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A look back at 25 years of the Hammers
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After the calamity that was the 1998 season, Peter Thorogood was handed a big 1999 boost with the winter news that former skipper Troy Pratt was on the comeback trail – and wanted to ride for the Hammers.
Pratt had quit midway through the 1998 season but was keen to line-up at the tapes again – something Thorogood was certainly keen to encourage. But while the signing of Pratt was a relatively straightforward process, the Hammers boss found himself in something of a quandary with regard to the other members of the previous season’s team.
There were weeks of waiting as far as number one and 1998 sensation Leigh Lanham was concerned – parent club Ipswich stalled on releasing him for what would be his third year away from Foxhall Heath. But while the Lanham situation was a case of playing a waiting game, Thorogood faced far great problems. Club captain Colin White slapped in a close season transfer request, feeling he had been taken for granted as the local man in the side. Although initially his boss was reluctant to agree, ‘Chalky’ was determined to get out unless the Hammers could find him a sponsor to give him a pay rise.
The saga dragged for some time but a deal was eventually agreed after a sponsor was found. In the meantime, Jan Pedersen reportedly asked for more money – with Thorogood hitting back by claiming that he was an expensive enough rider already. Eventually fans would be disappointed as the popular Dane was allowed to move on to Division Two rivals Berwick.
By this time, Thorogood had taken a winter break and returned to find that Lanham was now available – and signed on the dotted line for the Hammers. The promising Matt Read and new loan signing Roger Lobb from Exeter quickly followed him. This raised a few eyebrows Purfleet-way as the volatile Lobb would now find himself racing on a vastly differing track to the one which had been his home in 1998. Junior Gary Corbett – who had impressed in a handful of outings the previous year – gave the Hammers acknowledgement that he was committed to a full season at Purfleet. With just one slot left to fill, Thorogood turned to 1997 man John Wainwright, who was keen to give second division racing one last go.
After a washed out press day, White justified his inclusion in the new-look side by claiming victory in the season opening Essex Championship. The early season Premier National Trophy competition started ordinarily enough, with home wins against the Isle of Wight, Exeter and Newport plus a similar number of away defeats.
But an early season body blow was dealt in the opening Premier League meeting of the season when Edinburgh overturned an early deficit to run out victors at Purfleet. Thorogood was particularly aggrieved, since the Monarchs – who had proven to be the Hammers bogey team since the exception of the Premier League in 1997 – had used the controversial new Golden Double tactical substitute rule to obtain their victory. Thorogood said: “I don’t like the Golden Double. Call me old-fashioned, but I don’t think it is right to score double points in a race.”
Business was restored when Stoke were comfortably despatched, although a further point would be dropped the following week when Sheffield claimed a draw at Purfleet. Some stability was restored in June when the Isle of Wight, Berwick and Newcastle were all beaten, although by this time the Hammers had still not gained anything on the road. One match which should have gone their way was the return at Berwick, which the Hammers should had won but missed out on thanks to bike problems for Lobb, Lanham and White.
As July started, the Hammers were beginning to psyche themselves up for a KO Cup tie with the Swindon Robins. The first leg at Purfleet was a memorable one for Hammers fans as – thanks to 15 points a-piece from White and Corbett – they built a substantial 20-point lead. It was enough to see them through on aggregate and earn a semi-final place. By this time momentum was steadily building in the Arena camp as the Hammers earned their first away win of the season in sensational style at Exeter. With Lanham claiming a superb 18-point maximum on one of his former tracks, the Hammers ran out 46-44 winners to send home fans away in a state of shock.
It acted as a useful warm-up for the Cup, since Exeter were drawn as Arena’s semi-final opponents. With the Hammers staging the first leg, hopes were high that they could press home their track advantage to build a useful lead to take to the County Ground for what promised to be a difficult away tie. But the home faithful were to go home disappointed as the Falcons restricted the Hammers to an 11-point lead – which many believed would not be enough. But the 1999 Hammers were proving to be tough cookies and, in a memorable match, almost won the second leg at Exeter, eventually going down by 44-point to 46. Thorogood was through to his first final as a promoter and the Hammers to the third in their history.
The league points that were dropped to Sheffield and Edinburgh were to remain the only ones that were dropped at Purfleet. A further away win was also recorded at beleagured Reading. In the other major competitions, Arena gave a good account of themselves by qualifying for the final of the four-team championship, where they finished third. White and Lanham continued the good work in the pairs at Newport, finishing second behind league newcomers Workington.
But come October and the big one arrived – Edinburgh were to be the final opponents for the Hammers in their quest for silverware. When the first leg at Purfleet fell foul to the weather, Arena travelled up to Armadale and slipped to a disappointing 36-54 defeat. But while people began to right off Arena chances, the Hammers hit their Scottish opponents hard and stormed into an early lead – the battle was on! Slowly, though, Edinburgh regained their starting ability and some crucial wins came at the wrong times for the Hammers, who eventually went down by ten points on aggregate.
It was to conclude a very respectable season at Purfleet, which had seen the Hammers with arguably their best side since 1993. The finale was tinged with sadness as club owner Chick Woodroffe bowed out once again – this time for good. He put the club up for sale as his health grew worse – but at least on this occasion an announcement was made that negotiations were already underway with prospective promotions for the 2000 season. He bowed out knowing that the fans had something to shout about in 1999.
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