Eric Boothroyd (26 April 1927 – 16 August 2022) was an international motorcycle speedway rider from England.[1][2][3]

Eric Boothroyd
Boothroyd in 1951
Born(1927-04-26)26 April 1927
Halifax, England
Died16 August 2022(2022-08-16) (aged 96)
Halifax, England
NationalityBritish (English)
Career history
1950Tamworth Tammies
1950Cradley Heathens
1951-1957Birmingham Brummies
1957Bradford Tudors
1958, 1960Oxford Cheetahs
1959Leicester Hunters
1961-1963Middlesbrough Bears
1964Long Eaton Archers
1965-1968Halifax Dukes
Individual honours
1956Speedway World Championship finalist
Team honours
1966British League Champion
1966British League KO Cup
1953, 1954, 1955Midland Cup
1966Northern Cup

Speedway career

edit

Boothroyd was introduced to motor bikes by Geoff Duke when he served six years with the 15th Parachute Brigade in Egypt as a despatch rider. He first sat on a speedway bike in 1949 and began his career for Tamworth Tammies during the 1950 Speedway National League Division Three season.[3][4]

In 1951, he joined the Birmingham Brummies and would stay with them for seven years, winning the Midland Cup for three consecutive seasons from 1953 to 1955.[5]

Boothroyd reached the final of the Speedway World Championship in the 1956 Individual Speedway World Championship[6] and during 1957, he was suspended by the Auto Cyclist Union, along with Birmingham teammate Ron Mountford for riding in South Africa.[7]

Over the next three years (1958 to 1960) he rode in the top tier for Oxford Cheetahs and Leicester Hunters, before joining Middlesbrough Bears for three seasons, where he was one of the leading riders in the Provincial League.[8]

After a season with Long Eaton, he joined his home town club Halifax Dukes in 1965 and starred in their 1966 league and Knockout Cup double.[9]

At retirement he had earned 2 international caps for the England national speedway team and 1 cap for Great Britain.[4]

Management

edit

After retiring from riding he later became a promoter and ran his home club Halifax.

Personal life

edit

He ran two greengrocer shops and died in 2022.[3]

World Final Appearances

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX". British Speedway. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  2. ^ "Eric Boothroyd". Cradley Speedway. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  3. ^ a b c "Obituaries". Speedway Star. 27 August 2022. p. 21.
  4. ^ a b "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  5. ^ "Hunters triumph but trophy lost". Leicester Evening Mail. 1 October 1955. Retrieved 18 October 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ "World Speedway finals" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  7. ^ "This was Birmingham Speedway". Sports Argus. 3 August 1957. Retrieved 5 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ "History Archive". British Speedway. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  9. ^ "Eric Boothroyd". wwosbackup. Retrieved 6 July 2021.