George Hunter (30 January 1939 – 11 May 1999) was a motorcycle speedway rider.[1] He earned 28 caps for the Scotland national speedway team, 17 international caps for the England national speedway team and 16 caps for the Great Britain team.[2]
 | |
| Born | 30 January 1939 Ladybank, Fife, Scotland |
|---|---|
| Died | 11 May 1999 (aged 60) |
| Nationality | British (Scottish) |
| Career history | |
| 1958 | Lanarkshire Eagles |
| 1960-1967, 1980-1981, 1983 | Edinburgh Monarchs |
| 1968-1969 | Coatbridge Monarchs |
| 1970 | Newcastle Diamonds |
| 1971-1972 | Glasgow Tigers |
| 1972-1977, 1979-1980 | Wolverhampton Wolves |
| 1978-1979 | Oxford Cheetahs |
| 1982 | Berwick Bandits |
| Individual honours | |
| 1964 | Scottish Open Champion |
| Team honours | |
| 1973 | Midland Cup |
| 1981 | National League KO Cup winner |
Career
editHunter's early career was on grass. He joined Motherwell Speedway team in 1958 and moved to Edinburgh Monarchs in 1960. Known as the "Ladybank Express", he rode in 360 league matches for the Monarchs over his lifetime career.[3]
In 1963, he was leading the former world champion Peter Craven in the final race of a challenge match between Edinburgh and Belle Vue at Old Meadowbank when his engine seized. After taking evasive action Craven may have clipped Hunter's wheel before crashing through the fence and suffering fatal injuries.
Hunter narrowly missed out on being the 1963 Provincial League Riders Champion, suffering an engine failure while leading in the final. Ivan Mauger took the title.[4]
Edinburgh became the Coatbridge Monarchs for the 1968 and 1969 seasons before Hunter left the club to join Newcastle Diamonds in 1970.[5] In 1971, Newcastle dropped out of the league and most of Newcastle's riders were allocated to Reading Racers but Hunter along with Russ Dent and Mike Watkin were left without a club.[6] Hunter switched to the Glasgow Tigers for 1971 and 1972 and completed two seasons with significant averages of 8.29 and 8.41 respectively.[7]
Having been part of the Midland Cup winning Wolverhampton Wolves in 1973, he might have expected to win it again in 1975 when Wolves only lost to Oxford Rebels by 2 points away and might have expected to win at home and thereby win on aggregate. However, George was not present for the second leg at Monmore Green, Wolves lost at home by 1 point and on aggregate by 3.[8]
In 1976, Hunter was a British Finalist for the third time, having previously reached the final in 1966 and 1967.
He retired in 1983.
Personal life
editHunter was born in Ladybank, Fife, Scotland. He and his wife, Barbara, have a daughter, Natalie. Also two children Scott and Gillian from his first marriage. He died of cancer in 1999.
World Final appearances
editWorld Pairs Championship
edit- 1971 -
Rybnik, Rybnik Municipal Stadium (with Jim McMillan) - 5th - 16pts (5) - 1976 -
Eskilstuna, Eskilstuna Motorstadion (with Jim McMillan) - 6th - 12pts (2)
References
edit- ^ Lawson,K (2018) “Riders, Teams and Stadiums”. ISBN 978-0-244-72538-9
- ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
- ^ "Rider averages 1929 to 2009" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
- ^ "Squibb & Cox not in hunt". Express and Echo. 30 September 1963. Retrieved 13 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
- ^ "Speedway". Newcastle Evening Chronicle. 15 March 1971. Retrieved 2 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Rider averages 1929 to 2009" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
- ^ Lawson,K (2018) “Rebels 1975 – The Last Season”. ISBN 978-0-244-99725-0