The Rider Who Was Saviour - Sid Clark

By Dave Feakes, 10th July 2010

It seems incredible that a ‘guest’ rider could have such an impact on a speedway track, but that is exactly what happened in the case of Sid Clark! In the space of four races the guest loaned by Walthamstow for the night became the saviour and hero of Ipswich fans. Having suffered two humiliating defeats without providing a single heat winner in their first two matches, Ipswich desperately needed to strengthen their team and only an eleventh hour plea to Walthamstow manager John Deeley saved the day.

Sid Clark was the rider who made his way to Foxhall Stadium and immediately showed a liking for the 410 yard circuit. Racing against Rayleigh, Sid Clark did the impossible! He won his first race in the second heat to became the first ever Ipswich heat winner much to the delight of the crowd. Not only did he win but in a track record time of 75.6 seconds! Sid recorded two more wins and a second place for an eleven point total. The Ipswich Evening Star Sports headline read “Sid Clark A Speedway Sensation” and to those who witnessed his performance that day that’s exactly what he was.

So what was known about this new star of Ipswich?

Sid hailed from Rainham, Essex and soon showed a keen interest in two wheels in fact he was only thirteen when he received a hefty 10/- (50p) fine at Romford Court for riding a motorcycle without insurance or licence! He used to watch speedway at Dagenham where, in 1938, he helped out with track maintenance and repair work, and despite being under sixteen was given his first speedway rides as payment.

From this early beginning Sid learned the basics of the sport at Rye House and was signed by Harringay soon after the war. First division Racers promptly loaned him to Poole in 1948 who were racing in the sport’s third division for the first time. Sid impressed and quickly became a star with some prolific scoring that saw him end as the club’s second highest scorer.

Such was his form that he was recalled to Harringay in 1949 and stayed there for two seasons. Bearing in mind that he had jumped from third to first division, Sid did remarkably well in the toughest league in the world but to all intents and purposes the difference in standard was too great to bridge. Transferred in 1951 to second division Walthamstow for a £500 fee, it was one of the smallest tracks in the country and he fared little better there than he had at Harringay. 

Sid was working in his welding business in Rainham when he was offered the Ipswich guest booking and, after some deliberation, made the decision that was to help the Witches through their difficult first season and alter the course of his career. After his remarkable debut against Rayleigh, Ipswich managed to persuade Walthamstow to let him double up for the rest of the season, an arrangement which suited Sid.

Sid became the club’s greatest asset enjoying the wide open spaces of the Foxhall track. He quickly became a white line expert who matured into a wonderful team rider who would shield and push his partner home. His first maximum came in June, ironically, against his old club Poole who included the 16 year old sensation Brian Crutcher.

In February 1952 Sid was transferred to Ipswich along with Walthamstow’s Alby Smith, for a joint fee of £400. His best season in speedway was about to begin. A popular choice for captain, he broke the Rayleigh track record in a National Trophy match with a 15 point return but it was his own team mate, Dick Shepherd who eventually beat it.

At Foxhall his form was superb with seven full maximums and a string of double figure scores. Renowned as a tremendous team rider, Sid could also turn it on when required and his dramatic last heat victory against Exeter in May was won on the final bend after trying everything to overhaul his former Harringay teammate Ron Barratt for three pulsating laps. The win gave Ipswich a 42-41 point victory.  Later that year he equalled the 74.0 seconds track record set by Goog Hoskin.  At the end of the season he was rated 6th on his points tally in the Southern League and had a remarkable and satisfying 8.9 average.

Capped for England ‘C’ at Rayleigh Sid scored 6 points against the Swedish National side then scored 8 points, also at Rayleigh, for Young England against a Young Overseas team scoring, and a single point in the international at Swindon. Finally he scored 10 points in the 61-45 win against Young Australia at Wolverhampton. Then in the World Championship Sid d reached First Division Round (effectively the third round).

Dubbed ‘the Maximum Man’ perhaps Sid’s domination waned very slightly in 1953 but he was still the popular skipper and team rider. As Tich Read said in an interview with the Speedway Star at the end of the season, “I’ve got a lot of people to thank for making me resemble a speedway rider. Most of all I want to thank Arthur Franklyn. He did me the greatest turn possible when he paired me up with Sid. Right from the start I knew it would turn out for the best. He’s a grand skipper and a great partner. 1953, especially the latter months of the season, was a good year for me. And it was Sid who made it so.”

Despite his reduced scoring capacity Sid still recorded his career best 17 points against Southampton in an early season National Trophy meeting and smashed the track record against the same club in September reducing it from 73.4 to 72.8 seconds. Sid led his side to third place in the Southern League but a broken thumb brought his season to a premature halt.

With track closures all round, the Southern League merged with National League Division Two pushing the standard of racing up a notch. Retaining his captaincy Sid still played an important role although it was sad to see his scoring suffer and, with one or two spills affecting his form and the addition of riders like Johnny Chamberlain and Dick Campbell Sid dropped to the reserve berth before losing his place altogether. He retired at the end of the season.

In his impressive career with Ipswich he scored three seasons Sid scored over 850 points from 120 matches in all classifications of racing.  As an aside, Sid also became the first Ipswich rider to have a column in the press, writing regularly for the Speedway World in 1953.

Always popular with the fans and team alike, Sid made two more official visits to Foxhall - in 1969 to present the end of season trophies and 2001 as a special guest at the fifty year celebration.

From the book ‘British Speedway Leagues 1946-1964’ by Peter Morrish Sid’s league record shows the following points but not the number of matches ridden

1948 Poole (NL3) 275 points (second top scorer)
1949 Harringay (NL1) 47 points.
1950 Harringay (NL1) 43 points.
1951 Walthamstow (NL2) 38 points

His Ipswich record is:

1951 Ipswich (Challenge matches only) 91 pts from 10 matches.
1952 Ipswich (All matches) 389 pts from 44 matches
1953 Ipswich (All matches) 273 pts from 37 matches           
1954 Ipswich (All matches) 123 points from 29 matches

Ipswich Track Record

 75.6 on 24 May 51 v Rayleigh.
74.0 (equalled the record) on 12 July 52 v Cardiff.
72.8 on 13 August 53 v Southampton.

World Championship Record

1952 National Qualifying Round
13 pts at Ipswich,2nd
International Qualifying Round
9 pts at White City, Glasgow, joint 6th
2 pts at Coventry, 16th
Division One Round
7 pts at Norwich, 10th
5 pts at Bristol, 11th

1953 National Qualifying Round
4 pts at Southampton, joint 12th
1954 National Qualifying Round
3 pts at Ipswich, 13th
1pt at Southampton, 15th

1952 Ipswich Witches
Back row - Eric Dench, Dennis Day, Vic Sage, Dick Shepherd
Front row - Harold McNaughton Sid Clark, Rod Laudrum, Alby Smith.

2001 - 50th Anniversary
Charlie Frenzel, Rod Laudrum, Derek Hewitt, Sid Clark,
Bert Edwards, Ken Last, Tich Read

Many thanks to Dave Feakes for providing the article and photos.