Wilbur "Lammy" Lamoreaux (born 26 February 1907 in

Roseville, Illinois Roseville is a village in Warren County, Illinois, United States. The population was 989 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Galesburg Micropolitan Statistical Area. Geography According to the 2010 census, Roseville has a total area of , all ...

, United States - died 11 May 1963) was an international

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 who qualified for three

Speedway World Championship The World Championship of Speedway is an international competition between the highest-ranked motorcycle speedway riders of the world, run under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). The first official championsh ...

finals and never finished lower than fifth place.Buck, B (2007) ''Brummies Legends'', Pendragon Books.

Early life

At an early age his family moved to Pasadena, California. Lamoreaux became a motorcycle enthusiast and he finally convinced his mother to allow him to buy an Indian Scout in 1923, when he was only 16 years old. He became a motorcycle messenger for

Western Union The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the company chang ...

. While working at Western Union that he met fellow Pasadenans, brothers

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

and

Cordy Milne Corydon Clark Milne (April 14, 1914 – October 15, 1978) was an American international motorcycle speedway rider who finished third in the 1937 Speedway World Championship final, behind his brother Jack and second placed Wilbur Lamoreaux. Cory ...

Career

Nicknamed 'Lammy', he competed in California in the mid-1930s, and rode for 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 ...

from 1937 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 ...

.Sandys, Leonard (1948) ''Broadside to Fame! The Drama of the Speedways'', Findon, p. 22 He won the Scottish Championship in 1939. During

he promoted speedway in the US, and in 1946 won the American National Championship in Los Angeles. After the war, he was persuaded by Sir Arthur Elvin not to retire and rode for them

Wembley Lions The Wembley Lions were an English ice hockey team. History The team were founded in 1934 but showed a continuity with the London Lions team which had played at various venues since 1924. The Wembley team were based at the newly built Empire ...

in 1948. In 1949 he spent a season with the

Birmingham Brummies Birmingham Brummies are a British speedway team founded in 1928. They were inaugural members of the Southern League in 1929. The team have twice finished runner-up in the highest tier of British speedway, during the 1952 Speedway National Le ...

, and also qualified for the

, ten years after his last appearance and forty two years of age, was the oldest competitor. He finished in fifth place, although an engine failure cost him his third rostrum finish in three finals. Wilbur Lamoreaux also rode in Australia during his career, finishing second to 1938 World Champion

Bluey Wilkinson Arthur George "Bluey" Wilkinson (27 August 1911 – 27 July 1940) was an international speedway rider. Wilkinson was Speedway World Champion in 1938 after narrowly missing out on winning the inaugural Championship in 1936. Early life Wi ...

in both the 1938 Three and Four Lap Australian Championships at the

Sydney Showground Speedway Sydney Showground Speedway, originally known as the Speedway Royal and later the Speedway Royale but often referred to as just The Royale or The Showground, was a dirt Dirt track racing venue at the old Sydney Showground used from 1926 until ...

. In 1938, Lamoreaux also won the NSW State Championship at the Sydney Showground. He also represented the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in test matches against the

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Australians, several (or all) ...

at other tracks around the country including the

Sydney Sports Ground The Sydney Sports Ground No. 1 was a Stadium and Dirt track racing venue in Sydney, New South Wales. The ground was located where the car park of the Sydney Football Stadium (SFS) currently sits. The ground had two main grandstands and was surro ...

and

Olympic Park An Olympic Park is a sports campus for hosting the Olympic Games. Typically it contains the Olympic Stadium and the International Broadcast Centre. It may also contain the Olympic Village or some of the other sports venues, such as the aquatics ...

in Melbourne.

World Final appearances

* 1937 -

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 ...

- 2nd - 25pts *

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

- 3rd - 20pts *

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 ...

- 5th - 9ptsBamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway Championship''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing.

References

External links

The AMA's Hall of Fame Museum - Wilbur Lamoreaux
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lamoreaux, Wilbur 1907 births 1963 deaths American speedway riders Wimbledon Dons riders Wembley Lions riders Birmingham Brummies riders People from Roseville, Illinois