Thomas Henry Sweetman (born 21 July 1930) 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 England.

Career

Sweetman started his British leagues career for

Aldershot Shots Aldershot Shots also known later as Aldershot Poppies were a speedway team that existed from 1950 to 1960, they were based primarily at Aldershot Stadium in Tongham, near Farnham. Brief history In 1929, eight meetings were held at Boxalls Lane ...

in the 1954 Southern Area League but the team withdrew and he finished the season with

California Poppies California Poppies were a British speedway team based at Longmoor Speedway California in England, California Country Park, Nr Wokingham, Berkshire. History The California Poppies raced in the California Country Park in an area known as Califor ...

, where he won the leagues with the club. He spent the 1955 and 1956 seasons with the Poppies but in 1956 he also rode for nomadic Southern Rovers. In 1957, he rode for the

Rayleigh Rockets The Rayleigh Rockets were a Speedway team which operated from 1949 until their closure in 1973 from the Rayleigh Weir Stadium in Rayleigh, Essex . History The Rockets inaugural league season was in 1949 Speedway National League Division Three, ...

reserve team before taking the big step up to the National League, where he joined the

Norwich Stars Norwich Stars were a motorcycle speedway team based in Norwich, England which operated from 1930 until their closure in 1964.Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''. History Speedway racing was staged in Norwich both before ...

for the

1958 Speedway National League The 1958 National League was the 24th season and the thirteenth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain. Summary Bradford Tudors who had dropped out at the start of the previous season only to return in mid-se ...

season. In 1959 he switched to

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 ...

and doubled up with the

Rye House Rockets The Rye House Rockets were a speedway team based at Rye House Stadium, Hoddesdon, England. They competed in various British speedway leagues from 1954 to 2018. History Rye House began life in 1934 hosting open meetings. Whilst at Hackney in 1 ...

in the Southern League, where he finished sixth in the league averages. The following season he joined

New Cross Rangers The New Cross Rangers were a Speedway team which operated from 1934 until their closure in 1953. They also rode as the New Cross Lambs from 1934 to 1935 and then the New Cross Tamers in 1936. The team were League Champions in 1938 and 1948. His ...

for the

1960 Speedway National League The 1960 National League was the 26th season and the fifteenth post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain. Summary The number of competitors increased from nine to ten with New Cross Rangers returning after a sev ...

and also raced for them in 1961. This was also the same year that he started his

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. It was with Wolves that he won the

1963 Provincial Speedway League The 1963 Provincial Speedway League was the fourth season of the Provincial League in the United Kingdom. Thirteen speedway teams took part. Season summary Wolverhampton won the league but there was controversy at the end of the year when Wolver ...

and won the Southern Riders' Championship in 1964. He followed the team into the 1965 British League season, where he enjoyed another solid season. In 1966, he moved to

Exeter Falcons The Exeter Falcons were a speedway team based in the city of Exeter. The Falcons operated from 1947 to 2005 at the County Ground Stadium in Exeter. History In 1947, the Falcons competed in a league for the first time when they finished fourth ...

and top scored for the team during the 1966 British League season, which earned him a place in the 1966

British League Riders' Championship The British League Riders Championship was an individual motorcycle speedway contest between the top riders (or two riders) with the highest average from each club competing in the British League in the UK, or the top division of the league during ...

. He rode for Exeter for three seasons before having one final season with

Hackney Hawks Hackney Hawks speedway opened in 1963 at Hackney Wick Stadium, Waterden Road, London and operated until 1983. The team replaced the Hackney Wick Wolves who had raced at the stadium from 1935 to 1939. The Hawks were then themselves replaced by the ...

in 1969. He went on to earn six international England caps.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sweetman, Tommy Living people 1930 births British speedway riders Aldershot Shots riders California Poppies riders Exeter Falcons riders New Cross Rangers riders Norwich Stars riders Rye House Rockets riders Southern Rovers riders Swindon Robins riders Wolverhampton Wolves riders