Gordon Byers
 | |
| Born | 7 November 1911 Sunderland, England |
|---|---|
| Died | 20 December 2008 (aged 97) |
| Nationality | British (English) |
| Career history | |
| 1929-1930 | Newcastle |
| 1931 | Leeds Lions |
| 1932–1936 | Wembley Lions |
| Team honours | |
| 1932 | National League Champion |
| 1932 | National Trophy Winner |
| 1932, 1933 | London Cup Winner |
Alexander Gordon Byers (7 November 1911 – 20 December 2008) was an international motorcycle speedway rider from England. He was one of the early pioneers of speedway in Britain.[1][2][3]
Speedway career[edit]
Byers started riding motorcycles in Sunderland, aged 14[2] He rode in the inaugural meeting of Newcastle Speedway on 17 May 1929 when the club joined the 1929 Speedway English Dirt Track League.[1] He helped Newcastle to a fourth place position in the league.[4]
The following season he stayed with Newcastle (in Gosforth) for the 1930 Speedway Northern League[5] before joining Leeds Lions for the 1931 Speedway Northern League, he was Leeds' leading rider as the team finished runner up to Belle Vue Aces.[6]
In 1932, he was considered one of Britain's leading riders and finished fourth in the 1932 Star Riders' Championship, which was the unofficial world championship of the world.[7] He also joined the Wembley Lions who were considered the leading club at the time. He was a member of the team that won the 1932 Speedway National League.
He was selected by England becoming their youngest test rider and riding for them over the next two years.[2] He continued to ride for Wembley from 1933 to 1936 and only suffered one poor period when he sustained leg and eye injuries.[2] In August 1936 he broke the Cleveland Park track record and beat the soon to be world champion Jack Milne in a race.[8] He signed for Wembley again for the 1937 season but failed to break into the team due to the fact that it contained many world stars at the time.
At retirement he had earned 3 international caps for the Great Britain national speedway team.[3]
He joined the Royal Navy in 1939 and married in 1949.[9]
Players cigarette cards[edit]
Byers is listed as number 4 of 50 in the 1930s Player's cigarette card collection.[2]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "80th Anniversary Newcastle Speedway". Newcastle Speedway. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "Speedway Riders 4 Gordon Byers". Speedway Museum Online. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
- ^ a b "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
- ^ "1929 season" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
- ^ "1930 season". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
- ^ "1931 season" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
- ^ Bamford, R. & Stallworthy, D. (2003) Speedway – The Pre War Years, Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2749-0
- ^ "Americans defeated". Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette. 29 August 1936. Retrieved 21 January 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Speedway Star married". Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette. 30 April 1949. Retrieved 21 January 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.