Joe Abbott

[jonesy 4]

My Mum watched a lot of Speedway in the late 1940's and early 1950's - mainly at Odsal and Owlerton - and remembers a rider called Joe Abbott.

Can anyone provide details about who he rode for and when please.

[25yearfan 476]

Joe Abbot rode for many years from the early beginnings of the sport in this Country in the late 20's until he got killed at Odsal I think in the late 1940's or early 50's when he was in his late 40's I believe.

[frigbo 524]

Joe Abbot rode for many years from the early beginnings of the sport in this Country in the late 20's until he got killed at Odsal I think in the late 1940's or early 50's when he was in his late 40's I believe.

 

1950 I believe

[Knowle 51]

1950 I believe

Joe was born in 1907 and rode for Burnley, Preston and Belle Vue pre-war and Harringay and Bradford post-war. He was killed in a crash at Bradford on July 1st 1950 the same night as Jock Shead was killed at Norwich whilst riding for Halifax who were under the same management as Bradford.Joe was known as the "India -rubber Man" and "Iron -Man" for his numerous crashes.

[jonesy 4]

Thanks for the info folks.

[tigerowl 630]

Thanks for the info folks.

 

Joe was called Joseph Patrick Abbott and was born in Burnley on April 12, 1902. He rode for Preston and Burnley before joining Belle Vue in the early 1930s and stayed with them until the war. In 1947 he made a comeback with Harringay but soon moved to Bradford where he was killed in a track crash on July 1 1950. He reached the World Final in 1947. I have seen a copy of his death record and it confirms he was 48 when he died.

[moxey63 1,785]

Born in Burnley, Abbott helped manage Sheffield after the war before making a racing comeback. Rode for Burnley in 1929, Preston in ‘30-31, Belle Vue 1932-39, helping the Aces win the 1933, ‘34, ‘35, ‘36 National League. Abbott once said he would ride until he was 50. Suffered fatal injuries after crashing on July 1st, 1950 at his home track, Odsal. Aged 48, he was believed to be the sport’s oldest rider of that era. Lloyd Goffe, immediately behind Abbott after his fall, tried unsuccessfully to avoid him. Veteran Abbott, who joined Bradford for £250 was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital, but the bad news was kept secret from the Yorkshire crowd. His whole career had been littered with injury, having the nicknames of “Indian-rubber Man” and “Iron Man” because of his many knocks. In 1936 he came back from Australia on a stretcher!

Edited July 20, 2010 by moxey63

[Barcroftlad 4]

My Mum watched a lot of Speedway in the late 1940's and early 1950's - mainly at Odsal and Owlerton - and remembers a rider called Joe Abbott.

Can anyone provide details about who he rode for and when please.

 

Hi kevtyke, I was an Odsal fan and was there the sad night that Joe was killed. He sure was a popular rider.I have posted a lovely photo of Joe on the oldtime speedway forum. I have a few photos and copies of the newspaper reports of the accident if they are of interest to you.Cheers.

[pgabbott 1]

Iron Joe Abbott is my Great Uncle but he died before I was born. My dad worked as his mechanic and said he was the best rider he had ever seen.

[Guest]

Hi kevtyke, I was an Odsal fan and was there the sad night that Joe was killed. He sure was a popular rider.I have posted a lovely photo of Joe on the oldtime speedway forum. I have a few photos and copies of the newspaper reports of the accident if they are of interest to you.Cheers.

 

This may be the Link you refer to:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/oldtimespeedway/search/?query=Joe%20Abbott

 

or possibly here

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/oldtimespeedway/search/messages?query=Joe%20Abbott

Edited October 22, 2015 by Guest