George Hunter (30 January 1939 – 11 May 1999) was a

motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that use only ...

rider. He rode for the

Edinburgh Monarchs The Edinburgh Monarchs are a Scottish Speedway team, currently based in Armadale. They compete in the SGB Championship, racing on Friday nights during the Speedway season. The club is run by a board of directors, chaired by Alex Harkess. The cl ...

and the

Wolverhampton Wolves Wolverhampton Wolves are a British speedway team based in Wolverhampton, England. They are sponsored by Parry's International Travel, and signed a deal with owner Dave Parry (previous speedway rider for the Wolverhampton Wolves) for the 2008 ...

Career

Hunter's early career was on grass. He joined Motherwell Speedway team in 1958 and moved to

in 1960. Known as the "Ladybank Express", he rode in 360 league matches for the Monarchs over his lifetime career. In 1963 he was leading the 1962 world champion

Peter Craven Peter Theodore Craven
, fansite biography by Jim Blanchard. (accessed 12 July 2006). (21 June 1934 – 2 ...

in the final race of a challenge match between Edinburgh and Belle Vue at Old Meadowbank when his engine seized. After taking evasive action Craven may have clipped Hunter's wheel before crashing through the fence and suffering fatal injuries. Hunter narrowly missed out on being the 1963 Provincial League Riders Champion, suffering an engine failure while leading in the final. Ivan Mauger took the title. Hunter was a British Finalist in 1966, 1967 and 1976 and gained 17 England caps, 3 Scotland caps and 16 British caps. Having been part of the Midland Cup winning

in 1973, he might have expected to win it again in 1975 when Wolves only lost to

Oxford Rebels The Oxford Cheetahs are a British Motorcycle speedway, 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 Speed ...

by 2 points away and might have expected to win at home and thereby win on aggregate. However, George was not present for the second leg at

Monmore Green Monmore Green is an area of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is situated about to the south-east of the city centre, in the East Park ward. It is where Monmore Green Stadium is situated, which is home to the Wolverhampton Wolves sp ...

, Wolves lost at home by 1 point and on aggregate by 3.Lawson,K (2018) “Rebels 1975 – The Last Season”. He retired in 1983.

Personal life

Hunter was born in

Ladybank, Fife Ladybank () is a village and former burgh of Fife, Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh, southwest of Cupar, close to the River Eden. Its 2006 population was estimated at 1,582. History Before the 18th century, this area was mostly marshl ...

, Scotland. He and his wife, Barbara, have a daughter, Natalie. Also two children Scott and Gillian from his first marriage. He died of cancer in 1999.

World Final appearances

World Pairs Championship

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

Rybnik Rybnik (Polish pronunciation: ; szl, Rybńik) is a city in southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, around 38 km (24 mi) southwest of Katowice, the region's capital, and around 19 km (11 miles) from the Czech border. It is on ...

Rybnik Municipal Stadium Rybnik (Polish pronunciation: ; szl, Rybńik) is a city in southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, around 38 km (24 mi) southwest of Katowice, the region's capital, and around 19 km (11 miles) from the Czech Republic, Czech ...

(with Jim McMillan) - 5th - 16pts (5) *

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

Eskilstuna Eskilstuna () is a city and the seat of Eskilstuna Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden. The city of Eskilstuna had 67,359 inhabitants in 2015, with a total population of 100,092 inhabitants in Eskilstuna municipality (2014). Eskilstuna has ...

Eskilstuna Motorstadion Eskilstuna () is a city and the seat of Eskilstuna Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden. The city of Eskilstuna had 67,359 inhabitants in 2015, with a total population of 100,092 inhabitants in Eskilstuna municipality (2014). Eskilstuna ha ...

(with Jim McMillan) - 6th - 12pts (2)

References

External links

*http://www.edinburghmonarchs.co/club_legends/article.asp?id=16 *https://archive.today/20140623101137/http://www.jglowe.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Archives/Oldnews/news178.htm *http://wwosbackup.proboards.com/thread/1222 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, George Wolverhampton Wolves riders Edinburgh Monarchs riders Newcastle Diamonds riders Glasgow Tigers riders Oxford Cheetahs riders Berwick Bandits riders British speedway riders Scottish speedway riders 1939 births 1999 deaths