- Sprouts Elder
Lloyd 'Sprouts' Elder (born 4 August 1904 in
Fresno ,California ,USA - died 1957) was an internationalmotorcycle speedway rider.Bamford, R. & Stallworthy, D. (2003) "Speedway - The Pre War Years", Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2749-0]Career
Elder was one of speedway's pioneers and featured in the first
Star Riders' Championship , the forerunner to theSpeedway World Championship in 1929.He was beaten in the semi final of the 'overseas' section byVic Huxley . He also rode for theWest Ham Hammers . In 1931 he rode for theSouthampton Saints .Elder was also a pioneer of speedway racing in the USA. He was a champion rider at home and abroad during the 1920s and early 1930s. Elder helped organize speedway racing on the east and west coasts of America and later became an AMA referee and a member of the competition committee.
Elder learned to race racing on some of the last surviving board track racing circuits during the 1920s. In the late 1920s Elder really began to make a name for himself by racing overseas.cite web|url=http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/hofbiopage.asp?id=168|title=Sprots Elder|publisher=AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame|accessdate=2008-10-09]
In 1927 he won Australian Championship, against top Australian as well as several top British and American riders who also spent the winter months racing in the Australian summer. Elder also won titles in South America.
1928 saw Elder turn his attention to racing in the
United Kingdom , becoming one of the most popular riders in the country. He could command fees of £100 per meeting, plus prize money. Crowds of 30,000 to 40,000 were not uncommon at larger meetings during the heyday of speedway racing in England. Elder's popularity was revealed when the British paper "Speedway News" honoured Elder by calling him the greatest showman of all time.cite web|url=http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/hofbiopage.asp?id=168|title=Sprots Elder|publisher=AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame|accessdate=2008-10-09]During the mid-1930s, Elder returned to the United States to help organize American speedway. Speedway racing was among the popular forms of motorcycle racing in the country. Elder, along with
Wilbur Lamoreaux , Jack andCordy Milne , he helped found and promote speedway in America.cite web|url=http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/hofbiopage.asp?id=168|title=Sprots Elder|publisher=AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame|accessdate=2008-10-09]Retirement
Elder retired from racing after joining the
California Highway Patrol and was responsible for securing sponsorship from the Highway Patrol for a number of meetings. Elder retired from the patrol after suffering life-threatening injuries in a traffic accident. Even after retirement, Elder stayed involved with racing through his duties on the AMA Competition Committee.cite web|url=http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/hofbiopage.asp?id=168|title=Sprots Elder|publisher=AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame|accessdate=2008-10-09]Death
Elder died in 1957 after committing
suicide following the death of his wife.Bamford, R. & Stallworthy, D. (2003) "Speedway - The Pre War Years", Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2749-0] He was inducted into the AMAMotorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.External links
* [http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/hofbiopage.asp?id=168 AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame]
References
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