31) in the first home match against the Belle Vue Aces showed that the team would be strong at home, but the return of Tommy Roper in opposition colours was doubly disappointing. He scored only one, but was involved in a crash with Bob Jameson and this put the young Aussie on the Injury List until July – an unfortunate sign of things to come!

It was the beginning of May before the Dukes managed an away win (42-36) at Cradley Heath with Dave Youghusband extending his unbeaten run against the Heathens with a fine maximum. This was without Bert Kingston though who’d crashed heavily the previous Saturday in the home win over Glasgow and been diagnosed with a fractured skull which was to sideline him for 3 months. It was followed almost immediately by an upset at home when the Coventry Bees scrambled a draw. It was after a tightly fought contest, partly down to a below par score from Eric Boocock who had been suffering engine problems for some time and spent most of this match on borrowed equipment. Then, as if to underline the inconsistency, the Dukes went to Newcastle two days later and beat a highly rated Diamonds side by 44-34 with Dennis Gavros suddenly finding some away form with 6 paid 8. Unfortunately, this was to be the last away success of the year.

Maurie Robinson and untried Aussie newcomer Les Bentzen had been drafted in to cover for the injured riders, but realistically were hard pressed to match the expected scores from Kingston and Jameson. The scene was thus set for a period of generally strong results at home, but little to show from their travels where the inability of the second-strings to support the top 3 was leaving the Dukes short of firepower on away tracks.

June saw an early departure out of the KO Cup at the Poole Pirates where, despite track protests and an injury to captain Eric Boothroyd the Dukes went down to a 36-60 defeat. The month also saw the departure of Maurie Robinson from the team with a badly broken thumb following an horrendous smash at the Shay in the match against the Sheffield Tigers where the unlucky (or maybe very lucky) rider hit the fence hard and was thrown into the crowd.

One bright spot throughout this period was the form of Eric Boocock. He had overcome his early machine problems and was now established as a true international star, underlined by his top scoring for Great Britain in the series against Sweden and some magical moments in the following series against Poland (including an 18 point maximum in the home test at Halifax).

By the end of August, the team had established a consistent mid-table position following some solid home performances and despite the loss of Dave Younghusband for four matches with yet another injury. His return to track action at the end of the month however was an unfortunate affair. This was against Cradley Heath at the Shay on a very damp night. After winning his opening ride, Younghusband joined fellow Halifax riders Eric Boocock and Dennis Gavros in walking out of the meeting in protest at the track conditions despite the referee ruling that the match should progress. Halifax were allowed special dispensation to bring Maurie Robinson into the side as a replacement, and the match went ahead with various levels of enthusiasm from the remaining riders. Almost inevitably this led to the Dukes first and only home defeat of the season by a narrow 38-39 margin and despite the sterling effort of Bob Jameson who top scored with 12 from 6 rides.

September was memorable for Eric Boocock’s 3rd place in the British Final (12 pts) at West Ham behind Barry Briggs and Ivan Mauger to qualify for his first world final at Wembley. In the big event itself he came away with a very creditable 6th place on 9 points after winning his first ride and scoring in each of his others.

For the team however the season petered out in a fairly low key way with more home wins (including a 61-17 thrashing of King’s Lynn – a record), and yet more away defeats. This culminated in a poor 32 point thrashing at Oxford (23-55) at the end of September where only Eric Boocock with 12 did himself any justice. At least the final home match of the year at the Shay on 7th Oct produced a good pay night for the Dukes with all the team scoring heavily as the Newport Wasps were despatched 60-18. Only regular to miss out was Greg Kentwell who’d sailed back to Australia a couple of weeks earlier, and fittingly Bert Kingston scored his first league paid maximum for the club in what was to be his last match in England.

So in the end, luck didn’t go with the Dukes. The loss of Roper and the seemingly never-ending series of injuries proved too much to overcome. A final league position of 7th was better than 12 other teams could manage, but was a disappointment after so much success the previous year. Of the riders, Eric Boocock had scored much the same as the previous season but had clearly improved further. Dave Younghusband had upped his average and become the team’s most effective scorer at the Shay with an average in excess of 11. Eric Boothroyd had dropped back a little, but was still a very solid heat leader. The real difference from the previous season lay below these 3 where none of the young Aussies were able to raise their game home and away to make up for the loss of Roper. Kingston had suffered a career threatening injury almost from the off which eventually led to his retirement from British Speedway. Gavros was gloriously inconsistent away but excellent at home. Greg Kentwell had developed into a useful rider and Maurie Robinson had looked promising before also succumbing to the injury blight. Bob Jameson and Les Bentzen had found the year a struggle – particularly on their travels away from the Shay.

1967 Averages (League and Cup matches) :