Frank Hodgson Explained

Frank Hodgson
Nationality:British (English)
Birth Place:Middlesbrough, England
Years1:1937
Career1:Nottingham
Years2:1937–1939
Career2:Hackney Wick Wolves
Years3:1946–1948
Career3:Middlesbrough Bears
Years4:1949–1950
Career4:Newcastle Diamonds
Years5:1950–1952
Career5:Glasgow Tigers
Teamyear1:1938, 1947
Teamhonour1:National League Div 2 Champion
Teamyear2:1946
Teamhonour2:Northern League Champion
Teamyear3:1937
Teamhonour3:Provincial Trophy
Teamyear4:1937
Teamhonour4:Provincial League Coronation Cup
Teamyear5:1947
Teamhonour5:National Trophy (Div Two) Winner

Frank Hodgson (25 May 1908 – 8 May 1983) was a motorcycle speedway rider from England, who rode for Hackney Wick Wolves and Middlesbrough Bears.[1]

Career

Born in Middlesbrough, Hodgson's first job in speedway was as a sign-writer at Hackney Wick Stadium in 1935.[2] [3] He had previously competed in grasstrack racing, and his early speedway experience was gained with the Amateur Riders' Club in Dagenham in 1936, where he also worked in the Ford factory. He signed for Nottingham in 1937, returning to Hackney Wick as a rider later that year. He was captain of Hackney's team in the second division in 1938 and 1939, before his career was interrupted by World War II, in which he served in the Royal Air Force. In 1946, he rode for Middlesbrough Bears, whom he also captained, his brother Jack Hodgson also a member of the team. A fractured spine at the start of the season kept him out of speedway for two months, but he returned later in the season, winning a round of the British Riders' Championship, and leading his team to the Northern League title.[4]

He later moved on to Newcastle Diamonds and then in 1950 to Glasgow Tigers, missing the start of the 1952 season after falling from a ladder and breaking a rib.[5]

Hodgson's son Russ and grandson Russell "Rusty" Hodgson both followed him into careers in speedway.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022 . British Speedway . 3 June 2023.
  2. News: Youth's Challenge . The People . 18 April 1948 . 30 October 2023 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription .
  3. Morgan, Tom (1947) The People Speedway Guide, Odhams Press, p. 76
  4. Storey, Basil (1947) "Frank Hodgson's Rise to Fame" in Speedway Favourites, Sport-in-Print, p. 6
  5. "Hodgson First Casualty of Speedway Season", Evening Times, 24 March 1952, p. 9, retrieved 2012-02-04