Jack Young (speedway rider)
Encyclopedia
Jack Ellis Young was a Motorcycle speedway
rider who won the Speedway World Championship
in 1951 and 1952. He also won the London Riders' Championship
1953 and 1954 and was a nine time South Australian Champion between 1948 and 1964.
in test matches against England. Quickly proving himself to be one of the best riders in Adelaide, Jack would win his first South Australian Championship in 1948. He would go on to win the SA Championship again in 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1963 and 1964, all at Rowley Park Speedway
. Young would win the Queensland
State Championship in 1953 and the Victoria
n State Championship in 1957.
Despite his two World Championships, nine South Australian Championships and the Queensland and Victorian titles, Jack Young would never win or even place in the Australian Individual Speedway Championship.
Jack Young announced his retirement from Speedway in 1964 on the night he won his ninth and last SA Championship.
in 1949 after they paid his fare to come over for a trial. He scored a full maxiumum on his debuts, winning all six of his rides. In 1951 he made history by becoming the first second division rider to become World Champion
. Jack Young was a prolific scorer and collected many track records during his career.
In 1952 Young moved up a division by joining the West Ham Hammers
and retained his World title. He stayed with the Hammers until the end of the 1955 season. He stayed in Australia
for the next two seasons, but in 1958 he returned to the UK to ride for the Coventry Bees
. After returning home to Australia
in 1959 he rode for the Bees again in 1960 and 1961.
on 28 August 1987 at the age of sixty two. The Jack Young Solo cup is held in his honor every year at the Gillman Speedway
in Adelaide.
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 Speedway World Championship
Speedway 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...
in 1951 and 1952. He also 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...
1953 and 1954 and was a nine time South Australian Champion between 1948 and 1964.
Australia
Jack Young started racing solo's at Adelaide's Kilburn Speedway in 1947 alongside older brother Wally "Joey" Young (b. 1916 - d. 1990) and younger brother Frank. Jack and Frank both represented AustraliaAustralia national speedway team
Australia are one of the major teams in international speedway. The team is managed by former rider, three time Australian Champion and 1994 World #3 Craig Boyce and captained by three time Speedway World Champion Jason Crump...
in test matches against England. Quickly proving himself to be one of the best riders in Adelaide, Jack would win his first South Australian Championship in 1948. He would go on to win the SA Championship again in 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1963 and 1964, all at Rowley Park Speedway
Rowley park speedway
Rowley Park Speedway is a former Dirt track racing venue that was located on Torrens Road in Brompton, South Australia, The speedway was named after Mr Enoch Procter Rowley, an English-born Dentist who moved to Adelaide from Kalgoorlie in 1908 where he had forged a reputation as being Western...
. Young would win the Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
State Championship in 1953 and the Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
n State Championship in 1957.
Despite his two World Championships, nine South Australian Championships and the Queensland and Victorian titles, Jack Young would never win or even place in the Australian Individual Speedway Championship.
Jack Young announced his retirement from Speedway in 1964 on the night he won his ninth and last SA Championship.
United Kingdom
After winning the South Australian championship in 1948 at Adelaide's Kilburn Speedway, as well as impressive displays for Australia in Test's against England, Jack Young had the attention of British promoters. He was signed by the Edinburgh MonarchsEdinburgh Monarchs
The Edinburgh Monarchs are a Scottish Speedway team, currently based in Armadale. They compete in the Speedway Premier League, racing on Friday nights during the Speedway season. The club is run by a Board of Directors, chaired by Alex Harkess. The team manager is Alan "Doc" Bridgett...
in 1949 after they paid his fare to come over for a trial. He scored a full maxiumum on his debuts, winning all six of his rides. In 1951 he made history by becoming the first second division rider to become World Champion
Speedway 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...
. Jack Young was a prolific scorer and collected many track records during his career.
In 1952 Young moved up a division by joining 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....
and retained his World title. He stayed with the Hammers until the end of the 1955 season. He stayed in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
for the next two seasons, but in 1958 he returned to the UK to ride for the Coventry Bees
Coventry Bees
The Coventry Bees are a motorcycle speedway team based at Brandon near Coventry, England. A Coventry team was first formed in 1928 and competed in the Southern League and then the National League in the pre-war era at Brandon stadium. There were also meetings at a stadium in Lythalls Lane...
. After returning home to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 1959 he rode for the Bees again in 1960 and 1961.
Career Highlights
- 2 times World Champion
- 3 times Scottish Open Champion
- 9 times South Australian Champion
- 1 time Victorian Champion
- 1 time Queensland Champion
- 2 times London Riders' Champion
- 12 times in succession British Match Race Champion over a two-year period, unbeaten in 33 successive meetings in Britain
- Holds the record for the highest points won in a season in Britain.
World Final Appearances
- 19501950 Individual Speedway World ChampionshipThe 1950 Individual Speedway World Championship.Speedway riders from New Zealand, Wales and Republic of Ireland was started in World Championship first time.:# Freddie Williams# Wally Green# Graham Warren-Qualification:...
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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 - 8th - 7pts - 19511951 Individual Speedway World ChampionshipThe 1951 Individual Speedway World Championship.Speedway riders from Sweden, Scotland and Republic of South Africa was started in World Championship first time...
- 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 - Winner - 12pts+3pts - 19521952 Individual Speedway World ChampionshipThe 1952 Individual Speedway World Championship.Speedway riders from Sweden, Scotland and Republic of South Africa was starters in World Championship first time.# Jack Young # Freddie Williams # Bob Oakley...
- 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 - Winner - 14pts - 19531953 Individual Speedway World ChampionshipThe 1953 Individual Speedway World Championship.-World final:*17 September 1953 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 - 5th - 10pts - 19541954 Individual Speedway World ChampionshipThe 1954 Individual Speedway World Championship.-World final:*September 15, 1954 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 - 4th - 11pts - 19551955 Individual Speedway World ChampionshipThe 1955 Individual Speedway World Championship.-World final:*September 15, 1955 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 - 7th - 10pts - 19601960 Individual Speedway World ChampionshipThe 1960 Individual Speedway World Championship.-World final:*September 8, 1960 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 - 10th - 6pts - 19611961 Individual Speedway World ChampionshipThe 1961 Individual Speedway World Championship.-World final:*September 15, 1961 Malmö, Malmö Stadion...
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Sweden MalmöMalmöMalmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
, Malmö StadionMalmö StadionMalmö Stadion is a multi-purpose stadium in Malmö, Sweden which is currently the home of Swedish football Division 4 club IFK Malmö and athletics club MAI...
- Reserve - Did not Ride
Death
Jack died of a lung disorder in Adelaide's Modbury HospitalModbury Hospital
Modbury Hospital is a 174-bed, acute care teaching hospital that provides inpatient, outpatient and emergency services to a population of nearly 200,000 people living primarily in Adelaide’s north-eastern suburbs....
on 28 August 1987 at the age of sixty two. The Jack Young Solo cup is held in his honor every year at the Gillman Speedway
Gillman Speedway
Gillman Speedway is a purpose built motorcycle speedway located in the Adelaide suburb of Gillman in South Australia.The closure of the nearby North Arm Speedway at the end of the 1996-97 season left Adelaide without a venue for motorcycle speedway for the first time in almost 80 years. David...
in Adelaide.