Richard Greer is a former motorcycle speedway rider in the 1970s and 1980s.

Career

Richard Greer, who completed 7 years in

Peterborough Panthers The Peterborough Panthers are a British speedway team based in Peterborough, England. They are three times champions of the United Kingdom, winning the highest level league in 1999, 2006 and 2021. History 1970–1994 The Panthers inaugural se ...

colours was a member of the inaugural team of 1970, and is one of only 8 riders that have scored more than 2,000 points for the club in their 51-year history to date. Richard rode for Peterborough between 1970 & 1973 before moving up to the top sphere of racing with Oxford Rebels,

White City Rebels The White City Rebels were a motorcycle speedway team who operated from the White City Stadium, Wood Lane in London. History White City were inaugural members of the Southern League in 1929 but only raced for the one season. The White City tea ...

and

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 ...

. He attained heat leader status with all 3 clubs and was team captain for

and

in his time. His first match with Oxford was on 21 March 1974, where he impressed with 10 points and Oxford beating

Ipswich Witches The Ipswich Witches are a British speedway club based at Foxhall Stadium near Ipswich, Suffolk. They compete in the British SGB Premiership. Meetings are staged on most Thursdays from March until October, normally commencing at 7.30pm (first r ...

40-37 in a Knock-Out Cup match. He matched that point performance away to

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 ...

and another Oxford victory 41-37.Later, in May, with John Dews (speedway rider), he won the Radio Oxford Best Pairs Tournament. In a side affected by injuries, Greer continued to perform, scoring a maximum against

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 ...

on 27 June. In 1975, he was part of the Midland Cup winning Oxford Rebels, which saw exciting draws against

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 ...

home and away, requiring reruns, and an amazing away win against

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 20 ...

to clinch the cup.Lawson,K (2018) “Rebels 1975 – The Last Season”. Two serious injuries restricted his career however, and he returned to spearhead the Panthers from 1979 to complete another 3 seasons for his home town, before retiring at the end of the 1981 season. He rode in 234 official matches for Peterborough scoring 2,088 points for an impressive career average of 8.39, scoring 35 paid and full maximums along the way, a figure surpassed by only two other Panthers. When he retired from racing, Richard became a regular at Peterborough and became Clerk of the Course at Alwalton, later also becoming an FIM official at that level, officiating in that position at several British Grand Prix’s at Cardiff and the World Cup held at Eastbourne.

Personal life

Richard played ice hockey for 15 years for a veterans team, in countries such as Czech Republic, Canada, Ireland, Holland and Germany. Keeping a connection to speedway, he attends Peterborough meetings where he is a Club Promoter for 2021, and is the president of Peterborough Speedway Supporters Club. His wife, Joan, died in 2014; they had been married for 46 years. His son, Paul, lives in the West Country and works in computer animation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greer, Richard British speedway riders Peterborough Panthers riders Oxford Rebels riders White City Rebels riders Birmingham Brummies riders Reading Racers riders Eastbourne Eagles riders Living people 1946 births People from Whittlesey Sportspeople from Peterborough