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1951 Speedway National League
The 1951 National League Division One was the 17th season of speedway in the United Kingdom and the sixth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain. Summary The entrants were the same as the previous season as were the top three positions at the end of the season. Wembley Lions won the National League for the sixth time. Final table Top Ten Riders (League only) National Trophy Stage Three The 1951 National Trophy was the 14th edition of the Knockout Cup. The Trophy consisted of three stages; stage one was for the third division clubs, stage two was for the second division clubs and stage three was for the top tier clubs. The winner of stage one would qualify for stage two and the winner of stage two would qualify for the third and final stage. Wimbledon won the third and final stage and were therefore declared the 1951 National Trophy champions. * For Stage One - see Stage One * For Stage Two - see Stage Two First Round Second Round S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wembley Lions (speedway)
The Wembley Lions were a motorcycle speedway team which operated from 1929 until their closure in 1971. Their track was located at Wembley Stadium, Wembley Park, London. The original stadium which hosted speedway has been redeveloped. Brief history Pre-war After opening in 1929, the Lions joined the Southern League (1929-1931), winning it in 1930 and 1931. The 1932 season saw them join the National League which they won at the first attempt. The Lions continued to compete in the National League until the outbreak of World War II . 1946–1957 After the war Wembley continued in the National League, winning the title in the opening season in 1946. The following season they retained their title. The Lions operated until the end of the 1956 season, winning the title a further five times (successive titles between 1949 and 1953) but in 1957 they withdrew from the league before the season started due to the death of Sir Arthur Elvin, the chairman of Wembley Stadium. Many of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Cross Rangers
The New Cross Rangers were a Speedway team which operated from 1934 until their closure in 1953. They also rode as the New Cross Lambs from 1934 to 1935 and then the New Cross Tamers in 1936. The team were League Champions in 1938 and 1948. History The team started when promoter Fred Mockford relocated his Crystal Palace team at the end of the 1933 season. Originally known as the New Cross Lambs from 1934 to 1935 and then the New Cross Tamers in 1936.Lanning, Dave (1966) "Winter Roundabout", ''Speedway Star'', 25 February 1966, p. 4 In 1935 Tom Farndon was killed after crashing at the stadium and in 1937, New Cross Rangers rider Jack Milne from America won the second ever Speedway World Championship. New Cross Stadium was used as a film set for some of the action and crowd scenes for the 1949 film "Once a Jolly Swagman" which starred Dirk Bogarde. Before The track reopened in 1959 under Johnnie Hoskins for a series of open meetings and then in 1960 and 1961 operated in the Nati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dennis Gray (speedway Rider)
Dennis Howard Gray (19 June 1929 – 27 January 2021) was an international motorcycle speedway rider from England. He earned one international cap for the England national speedway team. Biography Gray, born in Colliers Wood, London, began his British leagues career riding for Wimbledon Dons during the 1946 Speedway National League. He was aged just 17 when he made his debut and was the youngest rider in the league. A protégé of Norman Parker, Gray was loaned to Eastbourne Eagles at the start of the 1947 season and made an immediate impact becoming their captain. He suffered a serious hand injury which curtailed his season but he did contribute to their league success during the 1947 Speedway National League Division Three season. In 1948, he returned to Wimbledon but joined the Royal Air Force, which resulted in him missing the majority of the season. When he returned to speedway he was once again loaned out by Wimbledon but this time to Oxford Cheetahs, where he impres ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geoff Pymar
Geoffrey Pymar (14 February 1912 Eye, Suffolk – 2 March 2002)Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2003) ''Bristol Bulldogs: 50 Greats'', Stroud: Tempus Publishing. was an international motorcycle speedway rider who rode in the World Championship final in 1938.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway Championship''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. Career Pymar was the son of a farmer.Morgan, Tom (1949) ''Who's Who in Speedway'', Sport-in-Print, p. 62 After first racing motorcycles in 1931, he took up speedway in 1933, racing at Norwich that year. Pymar started his career with the Norwich Stars, a non-league outfit, spotted by Wimbledon Dons and rode at the Wimbledon Stadium for seven seasons until the outbreak of World War II. In 1938 he was part of the Wimbledon team that won the National Trophy. Also in 1938 he competed in the World Championship Final at Wembley Stadium. In 1934, 1935 and 1939 Pymar represented England in Test Matches. After the war he joined N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Parker (speedway Rider)
Jack Parker (1905 – 1989) was an international motorcycle speedway rider who made his debut at the Whitsun meeting at High Beech in 1928. He won the British Riders' Championship in 1949 and finished second in the 1949 World Championship. Biography Parker was born in Birmingham, England, on 9 October 1905. His early employment was in the experimental department of BSA, where his talent for racing became apparent.Hoare, Ron (1963) "The Jack Parker Story" in ''Speedway Digest 1963'', p. 13-13-15, 52 He represented the company in road races, including the Isle of Man TT. He took part in some of the earliest dirt-track races at High Beech, initially riding a stripped-down road bike, but later a specially adapted BSA. He joined the Coventry team in 1929 at the stadium at Lythalls Lane, Foleshill, becoming the team captain, and switching to a Douglas bike. His brother Norman also rode in the Coventry team in 1930. He joined Southampton in 1931, and successfully challenged Vic Hux ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harringay Racers
Harringay Racers refers to multiple British ice hockey teams based in Harringay, London, United Kingdom. Harringay Racers The first team to use the Harringay Racers moniker was founded in 1936 and initially played alongside Harringay Greyhounds at the Harringay Arena. Both sides entered the English National League, which Racers won in 1937/8. After a break during World War II, the league resumed and Harringay were champions again in 1948/9. Following Racers' championship win, Greyhounds merged with the team. In 1954, the English National League and the Scottish National League merged to form the British National League. Racers were the first champions, but withdrew in 1958 when the Arena was sold to a foods group for use as food storage. They did not play again. A new team named Haringey Racers was founded in 1990, playing at Alexandra Palace. It disappeared in 1992, although Haringey Greyhounds briefly adopted the name in 2002. London Racers Haringey Racers formed agai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Split Waterman
Squire Francis Waterman (27 July 1923 – 8 October 2019), better known as Split Waterman, was an English speedway rider who twice finished second in the Speedway World Championship final.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway Championship''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. Waterman took up speedway while serving in the British Army in Italy and went on to become one of the top riders of the post-war era. He made the headlines again in the late 1960s when he was convicted of gold smuggling and firearms offences. Biography Born in New Malden, Waterman worked as a toolmaker's apprentice after leaving school.Burford, Brian (2019) "Squire Francis 'Split' Waterman (1923–2019) ''Speedway Star'', 19 October 2019, pp. 43–45 Wartime service Waterman applied to join the Royal Air Force when the Second World War broke out but was unable to do so as his job as a toolmaker was classed as a reserved occupation.Davies, Trevor (2008) ''Warzone Speedway'', Trevor Dav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malcolm Craven
Malcolm Stewart Craven (25 September 1915 – 2 September 1984) was a motorcycle speedway rider from England, who rode before and after World War II. Career Craven was born in Ilford, Essex on 25 September 1915.Morgan, Tom (1947) ''The People Speedway Guide'', Odhams Press, p. 76 He had a trial for Norwich Stars in 1937 but was rejected by Max Grosskreutz.Storey, Basil (1947) "The Boy Who Carried His Hero's Leathers" in ''Speedway Favourites'', Sport-in-Print, p. 12 After practising at the Dagenham track he was spotted by his childhood hero, the former Wembley Lions rider Colin Watson, who took him to Wembley for a trial, after which he was signed by Alec Jackson. He was loaned to the Birmingham Bulldogs for whom he finished the season as top scorer, returning to Wembley in 1938 where he initially rode at reserve, establishing himself in the top five by the following year. The war interrupted his speedway career and he joined the Merchant Navy. When league racing resumed in 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bradford Tudors
The Odsal Tudors or Bradford Tudors were a motorcycle speedway team based at Odsal Stadium in Bradford from 1950 to 1960.Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''. History At the end of July 1950 the Odsal Tudors replaced the Odsal Boomerangs. At the time it was said that the name change was due to the riders hating the Boomerang nickname, or maybe they believed that a change of name would herald a change of fortune following the events of 1 July. On 1 July 1950, 47-year-old Joe Abbott was killed instantly following a crash at Odsal Stadium in a league match against West Ham Hammers. After falling and hitting the safety fence he was hit by a rider behind. A second rider was killed on the same night in a division 2 fixture. The Tudors of 1951 repeated the feat of the Boomerangs of 1948 and finished bottom of the National League. One bright spot was Arthur Forrest, a local rider who was the product of the Monday night training school, finished third in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eddie Rigg
Edward Rigg (5 December 1919, Burnley, England — February 1991, Perth, Australia) was an international speedway racer who finished twice finished seventh in the Speedway World Championship final.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway Championship''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. Career summary Rigg started his career with the Odsal Boomerangs, where he stayed for the following ten seasons. In 1957 he joined the Belle Vue Aces and won his only domestic team trophies, the Britannia Shield in 1957 and the National Trophy, at the end of his final season in 1958.Pavey,A. (2004) ''Speedway in the North-West'', Tempus Publishing Ltd. Rigg appeared for Great Britain national speedway team on fourteen occasions. World Final Appearances * 1951 - London, Wembley Stadium - 7th - 8pts * 1954 - London, Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norman Parker (speedway Rider)
Norman Parker (14 January 1908 – 27 April 1999) was an international speedway rider who rode in the inaugural Speedway World Championship in 1936 as a reserve. Brief career summary Born in Birmingham, England, Parker joined Coventry in 1929, and remained there until 1933 when he moved on to join the Southampton Saints.Storey, Basil (1947) "Carpentry to Cinders", in ''Speedway Favourites'', Sport-in-Print, p. 8 He then moved to Clapton Saints and then the Harringay Tigers. He and his older brother Jack rode in the same teams until the outbreak of war.Jacobs, Norman (2001). ''Speedway in London''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing In 1934 Parker made his international debut for England. After the war Parker joined the Wimbledon Dons and was appointed captain. In 1948, he finished runner up in the Australian Championship. In 1949, he finished fourth in the Speedway World Championship and made his last World Final appearance in 1951.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alan Hunt (speedway Rider)
Alan Hunt (born 1925 Aston, England - died 2 February 1957)Buck, B (2007) ''Brummies Legends'', Pendragon Books. was an international motorcycle speedway rider who qualified for the Speedway World Championship final four times.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway Championship''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. Career Hunt attended Tiger Stevensons training school in the winter of 1946-47 and impressed so much he was given the reserve berth with the Cradley Heath Cubs for the 1947 season who were competing in the National League Division Three. After his fourth season with the Heathens, Hunt was averaging over ten points per meeting and it was not surprising that he was attracting the attention of top-flight teams. In 1951, the Harringay Racers thought they had a deal with the Heathens to sign Hunt on a full transfer but at the last moment the Birmingham Brummies promotion took over the Heathens and transferred Hunt to them. In his first season a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |