Well actually it’s a speedway meeting this time – the first one I’d seen, apart from on TV, when the Workington Comets launched at Derwent Park in 1970.
It was prompted by a reminder that last Friday, October 28, was the fourth anniversary of the Comets winning the League Championship – and the club subsequently dropped out of the league.
Hopefully the new venture at the Northside Training track will see the re-emergence of the Comets next year, at least in Development League action.
But when did it all start? Well the short answer there was speedway briefly at Lonsdale Park, Workington in the 1930s – my mother used to tell me she had been there to see one meeting, I think the first in 1931.
The birth of the Comets came in 1970 when speedway was introduced to the West Cumbrian public (and beyond) at Workington’s Derwent Park.
Ian Thomas and Jeff Brownhut were the two young men who were able to do a deal with Workington Town supremo Tom Mitchell and construct a speedway track around the rugby field.
For weeks ahead of the opening meeting on April 3, 1970 – a Friday night – we were running stories about the sport as Messrs Thomas and Brownhut tried to educate people about the thrills and spills of speedway.
We can’t have done too bad a job because there were over 5,000 in for the opening meeting against Berwick.
I remembered speedway occasionally featuring on BBC TV’s Sportsview in the late 50s and the name Split Waterman was the one which registered most.
We had new heroes to consider in 1970, though, – Lou Sansom, Bob Valentine, Mal Mackay – although Ian and Jeff tried hard to sell the sport on the exploits of Vic ‘Wild Man’ Lonsdale.
One pre-season write-up quoted a speedway journalist as saying “whenever Vic rides there isn’t a dull moment.”
In truth Vic – who allegedly only had one eye – didn’t set Derwent Park alight, but some of the others certainly did.
I can still hear fellow journalist Alan Sandwith screaming: “His throttle’s jammed” as Mal Mackay put on a sudden spurt round the top bend to virtually scrape the boards on his way to the front.
I got to know Lou Sansom best of all as he lodged in the street where I lived. A real gentleman, who used to be surrounded by kids when he had his bike on the fronts and was cleaning it.
It even spawned a cycle speedway team among the youngsters down our way – the Darcy Street Dynamos, I know there were the Bolton Street Bombers and the Gladstone Street Gladiators.
But back to that opening night. Berwick won 39-37 in a 13-heat contest back then and despite that the fans were hooked. Speedway had established itself in the town.
Mal was the hero on the night with 14 points, giving Alan Sandwith kittens with his superb pass while Lou fell in his first two rides and won the other two.
Wild Man Vic had six points from three second places while the other points came from Dave Kumeta (2), Reg Wilson (4), Maurice Wilson (2) and Ian Armstrong (3).
But it didn’t all end after heat 13. In actual fact, the birds were singing in trees when my fellow reporter Eric Easterbrook and I made our way home the following morning.
For after a good night at Derwent Park we were invited to the mayor’s parlour by his worship at the time, Jack Miller. Indeed Jack was so taken by the sport that he later became an official referee.
Happy times indeed, an historic day in the annals of Workington sport and one which many of us present will never forget.
