Eric Langton
Born(1907-09-27)27 September 1907
Leeds, England
Died10 November 1999 (aged 92)
Perth, Australia
NationalityBritish (English)
Career history
1929Leeds
1930-1947Belle Vue Aces
Individual honours
1932Star Riders' Champion
1935Tom Farndon Memorial winner
Team honours
1933, 1934, 1935, 1936National League Champion
1929English Dirt Track League Champion
1930, 1931Northern League Champion
1933, 1934, 1935, 1936National Trophy winner
1931Northern KO Cup winner
1934, 1935, 1936, 1937A.C.U. Cup winner
1939British Speedway Cup winner

Eric Kemp Langton (27 September 1907 – 10 November 1999) was an English motorcycle speedway who won the Star Riders' Championship in 1932, the forerunner to the Speedway World Championship. He earned 44 international caps for the England national speedway team.[1]

League career

Born in Leeds, England in 1907, he won the 1928 Scott Trial and raced in the senior 1927 and 1928 Isle of Man TT. Langton began his career at the Belle Vue track.[2] He rode for Leeds in the 1929 season before returning to Belle Vue the following year, remaining with the club for the rest of his career.[2][3] He won the Star Riders' Championship in 1932 and also finished runner-up in 1934.[4] He was part of the Belle Vue team that won the League Championship six times in seven year and the National Trophy five times in a row in the 1930s.[2] After retiring from the sport he returned to Belle Vue in May 1946 to replace the injured Bill Pitcher, scoring a full maximum in his first match back, averaging 10.93 in his comeback season and finishing fourth in the British Riders Championship, the team also winning the National Trophy again that year.[2][5]

1936 World Final

Eric Langton (left) congratulating Van Praag after winning the 1936 World Final Race off

Langton lost the run-off for the inaugural Speedway World Championship to Lionel Van Praag in 1936 in somewhat controversial circumstances. The Championship was decided by bonus points accumulated in previous rounds. Despite being unbeaten in the final, Bluey Wilkinson was not crowned Champion. Bonus points accumulated by Langton and Van Praag took them to the top of the standings and into a run-off (Match Race). As they lined up at the tapes, Langton broke them which would ordinarily lead to disqualification. However, Van Praag stated he did not want to win the title by default and insisted that a race should take place. At the restart Langton made it to the first bend in front and led until the final bend on the last lap when Van Praag darted through the smallest of gaps to win by less than wheel length.[6]

Afterwards, controversial allegations were abound that the two riders had 'fixed' the match race, deciding between them that the first person to the first bend would win the race and the Championship and split the prize money; Langton led into the first bend but was overtaken by Van Praag.[6] Van Praag reportedly paid Langton £50 "conscience money" after the race for going back on the agreement.[6]

Family and retirement

His brother Oliver Langton was also a speedway rider and was capped by England once. Eric built bikes to his own specifications, which were in widespread use around the world for many years after his speedway retirement. He eventually emigrated to Perth, Australia. He died in Perth in 2001.

World Final Appearances

  • 1936 - England London, Wembley Stadium - 2nd - 26pts (lost run-off)
  • 1937 - England London, Wembley Stadium - 10th - 16pts
  • 1938 - England London, Wembley Stadium - 8th - 13pts

Players cigarette cards

Langton is listed as number 27 of 50 in the 1930s Player's cigarette card collection.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Storey, Basil (1947) Speedway Favourites, Sport-in-Print, p. 14
  3. ↑ Addison J. (1948). The People Speedway Guide. Odhams Press Limited
  4. ↑ Bamford, Robert & Shailes, Glynn (2002) A History of the World Speedway Championship, Tempus, ISBN 0-7524-2402-5, p. 10
  5. ↑ Morgan, Tom (1947) "The 1946 Season" in The People Speedway Guide, Odhams Press, p. 25
  6. 1 2 3 Chaplin, John (1990) Speedway Special, ISBN 0-9515857-0-3, p. 109–114
  7. ↑ "Speedway Riders". Speedway Museum Online. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
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