Arthur Price (speedway rider)

Arthur Price
Born (1946-04-30) 30 April 1946 (age 78)
Wolverhampton, England
NationalityBritish (English)
Career history
1968Nelson Admirals
1968Crayford Kestrels
1969–1978King's Lynn Stars II/Boston Barracudas
1970–1973King's Lynn Stars
1974–1978Cradley United/Heathens
1978Workington Comets
1979Scunthorpe Stags
1980Nottingham Outlaws
1981Oxford Cheetahs
Individual honours
1973Second Division Riders Champion
Team honours
1973British League Division Two Champion
1973British League Div Two KO Cup Winner
1973Spring Gold Cup winner

Arthur Malcolm Price (born 30 April 1946) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England. He won the Second Division Riders Championship in 1973 and made three appearances for the England national speedway team.[1]

Biography

Born in Wolverhampton, Price began his speedway career in 1968, signing for British League team Wolverhampton Wolves and making his competitive debut on loan to Division Two teams Crayford Kestrels and Nelson Admirals.[2] In 1969, he moved on to King's Lynn Stars, moving up with the team into Division One of the British League in 1970, while continuing to ride in Division Two for Boston Barracudas. He was selected to represent Young England in 1971 against Czechoslovakia.[3]

In 1972, he finished runner-up (after a run-off) to Phil Crump, in the British League Division Two Riders Championship, after both riders finished on 12 points. He made up for the unlucky loss by winning the Rider's Championship, held at Wimbledon Stadium on 6 October 1973.[4] Price was a popular rider with the fans and had his own female fan club.[5]

The following season in 1973, he won the League and Cup double with Boston.[2] Price competed in the Second Division Riders final for four consecutive years between 1970 and 1973.[2]

In 1974, he transferred to Cradley United, scoring solidly at an average of 5.56 points in his first season for the club and improving to a league average of 8.00 in 1975.[2]

This level of performance was not maintained in subsequent years and in 1978 he dropped down to the National League with Workington Comets, finishing the season as the team's highest-averaged rider on 8.63.[6] After seasons with Scunthorpe Stags, Nottingham Outlaws, and Oxford Cheetahs he retired in 1981.

He represented the Division Two-level 'Young England' team between 1969 and 1973, and progressed to the full England team in 1974 in a match against the Soviet Union.[2] He represented England again in 1975 against Poland.[2] In all, he represented Young England in 28 matches and the full England team in three.[7]

References

  1. ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Oakes, Peter & Mauger, Ivan (1976) Who's Who of World Speedway, Studio Publications, ISBN 0-904584-04-6, p. 91-92
  3. ^ "Young England". Sports Argus. 31 July 1971. Retrieved 6 October 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ^ "Price takes Crump's crown". Lynn Advertiser. 9 October 1973. Retrieved 16 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ "Girls form fan club for speedway's Arthur Price". Lynn Advertiser. 15 February 1972. Retrieved 4 October 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ Oakes, Peter (1991) The Complete History of the British League, Front Page Books, ISBN 0-94888207-7, p. 64
  7. ^ Oakes, Peter (1982) 1982 Speedway Yearbook, Studio Publications, ISBN 0-86215-072-8, p. 259