Scoie - the Little Guy With the Big Heart

Almost every match report referencing Steve Schofield will have made reference to 'diminutive Scoie' but what he lacked in height he certainly made up for in ability and stature, and without a shadow of doubt remains one of the most popular riders to have ever worn the skull and crossbones.

He had two spells as a Pirate and his stature with the club was immense- Steve Schofield  made 320 official appearances throughout those two stretches and achieved 25 unbeaten performances as a Pirate.

The first of those 'full houses' came in his 1986 debut, a rider not unknown to the Dorset public for he had started his shale career with western neighbours Weymouth (1980-1).

'Scoie' rapidly developed into one of the most consistent National League riders during the late 80's, having spent three seasons as a Pirate. He was crowned winner of the Blue Riband in 1988 and returned a year later, as a Hackney rider, a team geographically more local to the Londoner, to successfully defend the prestigious individual honour.

But after two seasons as a Hawk, Scoie was back as a Pirate and he was a Poole regular through to 1997, scoring 345 points in the Pirates 1994 Championship winning season. He made two more rostrum appearances in the Blue Riband across the next two seasons, finishing runners-up to Lars Gunnestad in 1995 and then third behind Gunnestad (winner) and Marvyn Cox (second) in 1996.

1997 proved to be Scoie's final year as a Poole rider, for he moved to Oxford for the 1998 campaign, his racing career coming to an abrupt end when he was involved in a serious grasstrack crash at Tonbridge in 1999, breaking his thigh, pelvis and hip as well as sustaining head injuries.  

Steve continues to rank in the top four Poole career scorers with 3,349.5 points for the Pirates to his credit , a position he is set to hold for a few more seasons yet.