Jack Ellis Young (31 January 1925 in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...

– 28 August 1987 in Adelaide) 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 who won the

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 champions ...

in 1951 and 1952. He also won the

London Riders' Championship The London Riders' Championship was an individual speedway competition for top riders of teams from London. It was a very prestigious competition, especially in its early days. However, as the number of teams from London dwindled, so did interest ...

1953 and 1954 and was a nine time South Australian Champion between 1948 and 1964.Belton, Brian (2003). ''Hammerin' Round''. By winning the 1951 and 1952 World Championships, Young became the first Australian to win two World Championships in any form of motorsport.

Career

Australia

Jack Young started racing bikes with younger brother Frank on the Sand Pits at Findon in Adelaide, before starting his speedway career at the Kilburn Speedway on 9 May 1947 riding a 1926 Harley-Davidson Peashooter borrowed from his brother. There he rode alongside older brother Wally "Joey" Young (b. 1916 – d. 1990), and younger brother Frank. Jack and Frank both represented

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

in test matches against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. Quickly proving himself to be one of the best riders in Adelaide, Jack placed an impressive second in the SA title in 1947 (after only having raced at a couple of meetings), and would win his first South Australian Championship in 1948. He would go on to win the SA Championship again in 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1963 and 1964, all at Rowley Park Speedway. Young would win the Queensland State Championship in 1953 at the

Brisbane Exhibition Ground Brisbane Showgrounds (formerly known as the Brisbane Exhibition Ground) is located at 600 Gregory Terrace, Bowen Hills, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and was established in 1875. It hosts more than 250 events each year, with the largest bei ...

, and the Victorian State Championship in 1957 at the Tracey's Speedway in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

. Despite his two World Championships, nine South Australian Championships and the Queensland and Victorian titles, Jack Young would never win or even place in the

Australian Individual Speedway Championship The Australian Solo Championship is a motorcycle speedway championship held each year to determine the Australian national champion. It is organised by Motorcycling Australia (MA) and is the oldest continuously running national speedway champion ...

, which during his time were held almost exclusively in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

(at the Sydney Showground or

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 surr ...

), or in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

at the Exhibition Ground. Young declined several invitations to ride in the Australian championship, often preferring to take a break from speedway to enjoy the Australian summer and go fishing. He did finish third in an unofficial "Australian Championship" staged at the

Harringay Stadium Harringay Stadium was a major greyhound racing and motorcycle speedway venue in Harringay, north London. It was built and opened in 1927 and closed in 1987. Construction Harringay Stadium was the third greyhound racing stadium to open in Br ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

in 1950. The promoters of the speedway had a clearing in their schedule and decided fill the space by inviting the top Australian riders in the British Leagues at the time to ride in an Australian Championship (the field included Aussie born

New Zealander New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

Ronnie Moore Ronald David Moore (born 29 January 1953) is an English football manager and former player. He has taken charge of several clubs including Rotherham United, Tranmere Rovers and Hartlepool United. He played for many different clubs in a car ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

rider

Graham Warren Graham Warren (1926 in Suva, Fiji – 2005)Buck, B (2007) ''Brummies Legends'', Pendragon Books. was an international motorcycle speedway rider who finished third in the 1950 Speedway World Championship final and was a member of the Australia ...

won the meeting from NSW rider

Aub Lawson Aubrey "Aub" Lawson (born 5 April 1914 in Kelly's Gully, Warialda, New South Wales - died 20 January 1977) was an Australian international speedway rider who featured in ten World Championship finals including the 1939 final which was never ru ...

and Young. Jack Young announced his retirement from Speedway in December 1963 on the night he won his ninth and last SA Championship (counted as the 1963/64 Championship). Young and the rider who would succeed him as South Australia's best rider

John Boulger John Boulger (born 18 June 1945 in Adelaide, South Australia) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider. After he retired from riding Solos in the early 1980s, Boulger raced somewhat successfully in Speedcars (Midgets) from the mid- ...

, jointly hold the record for SA title wins with nine each. A lover of fishing, at his home in Adelaide Young was known to use his two World Championship trophies as a place to store his sinkers. Just a year after his death, Jack Young was inducted into the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and Dawn Fraser t ...

for his services to speedway. In 2008, Young was posthumously inducted into the

Australian Speedway Hall of Fame The Australian Speedway Hall of Fame was inaugurated in 2007 to recognise the contributions made to Australian speedway. In 2006 Speedway Australia formed the National Speedway Induction Committee (NSIC) consisting of competitors, promoters, medi ...

. In November 2014, Jack Young was inducted into the Motorcycling South Australia Hall of Fame.

International

After winning his first South Australian championship in 1948 at Kilburn, as well as impressive displays for Australia in home Test's against England, Jack Young had the attention of British promoters. He was signed by 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 ...

in 1949 after they paid his fare to come over for a trial. He scored maximum points on his debut, winning all six of his rides. In 1949, 1950 and 1951, Young won the Scottish Riders Championship (now the Scottish Open) at

Old Meadowbank Old Meadowbank was a multi-purpose sports facility located in the Meadowbank area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was mainly used as a football stadium by Leith Athletic between the 1930s and 1950s and as a motorcycle speedway track. The stadium was ...

in Edinburgh. In 1951, Jack Young made history by becoming the first

second division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

rider to become

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

when he won the title at the

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 ...

. He defeated England's

Split Waterman Squire Francis Waterman (27 July 1923 – 8 October 2019), better known as Split Waterman, was an English speedway rider who twice finished second in the Speedway World Championship final.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the Wor ...

and fellow Australian

Jack Biggs Jack Edward Biggs (21 March 1922 – 8 December 1972) was a speedway rider from Australia. Speedway career Biggs was a leading speedway rider in the 1950s. He reached the final of the Speedway World Championship on four occasions including fi ...

in a three way run-off for the title after each had finished the meeting on 12 points. In 1952 Young moved up a division by joining the

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 ...

for a then record transfer fee of UK£3,750. He also retained his World title in front of 93,000 fans at Wembley, thus becoming the first dual World Champion and the first rider to win the title two years in succession. He stayed with the Hammers until the end of the 1955 season and is remembered by many West Ham riders and fans alike as the best rider to ever race for the team. Young stayed home in Adelaide for the next two seasons riding mainly at his home track of Rowley Park, but in 1958 he returned to the UK to ride for the

Coventry Bees Coventry Bees were a motorcycle speedway team that existed from 1929 to 2018. They raced at Brandon Stadium, Brandon near Coventry, England. History A Coventry team was first formed in 1928 and competed in the inaugural season of the Souther ...

. After again returning home to Adelaide in 1959, he again rode for the Bees in 1960 and 1961. Jack Young's last World Final appearance was as a reserve rider for the 1961 Championship at the

Malmö Stadion Malmö Stadion, often known simply as Stadion before the construction of the new Stadion between 2007 and 2009, is a multi-purpose stadium in Malmö, Sweden. As of 2015, it is the home of association football club IFK Malmö, presently of Div ...

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal popul ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

(the first World Championship Final not held at Wembley). Neither Young, nor the other reserve rider, Swede Leif Larsson, got to ride in the final. Jack Young also represented Australia in test matches both at home and overseas and had the honour of captaining his country on many occasions. He first represented Australia in the 7th test against England on 17 February 1950 at the Kilburn Speedway in Adelaide and proved his class by top scoring on the night with 17 points. During the early part of his career when riding for the Edinburgh Monarchs, Young also represented

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

in some matches.

Career Highlights

–

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

* South Australian Champion – 1948, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1963, 1964 * Scottish Riders Champion – 1949, 1950, 1951 *Adelaide Golden Helmet winner – 1949 (4 wins at Kilburn Speedway) and 1950 (2 wins at Rowley Park Speedway) * Tom Farndon Memorial Trophy – 1951, 1961 * Queensland State Champion – 1953 * London Riders' Champion – 1953, 1954 *National Trophy (with

) – 1955 * Victorian State Champion – 1957 *12 times in succession British Match Race Champion over a two-year period, unbeaten in 33 successive meetings in Britain *Holds the record for the highest points won in a season in Britain. *Inducted into the

– 1988 *Inducted into the

– 2008 *Inducted into the Motorcycling South Australia Hall of Fame – 2014

World Final Appearances

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

–

– 8th – 7pts *

–

– Winner – 12+3pts *

–

– Winner – 14pts *

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yugosl ...

–

– 5th – 10pts *

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

–

– 4th – 11pts *

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

–

– 7th – 10pts *

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

–

– 10th – 6pts *

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...

–

– Reserve – Did not Ride

Death

Jack died of a lung disorder in Adelaide's

Modbury Hospital Modbury Hospital is a hospital that provides inpatient, outpatient and emergency services to a population of over 400,000 people living primarily in Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and ...

on 28 August 1987 at the age of sixty two. Years of riding through dust clouds on British cinder tracks, as well as being a heavy

cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opp ...

smoker had left Young with

Emphysema Emphysema, or pulmonary emphysema, is a lower respiratory tract disease, characterised by air-filled spaces ( pneumatoses) in the lungs, that can vary in size and may be very large. The spaces are caused by the breakdown of the walls of the alv ...

. He was survived by his wife Joan whom he had married on 12 May 1945 in the All Saints Church of England in the Adelaide suburb of Hindmarsh. Jack and Joan Young (born Joan Mary Carroll) had one son and two daughters. Jack Young was the idol of a young rider from

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

who rode against him in Australia during the early 1960s, with the two forming a friendship that would last until Jack's passing in 1987. That rider,

Ivan Mauger Ivan Gerald Mauger (4 October 1939 – 16 April 2018) was a New Zealand motorcycle speedway rider. He won a record six World Championships (Finals), a feat equalled only with the inclusion of the Speedway GP Championships by Tony Rickardsson ...

, who was actually based at Rowley Park at the time, would go on to win a record six Speedway World Championships (1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1977, 1979), three Long Track World Championships (1971, 1972, 1976), four

Speedway World Team Cup The Speedway World Team Cup was an annual motorcycle speedway, speedway event held each year in different countries. The competition started in 1960 and was replaced with the Speedway World Cup in 2001. Format From 1960 until 1985 each team cons ...

s (1968, 1971, 1972, 1979), and two

Speedway World Pairs Championship The Speedway World Pairs Championship was an annual speedway (motorcycling) event held each year in different countries. The first competition was held in 1968 and the final competition was held in 1993. From 1994 it was merged with the World Team ...

s (1969, 1970). Mauger credits advice he received from Young at the 1960 Australian Long Track Championship in the South Australian coastal town of

Port Pirie Port Pirie is a small city on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf in South Australia, north of the state capital, Adelaide. The city has an expansive history which dates back to 1845. Port Pirie was the first proclaimed regional city in South A ...

for putting him on the path to becoming a World Champion.

Jack Young Solo Cup

The Jack Young Solo Cup (formerly known as the Jack Young Memorial Cup) is held in his honour every year at the

Gillman Speedway Gillman Speedway (sometimes called Gillman Speedway Stadium) is a purpose built, long motorcycle speedway located in the Adelaide suburb of Gillman in South Australia. The track opened in 1998 and runs approximately 13 meetings per season fro ...

in Adelaide after being previously held from 1990 to 1997 at Gillman's predecessor North Arm Speedway. The first cup was won by

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

rider

Jimmy Nilsen Jimmy Nilsen (born 16 November 1966) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider from Sweden. Career Jimmy Nilsen was Swedish Champion in 1996 after finishing 3rd in 1994. Nilsen also rode in five World Finals as well as representing ...

at the conclusion of an Australia vs the Rest of the World test match. The second running of the race again saw a win by a Swedish rider, 1984 and 1988 Ice Racing World Champion Erik Stenlund. The race was again run at the conclusion of Test, this time between Australia and

. The international flavour continued in 1992 when the Cup was won by

Steve Schofield Steve Schofield is a British photographer. He is primarily known for his portraits, especially his narrative portrait style of photography. Some of his photographs of actors, musicians, and writers are included in the London National Portrait G ...

. The first Australian winner was

Mildura Mildura is a regional city in north-west Victoria, Australia. Located on the Victorian side of the Murray River, Mildura had a population of 34,565 in 2021. When nearby Wentworth, Irymple, Nichols Point and Merbein are included, the area h ...

rider

Jason Lyons Jason Rodney Lyons (born 15 June 1970 in Mildura, Victoria) is an Australian international motorcycle speedway rider. Jason is the son of former rider Rod Lyons. The younger Lyons was the winner of the Australian Pairs Championship in 1992 as ...

who won the Cup in 1993. Ten times Australian Solo Champion

Leigh Adams Leigh Scott Adams (born 28 April 1971 in Mildura, Victoria)Oakes, P.(2004). ''British Speedway Who's Who''. is an Australian former motorcycle speedway rider. He is a multiple Speedway Grand Prix winner and World Team Champion. He also wo ...

from

holds the record with five wins in 1994 and 1997 (North Arm), and 2001, 2002 and 2003 (Gillman). The first South Australian rider to win the cup was

Shane Bowes Shane Bowes (born 4 March 1969, Adelaide, South Australia) is a former motorcycle speedway rider. Bowes was a finalist in the 1990 Under-21 Speedway World Championship, finishing in eighth place. He also rode in the United Kingdom between 198 ...

who won in 1996. 1995 winner

Tomasz Gollob Tomasz Robert Gollob (; born 11 April 1971 in Bydgoszcz, Poland) is a former Polish motorcycle speedway rider. He appeared in every Speedway Grand Prix series between its inaugural season in 1995 and 2013. His brother Jacek is also a speedway rid ...

from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

(who was based at North Arm for the 1994/95 Australian season) is the only rider to win the cup who has emulated Young's feat of winning the Individual Speedway World Championship. Gollob won the

2010 Speedway Grand Prix The 2010 Speedway Grand Prix was the 65th edition of the official World Championship and the 16th season of the Speedway Grand Prix era, deciding the FIM Speedway World Championship. It was the tenth series under the promotion of Benfield Sports I ...

series to become the World Champion, while Leigh Adams was the 1992 World Under-21 Champion and Eric Stenlund was a dual Ice Racing World Champion. With the closure of North Arm in 1997, and the new Gillman Speedway not ready for championship meetings until 2001, the Jack Young Solo Cup was not held from 1998 to 2000. Leigh Adams won the Cup the last time it was held at North Arm in 1997 as well as the first time it was run at Gillman in 2001. The 2001 meeting, held on 26 January (

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port ...

), was also the official opening of the new Gillman Speedway. After being a single, six lap race for many years, the Jack Young Solo Cup is currently run in a championship format with riders earning points in the heats before the top scorers go into a semi final and then the final. The current holder of the Jack Young Solo Cup is Tyron Proctor who won his third JYSC in four years on 28 November 2015.2015/16 Jack Young Solo Cup result
/ref> ''* Note: The winner of the "Scottish Open Championship", of which Young was a three time winner, also receives the "Jack Young Memorial Scottish Open Trophy" in honour of the former Edinburgh Monarchs star rider. Adelaide's

Rory Schlein Rory Robert Schlein (born 1 September 1984) is an Australian speedway rider. Career Born in Darwin, Northern Territory, Schlein, lived in the southern Adelaide suburb of Hallett Cove and won the Australian Under-16 Championship at the Nort ...

is the only rider to have won both Jack Young Memorial trophies.''

Jack Young Solo Cup Winners

References

External links

Jack Young Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Jack 1925 births 1987 deaths Australian speedway riders Individual Speedway World Champions Edinburgh Monarchs riders West Ham Hammers riders Coventry Bees riders Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Adelaide Sportsmen from South Australia