The opposition came mostly from London: The Lions and Monarchs at Wembley’s Empire Pool (now the SSE Arena), the Racers and Greyhounds in Harringay Arena (demolished long ago) and the Tigers’ great rivals up the A23 at Streatham. The club won the first British Championship since 1930 when they defeated the Nottingham Panthers in overtime in 1960.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. The Tigers were members of the English National League and later the British National League. The club was one of the country's best supported teams with 4,000 spectators regularly attending matches which were held on a Thursday night. While the main thrust of this book is, obviously, the Tigers teams of the 1930s to the 1960s there is a very interesting introduction that tells of earlier rinks in the Brighton area – namely the Victorian circular rink that operated from 1897-1901 and then a more modern facility at Hove (1929-1932). The Brighton Tigers most famous game was played on 5 December 1957, when they won a famous victory over the reigning Olympic champions, the Soviet Union, winning 6–3. When Earls Court failed to open immediately after the war Bobby rejoined the “Tigers” as player-manager and moved to the position of centre-ice. Under his management he took the “Brighton Tigers” on to win all three major tournaments in the 1946-7 season and in the following years won International and World-wide fame for the team!Emma says the pandemic has made people look locally for entertainment and an ice rink would serve the community whilst also boosting tourism.

There is a complete player directory of everybody who ever turned out for the Tigers teams - and that is quite an achievement in itself bearing in mind the scarcity of statistical information from the pre-war and immediate post war periods - as well as lots of great photos of many of the stars. We need facilities that are easy to get to and I think people just want to join up together again to socialise and do things that we haven’t been able to do.” Unfortunately some year photos are missing due to water damage as the original frames were dismantled for storage. Find sources: "Brighton Tigers"– news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( February 2013) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)After the collapse of the professional league in 1960, the Tigers continued to participate in the inter-rink tournaments that were established in the league's place until 1965 when the Brighton Sports Stadium was closed down and demolished by the local council. The Brighton Royals team, founded in 1977, included some Tigers players. The Royals had some success in the 1980s before folding in 1988. [4] Further reading [ edit ] This indepth history focuses on the Tigers teams of the 1930s through to the 1960s and is lavishly illustrated with photos and Tigers ephemera throughout. Each season is covered in depth, along with some player profiles, fan memories and newspaper reports. There is an interesting opening section about the earlier ice rinks in Brighton & Hove between 1897 and 1932 as the public appetite for skating developed. Brighton and Hove City Council said that its long-term plan is to “redevelop” the King Alfred leisure centre and it is “currently in the process of identifying a way forward for this to happen.

Wilsher, Kevin; Roberts, Stewart (27 April 2020). Brighton Tigers: A story of sporting passion. ISBN 978-1527255630. In the final stages of demolition in December 1965, all that remained of the vast rink that dominated the bottom of West Street was the main Art Deco style frontage! Many items of memorabilia had been left abandoned in Benny Lee’s (Managing Director) office as workmen routinely burnt their remains! The Tigers were members of the English National League and later the British National League, the club were one of the country's best supported teams with 4,000 spectators regularly attending matches which were held on a Thursday night. It was during those early days in England that he met his wife to be (Billie) and he was married in the October of 1939. With the outbreak of the war they both went to Canada where Bobby joined the RCAF.

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She said: “People are looking at doing staycations and we must remember that so many people have lost their jobs because of the pandemic. Really enjoying the book - Great work! And a real history lesson too, makes me wanna get the skates on!” - Gary O'Brien, son of Tigers' legend Mike O'Brien. Book arrived yesterday, thank you. I've got to say how very impressed I am with it. You should be very proud. An everlasting history of the famous Brighton Tigers and an absolute must for Tigers (Bengals) fans everywhere and for sports fans generally in Brighton.” - Gordon Wade, Heineken League statistician. In 1936 the coach of the “Brighton Tigers”, Don Penniston, approached Bobby, who was then in his early twenties, and signed him up to play in England. After one season with the “Tigers” Bobby was talent spotted and went on to play for Earls Court for the next two seasons.