Kenneth Lloyd Goffe (30 January 1913 Addison J. (1948). ''The People Speedway Guide''. Odhams Press Limited – 18 October 1984) was a British

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.

Career

Goffe began his racing career in 1934 at the sand track in the resort of

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

near

Wokingham Wokingham is a market town in Berkshire, England, west of London, southeast of Reading, north of Camberley and west of Bracknell. History Wokingham means 'Wocca's people's home'. Wocca was apparently a Saxon chieftain who may als ...

, riding for prize money.Storey, Basil (1947) "From an Office Stool to Cinders", in ''Speedway Favourites'', Sport-in-Print, p. 5May, Cyril (1963) "Riders I Remember: Fighting 'Cowboy'", ''

Speedway Star 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 ...

'', 30 November 1963, p. 14 He then concentrated on

grasstrack Motorcycle Grasstrack is a form of track racing which typically, in its current form, takes place on a flat track consisting of two straights and two bends usually constructed in a field. It is one of the oldest types of motorcycle sports in the ...

racing, winning the South of England Grass Track Championship at

Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is the largest town in the county of Hampshire. It is situated in south-central England and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon, at the far western edge of The North Downs. It is located north-east of Southa ...

in 1936. He bought a 500cc Rudge bike from "Froggy" French in 1936, which he used in his early speedway rides, impressing sufficiently to receive offers from both

Hackney Wick Wolves Hackney Wick Wolves speedway opened in 1935 at Hackney Wick Stadium, Waterden Road, London, and operated until the outbreak of World War II in 1939. Many years later the Hackney Hawks and Hackney Kestrels rode at Hackney Wick Stadium. History Th ...

and the

Johnny 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 ...

-managed

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 o ...

, signing for the latter in 1937. He had a brief spell with the Leicester Hounds team, riding in three matches in 1937 before the club withdrew from the

Provincial League Provincial League (formerly known as Professional League) also known as Pro League was the old regional Football league in Thailand in 1999–2008. It was founded in 1999 under the name "Provincial League" organized by Sports Authority of Thailan ...

.Jones, Alan (2010) ''Speedway in Leicester: The Pre-War Years'', Automedia, p. 180 His performances progressed after transferring to the Harringay Tigers later that season, staying with the team until 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 opposin ...

. During the war, he served as a fitter in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

. After the end of the war, Goffe joined the

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 w ...

in 1946. His riding style led to him being nicknamed "Cowboy". In 1948 Goffe rejoined Harringay (now the 'Racers') for a 1,350 transfer fee, where he won the Anniversary Cup in 1949 and by 1950 his career completed a full circle when he rejoined

West Ham West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham. The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancien ...

.Belton, Brian (2003). ''Hammerin' Round''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing In 1951 he rode for Odsal Tudors and started the 1952 season there before he joined the

St Austell Gulls The St Austell Gulls were a speedway team which operated from 1949 until their closure in 1964 at the Cornish Stadium at Par, St Austell in Cornwall. In 1997 the team rode at the Clay Country Moto Parc until the club finally closed in 2000. E ...

World Final Appearances

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

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 Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

- 14th - 2pts

References

1913 births 1984 deaths Military personnel from Reading, Berkshire British speedway riders English motorcycle racers West Ham Hammers riders Harringay Racers riders Wimbledon Dons riders St Austell Gulls riders Sportspeople from Reading, Berkshire Royal Air Force airmen Royal Air Force personnel of World War II {{England-speedway-bio-stub