Pontypridd FC held their first athletics meet on Whit Monday 1897, which attracted a crowd of 3,000 people. The bicycle events were 1 mile Open Handicap, 3 miles open handicap and 3 miles handicap for members of Treforest Cycling Club, all of these events were won by Hopkin M Davies. Several other sports meetings with bicycle racing were held in 1897, on 7th June, Pontypridd FC held one mile open handicap and three miles handicap confined to Treforest Cycling Club. On Jubilee day 22nd June the Ancient Order of Shepherds held their sports and Pontypridd FC held their sports on 2nd August 1897, which included one and three miles open bicycle handicap races.
The following year was quiet, but in 1899 Pontypridd FC organised six open sports meetings with bicycle races as the major attraction. Pontypridd FC held a sports meeting at the ground on 4th June 1900 and both amateur and professional bicycle races were included.
The ground was purchased in 1900 by the Pontypridd UDC and leased to Pontypridd Athletic Club who wanted to make Taff Vale Park a multi-purpose sporting venue. Pontypridd RFC paid the Athletic Club £10 annual rent to play at the the ground. Treforest Cycling Club started organising races at the Park in 1900.
A new track was built by the Athletic Club, the track was cinder, banked and four laps to the mile, and it was opened with a race meeting on Easter Tuesday 1901. In the summer of 1901, there was a dispute between the Athletic Club and Pontypridd RFC, the Athletic Club claimed damages from the rugby club for damaging the new track. The situation resulted in Pontypridd RFC leaving the ground that summer. At this point, the Athletic Club had made a healthy profit of £22 for the past season. There were further race meetings in 1901, a two day Whitsun event, an August Bank Holiday meeting with ten bicycle races and a further sports meeting on 21st Sept 1901.
There was a record attendance for a professional race meeting on Easter Monday 1902, with four professional bicycle races, a one mile scratch and half, one and three miles handicap races. The two top professionals Charley Barden and Sid Jenkins were riding. The following day, there was an amateur race meeting. On Whit Tuesday there was another professional race meeting with Jed Gascoyne and Charlie Barden, Miss Viola Spencer** entertained by descending by parachute from a balloon 7,000 feet high.
The Tom Linton sports were held on 24th June 1902 at which Linton attacked the paced hour on a cinder track. Linton managed to achieve 30 miles 605 yards.
Taff Vale started holding Powderhall sprint events in 1903, these were a 130 yard handicap running race known as ‘The Great Welsh Sprint', based on the Scottish Powderhall events. Huge crowds of up to 40,000 people watched the running and special trains were laid on for spectators from the Valleys. The Powderhall events were held at Taff Vale until 1930, then the event moved to Virginia Park Stadium, Caerphilly.
Bicycle racing continued at the Park until the First World War with meetings at Easter, Whitsun and August Bank holiday. There were annual professional race meetings and in 1909, the NCU half and five mile South Wales championships were held there. In 1913, the track was re-layed at a cost of £500.
There was very little bicycle racing at Taff Vale after the war and in 1927 the ground was sub-let by the Athletic Club for greyhound racing and then for speedway in 1929, which lasted until 1932. Following this, athletics and bicycle racing restarted and inter-colliery sports were held, these were massive meetings which attracted crowds of 10,000 people to watch the running and cycle racing, which were followed by the most spectacular fireworks displays ever seen in Pontypridd.
There were a few race meetings at the Park during the Second World War, but the last bicycle racing to take place at Taff Vale Park was the Powell Duffryn inter-colliery sports on July 20th 1946 which, as usual, had a huge attendance. The cycling events included the half mile Championship of Wales, there were also running races and a bicycle polo match.
The Taff Vale track banking still exists and is covered in grass, it surrounds a playing field which is used for school sports, including rugby, it is the home of the Pontypridd Junior RFC.
** Viola Spencer was the performing name of the pioneer aviatrix Elizabeth Maud Cook (1 September 1878 - 14 July 1910), who flew aeroplanes and made 300 daring parachute descents from gas filled balloons. Viola was giving a performance at the Lillywhite Sports, Foleshill, Coventry on 9 July 1910, she ascended to a thousand feet and jumped from the ballon. The parachute opened and she drifted down, but unfortunately the high winds blew her over some tall buildings and her parachute got caught on the roof of the Centaur Cycle works and she fell forty feet to the ground. She was unconscious and conveyed to hospital but she unfortunately died later.
There is a website about Viola Spencer https://earlyaviators.com/ecook.htm
