Joe Francis (speedway rider)

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Joe Francis
Born7 February 1907 (1907-02-07)
Lea Bridge Cubs
Individual honours
1931London Riders' Championship
Team honours
1938League champions
1931, 1934, 1937London Cup

Joseph Thomas Francis (7 February 1907 – July 1985) was an international

England national speedway team.[1]

Biography

Francis born in Kent during 1907, was a rider in the early pioneer days of speedway in Great Britain and raced in 1928, before crowds in excess of 20,000 and a year before the leagues were even introduced.[2] He began league racing for the Crystal Palace Glaziers during the inaugural 1929 Speedway Southern League.[3]

He spent five seasons with Crystal Palace, becoming a regular rider at the club[4] and helped them win the 1931 London Cup.[5] In 1931, he also won the prestigious London Riders' Championship at his home track.[6]

In 1934, the Crystal Palace promotion and team relocated to New Cross and became the

New Cross Lambs. Francis stayed with the team during the move and won a second London Cup.[7] He would stay with New Cross (now called the Rangers) for another six years until the end of his career and won the 1938 Speedway National League title with New Cross.[8]

He was effectively a one club man with the exception of a few rides for

Lea Bridge Cubs in 1938. By trade he was a motocycle dealer based at Eltham.[9]

References

  1. ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  2. ^ "Nearly 43 M.P.H.". Norwood News. 27 July 1928. Retrieved 24 November 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ^ "1929 season results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  4. ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  5. ^ "Wembley lose London Cup". Bayswater Chronicle. 26 September 1931. Retrieved 24 November 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ISBN 0-86215-017-5
    .
  7. ^ "New Cross win London Cup". Daily Herald. 26 September 1934. Retrieved 24 November 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ "Rider averages 1929 to 2009" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  9. ^ "New Cross". Defunct Speedway. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joe_Francis_(speedway_rider)&oldid=1218101885"