At the festival sports on April 29th 1877, the main event was a fifteen miles professional bicycle race between world champion Jack Keen, long distance champion David Stanton, J Rawson and H Leeming. Keen gave Stanton 4½ minutes start, Rawson 7 and Leeming 11 minutes. At half distance, Keen was catching his opponents when his machine broke and he was forced to retire. Stanton went on to win the race in 1hr 11min, beating Rawson by 300 yards. The telegraph board** was not used at the ground in 1877 and the press complained bitterly.
In 1878, the festival committee were keen to maintain interest in the sports, so they staged a
‘bicycle against horse' race. The contest was over eight miles and Jack Keen raced against two trotting ponies Matty and Julia, who were ridden alternately by the same jockey. Matty shied at the starting pistol and Keen took the lead, then after four miles, Julia took over, but she could not catch Keen. At six miles Matty was brought back in and she caught and passed Keen, winning by twenty yards. Keen was a favourite of the Stockport crowd and was loudly cheered.
The event had an unfortunate run of very bad weather around 1880 and lost money, but the meeting in 1881 managed to make a profit. At this event, on June 2nd, the bicycle races were a one mile local handicap and the main event, a two miles open handicap with twenty six competitors in six heats. This event provided the drama of the meeting as the Smith brothers, Arthur and Luke, placed themselves at the front of the race and blatantly blocked the next rider W Partington, much to the disgust of the crowd. At the finish, the Smith brothers crossed the line in first and second, but the incensed crowd rioted, broke through the barriers and invaded the track. Thankfully the judges disqualified the Smith brothers and pronounced Partington the winner, who was promptly hoisted up on the shoulders of the crowd and paraded around the ground. The Smith brothers got their fair share of abuse, but denied unfair riding and threatened to take legal action.
The cricket club moved to Greek Street (SK3 8AX) for a short time, then moved permanently to Cale Green Park in 1883. The ten acre Cale Green Cricket Ground had been donated, along with the adjacent seven acre Cale Green Park, by Henry Bell, a former Mayor of Stockport.
The old cricket ground at Higher Hillgate, around Carrington Fields Street, was built on in the 1890s and is now a light industrial area.
** A telegraph board was in the centre of the track and showed the riders' numbers in each race and the results, like a manual cricket scoreboard. There were no public address systems until well into the 20th century.