Tiger Stevenson

Tiger Stevenson

Born	(1907-11-01)1 November 1907 Sunbury-On-Thames, Surrey, England
Died	5 December 1994 (aged 87) Poole, England
Nationality	British (English)
Career history
1929-1939	West Ham Hammers
Individual honours
1933/34	NSW State Champion
Team honours
1937	National League Champions
1938	ACU Cup Winner

Harold Montague Stevenson (1 November 1907 – 5 December 1994) was a motorcycle speedway racer from England. He earned 27 international caps for the England national speedway team.[1]

Career

Stevenson rode for the West Ham Hammers from 1929 until 1939 in early pioneer days, captaining the club for most of them.[2] He was captain for their first ever meeting on 2 May 1929 at home to Coventry and was still the captain in 1937 when the Hammers won the National League Championship. He was born in London, England.[3] He rode for England in the first Test series against Australia in 1930.[4] He was made the England captain for the test match against Australia in June 1933.[5]

In 1935, he travelled to Australia and finished runner up in the Australian Championship.[6]

When speedway returned after World War II, Stevenson opened speedway training schools at Birmingham[7] and Bristol to tutor a new generation of riders.[4] He also took the role of managing the Hanley Potters.[4]

When the West Ham Stadium at Custom House was demolished in 1973, one of the roads built on the site was named after Stevenson.[8] During the sixties Tiger managed the Red Star Tyre Service in Katherine Road East Ham.^[citation needed]

Players cigarette cards

Stevenson is listed as number 43 of 50 in the 1930s Player's cigarette card collection.[9]

References

1. "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
2. "Tiger Stevenson in form". West Ham and South Essex Mail. 1 November 1929. Retrieved 10 October 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
3. Belton, Brian (2003). Hammerin' Round. ISBN 0-7524-2438-6
4. Morgan, Tom (1947) The People Speedway Guide, Odhams Press, p. 82
5. "West Ham Lose". Daily Mirror. 21 June 1933. Retrieved 1 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
6. "Individual Australian Championship". Historia Sportu Zuzlowego. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
7. "Hunt has ability to take speed title". Birmingham Mail. 20 September 1951. Retrieved 10 October 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
8. Jacobs, Norman (2001). Speedway in London. Stroud: Tempus Publishing ISBN 0-7524-2221-9
9. "Speedway Riders". Speedway Museum Online. Retrieved 14 October 2021.