Gordon is featured in my CD book.
McGREGOR, Gordon
Born: November 28, 1921, Linlithgow, Scotland.*
Died: October, 2001.
It is rare for a speedway rider to stay in the game for a quarter of a century but Gordon McGregor achieved this distinction, serving his chosen sport in four separate decades after starting out with Glasgow in 1947. He had had previous experience on the Hanomag track in post-war Germany whilst serving with the forces but was noted more for his luxurious facial hair, earning him the nickname of ‘The Tash’, rather than his point scoring ability in the fledgling years of his career. However, he started to progress on the track in 1949 and had soon forced his way into a heat leader berth at the White City Stadium before figuring in a cross country move to the newly formed Motherwell ‘Eagles’ in 1951.
Once at Motherwell he confirmed his status as a respected heat leader in the Second Division and during his time at Milton Street he established club records for appearances and point scoring that still stand today. After the sport in Scotland dwindled away, Gordon, like many fellow Scots, had to come south of the border to continue his career and in England he showed some of his finest form yet, initially in Division Two with Leicester, and then with Oxford with whom he spent six years without missing a single league or cup match for the club.
In 1963 he signed for the Belle Vue ‘Aces’ and helped the club to their first league title since the war with a superb average of 8.83, demonstrating his value to the team by clocking up a remarkable 41 bonus points in 28 league and cup matches. This proved to be the peak of his career and, as he neared his mid 40s, his scoring began to decline. He appeared to be finished as a force when leaving Hyde Road in 1966 but in 1970, at the age of 48, Gordon was offered the chance to return to full time racing to lead an inexperienced Doncaster side in their second and final season in the sport. Recording six full maximums and averaging over nine points per match, Gordon proved to be one of the top riders in Division Two that season and, apart from a couple of unsuccessful outings at Birmingham in 1971, it proved to be a fine end to a long and illustrious career. He was recognised at international level by England, taking part in three tours of Australia, and also gained a Great Britain cap in 1964 when he rode in the third and final test match at Belle Vue against the Soviet Union.
Year Club Division M R P BP TP CMA FM PM
1947 Glasgow NL2 6 16 10 5 15 3.75 - -
1948 Glasgow NL2 32 71 54 15 69 3.89 - -
1949 Glasgow NL2 46 182 260 30 290 6.37 2 1
1950 Glasgow NL2 32 133 229 23 252 7.58 - 1
1951 Motherwell NL2 31 128 257 19 276 8.63 2 1
1952 Motherwell NL2 46 187 348 31 379 8.11 4 5
1953 Motherwell NL2 38 161 298 45 343 8.52 - 5
1954 Motherwell NL2 21 80 118 10 128 6.40 - 1
1955 Leicester NL2 33 165 281 16 297 7.20 1 2
1956 Leicester NL2 31 166 328 17 345 8.31 2 2
1957 Oxford NL 20 97 144 21 165 6.80 - -
1958 Oxford NL 20 103 183 14 197 7.65 1 -
1959 Oxford NL 20 100 212 7 219 8.76 2 -
1960 Oxford NL 20 89 155 20 175 7.87 - -
1961 Oxford NL 20 80 116 16 132 6.60 - 1
1962 Oxford NL 28 109 148 15 163 5.98 - -
1963 Belle Vue NL 28 115 213 41 254 8.83 - 6
1964 Belle Vue NL 14 52 63 7 70 5.38 - 1
1965 Belle Vue BL 35 141 248 17 265 7.52 1 1
1966 Belle Vue BL 30 104 123 16 139 5.35 - 1
1967 Glasgow BL 3 12 11 3 14 4.67 - -
1967 Long Eaton BL 4 13 4 0 4 1.23 - -
1969 King’s Lynn II BL2 1 5 11 0 11 8.80 - -
1970 Doncaster BL2 29 118 267 9 276 9.36 6 -
1971 Birmingham BL2 2 3 1 0 1 1.33 - -
International Honours: England international – 19 caps, 83 points, Great Britain international - 1 cap, 2 points.
Team Honours: National League Championship winner 1963.
