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Eric Williams (speedway rider)

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Eric Williams
Born(1927-11-17)17 November 1927
Taibach, Port Talbot, Wales
Died24 July 2009(2009-07-24) (aged 81)
Mackay, Queensland, Australia
NationalityBritish (Welsh)
Career history
1948Birmingham Brummies
1949Cradley Heathens
1950-1955Wembley Lions
1960-1961New Cross Rangers
1962Norwich Stars
Individual honours
1951, 1953, 1955Speedway World Championship finalist
Team honours
1950, 1951, 1952, 1953League Champion
1954National Trophy Winner
1950, 1951, 1954London Cup

William Eric Williams (17 November 1927 – 24 July 2009) was a motorcycle speedway rider from Wales.[1] With no Welsh team to represent, he earned 23 international caps for the England national speedway team.[2]

Speedway career

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Williams was a leading speedway rider in the 1950s. He reached the final of the Speedway World Championship on three occasions in the 1951 Individual Speedway World Championship, 1953 Individual Speedway World Championship and 1955 Individual Speedway World Championship.[3]

Williams rode in the top tiers of British Speedway, starting with Birmingham Brummies in 1948.[4] He rode primarily for Wembley Lions,[5] where he achieved great success as part of the Wembley team that dominated British speedway from 1950 to 1953. With them he won three National League titles, a national Trophy and three London Cups.[6] He also averaged 9.66 and 9.79 in 1953 and 1954 respectively.[7]

World Final appearances

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Individual World Championship

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  • 1951England London, Wembley Stadium – 12th - 6pts
  • 1953England London, Wembley Stadium – 13th - 4pts
  • 1955England London, Wembley Stadium – 4th - 12+1pts

Family

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His two brothers, Freddie Williams and Ian Williams were also speedway riders, Freddie was a double World champion.[8][9]

References

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  1. ^ "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX". British Speedway. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  2. ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  3. ^ "World Speedway finals" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  4. ^ "Little Eric is big speed find". Daily Mirror. 23 January 1948. Retrieved 5 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ "History Archive". British Speedway. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  6. ^ Oakes, Peter (1978). 1978 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. ISBN 978-0904584509.
  7. ^ "Rider averages 1929 to 2009" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  8. ^ "The Williams brothers". Defunct Speedway. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  9. ^ "Cornish Stadium speedway". Newquay Express and Cornwall County Chronicle. 1 May 1952. Retrieved 5 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.