{{Short description|British motorcycle speedway rider}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}} {{Use British English|date=January 2015}} {{Infobox Speedway rider | image = | name= Alec Statham | nationality = British (English) | birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1912|5|30}} | death_date = {{Death date and age|1977|3|8|1912|5|30|df=y}}<ref>{{cite web|title=England & Wales, Death Index, 1916-2007|url=http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?MS_AdvCB=1&db=ONSDeath93&rank=1&new=1&so=3&MSAV=2&msT=1&pcat=34&gss=ms_r_db&gsfn=alec&gsfn_x=1&gsln=Statham+&gsln_x=1&msbdy=1912&msbdy_x=1&msbdm_x=1&msbdd_x=1&dbOnly=_F00056EC%7C_F00056EC_x&dbOnly=_F0005906%7C_F0005906_x&uidh=924&msbdd=30&msbdm=5|accessdate=7 August 2013}}</ref> | birth_place = Coventry, England | death_place = Rugby, England | years1 = 1935, 1937-39 | career1 = Harringay Tigers | years2 = 1936 | career2 = Southampton Saints | years3 = 1946-47 | career3 = Odsal Boomerangs | years4 = 1948-50 | career4 = Wimbledon Dons | indivhonour1 = Northern Riders' Champion | indivyear1 = 1945 | indivyear2 = 1949 | indivhonour2 = London Riders' Champion | teamyear1 = 1936 | teamhonour1 = Provincial League Champion | teamyear2 = 1936 | teamhonour2 = Provincial Trophy Winner | teamyear3 = 1950 | teamhonour3 = National Trophy Winner }}
'''Alec George Statham''' (30 May 1912 Coventry, England – 8 March 1977)<ref>Addison J. (1948). ''The People Speedway Guide''. Odhams Press Limited</ref> was a Speedway rider who won the London Riders' Championship in 1949.<ref>Belton, Brian (2003). ''Hammerin' Round''. {{ISBN|0-7524-2438-6}}</ref> He earned 22 international caps for the England national speedway team.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://britishspeedway.co.uk/docs/Ultimate_Index_1929-2022.pdf |title=ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022 |website=British Speedway |access-date=3 June 2023}}</ref>
== Biography == Statham began grasstrack racing at the age of sixteen.<ref name="Storey" /> He first rode in speedway as a novice at the Brandon track, going on to ride for Coventry, signed for Birmingham in 1932, and then Southampton, riding as a hobby with his garage business his main priority.<ref name="Storey" /><ref name="Morgan">Morgan, Tom (1949) ''Who's Who in Speedway 1949'', Sport-in-Print, p. 68</ref>
He rode for the Harringay Tigers in 1935 before dropping down a division to the Southampton Saints. He gave up racing, thinking he was not good enough to progress, but due to financial difficulties with his garage business in 1937 he returned to the National League with Harringay, soon rising to heat leader status.<ref name="Storey">Storey, Basil (1947) "Once Rode Just for Fun", in ''Speedway Favourites'', Sport-in-Print, p. 7</ref><ref name="Morgan" /> After the Second World War he joined the Odsal Boomerangs in Bradford, captaining the team,<ref name="Storey" /> before moving to the Wimbledon Dons for a record {{GBP}}2,000 transfer fee, repaying that with 336 points in the 1948 season.<ref name="Morgan" /> He won the 1949 London Riders' Championship.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004585/19490726/082/0004 |title=Eric French was unlucky |website=Lewisham Borough News |date=26 July 1949 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |access-date=21 September 2024}}</ref>
Statham first rode in the England team in the 1938 test series against Australia, scoring 2 points in the first test at Belle Vue and 3 points at West Ham.<ref name="Foster">Foster, Peter (2005) ''A History of the Speedway Ashes'', Tempus, {{ISBN|0-7524-3468-3}}, pp. 66–9, 72</ref> He travelled to Australia for the 1938/9 series, scoring 2 points in the fourth test.<ref name="Foster" /> It was in the post-war period when Statham became a leading rider for England, regularly selected between 1947 and 1949.<ref name="Foster" />
==World final appearances== * 1937 – {{Flagicon|ENG}} London, Wembley Stadium – 18th – 6 semi-final points * 1938 – {{Flagicon|ENG}} London, Wembley Stadium – 7th – 13pts
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Statham, Alec}} Category:1912 births Category:1977 deaths Category:British speedway riders Category:English motorcycle racers Category:Birmingham Brummies riders Category:Southampton Saints riders Category:Harringay Racers riders Category:Wimbledon Dons riders Category:20th-century English sportsmen