19
61The First KO Cup Victory
![]() Season Review As
Harry Bastable had at times been leading a one-man crusade for Cradley in 1960,
it was imperative to find some reliable back-up in ’61, and it came with a
five-star rating in the form of the now legendary Ivor Brown. |
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L to R. Mike Wilmore, John Hart, Tony Eadon, George Bewley, Ivor Brown, Harry Bastable, Derek Timms. |
Brown was signed from Before
long, Ivor Brown had taken over the top spot in the team and forged a
formidable reputation, heightened by his choice of white jersey over his
leathers. Compared to the
normal fare of dull, black racing attire, Ivor stood out in more ways than
one. He was one of the best
riders in the Provincial League, adored by Cradley fans, despised by away
supporters and the scourge of the new Wolves team.
The Monmore Green men entered the league in ’61 and thus began the
renowned Cradley-Wolves local rivalry.
The Heathens took the honours in the league encounter that season,
winning home and away, while Wolves snatched a narrow aggregate victory in
the first ever Dudley-Wolves Trophy. Cradley
were also battling their way up the league and pulled off some fine
victories over the rest of their opponents, including back-to-back away
victories at The
difference to the squad made by Hart, Timms, Davies, Stevens and of course
Brown made Cradley much more of a force to be reckoned with compared to
1960. The Heathens climbed to
fourth place in the league (out of 12 teams) and in the last home match of
the season built up a mighty first leg lead over Edinburgh in the Knock Out
Cup Final, with Brown, Bastable and Timms all unbeaten.
After a two-week wait they completed the job at the Scots’
Meadowbank circuit to lift the silverware for the first time.
KO Cup Champions, Cradley could boast the league’s top points
scorer in Ivor Brown, and seemed to have abundant back-up in an exciting and
emerging team. |
statistics taken from the Cradley Speedway database for PL matches only.
Final League Table
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Northern League
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KO
Cup Cradley
win the KO Cup 102 - 79 on aggregate.
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Dudley
Wolves Trophy 1st
Leg -
Cradley 49 Wolves
46 2nd
Leg - Wolves
51 - Cradley
45 Wolves
win 97 - 94 on aggregate |