Wilbur Lamoreaux

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Wilbur Lamoreaux
SLNSW 21248 Motorcyclist Wilbur Lammy Lamoreaux taken for Empire Speedways.jpg
Lamoreaux in 1937
Born(1907-02-26)26 February 1907
Roseville, Illinois
Died11 May 1963(1963-05-11) (aged 56)
NicknameLammy
NationalityAmerican
Career history
1937-1939 Wimbledon Dons
1948 Wembley Lions
1949 Birmingham Brummies
Individual honours
1938 NSW State Champion
1939 Scottish Champion
1946 AMA National Champion
Team honours
1938, 1948National Trophy
1938, 1939, 1948London Cup

Wilbur Leonard Lamoreaux [1] (born 26 February 1907 in Roseville, Illinois, United States - died 11 May 1963) was an international motorcycle speedway rider who qualified for three Speedway World Championship finals and never finished lower than fifth place. [2] [3]

Contents

Early life

At an early age his family moved to Pasadena, California. Lamoreaux became a motorcycle enthusiast and he finally convinced his mother to allow him to buy an Indian Scout in 1923, when he was only 16 years old. He became a motorcycle messenger for Western Union. While working at Western Union that he met fellow Pasadenans, brothers Jack and Cordy Milne. [1]

Career

Nicknamed 'Lammy', he competed in California in the mid-1930s, and rode for the Wimbledon Dons from 1937 [4] until the outbreak of World War II. [5] He won the Scottish Championship in 1939. [5] During World War II he promoted speedway in the US, and in 1946 won the American National Championship in Los Angeles. [5] After the war, he was persuaded by Sir Arthur Elvin not to retire and rode for them Wembley Lions in 1948. In 1949 he spent a season with the Birmingham Brummies, [2] and also qualified for the Speedway World Championship, ten years after his last appearance and forty two years of age, was the oldest competitor. He finished in fifth place, although an engine failure cost him his third rostrum finish in three finals.

Wilbur Lamoreaux also rode in Australia during his career, finishing second to 1938 World Champion Bluey Wilkinson in both the 1938 Three and Four Lap Australian Championships at the Sydney Showground Speedway. In 1938, Lamoreaux also won the NSW State Championship at the Sydney Showground. [6] He also represented the USA in test matches against the Australians at other tracks around the country including the Sydney Sports Ground and Olympic Park in Melbourne.

World Final appearances

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References

  1. 1 2 "Wilbur Lamoreaux". The AMA's Hall of Fame Museum. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
  2. 1 2 Buck, B (2007) Brummies Legends, Pendragon Books. ISBN   0-9541671-2-0
  3. ↑ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  4. ↑ "American Speedway Star for Harringay" . Evening Despatch. 5 March 1937. Retrieved 1 September 2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. 1 2 3 Sandys, Leonard (1948) Broadside to Fame! The Drama of the Speedways, Findon, p. 22
  6. ↑ "Titles".
  7. ↑ Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN   0-7524-2402-5
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