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1952 Speedway National League
The 1952 National League Division One was the 18th season of speedway in the United Kingdom and the seventh post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain. Summary Norwich Stars joined the league. Wembley Lions won their fourth consecutive title and their seventh overall. Birmingham recorded their highest league finish to date by taking the runner-up spot. While riding for Wimbledon, on 22 July 1952 the American Ernie Roccio was killed after crashing into the fence at high speed at West Ham Stadium, it has been reported that he died instantly but the newspaper report states he died in hospital. Final table Top Ten Riders (League only) National Trophy Stage Three The 1952 National Trophy was the 15th edition of the Knockout Cup. The Trophy consisted of three stages; stage one was for the third tier clubs, stage two was for the second tier clubs and stage three was for the top tier clubs. The winner of stage one would qualify for stage two and th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wembley Lions (speedway)
The Wembley Lions were a motorcycle speedway team which operated from 1929 until their closure in 1971. Their track was located at Wembley Stadium, Wembley Park, London. The original stadium which hosted speedway has been redeveloped. Brief history Pre-war After opening in 1929, the Lions joined the Southern League (1929-1931), winning it in 1930 and 1931. The 1932 season saw them join the National League which they won at the first attempt. The Lions continued to compete in the National League until the outbreak of World War II . 1946–1957 After the war Wembley continued in the National League, winning the title in the opening season in 1946. The following season they retained their title. The Lions operated until the end of the 1956 season, winning the title a further five times (successive titles between 1949 and 1953) but in 1957 they withdrew from the league before the season started due to the death of Sir Arthur Elvin, the chairman of Wembley Stadium. Many of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 of Johnnie Hoskins. The track opened in 1928 and staged a few meetings during the early war years. Meetings were staged in 1945 but the Hammers re-opened in 1946 and ran until 1955. However dwindling crowds saw the promotion close. It did not re-open until 1964. The West Ham team were the inaugural winners of the British League in 1965, under a promotion fronted by former rider Tommy Price. Dave Lanning became promoter in 1966, and West Ham ran for a further six seasons until 1971 when they were informed that the stadium was being sold by the Greyhound Racing Association The Greyhound Racing Association was a UK-based private company founded in 1925 and existed until 2019. It was involved in the management of sports venues, notably g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyril Brine
Cyril Harry Brine (born 6 February 1918 in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, EnglandAddison J. (1948). ''The People Speedway Guide''. Odhams Press Limited''Speedway Star'' 23 March 1963 suggests he was born in 1920 – died 1988) was an international speedway who qualified for the Speedway World Championship finals twice.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway Championship''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. Career summary Brine began speedway racing in 1938. He initially rode at the training track at Rye House. Brine spent his entire career with one club, the Wimbledon Dons,Jacobs, Norman (2001). ''Speedway in London''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing where he made over 460 league appearances and scored over 2700 points, a club record. In his seventeen-season career with the Dons, he won the National League Championship seven times and the National Trophy seven times. Brine made his debut for England in 1949. He retired from speedway in early 1963. Elder brothe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tommy Price
Thomas Price (2 December 1911 – 26 December 1997) was a British speedway rider. In 1949 he won the first Speedway World Championship to be held after the Second World War.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway Championship''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. Career Born in Cambridge, England in 1911, Price's early education was at Perse School and later, at the Cambridge and County High School. Price started his career with the Wembley Lions in 1935 after only a handful of appearances for Harringay Reserves in the previous season. In 1936 he was loaned out to Cardiff and Nottingham. Within three years he had qualified for his first World Final.Jacobs, N & Lipscombe, P (2005). ''Wembley Speedway : The Pre-War Years''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing After the war, Price rejoined the Lions and spent a further eleven seasons at the club until he retired in 1956. During that he was a member of the teams that won the National League Championship seven times ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freddie Williams (speedway Rider)
Freddie Williams (12 March 1926 – 20 January 2013) was a motorcycle speedway rider from Wales who was World Champion on two occasions. He was the winner of the Speedway World Championship in 1950 and 1953 and runner-up in 1952. Career Williams grew up in Port Talbot, where he was a classmate of Richard Burton, and they played together in the school rugby team.Rhys, Steffan (2011)Richard Burton's school days recalled by speedway star, '' Western Mail'', 25 June 2011, retrieved 2011-11-27 In 1941 he moved to Portsmouth where he started an apprenticeship in the dockyards as an engineer-fitter.Morgan, Tom (1949) ''Who's Who in Speedway'', Sport-in-Print, p. 74 He was a despatch rider in World War II, and began his speedway career as the war ended, after initially competing in grasstrack. After attending training sessions at Rye House, he was signed by Alec Jackson for the Wembley Lions, and in 1948 got a regular place in the team after injuries to George Wilks and Bill Kitchen. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harringay Racers
Harringay Racers refers to multiple British ice hockey teams based in Harringay, London, United Kingdom. Harringay Racers The first team to use the Harringay Racers moniker was founded in 1936 and initially played alongside Harringay Greyhounds at the Harringay Arena. Both sides entered the English National League, which Racers won in 1937/8. After a break during World War II, the league resumed and Harringay were champions again in 1948/9. Following Racers' championship win, Greyhounds merged with the team. In 1954, the English National League and the Scottish National League merged to form the British National League. Racers were the first champions, but withdrew in 1958 when the Arena was sold to a foods group for use as food storage. They did not play again. A new team named Haringey Racers was founded in 1990, playing at Alexandra Palace. It disappeared in 1992, although Haringey Greyhounds briefly adopted the name in 2002. London Racers Haringey Racers formed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 World Speedway Championship''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. Waterman took up speedway while serving in the British Army in Italy and went on to become one of the top riders of the post-war era. He made the headlines again in the late 1960s when he was convicted of gold smuggling and firearms offences. Biography Born in New Malden, Waterman worked as a toolmaker's apprentice after leaving school.Burford, Brian (2019) "Squire Francis 'Split' Waterman (1923–2019) ''Speedway Star'', 19 October 2019, pp. 43–45 Wartime service Waterman applied to join the Royal Air Force when the Second World War broke out but was unable to do so as his job as a toolmaker was classed as a reserved occupation.Davies, Trevor (2008) ''Warzone Speedway'', Trevor D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alan Hunt (speedway Rider)
Alan Hunt (born 1925 Aston, England - died 2 February 1957)Buck, B (2007) ''Brummies Legends'', Pendragon Books. was an international motorcycle speedway rider who qualified for the Speedway World Championship final four times.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway Championship''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. Career Hunt attended Tiger Stevensons training school in the winter of 1946-47 and impressed so much he was given the reserve berth with the Cradley Heath Cubs for the 1947 season who were competing in the National League Division Three. After his fourth season with the Heathens, Hunt was averaging over ten points per meeting and it was not surprising that he was attracting the attention of top-flight teams. In 1951, the Harringay Racers thought they had a deal with the Heathens to sign Hunt on a full transfer but at the last moment the Birmingham Brummies promotion took over the Heathens and transferred Hunt to them. In his first season at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bob Leverenz
Robert Leverenz (6 February 1925 – 16 March 2009) was an international speedway rider, who featured in the 1951 Speedway World Championship final alongside the winner and fellow Adelaide rider Jack Young.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway Championship''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. Career Leverenz born in Findon, South Australia.Addison J. (1948). ''The People Speedway Guide''. Odhams Press Limited spent his entire United Kingdom career with the Norwich Stars and was a member of the team that won the National League Division Two championships in 1950 and 1951. His career highlights included: *Winning four South Australian Championships: 1950 at Kilburn Speedway, 1951, 1952 and 1953, at Rowley Park Speedway. *Winning four Adelaide Golden Helmet's in 1950. Three wins came at Kilburn and the final win came at Rowley Park. *Captaining the Australian Test Team against England at Kilburn Speedway in 1951. *Riding for the Norwich Stars in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Young (speedway Rider)
Jack Ellis Young (31 January 1925 in Adelaide, South Australia – 28 August 1987 in Adelaide) was a Motorcycle speedway rider who won the Speedway World Championship in 1951 and 1952. He also won the London Riders' Championship 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 in test matches against England. Quickly proving himself to be one of the best r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bradford Dukes
The Bradford Dukes were a British motorcycle speedway team which operated from the Odsal Stadium in Bradford from 1986 until their closure in 1997.Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''. History Speedway has long been associated with Odsal Stadium; there have been three eras of racing activity at the venue spanning the years 1945-1960, 1970-1975 and most recently 1985-1997. There was also a short-lived existence at the old Greenfield Stadium between 1961-1962. Speedway returned to Odsal in 1985 after a ten-year absence when it was selected by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme to host the 1985 Speedway World Championship. Bradford Council were quick to seize on the prestige of being associated with a World event and approved £1 million project to refurbish the Odsal Stadium. A 40,000 crowd attended at the final. In March 1986, Odsal opened its doors to British League action for the first time since the 1950s after the Halifax Dukes were off ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 was the Provincial League title in 1937. The track operated a season of challenge matches in 1946 with the team known as Ex-Bristol. They competed in the National League Division Two from 1947. The team was promoted to National League Division One in 1950 after back to back Championship titles. The Division One Bulldogs team featured most of the Division Two men and as a result they reverted to Division Two for the 1954 season. Bristol's team of 1949 has a rare record in that it whitewashed the visiting Glasgow Tigers 70 -14 in a fourteen heat National League fixture.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2003) ''Bristol Bulldogs Speedway'', NPI Media Group. The Bulldogs were founder members of the Provincial League, winning the Provincial Leag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
