Andrew George Grahame (born 10 September 1957 in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

, England) is a former motorcycle speedway rider.

Career

Grahame began his British leagues career when he joined his older brother

Alan Grahame Alan William Grahame (5 February 1954 – 3 October 2021) was a British motorcycle speedway rider. Career Grahame was born at Kingstanding, Birmingham, in February 1954. He finished runner-up to his brother Andy Grahame in the 1982 British S ...

Birmingham Brummies Birmingham Brummies are a British speedway team founded in 1928. They were inaugural members of the Southern League in 1929. The team have twice finished runner-up in the highest tier of British speedway, during the 1952 Speedway National Le ...

for the

1976 British League season The 1976 Gulf British League season was the 42nd season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the 12th season known as the British League. Summary The White City Rebels made their debut as did 1975 National League champions Bi ...

. Over the next three seasons he would only make a handful of appearances for the Midlands club so doubled up with

Milton Keynes Knights The Milton Keynes Knights are a Speedway team which originally operated from 1978 until their closure in 1992. The team were revived in 2012 but have had to race at various venues outside of Milton Keynes. History 1978–1988 The inaugural leag ...

in 1978, where he managed a 6.17 average. In 1979, he significantly improved his average for Birmingham and was the top rider at Milton Keynes. He also won the 1979 National League Pairs, partnering Bob Humphreys, during the

1979 National League season The 1979 National League was contested as the second division/tier of Speedway in the United Kingdom. Summary The league was reduced from 20 teams to 19 from the previous season. White City Rebels closure saw their riders move to Eastbourne Eagle ...

. From 1980 to 1983 he only rode for Birmingham and finished second in the team averages three seasons running behind Danish superstar Hans Nielsen. Grahame won the

British Speedway Championship The British Speedway Championship is an annual motorcycle speedway competition open to British national speedway riders. The winner of the event becomes the British Speedway Champion. History Inaugurated in 1961 as a qualifying round of the Spe ...

in 1982 and made it to the World Final in 1982 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

as reserve but did not ride. In 1984, he rode for Wolverhampton before being signed by

Oxford Cheetahs The Oxford Cheetahs are a British speedway teamLawson,K (2018) “Riders, Teams and Stadiums”. based at Oxford Stadium, in Oxford, England. They were founded in 1939 and are five times champions of Britain, in 1964, 1985, 1986, 1989 and 200 ...

for the 1985 British League season. At Oxford he teamed up again with Hans Nielsen and the pair formed a formidable partnership at positions 1 and 2 in the team. He was part of the league and cup double winning team in both

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

and

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

. In 1987, he teamed up with Nielsen to win the

British League Pairs Championship The British League Pairs Championship was a speedway contest between the top two riders from each club competing in the British League in the UK, or the top division thereof when it had multiple divisions. The meetings comprised a competition ...

, held at Smallmead Stadium. He spent a year at Wolverhampton in 1988 before returning to Oxford again for the 1989 British League season, where he won another league title. In 1990, he left Oxford to drop down a division and joined

Wimbledon Dons The Wimbledon Dons were a professional motorcycle speedway team who operated from the Wimbledon Stadium, Plough Lane in London.Jacobs, N. ''Speedway in London'', The track opened in 1928 and the Dons operated there from 1929 until 1991. They ...

. He won the

National League Riders' Championship The National League Riders' Championship is an annual motorcycle speedway contest between the top riders (or two riders) with the highest average points total from each club competing in the third tier league in the United Kingdom. The same form ...

, held on 15 September 1990 at

Brandon Stadium Brandon Stadium, also known as Coventry Stadium, is located 6 miles east of Coventry in Brandon, Warwickshire, England. It was the home of the Coventry Bees motorcycle speedway team. It also hosted BriSCA F1 Stock Car Racing on the 1st Satur ...

and also topped Wimbledon's averages. He would reach his seventh British final in 1993 and continued to ride until the end of 1994. He also earned 16 caps for the

England national speedway team The Great Britain Speedway Team (also known as GB Speedway Team) is one of the major teams in international speedway. The team is managed by former Great Britain riders Oliver Allen and Simon Stead, and captained by the 2018 Speedway World Cham ...

World Final Appearances

* 1982 -

, Memorial Coliseum - Reserve - did not ride

Brothers

His brother

also rode for the Oxford Cheetahs in 1993 and 1994 and both rode together for the Cradley Heathens in 2009."Ermolenko keen to renew rivalry"
''BBC Sport'', 10 March 2009 Another brother

John Grahame John Gillies Mark Grahame (born August 31, 1975) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League with the Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes. He won the Stanley Cup with t ...

also rode professional speedway.

Popular culture

Andy's image is depicted on Proof of Youth an album released in 2007 by the Brighton band

The Go! Team The Go! Team are an English six-piece band from Brighton, England. The band initially began as a solo project conceived by Ian Parton; however, after the unexpected success of The Go! Team's debut album, '' Thunder, Lightning, Strike'', Parton r ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grahame, Andrew 1957 births Living people Sportspeople from Birmingham, West Midlands British speedway riders English motorcycle racers British Speedway Championship winners Birmingham Brummies riders Cradley Heathens riders Eastbourne Eagles riders Milton Keynes Knights riders Oxford Cheetahs riders Wimbledon Dons riders Wolverhampton Wolves riders