When people talk about the "great" Americans, Hancock, Penhall, Autrey, Bast, the Milne Brothers, even Ray Tauser, are the names mentioned. Why not Wilbur Lamoreaux?
When you look at his achievements, he certainly deserves to be considered as one of the best.
Born in Roseville, IL, on February 26, 1907, he didn't start racing until he was well in his 20's.
"Lammy" came to the UK in 1937 to ride for Wimbledon, and finished the year with a fine league average of 8.14, recording three maximums. The following year, he upped that to 10.93, (second only to Jack Milne), posting fourteen maximums. He further improved in 1938 with a brilliant 11.06 (second only to Cordy Milne), and improved his seasonal maximum count to fifteen.
By the time he returned to Britain after the war, he was in his 40's. That didn't stop him from recording a 9.71 in 1948 (for Wembley), with eight maximums, which left him third behind Vic Duggan and Ron Johnson. He was even better the following season with a 9.86 (and twelve maximums) for Birmingham the following season. That left him a terrible fourth place behind Duggan, Graham Warren, and Jack Parker.
Remarkable figures when you look at them, but what about the World Championship?
Going into the 1937 final, only Jack Milne scored more bonus points than "Lammy", and on the big night, four wins wasn't enough as he was pipped to the title by his buddy Jack,
Going into the 1938 final, only Bluey Wilkinson scored more bonus points, and on the night, he picked up four more wins, which left him third overall.
Going into the 1939 final, only Cordy Milne scored more bonus points, and of course, Adolf got the final called off.
Going into the 1949 final, he was only the sixth highest qualifier, but was just three points behind top qualifiers, Tommy Price and Graham Warren. On the night, "Lammy" scored 9 from four completed rides to finish fifth. Had his machine not given up the ghost in his fourth ride (against Louis Lawson), a third rostrum finish was likely.
I knew Wilbur Lamoreaux was good, but until now, I wasn't quite sure HOW good. When you look at the above stats, you can see how he truly was one of the all-time greats of the sport.