Norman Parker was an international speedway

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 rode in the inaugural 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 1936 as a reserve.

Brief career summary

Born in Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, Parker joined Coventry

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...

 in 1929, and remained there until 1931 when he moved on to join the Southampton Saints

Southampton Saints

Southampton Saints were a speedway team which operated from 1928 until their closure in 1963. Their track was located at Banister Court Stadium in Southampton, Hampshire....

. He then moved to Clapton Saints

Lea Bridge (speedway)

Lea Bridge were a British speedway team that existed from 1928 to 1939-Brief history:They first competed in the Southern League in 1929 and were based at Lea Bridge Stadium, Leyton, London...

 and then the Harringay Tigers

Harringay Racers (speedway)

The Harringay Racers were a motorcycle speedway team who raced at the Harringay Stadium from 1947 until 1954 in the National League Division One....

. He and his brother Jack rode in the same teams until the outbreak of war. Jack

Jack Parker (speedway rider)

Jack Parker was an international speedway rider who made his debut at the Whitsun meeting at High Beech in 1928. He was born in Birmingham England.-Brief career summary:...

. In 1934 Parker made his international debut for England

Great Britain national speedway team

The Great Britain national speedway team are one of the major teams in international speedway. The team is managed by Poole Pirates manager Neil Middleditch and the captain is Chris Harris of the Belle Vue Aces....

.

After the war Parker joined the Wimbledon Dons

Wimbledon Dons

The Wimbledon Dons were a professional motorcycle speedway team who operated from the Wimbledon Stadium, Plough Lane in London.The track opened in 1928 and the Dons operated there from 1929 until 1991. They were closed during the Second World War but upon their re-opening in 1946 there were 42,000...

 and was appointed captain. In 1949 he finished fourth in 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...

 and made his last World Final appearance in 1951.

World final appearances

• 1936
  1936 Individual Speedway World Championship
  The 1936 Individual Speedway World Championship was the first ever Speedway World Championship and was won by Lionel Van Praag of Australia. It was the first of a record 26 times that London's Wembley Stadium would host the World Final with the last being in 1981.*1936 Podium# Lionel Van Praag # ...
  
   -  United Kingdom 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...
  
  , Wembley Stadium - 18th - 1pt + 6 semi-final points
• 1949
  1949 Individual Speedway World Championship
  The 1949 Individual Speedway World Championship.-Qualification:# August 8, 1949 - London, Wimbledon Stadium# August 10, 1949 - London, New Cross Stadium# August 22, 1949 - Birmingham, Perry Barr Stadium# August 25, 1949 - London, Wembley Stadium...
  
   -  United Kingdom 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...
  
  , Wembley Stadium - 4th - 10pts
• 1951
  1951 Individual Speedway World Championship
  The 1951 Individual Speedway World Championship.Speedway riders from Sweden, Scotland and Republic of South Africa was started in World Championship first time...
  
   -  United Kingdom 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...
  
  , Wembley Stadium - 14th - 3pts