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]

Career

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[7] and was appointed captain.[5] In 1948, he finished runner up in the Australian Championship.[8] In 1949, he finished fourth in the Speedway World Championship and made his last World Final appearance in 1951.[9]

Parker retired after the 1953 season and took an appointment as the Swindon Robins team manager.[10]

World final appearances

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

References

  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. ^ "Parker leads Wimbledon". The People. 12 May 1946. Retrieved 11 October 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ "Individual Australian Championship". Historia Sportu Zuzlowego. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  9. ^ Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5
  10. ^ "Norman Parker leaves the Dons". South Western Star. 5 February 1954. Retrieved 25 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
No tags for this post.