Eric James Monaghan (born 31 October 1957) is a former

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 from England.

Career

Monaghan made his British leagues debut during the

1979 National League season The 1979 National League was contested as the second division/tier of Speedway in the United Kingdom. Summary The league was reduced from 20 teams to 19 from the previous season. White City Rebels closure saw their riders move to Eastbourne ...

, where he rode for

Ellesmere Port Gunners Ellesmere Port Gunners were an English speedway team in Ellesmere Port, Wirral, which operated at the Ellesmere Port Stadium from 1972 until their closure in 1985. History The inaugural league season for the team was during the 1972 British ...

. In 1979, he helped the Ellesmere Port win the Fours Championship during the 1979 season. He continued to ride for Ellesmere Port until they disbanded at the end of 1982. He then joined

Sheffield Tigers The Sheffield Tigers (sponsored by Tru Plant) are a motorcycle speedway team based in Sheffield, England. They currently race in the British SGB Premiership, and their home meetings take place at Owlerton Stadium. They were founded in 1929 an ...

for the 1983 British League season and then

Halifax Dukes The Halifax Dukes were a speedway team which operated from 1949–1951 and again from 1965 until their closure in 1985 at The Shay Stadium in Halifax. The team were nicknamed the "Dukes" after the local Duke of Wellington's Regiment, whos ...

for the

1984 British League season The 1984 British League season was the 50th season of the top tier of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom and the 20th known as the British League. Team changes Three teams dropped out and four teams replaced them. Midland's clubs Birmin ...

. He switched back to the National League in 1986, when he joined

Mildenhall Fen Tigers The Mildenhall Fen Tigers are a British speedway team, founded in 1975, who last raced in the National Development League during 2023. History 1970s The original track was built in 1971 on farm land owned by Terry Waters, with Bernie Kla ...

and was part of the team that won the

National League Four-Team Championship The National League Four-Team Championship was a contest between teams competing in the second tier of speedway in the United Kingdom. Teams were grouped into fours, with one rider from each team in each race. The winners and second place of each ...

in 1987. After three seasons at Mildenhall, Monaghan signed for

Stoke Potters The Stoke Potters previously the Hanley Potters were a British speedway team. As Hanley Potters they raced at the Sun Street Stadium from 1929 to 1963 and as Stoke, the team raced at Loomer Road Stadium in Newcastle-under-Lyme from 1973 to ...

, where he would spend four years from 1989 until 1992. His time at Stoke included winning the 1989 Pairs championship with Nigel Crabtree and the 1990 Fours championship. His final seasons were spent with

Peterborough Panthers The Peterborough Panthers were a British motorcycle speedway team based in Peterborough, England from 1970 to 2023. They were three times List of United Kingdom speedway league champions, champions of the United Kingdom, winning the highest lev ...

(1993 and 1994) and Long Eaton Invaders (1995).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monaghan, Eric Living people 1957 births British speedway riders Ellesmere Port Gunners riders Halifax Dukes riders Leicester Lions riders Long Eaton Invaders riders Mildenhall Fen Tigers riders Peterborough Panthers riders Sheffield Tigers riders Stoke Potters riders