Norman Parker (speedway rider)

Norman Parker (14 January 1908 – 27 April 1999) was an international speedway rider who rode in the inaugural Speedway World Championship in 1936 as a reserve.[1][2][3] He earned 36 international caps for the England national speedway team.[4]

Norman Parker
Parker in 1951
Born(1908-01-14)14 January 1908
Birmingham, England
Died27 April 1999(1999-04-27) (aged 91)
Towcester, England
NationalityBritish (English)
Career history
1929-1930Coventry
1931-1932Southampton Saints
1932-1933Clapton Saints
1934-1936, 1938-1939Harringay Tigers
1946-1953Wimbledon Dons
Individual honours
1943, 1944Northern Riders' Champion
Team honours
1950, 1951, 1953National Trophy winner
1935London Cup winner

Brief career summary edit

Born in Birmingham, England, Parker joined Coventry in 1929, and remained there until 1933 when he moved on to join the Southampton Saints.[5] He then moved to Clapton Saints and then the Harringay Tigers.[5] He and his older brother Jack rode in the same teams until the outbreak of war.[5][6] In 1934 Parker made his international debut for England.

After the war Parker joined the Wimbledon Dons and was appointed captain.[5] In 1948, he finished runner up in the Australian Championship.[7] In 1949, he finished fourth in the Speedway World Championship and made his last World Final appearance in 1951.[8]

World final appearances edit

  • 1936 -   London, Wembley Stadium - 18th - 1pt + 6 semi-final points
  • 1949 -   London, Wembley Stadium - 4th - 10pts
  • 1951 -   London, Wembley Stadium - 14th - 3pts

References edit

  1. ^ Addison J. (1948). The People Speedway Guide. Odhams Press Limited
  2. ^ Montague, Trevor (2004). The A-Z of Sport. Little, Brown. p. 527. ISBN 0-316-72645-1.
  3. ^ "Speedway". New Milton Advertiser. 19 May 1999. Retrieved 21 January 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d Storey, Basil (1947) "Carpentry to Cinders", in Speedway Favourites, Sport-in-Print, p. 8
  6. ^ Jacobs, Norman (2001). Speedway in London. Stroud: Tempus Publishing ISBN 0-7524-2221-9
  7. ^ "Individual Australian Championship". Historia Sportu Zuzlowego. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  8. ^ Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5