Eastbourne Eagles

During 1928 the Eastbourne Motorcycle Sports Club purchased a field in Arlington for the purposes of dirt track racing.[1] Practice sessions took place before the official opening on 5 August 1929 by the Arlington Motor Sports Club.[2][3]

Over the following years the race meetings continued at regular intervals but there was still no team formed to compete in the British league system. However the Hailsham Cup was the main prize available and large attendances frequented the track. In 1937, George Newton broke the track record, which lasted until 1955.[1] In 1938, a team was formed to compete in the Sunday Amateur Dirt Track League. The team included Tiger Hart, Bob Lovell, Danny Lee, Charlie Dugard, Stan Johns, Charlie Page and Jack Collins.[1] Activity at Arlington ended due to the outbreak of World War II.

After the war, Charlie Dugard bought the track and it underwent extensive repairs before opening again on 14 July 1946.[1] The following season the team joined the 1947 Speedway National League Division Three and led by captain Ken Tidbury and top scorer Wally Green, they became champions. Despite winning the title at their first attempt they were forced to close down due to a petrol ban enforced at their Arlington Stadium. They decided to transfer their team to Hastings Saxons and at the beginning of 1948 the Speedway Control Board granted a licence to Hastings to stage speedway. Eastbourne would not compete again in the league until they joined the Southern Area League in 1954, although challenge matches were held during 1950 and 1953.[4][1]

The team returned to compete in the Southern Area League and struggled until Leo McAuliffe and Jimmy Heard helped lift them to second place in 1956. McAuliffe won the Southern Area League Riders' Championship the same year. Another second place in 1957 was followed by a season of challenge matches in 1958. In 1959, they won the 1959 Southern Area League, which was the second division league. In 1960, the club were refused entry to the new Provincial league but continued to hold challenge meetings util 1964, when they joined the Metropolitan League. However, after 1964 the club closed for four years.[1]

1976 Eagles

The Eagles returned for the 1969 British League Division Two season and two years later won silverware, winning the 1971 British League Division Two. Despite losing their leading rider Dave Jessup to division 1, Eastbourne triumphed by bringing in new signing Malcolm Ballard to support the Kennett brothers Gordon and Dave.[5] The club remained in division 2 until it was renamed the National League and they won their first Knockout Cups in 1975. They were National League champions in 1977 and won two more knockout Cups in 1977 and 1978 respectively. In 1979, the team stepped up to compete in the top division for the first time but found it difficult to compete and dropped back down to the National league in 1985.[4]

Eastbourne achiveed the 'double double' by winning the National League and Cup double in both 1986 and 1987. The team was spearheaded by Gordon Kennett, Martin Dugard and Colin Richardson. In 1991, the team returned to the top league and in 1994 they won their sixth Knockout Cup (but first in the top flight).[4]

Eastbourne versus Oxford in 2007

In 1995, Eastbourne won their first highest league title, after they won the 1995 Premier League speedway season. The gulf in quality of teams was evident after the merging of the two leagues, with the Eagles winning the title 56 points clear of bottom club Exeter Falcons.[6] Eastbourne had been an easy runner-up the previous year to runaway winners Poole Pirates and retained four of their riders, Dugard, Dean Barker, Stefan Dannö and Stefan Andersson, which provided enough firepower to seal the Championship.[7]

After a second place finish and another top tier Knockout Cup win in 1997 they became the British champions for the second time after winning the 2000 Speedway Elite League. The topped the table in 2002 but lost the play off final, they did gain compensation by becoming Elite League Knockout Cup winners in 2002.[8] The Eagles continued to compete in the Elite League and won their fourth highest division Knockout Cup win in 2008.[9] The Eagles competed in the top league for 24 consecutive seasons until th eend of the 2014 season.

In 2015, the team joined the National League and gained success for four consecutive years, winning the third tier Knockout Cup four years running and winning the 2018 league title. The Eagles moved up a division in 2019 but in 2021, in the SGB Championship 2021 (division 2) withdrew from the league (on 26 August) because of financial problems. Their results were expunged as were the NDL results of their junior side called the Eastbourne Seagulls.[10]

As of 2023, a consortium continued to search for a new venue to bring back speedway to Eastbourne.[11]