Eric Stephenson Chitty (28 April 1909 – 1990) was a Canadian

speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cours ...

rider who won the

London Riders' Championship The London Riders' Championship was an individual Motorcycle speedway, speedway competition for top riders of teams from London. It was a very prestigious competition, especially in its early days. However, as the number of teams from London dwind ...

in 1938.

Early days

Chitty was born in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada in 1909. Before taking up speedway he worked as an electrical engineer.Storey, Basil (1947) ''Speedway Favourites'', Sport-in-Print, p. 23 Chitty started speedway racing in 1930 in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and

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in the United States, where he was noticed in 1934 by

Johnnie Hoskins Johnnie S. Hoskins MBE (1892 Waitara, New Zealand – 1987 Kent, England) was the most significant promoter of speedway and stock car racing in the United Kingdom, he is considered by some to have invented motorcycle speedway. Early life Born ...

. In 1935 he came to the UK for a trial with the

West Ham Hammers The West Ham Hammers were a speedway team, first promoted by Jimmy Baxter in 1929. History They operated from the West Ham Stadium until the outbreak of World War II under several different promotions, most successfully under the control ...

. He was not successful in his trial and was looking for other employment when the West Ham promoter Hoskins gave him another chance five months later, which he took. He was offered a contract by the Hammers. A broken collarbone in 1936 caused a long layoff, and he returned in 1937, scoring moderately well. The 1938 season saw a considerable improvement in his racing, Chitty winning the Opening Cup and the London Riders' Championship, both at New Cross. Chitty also served for a time as chairman of the Speedway Riders' Association.

World Championship

Chitty qualified for the World Final held at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

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in 1937, finishing 12th with 15 points. He failed to qualify in 1938 but qualified again for the World Final in 1939. Unfortunately the 1939 Final was cancelled due to the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Wartime racing

During the war years he raced at Belle Vue in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, which was the only track that ran all through the war. He won the unofficial British Individual Championship in 1940, '41 and '42, the Belle Vue Grand Prix, the Northern Championship and the Hundred Guineas Trophy all in 1942. He also won the all English Best Pairs Championship in 1941 with

Ron Johnson Ronald Harold Johnson (born April 8, 1955) is an American accountant, businessman, and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Wisconsin, a seat he has held since 2011. A Republican, Johnson was first elected to the U.S. S ...

and 1943 with Fred Tuck. In 1944 he won the National Trophy and also in 1944 he won the British Empire Best Pairs with Ron Clark. In the Winter of 1945/46, Chitty captained the ENSA team that toured Germany.Morgan, Tom (1947) ''The People Speedway Guide'', Odhams Press, p. 76

After the war

In 1946 he rejoined West Ham and was made team captain, reaching the finals of the British Riders Championship that year. He was always the center of entertainment, often singing to the crowd and once even raced a

cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...

. He retired in 1952.

World Final appearances

* 1937 –

– 12th – 4pts + 11 Semi-final pts * 1939 –

- Event cancelled due to

Players cigarette cards

Chitty is listed as number 7 of 50 in the 1930s Player's cigarette card collection.

References

External links

Eric Chitty biography

Eric Chitty photograph
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chitty, Eric 1909 births 1990 deaths Canadian speedway riders Canadian motorcycle racers Canadian expatriate sportspeople in England Sportspeople from Toronto West Ham Hammers riders