Bolesław Proch (4 February 1952 – 22 December 2012) was a Polish international

motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four clockwise, anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that ...

rider. He earned 15 international caps for the

Poland national speedway team The Poland national speedway team is the national motorcycle speedway team of Poland and is controlled by the Polish Motor Union ( PZM). They are one of the most successful speedway nations of all time. History The Polish speedway team parti ...

Early life and career

Born in

Świebodzin Świebodzin (; ) is a town in western Poland with 20,744 inhabitants (2024). It is the capital of Świebodzin County in Lubusz Voivodeship. Świebodzin is an important transportation hub, lying at the crossroads of the Polish National roads in P ...

, Proch first rode for Falubaz in his home town of

Zielona Góra Zielona Góra (; ''Green Mountain''; ) is the largest city in Lubusz Voivodeship, located in western Poland, with 140,403 inhabitants (). The region is closely associated with vineyards and holds an annual Zielona Góra Wine Fest, Wine Fest. Zie ...

in 1973, winning the Polish Junior Championship the following year and finishing fourth in the

Silver Helmet The Silver Helmet (, SK) is an annual speedway event held each year organised by the Polish Motor Union (PZM) since 1966. Previous winners * (+1971, all three riders finished on 54 points) References {{Speedway in Poland Helmet Silver< ...

tournament. In 1976 he rode in the

British League The British League was the main motorcycle speedway league in Britain from its formation in 1965 until 1995 when British speedway was restructured. It initially had a single division, with a British League Division Two, second division starting i ...

for

Reading Racers Reading Racers were a British motorcycle speedway team. Formed in 1968, they won four British League titles during their history. The club closed in October 2008 after the lease on Smallmead Stadium was sold and the site was demolished. His ...

averaging In ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by how many nu ...

over five points per match. In 1977, in mid-season, Reading were ordered to weaken their team as it was found to be exceeding the points limit set by the

BSPA The British Speedway Promoters Limited (BSPL) organises the domestic motorcycle speedway competitions in the United Kingdom. They are also responsible for the promotion and running of the FIM meetings staged in Britain. Wimbledon controller Ronn ...

which resulted in Proch moving to

Leicester Lions Leicester Lions are a speedway team which originally operated from 1968 until 1983Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''. and again from 2011. The team race at the Beaumont Park Stadium (or Hydroscand Arena for sponsorsh ...

in a deal that saw Doug Underwood moving to Reading.Jones, Alan (2010) ''Speedway in Leicester: The Lions Roar'', Automedia, p. 175 He returned to Poland where he rode for

Stal Gorzów Wielkopolski Stal Gorzów Wielkopolski is a Polish motorcycle speedway team from Gorzów Wielkopolski. The motorcycle speedway team is one of Poland's most accomplished teams – winning nine Team Speedway Polish Championships and ten Polish Pairs Speedway ...

(1977–1980) and

Polonia Bydgoszcz Polonia Bydgoszcz is a Polish sports club based in Bydgoszcz most known for its Motorcycle speedway, speedway team ŻKS Polonia Bydgoszcz which currently races in the Polish Speedway First League, 1. Liga. The club has won the Team Speedway Pol ...

(1981–1987).

World Final appearances

World Team Cup

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

– London,

White City Stadium White City Stadium in London, England, was built for the 1908 Summer Olympics. It hosted the finish of the first modern marathon and swimming, speedway, boxing, show jumping, athletics, stock car racing, concerts and a match at the 1966 FIFA W ...

(with

Edward Jancarz Edward 'Ed' Jancarz (20 August 1946 – 11 January 1992) was a Polish international Motorcycle speedway, speedway rider. He earned 76 international caps for the Poland speedway team. Career Jancarz participated in ten Speedway World Champion ...

Zenon Plech Zenon Plech (1 January 1953 – 25 November 2020) was a Polish international motorcycle speedway rider. He finished third in the Speedway World Championship in 1973 and as the runner-up in 1979. He earned 76 international caps for the Poland nat ...

Marek Cieślak Marek Kazimierz Cieślak (born 28 June 1950) is a former speedway rider and current coach. He earned 29 international caps for the Poland national speedway team. Career Cieślak rode two seasons in the British leagues after joining White Ci ...

/ Jerzy Rembas) – 2nd – 28pts (1) *

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

–

Leszno Leszno (, , ) is a historic city in western Poland, seat of Leszno County within the Greater Poland Voivodeship. It is the seventh-largest city in the province with an estimated population of 62,200, as of 2021. Leszno is a former residential cit ...

(with

Roman Jankowski Roman Jankowski (born 5 October 1957 in Kościan, Poland) is a former motorcycle speedway rider. He earned 47 international caps for the Poland speedway team and was twice champion of Poland. Career Jancarz rode from 1976 until 2006. He won t ...

Zenon Kasprzak Zenon Kasprzak (born 10 May 1962) is a former international speedway rider from Poland. Speedway career Kasprzak reached the final of the Speedway World Championship in the 1988 Individual Speedway World Championship. He won the Continental S ...

Leonard Raba Leonard Raba (born 8 December 1954) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from Poland. He earned 10 international caps for the Poland national speedway team. Career Raba started his speedway career with Kolejarz Opole during the 1973 Polish ...

) – 4th – 8pt (0)

World Pairs Championship

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

–

Chorzów Chorzów ( ; ; ) is a city in the Silesia region of southern Poland, near Katowice. Chorzów is one of the central cities of the Metropolis GZM – a metropolis with a population of 2 million. It is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Rawa ...

Silesian Stadium The Silesian Stadium (; Polish: ) is a sport stadium located on the premises of Silesian Park in Chorzów, Poland. The stadium has a fully covered capacity of 54,378, after refurbishment completed in October 2017. The stadium hosted many Poland ...

(with

) – 5th – 15pts (2)

References

1952 births 2012 deaths Polish speedway riders Reading Racers riders Polish expatriate speedway riders in England Leicester Lions riders Polonia Bydgoszcz riders People from Świebodzin Motorcycle racers from Lubusz Voivodeship {{poland-speedway-bio-stub