Eric Williams (speedway rider)

William Eric Williams (17 November 1927 – 24 July 2009) was a motorcycle speedway rider from Wales.^[1] With no Welsh team to represent, he earned 23 international caps for the England national speedway team.^[2]

Eric Williams

Born	(1927-11-17)17 November 1927 Taibach, Port Talbot, Wales
Died	24 July 2009(2009-07-24) (aged 81) Mackay, Queensland, Australia
Nationality	British (Welsh)
Career history
1948	Birmingham Brummies
1949	Cradley Heathens
1950-1955	Wembley Lions
1960-1961	New Cross Rangers
1962	Norwich Stars
Individual honours
1951, 1953, 1955	Speedway World Championship finalist
Team honours
1950, 1951, 1952, 1953	League Champion
1954	National Trophy Winner
1950, 1951, 1954	London Cup

Speedway career

Williams was a leading speedway rider in the 1950s. He reached the final of the Speedway World Championship on three occasions in the 1951 Individual Speedway World Championship, 1953 Individual Speedway World Championship and 1955 Individual Speedway World Championship.^[3]

Williams rode in the top tiers of British Speedway, starting with Birmingham Brummies in 1948.^[4] He rode primarily for Wembley Lions,^[5] where he achieved great success as part of the Wembley team that dominated British speedway from 1950 to 1953. With them he won three National League titles, a national Trophy and three London Cups.^[6] He also averaged 9.66 and 9.79 in 1953 and 1954 respectively.^[7]

World Final appearances

Individual World Championship

• 1951 – London, Wembley Stadium – 12th - 6pts
• 1953 – London, Wembley Stadium – 13th - 4pts
• 1955 – London, Wembley Stadium – 4th - 12+1pts

Family

His two brothers, Freddie Williams and Ian Williams were also speedway riders, Freddie was a double World champion.^[8][9]

References

1. "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX". British Speedway. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
2. "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
3. "World Speedway finals" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
4. "Little Eric is big speed find". Daily Mirror. 23 January 1948. Retrieved 5 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
5. "History Archive". British Speedway. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
6. Oakes, Peter (1978). 1978 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. ISBN 978-0904584509.
7. "Rider averages 1929 to 2009" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
8. "The Williams brothers". Defunct Speedway. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
9. "Cornish Stadium speedway". Newquay Express and Cornwall County Chronicle. 1 May 1952. Retrieved 5 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.