Split Waterman
Born | New Malden, England | 27 July 1923
---|---|
Died | 8 October 2019 Spain | (aged 96)
Nationality | British (English) |
Career history | |
1947–1949, 1956 | Wembley Lions |
1950–1954 | Harringay Racers |
1955 | West Ham Hammers |
1957 | Wimbledon Dons |
1958 | Southampton Saints |
1960–1961 | New Cross Rangers |
1962 | Ipswich Witches |
1962 | Belle Vue Aces |
Individual honours | |
1948 | London Riders' Championship |
Team honours | |
1947, 1949 | National League Champion |
1948, 1952 | National Trophy winner |
1947 | British Speedway Cup winner |
1948, 1949, 1952, 1953 | London Cup winner |
1953 | Coronation Cup winner |
Squire Francis Waterman (27 July 1923 – 8 October 2019),[1] better known as Split Waterman, was an English speedway rider who twice finished second in the Speedway World Championship final.[2][3] Waterman took up speedway while serving in the British Army in Italy and went on to become one of the top riders of the post-war era. He made the headlines again in the late 1960s when he was convicted of gold smuggling and firearms offences.
Biography
Born in
Wartime service
Waterman applied to join the
Speedway career
Waterman began his career with the Wembley Lions in 1947, moving up from reserve to the main body of the team within two weeks,[8] and winning the National League Championship.[9] In 1948 the Lions won the National Trophy and Waterman won the prestigious London Riders' Championship,[10] as well as making his debut for England against Australia.[5][11] Waterman earned more than £3,000 in his second season as a speedway rider.[8] The Lions won the League Championship again in 1949.
In February 1950, Waterman transferred to the Harringay Racers for a then world record transfer fee of £3,000 (£1,000 more than the previous highest fee, paid for Alec Statham),[12] and qualified for his first of five World finals, finishing seventh.[9] In 1951, he qualified again and, after finishing level on points with Jack Young and Jack Biggs, the three had to race off against each other to decide the championship. Young headed home Waterman followed by Biggs.[2] He won the Match Race Championship in August 1951, taking the title from Jack Parker.[5][13] He successfully defended the title twice (against Aub Lawson and Jack Young) before relinquishing it due to injury.[5]
Waterman began the 1952 season by winning the W. J. Cearns Memorial Trophy at Wimbledon.
In 1957, he was on the move again to the Wimbledon Dons. After six appearances for the Dons he was dropped from the team in July and as a result announced his retirement from speedway.[18] He returned, however, in 1958, riding in five meetings for the Southampton Saints.[19] Waterman did not ride at all in 1959 but made a surprising return in 1960 for the New Cross Rangers. In January 1961, he took out a writ alleging misrepresentation against Premier Promotions, who had billed the wrestler Bert "Split" Waterman as "Split Waterman, ex-speedway star" in an advertisement for one of their wrestling events, which reportedly attracted hundreds of New Cross speedway fans as a result.[20] He rode for the Rangers again in 1961 before finally ending his career after a couple of short spells with the Ipswich Witches and the Belle Vue Aces in 1962.[21]
Waterman rode in thirty Test matches for England and captained the team in the 1953 series against Australia.[22]
Later life
After speedway, Waterman went into business in
In 1967, he was arrested at
Waterman married Avril on 15 September 1970 at Caxton Hall in London,[5][27] and they later lived in Nerja on the Costa del Sol, Spain.[4] In 1977, Waterman was imprisoned in Italy after being convicted of possession of forged Spanish pesetas with a value equivalent to £500,000, as part of a plot to bring down the government of Francisco Franco.[28]
He died on 8 October 2019 at the age of 96.[4]
World final appearances
- 1950 - London, Wembley Stadium - 7th - 8pts
- 1951 - London, Wembley Stadium - 2nd - 12pts + 2pts
- 1952 - London, Wembley Stadium - 12th - 6pts
- 1953 - London, Wembley Stadium - 2nd - 13pts
- 1954 - London, Wembley Stadium - 5th - 9pts [2]
References
- ^ "Obituaries". The Daily Telegraph. 23 October 2019.
- ^ ISBN 0-7524-2402-5
- ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Burford, Brian (2019) "Squire Francis 'Split' Waterman (1923–2019) Speedway Star, 19 October 2019, pp. 43–45
- ^ ISBN 978-0-9558624-0-3, p. 143-150
- ^ ""Split" Waterman". Sports Argus. 21 May 1949. Retrieved 19 October 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ a b Morgan, Tom (1949) Who's Who in Speedway 1949, Sport-in-Print, p. 71-2
- ^ a b "Success Story". The Daily Mirror. 25 March 1949. Retrieved 19 October 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ ISBN 0-7524-2221-9
- ^ "Speedstar No. 2: Split Waterman". The Daily Mirror. 26 January 1949. Retrieved 19 October 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ ISBN 0-7524-2438-6
- ^ "Parker Beaten at New Cross". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 2 August 1951. Retrieved 16 October 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "Top Speed Fee". The Daily Mirror. 14 February 1950. Retrieved 16 October 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive. - ^ "Parker Beaten at New Cross". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 2 August 1951. Retrieved 19 October 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Speedway Win for Waterman". The Daily Herald. 8 April 1952. Retrieved 19 October 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Fred Williams Speedway's New Champion". The Daily Herald. 18 September 1953. Retrieved 19 October 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Speedway Strike Off: Waterman is New Chairman". The Daily Herald. 6 April 1954. Retrieved 19 October 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Jack Biggs Joins First Division Poole". The Daily Herald. 28 March 1956. Retrieved 16 October 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Split Says 'I Quit'". The Daily Mirror. 2 July 1957. Retrieved 16 October 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Split Waterman Welcomed Back". Norwood News. 2 May 1958. Retrieved 16 October 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Speedway Split So Mad". The Daily Herald. 24 January 1961. Retrieved 16 October 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ISBN 0-7524-3192-7
- ISBN 0-85429-210-1, p. 64
- ^ "Stolen Gold Arms Hong Kong Reds". The Sun. 16 August 1967. pp. 1, 2. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
- . Bedfordshire on Sunday. 14 June 2010. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
- ^ Glasgow Herald. 20 March 1968. p. 7. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
- ^ "'Split' Waterman Showed How Case Worked: Allegation". The Belfast Telegraph. 19 July 1958. Retrieved 16 October 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Speedway star 'Split' weds his sweetheart after twenty years". The Daily Mirror. 16 September 1970. Retrieved 16 October 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Forgery plot 'to crush Franco'". The Newcastle Journal. 28 January 1978. Retrieved 16 October 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.