Eric Stephenson Chitty (28 April 1909 – 23 December 1989) was a Canadian

speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Daytona International Speedway, a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida. *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta. *Indianapolis Motor Spe ...

rider who won the London Riders' Championship in 1938.

Early days

Chitty was born in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Canada in 1909. Before taking up speedway he worked as an electrical engineer.Storey, Basil (1947) ''Speedway Favourites'', Sport-in-Print, p. 23 Chitty started speedway racing in 1930 in Detroit, Chicago and New York City in the United States, where he was noticed in 1934 by Johnnie Hoskins. In 1935 he came to the UK for a trial with the

West Ham Hammers The West Ham Hammers were a speedway team that raced at West Ham Stadium in London, England, from 1929 to 1971. The team were twice champions of the United Kingdom. History Origins and 1920s Speedway arrived at West Ham in 1928, the ina ...

. He was not successful in his trial and was looking for other employment when the West Ham promoter Hoskins gave him another chance five months later, which he took. He was offered a contract by the Hammers. A broken collarbone in 1936 caused a long layoff, and he returned in 1937, scoring moderately well. The 1938 season saw a considerable improvement in his racing, Chitty winning the Opening Cup and the London Riders' Championship, both at New Cross. Chitty also served for a time as chairman of the Speedway Riders' Association.

World Championship

Chitty qualified for the World Final held at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

in London in

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...

, finishing 12th with 15 points. He failed to qualify in

1938 Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...

but qualified again for the World Final in

1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...

. Unfortunately the 1939 Final was cancelled due to the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Wartime racing

During the war years he raced at Belle Vue in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, which was the only track that ran all through the war. He won the unofficial British Individual Championship in 1940, '41 and '42, the Belle Vue Grand Prix, the Northern Championship and the Hundred Guineas Trophy all in 1942. He also won the all English Best Pairs Championship in 1941 with

Ron Johnson Ronald Harold Johnson (born April 8, 1955) is an American businessman and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Wisconsin, a seat he has held since 2011. A Rep ...

and 1943 with Fred Tuck. In 1944 he won the National Trophy and also in 1944 he won the British Empire Best Pairs with Ron Clark. In the Winter of 1945/46, Chitty captained the ENSA team that toured Germany.Morgan, Tom (1947) ''The People Speedway Guide'', Odhams Press, p. 76

After the war

In 1946 he rejoined West Ham and was made team captain, reaching the finals of the British Riders Championship that year. He was always the center of entertainment, often singing to the crowd and once even raced a cheetah. He retired in 1952.

World Final appearances

– London,

– 12th – 4pts + 11 Semi-final pts *

– London, Wembley Stadium - Event cancelled due to

Players cigarette cards

Chitty is listed as number 7 of 50 in the 1930s Player's

cigarette card Cigarette cards are trading cards issued by tobacco industry, tobacco manufacturers to stiffen cigarette packaging and nicotine marketing, advertise cigarette brands. Between 1875 and the 1940s, cigarette companies often included collectible car ...

collection.

References

External links

Eric Chitty biography

Eric Chitty photograph
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chitty, Eric 1909 births 1989 deaths Canadian speedway riders Canadian motorcycle racers Canadian expatriate sportspeople in England Sportspeople from Toronto West Ham Hammers riders Expatriate speedway riders in England