EDINBURGH Scotwaste Monarchs, who celebrate their 60th anniversary at Armadale tomorrow night, have flourished as a speedway team thanks to the amazing loyalty of their supporters, according to club historian and clerk of the course, Jim Henry.
Henry, who has overseen the smooth running of Monarchs' meetings for 20 years, says Monarchs' core support has never deserted the team – even when their track fortunes have been at a low ebb.
Henry said: "It is nice that Monarchs have reached thi
s milestone. But on Monday, speedway in Edinburgh actually celebrates its 80th birthday. Marine Gardens in Portobello opened its doors to the paying public with the first meeting there on May 19, 1928.
"Monarchs weren't founded until 1948 when they made their debut at Old Meadowbank. And the sport enjoyed an unprecedented boom, with crowds often topping 20,000. Monarchs held their own that first year, and there was local rivalry with Glasgow Tigers. It wasn't a particularly good side Monarchs had and they ended up with the wooden spoon. But then Jack Young came along in 1949 and he set the heather alight in following seasons. He started with a maximum and he was consistently good."
Young, considered the greatest Monarch of all, captured the World Championship in 1951 at Wembley and was then transferred to West Ham. With Scottish speedway in decline Monarchs closed in 1954 and didn't reopen until 1960 when they competed in the Provincial League.
Henry added: "That was the time when there was a lot of loyalty to the sport. And Monarchs have now got a lot of people like myself who were the core of a very enthusiastic generation of fans from the sixties. And a lot of us are still with the club today. This has been quite a driving force.
"I don't know what it was about that particular era. But those of us bitten by the speedway bug have never lost it. And that is the chief reason why Monarchs have flourished. They do have a loyal fan base. Current promoters John Campbell and Alex Harkess are also sixties stalwarts."
Monarchs were forced to vacate Old Meadowbank in 1967, ironically one of their most successful years, to make way for the 1970 Commonwealth Games.
They moved west to Coatbridge for two years before the doors closed at Cliftonhill Stadium.
But they returned to the Capital in 1977 when Powderhall Stadium ushered in a new era for the blue-and-gold speed merchants.
"The same fans from the sixties worked so hard behind the scenes to convince councillors to give speedway a chance again," said Henry. "And we enjoyed 19 years there, our longest unbroken spell." Powderhall produced some great nights of action and Henry rates England's Les Collins, who joined the club in 1986, as his favourite Monarchs star.
He said: "Les was hugely influential. He breathed new life into Powderhall after Monarchs finished bottom of the league in 1984 and 85. Les was an entertainer and a really good scorer as well.
"We got ten good years from him. We also signed Doug Wyer and he too was very important. Yet the way he rode Powderhall defied logic. For a rider who won so many races, he never quite got a grip of the track."
However, the good times Monarchs and their fans had enjoyed became a misty memory when Powderhall was sold to a development company in 1995. Monarchs rode under the guise of the Scottish Monarchs the following year at Shawfield after Glasgow Tigers failed to run.
But the situation of Monarchs racing at the home of their greatest rivals, almost brought Monarchs to their financial knees. So it was with a great sigh of relief that Monarchs were given the green light to move to Armadale in 1997. And a certain Peter Carr proved instrumental in garnering new support from the West Lothian area. Henry recalls: "Peter wasn't interested in captaincy or things like that. He just wanted to go out and do the job in his own way. But there was no-one like Peter going into that first behind, and coming out the second in front. Fans like to identify with someone. And it was nice to go along and watch a rider, like Peter, who was going to be dependable."
Frede Schott won the Evening News Sports Personality of the Year by a landslide for skippering Monarchs to their first league crown five years ago. Henry says he would love to see Monarchs back in Edinburgh even though they have been happily settled at Armadale for 12 years.
"It's not as if there is a lack of prospective sites in Edinburgh, especially if you started to look around. But you would require a commitment from the city Fathers to do their utmost to bring speedway back to the city."
Henry as usual will ensure that things go like clockwork tomorrow night. He let slip that track staff at Powderhall referred to him as the 'Fat Controller'. The Edinburgh-based official certainly hopes his beloved Monarchs will be puffing along for another 60 years.
