1960-1969

1960

1960 witnessed the evolution of the new Provincial league, which took it's place behind the restructured National League. Poole opted for Provincial status, although action did not materialise until June of that year and by the end of October they found themselves finishing at the top of the pile on level points, ironically with, newly revitalised, Rayleigh. Despite though being granted a walk-over when Bradford missed out on a visit to Wimborne Road, the Pirates still finished 87 race points adrift of Rayleigh. The year saw the return of Lewis after a five year absence and that signaled the renewing of acquaintances with Middleditch. Ross Gilbertson and Geoff Mudge became Australian imports and it was solid performances by all of these that steered Poole to that runners-up position.

1961-1964

Under the excellent management of Ron Hart in 1961 success was returned to Poole by a convincing 7 point margin after 15 wins, one draw and just 4 defeats, with a set-up very similar to that of the previous season.They retained the title in 1962 despite a foot injury to Lewis , but Geoff Mudge assumed the captaincy role and continued his rise in the sport, securing the number one spot. One year later their grip on the title was wrestled away by Wolverhampton and the Pirates, scoring over 1000 race points had to settle for third place as Stoke outpointed them by one draw. The season saw Pete Smith gain rave reviews as a mere rookie and he was soon to become a loyal and long serving servant of the club. 1964 can best be described as mediocre for the club, 10 wins, one draw and 11 defeats leaving the Pirates in a mid-table berth in the last of the Provincial league seasons.

1965-1969

For 1965 saw the next major re-structure of the sport in Britain with the dawn of the new British League.Poole took their place in the newly formed British league, in which they were to stay for 30 years. 10th place in 1965 was improved upon the following year when they moved up to 6th place. The successes of those years in the Provincial league and old Division 2 seemed a long way off, when they equaled that sixth place standing in 1967, before sliding to 17th place overall in 1968. Although there had not been a major significant change in personnel, success was dramatically restored in 1969 when a league title was brought back to Wimborne Road for the first time in 7 years. It was a treasured championship win made possible by a well-balanced side most of whom increased their previous year's average significantly. Pete Smith led the way and finished the campaign boasting a 9.3 average having begun with a 7.47 average and likewise Geoff Mudge improving on his 7.67 start of season figure to a 9.05 final tally. Norwegian Odd Fossengen in his second season with the club also showed stark improvement and rapidly became a firm favourite with the Poole faithful.

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