Steven Richard Gresham (born 18 August 1954) is a former

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 from the United States.

Career

Gresham made his British League debut in 1974, when he joined the

Hull Vikings The Hull Vikings were a speedway team from Hull, England, who operated primarily from The Boulevard (stadium) and Craven Park from 1971 to 2005. History The team originated as the Hull Angels and were based at Hedon Stadium in Hedon on the ...

for the

1974 British League season The 1974 British League season was the 40th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the tenth season known as the British League. Summary The 1973 Champions Reading didn't compete as they no longer had a stadium, following t ...

. The following season he switched to

Newport Wasps Newport Wasps were a British motorcycle speedway team based in Newport, South Wales from 1964 to 2012. They were the 1999 Conference League champions. The Wasp logo incorporates the traditional black and amber colours of the City of Newport. ...

and stayed with the Welsh club for two years, improving his average to 7.41. In 1977, he joined the

Bristol Bulldogs The Bristol Bulldogs were a British motorcycle speedway team based in the Knowle Stadium, Bristol, England from 1928 to 1978.Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''. History The club was formed in 1928. Their first trophy ...

for the

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

and

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

seasons. During 1978 he surpassed a 9-point average for Bristol and represented the

United States national speedway team The United States national speedway team are an international speedway team from the United States who compete in the annual major international speedway competitions including the Speedway World Cup and Speedway of Nations and the former events t ...

in the

1978 Speedway World Team Cup The 1978 Speedway World Team Cup was the 19th edition of the FIM Speedway World Team Cup to determine the team world champions. The final took place at the Ellermühle Speedway Stadium in Landshut, West Germany. Denmark won their first title defe ...

. The following season he was again part of the USA team that competed at the

1979 Speedway World Team Cup The 1979 Speedway World Team Cup was the 20th edition of the FIM Speedway World Team Cup to determine the team world champions. The final took place on 16 September at the White City Stadium in London. New Zealand won their first title defeating ...

and was due to represent the United States in the

1979 Speedway World Pairs Championship The 1979 Speedway World Pairs Championship was the tenth FIM Speedway World Pairs Championship. The final took place in Vojens, Denmark. The championship was won by host Denmark (25 points) who beat England (24 points) and Poland (20 points). Pr ...

but was stranded at Heathrow Airport and failed to make the event. In Britain, he rode for

Swindon Robins The Swindon Speedway team, also known as the Swindon Robins, are an English motorcycle speedway team established in 1949 that have competed primarily in the top division of speedway league competition in the United Kingdom. They are five times l ...

from 1979 to 1981 and again in 1983, and for

Reading Racers Reading Racers are a British motorcycle speedway team. Formed in 1968, they won four British League titles during their history. The club closed in October 2008 after the lease on Smallmead Stadium was sold and the site was demolished. In 2016 a ...

in 1982.

References

Living people 1954 births American speedway riders Bristol Bulldogs riders Hull Vikings riders Newport Wasps riders Reading Racers riders Swindon Robins riders {{Speedway-stub