Terry Small Explained

Terry Small
Nationality:British (English)
Birth Date: 6 January 1927
Birth Place:Southampton, England
Death Place:Southampton, England
Career1:Poole Pirates
Years1:1949–1956, 1958–1959
Career2:Rayleigh Rockets
Years2:1957
Teamyear1:1952, 1955
Teamhonour1:league champion (tier 2)
Teamyear2:1952, 1955
Teamhonour2:National Trophy (tier 2)
Teamyear3:1951
Teamhonour3:league champion (tier 3)

Terence Frank Small (6 January 1927 – 10 December 1983) was an international motorcycle speedway rider from England. He earned one international cap for the England national speedway team.[1]

Biography

Small, born in Southampton, raced grasstrack in Egypt, while serving with the British Army.[2] He began his British leagues career riding for Poole Pirates during the 1949 Speedway National League Division Three season.[3] He quickly became a regular in the team and made significant progress over the following two seasons, averaging an impressive 9.60 during the 1951 season.[4] The 1951 season ended with honours as Poole won the league title.[5]

Poole moved up a division in 1952 and Small was an integral part of the team when they won the league and cup double with relative ease.[6] He became a fans favourite and was still with the club when they won another league and cup double during the 1955 season.[7]

He rode once for Rayleigh Rockets in 1957 before deciding to take a break form speedway.[8] He returned to Poole for two more seasons from 1958 to 1959. When he retired, he had ridden 296 times for Poole and scored 2165 points. He was inducted into the Poole Hall of Fame in 1994.[2]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022 . British Speedway . 30 December 2023.
  2. Web site: Terry Small . Poole Speedway . 30 December 2023.
  3. Web site: 1949 season . Speedway Researcher . 30 December 2023.
  4. Web site: Rider averages 1929 to 2009 . Speedway Researcher . 30 December 2023.
  5. Book: Oakes, Peter . 1978 Speedway Yearbook . 1978 . Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd . 978-0904584509.
  6. Web site: Year by Year . Speedway Researcher . 30 December 2023.
  7. News: Poole speedway men beat Danes . Leicester Evening Mail . 7 October 1955 . 30 December 2023 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription .
  8. News: That helmet is so Golden . Sunday Mirror . 6 April 1958 . 30 December 2023 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription .