Eric Chitty
Encyclopedia
Motorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. Speedway motorcycles use only one gear and have no brakes and racing takes place on a flat oval track usually...
rider who won the London Riders' Championship
London Riders' Championship
The London Riders' Championship was an individual speedway competition for top riders of teams from London. It was a very prestigious competition, especially in its early days. However, as the number of teams from London dwindled, so did interest in the competition. The last competition wast held...
in 1938.
Early days
Eric started speedway racing in 1930 in Detroit, ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in the USA. In 1935 he came to the UK for a trial with the West Ham Hammers
West Ham Hammers
The West Ham Hammers were a speedway team, first promoted by Jimmy Baxter in 1929.. They operated from the West Ham Stadium until the outbreak of World War II under several different promotions, most successfully under the control of Johnnie Hoskins....
. He was not successful in his trial and was looking for other employment when the West Ham promoter Johnnie Hoskins
Johnnie Hoskins
Johnnie S. Hoskins MBE is the man who is considered to have 'invented' motorcycle speedway. If it cannot be established he invented the sport, he certainly played the largest role in promoting the sport in the United Kingdom.-Early life:He left school at thirteen and worked on a farm and then as...
gave him another chance, which he took. He was offered a contract by the Hammers.
World Championship
Chitty qualified for the World FinalSpeedway World Championship
The World Championship of Speedway is an international competition between the highest ranked motorcycle speedway riders of the world. Today, it is organised as a series of Speedway Grand Prix events, where points are awarded according to performance in the event and tallied up at the end of each...
held at the famous Wembley Stadium in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1937
1937 Individual Speedway World Championship
The 1937 Individual Speedway World Championship.-World final:*September 2, 1937 London, Wembley Stadium...
, finishing 12th with 15 points. He failed to qualify in 1938
1938 Individual Speedway World Championship
The 1938 Individual Speedway World Championship.-World final:*September 1, 1938 London, Wembley Stadium...
but qualified again for the World Final in 1939
1939 Individual Speedway World Championship
The 1939 Individual Speedway World Championship was cancelled due to the outbreak of World War II.- Semi-Final results :...
. Unfortunately the 1939 Final was cancelled due to the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Wartime racing
During the war years he managed to race at Belle VueBelle Vue Aces
The Belle Vue Aces are a British speedway team from Manchester in the north west of England.-Brief history:Racing first took place in 1928 at the Belle Vue greyhound stadium in Kirkmanshulme Lane before moving the following year to a specially built stadium nearby on Hyde Road. The club raced there...
in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
which was the only track that ran all through the war. He won the unofficial British Individual Championship in 1940, '41 and '42, the Belle Vue Grand Prix, the Northern Championship and the Hundred Guineas Trophy all in 1942. He also won the all English Best Pairs Championship in 1941 with Ron Johnson
Ron Johnson (speedway rider)
Ron Johnson was a speedway rider who won the London Riders' Championship in 1945 and in 1946 whilst with the New Cross Rangers....
and 1943 with Fred Tuck. In 1944 he won the National Trophy and also in 1944 he won the British Empire Best Pairs with Ron Clark.
After the war
In 1946 he rejoined West Ham and was made team captain. He was always the center of entertainment, often singing to the crowd and once even raced a cheetahCheetah
The cheetah is a large-sized feline inhabiting most of Africa and parts of the Middle East. The cheetah is the only extant member of the genus Acinonyx, most notable for modifications in the species' paws...
. He retired in 1952.
World Final appearances
- 19371937 Individual Speedway World ChampionshipThe 1937 Individual Speedway World Championship.-World final:*September 2, 1937 London, Wembley Stadium...
–
United Kingdom LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Wembley Stadium – 12th – 4pts + 11 Semi-final pts - 19391939 Individual Speedway World ChampionshipThe 1939 Individual Speedway World Championship was cancelled due to the outbreak of World War II.- Semi-Final results :...
– United Kingdom LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Wembley Stadium - Event cancelled due to World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...