Joe P. Abbott, Burnley speedway rider 1929

iBase ID

277181

Reference identifier

EBU20180918001

Title

Joe P. Abbott, Burnley speedway rider 1929

Place

Burnley

Personal names

Joe Abbott, Joseph Patrick Abbott, Eva Asquith, Douglas

General notes

Photo is dated April 1929, (or possibly May). The first official fixture on the brand new speedway track at Towneley was held on 10 April 1929, The track was inside an existing greyhound track, but was a failure and only hosted six meetings. Speedway had arrived in Britain from Australia in 1928 and by 1929 tracks were opening up around the country and leagues being formed, with the sport proving very popular pre-war. Joe became known as the Iron Man of Speedway and Mad Jack for his dare-devil and risk-taking riding. His obituary published in the Burnley Express on 5th July 1950 describes him as a world famous speedway rider, and tells of his very successful career riding for such as Preston, Belle Vue and the English team and also in Australia . In an event at Preston on 29th June, 1929 he also raced three times against the British women's champion, Eva Asquith of Leeds. Abbot narrowly won the first, Asquith won the second, and Abbot won the third. He survived numerous serious crashes on the track, and also a head on car crash, earning the nickname "nine lives" but his luck ran out on Saturday 1st July 1950 at the Odsal Track in Bradford when he fell and was run over by a following rider. Douglas of Kingswood, Bristol, were the dominant manufacturer in the early days, of motor cycles specially adapted for speedway.

Medium

Photographic print

Colour

Monochrome

Original image size

12.5 x 16

Year of image

1929

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Locator

W656

Web link