Joe Crowther
Born(1913-04-27)27 April 1913
Stanley, County Durham, England
Died22 February 1991(1991-02-22) (aged 77)
NationalityBritish (English)
Career history
1939, 1946–1950Glasgow Tigers
1951–1953Motherwell Eagles

Joseph Cameron Crowther (27 April 1913 – 22 February 1991) was an English motorcycle speedway rider who had his greatest success in the period immediately after World War II.[1]

Career

Crowther was born in Stanley, County Durham on 27 April 1913.[2] After early ambitions of becoming a jockey, initially pursued a career as a footballer with Crook Town.[3][4][5] His jobs before taking up speedway included a comedian in a travelling opera company and working for his father's butchery business.[3][4] After first seeing speedway at Middlesbrough in 1937, where he was inspired by Frank Hodgson, he rode in grasstrack and junior speedway events at Newcastle, going on to ride for West Ham, Newcastle and Glasgow before the outbreak of war in 1939.[3]

Crowther returned to Glasgow after the war, progressing to become the team's second highest points scorer in the 1947 season.[3] He continued his good form in 1948, scoring 440 points.[3] He stayed with Glasgow until 1951, at which point he was the team captain, when he requested a transfer to Motherwell Eagles, going on to ride for Motherwell for a few seasons before retiring.[6] After retiring from racing he became team manager of the Leicester Hunters, also looking after the track at Leicester Stadium.

Crowther died on 22 February 1991, at the age of 77.[2]

References

  1. ↑ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Ultimate Rider Index, 1929–2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Morgan, Tom (1949) Who's Who in Speedway 1949, Sport-in-Print, p. 18-19
  4. 1 2 Storey, Basil (1947) "Saw Frank Hodgson and Became a Rider", in Speedway Favourites, Sport-in-Print, p. 10
  5. ↑ Jones, Alan (2004) Speedway in Leicester: The Hunters Era, Automedia, p. 149
  6. ↑ "Tigers' Captain Asks to Join Motherwell", The Bulletin and Scots Pictorial, 7 February 1951, p. 12, retrieved 2012-02-12
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