Eastbourne Eagles
Get good Odds on The Eagles at Coral
Speedway racing has been staged at Arlington for more than 70 years. The sport was brought to Sussex in 1931 - only three years after the in the inaugural British meeting in Essex.
Charlie Dugard bought a piece of land near Hailsham and started racing . . . the piece of land was developed over the years into the Arlington Stadium.
Charlie was a top grass track racer of his time and also rode speedway. He masterminded the sport in Sussex for more than half a century.
For a while after the Second World War, the sport moved to Hastings, where crowds of 10,000 watched until local objectors won the day in a legal battle. During the 1950s, the Lord's Day Observance Society objected to speedway being staged at Arlington on Sundays. Charlie
devised all sorts of schemes to stop the bikes being silenced again, even letting fans in for nothing to see the racing.
Charles Dugard died in 1993, aged 80. His sons, Bob and Eric, both rode for the Eagles and continue to be involved in the sport. Martin and his brother Paul, who are the sons of Bob,
were the third generation of the family to wear Eastbourne's colours.
Eastbourne have been one of the most successful speedway clubs in the modern era.
The club became a member of the British League Division Two in 1969 - the league had only been formed the year before.
In 1971 the Eagles won the league.
Then followed a remarkable run KO Cup wins.
1975 - KO Cup winners, beating Workington in the final.
1977 - League and KO Cup winners, beating Berwick in the final.
1978 - KO Cup winners, beating Rye House in the final.
Eastbourne moved up for a spell in Division One after that but were back in Division Two by the mid 1980s - and again dominating the cup.
1985 - KO Cup winners, beating Ellesmere Port in the final
1986 - League and KO Cup winners, beating Mildenhall in the cup final.
1987 - League and KO Cup winners, beating Mildenhall in the final.
In the 1990s the Eagles were again dominating British Speedway - this time in the top flight.
1994 - KO Cup winners, beating Cradley Heath in the final.
1995 - League champions
1997 - KO Cup winners, beating Poole in the final
2000 - League Champions
2002 - KO Cup winners, beating Peterborough in the final. Eastbourne finished top of the league but were not crowned champions. For the first time, the championship was decided after a series of play-offs; Eastbourne losing to Wolverhampton in the final.
STADIUM FACILITIES:
Address: Arlington Stadium, Hailsham Road West, East Sussex, BN273RE.
Telephone: 01323-841642.
Hotline: 09066-555945 (All calls charged at 60p/minute).
Race Night: Saturdays or Mondays as a alternative.
Start Time: 7:30pm Saturdays, 7:30pm Mondays.