Reg Fearman

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Reg Fearman
Born(1933-04-26)26 April 1933
London, England
NationalityBritish (English)
Career history
1949-1951, 1953West Ham Hammers
1952-1953, 1960-1962Stoke Potters
1953-1954, 1956-1957Leicester Hunters
1959Yarmouth Bloaters
Team honours
1960Northern Cup
1961Northern League

Reginald Arthur Victor Fearman (born 26 April 1933 in London, England) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider and promoter.[1]

Riding career[edit]

He first received his speedway licence on his sixteenth birthday, presented to him in front of a forty thousand strong West Ham crowd at the West Ham Stadium in London. He was nicknamed "Fearless Fearman" for his daredevil style of riding.[2]

He first rode at Rye House on 1 August 1948 (scoring eleven points) but was immediately banned by the Speedway Control Board (SCB) and the Auto Cycle Union (ACU) when it was discovered he was still only fifteen years of age.

A local lad from Plaistow,[3][4] Reg spent most of his career with the West Ham Hammers but did spend a couple of seasons with the Stoke Potters in the early '50s whilst on National Service. He made several appearances for the England national team.

He retired from racing at the end of 1961 although he had already begun promoting in 1960 with his club Stoke Potters in the newly formed Provincial League.

Promoting and management career[edit]

Reg promoted at several tracks from 1960 until his retirement in 1986, including Stoke, Liverpool, Wolverhampton, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Long Eaton, Leicester and Halifax. He was chairman of the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA) in 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1983 and 1984. He had previously been the British League Division Two chairman from 1968 until 1972.

He also had spells as national team manager for England, when they won the World Team Cup and the World Pairs Championship.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  2. ^ Belton, Brian (2003). Hammerin' Round. ISBN 0-7524-2438-6
  3. ^ "Reg Fearman : Right of Reply". Speedway Plus. 12 January 2006. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  4. ^ "Defunct Speedway Tracks, West Ham speedway, Reg Fearman". John Skinner. Retrieved 1 February 2013.