Gerald Richard Jackson (14 October 1925 – 2 July 1997) was a

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

Jackson started his British leagues career during the 1950 Speedway National League Division Three season, where he rode for

Rayleigh Rockets The Rayleigh Rockets were a Motorcycle speedway, Speedway team which operated from 1949 until their closure in 1973 from the Rayleigh Weir Stadium in Rayleigh, Essex, Rayleigh, Essex . History Origins and 1940s In June 1948, the Speedway ...

. He was part of the Rayleigh team that won the 1952 Speedway Southern League. The following season Rayleigh repeated the success and Jackson finished second in the league averages during the 1953 Speedway Southern League, recording a 9.68 average. Jackson's performances gained the attention of the big London clubs and he rode for the

Wembley Lions The Wembley Lions were an English ice hockey team. History The team were founded in 1934 but showed a continuity with the London Lions team which had played at various venues since 1924. The Wembley team were based at the newly built Empire ...

during the

1956 Speedway National League The 1956 National League Division One was the 22nd season and eleventh post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain. Summary The league consisted of seven teams after the West Ham Hammers ceased competitive spe ...

. He then joined the

Wimbledon Dons The Wimbledon Dons were a professional motorcycle speedway team who operated from the Wimbledon Stadium, Plough Lane in London from 1929 until 1991. The team were seven times champions of Britain. History Origins The speedway track opened ...

and rode for them for eight years. He helped Wimbledon seal four league titles and three cups from 1958 to 1962. By the end of the 1950s he was one of Wimbledon's top riders. In 1965, he joined Hackney Hawks for the new 1965 British League season and would spend the remainder of his career there. He top scored for Hackney in 1965 which meant that he represented them in the 1965

British League Riders' Championship The British League Riders Championship was an individual motorcycle speedway contest between the top riders (or two riders) with the highest Calculated Match Average, average from each club competing in the British League in the UK, or the top ...

. He went on to earn nine international England caps.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Gerry 1926 births 1997 deaths British speedway riders Hackney Hawks riders Rayleigh Rockets riders Wembley Lions riders Wimbledon Dons riders People from Teddington