Bob Oakley

Bob Oakley
Born(1921-12-31)31 December 1921
Southampton, Hampshire
Died1 November 1999(1999-11-01) (aged 77)
Winchester, Hampshire
NationalityBritish (English)
Career history
1947-1950Southampton Saints
1950-1954Wembley Lions
1954Norwich Stars
Individual honours
1952Speedway World Championship bronze medal
Team honours
1950, 1951, 1952National League Champion
1948National Trophy (tier 3)
1950, 1951London Cup

Robert Lawford Oakley (1921-1999) was an English motorcycle speedway rider.[1] He earned one international cap for the England national speedway team.[2]

Speedway career

Oakley was a leading speedway rider in the late 1950s. He reached the final of the Speedway World Championship in the 1952 Individual Speedway World Championship and went on to win the bronze medal.[3]

He rode in the top tier of British Speedway, riding for Wembley Lions who he joined from Southampton Saints for £1,500 in July 1950.[4][5] With the Wembley team he won three league championships for three consecutive years from 1950 to 1952.[6]

World Final appearances

Family

His brother Tom Oakley was also a speedway rider.[7][8]

References

  1. ^ "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX". British. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  2. ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  3. ^ "World Speedway finals" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  4. ^ "History Archive". British Speedway. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Oakley to ride for Wembley". Daily Herald. 29 July 1950. Retrieved 5 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ "Rider averages 1929 to 2009" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  7. ^ "Speedway Challange". Liverpool Echo. 10 October 1949. Retrieved 4 October 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ "Tom & Bob Oakley". Defunct Speedway. Retrieved 5 July 2021.