Brian Crutcher

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Brian Crutcher
Born (1934-08-23) 23 August 1934 (age 89)
Parkstone, England
NicknameNipper
NationalityBritish (English)
Career history
1951-1953Poole Pirates
1953-1956Wembley Lions
1957-1960Southampton Saints
Individual honours
1956London Riders' Champion
1957, 1959Pride of the South winner
Team honours
1951National League Div 3
1952National League Div 2
1952National Trophy (Div 2)
1953National League
1954National Trophy
1954London Cup

Brian Thomas Crutcher (born 23 August 1934 in Poole, England)[1] is a former international speedway rider who finished second at the 1954 Speedway World Championship finals.[2][3]

Career[edit]

Crutcher made his debut for third division team the Poole Pirates in 1951 at age 16. He made his first World Final appearance in only his second year of racing in 1952, finishing in twelfth place.

At the start of 1953, Crutcher moved to first division team the Wembley Lions and appeared in the next four World Championship finals, finishing second in 1954 behind Ronnie Moore.[4] Wembley closed down in 1956 and Crutcher moved to the Southampton Saints until he retired from the sport in 1960.[2]

He made 23 appearances for the Great Britain national speedway team.[3]

World Final appearances[edit]

  • 1952 - England London, Wembley Stadium - 11th - 6pts
  • 1953 - England London, Wembley Stadium - 10th - 6pts
  • 1954 - England London, Wembley Stadium - Second - 13pts
  • 1955 - England London, Wembley Stadium - 5th - 10pts
  • 1956 - England London, Wembley Stadium - 8th - 9pts
  • 1958 - England London, Wembley Stadium - Reserve - did not ride
  • 1959 - England London, Wembley Stadium - 6th - 10pts

References[edit]

  1. ^ Wareham, T. (2008) Brian Crutcher: The Authorised Biography, The History Press Ltd. ISBN 0-7524-4583-9
  2. ^ a b Bamford, Robert; Glynn Shailes (2004). 50 Poole Pirates Greats. Tempus Publishing. pp. 34–36. ISBN 0-7524-3257-5.
  3. ^ a b "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  4. ^ Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5