Name: Richard Campbell
Born: 5 June 1933
Death: November 1990
Place: Christchurch, New Zealand
British Clubs: Belle Vue (1947), Sheffield (1947), Edinburgh (1948-1954), Ipswich Witches (1954), Edinburgh (1961-1962)
Honours: Scottish Open Champion 1952
Honours Team:
Internationals: New Zealand
New Zealander Dick Campbell's motorcycle career started as a wall of death rider in the circus while touring the UK he visited Belle Vue and decided Speedway was the sport for him. In 1947 he had a handful of meetings with the Manchester team before moving to Sheffield in the same year. In 1948 he joined the Monarchs and he averaged a very respectable 7.23. The following year he near the nine point mark and was also runner up in the Scottish Open or Scottish Riders Championship as it was known then. He also represented Scotland in a match against England although being a New Zealander riding in scotland was enough to be accepted as a Scot. He returned home at the end of 1949 season and rode for the first time in his own country he broke an ankle at this time. He also rode for an Overseas team against the UK and was in the New zealand team that faced England in 1951. In 1952 he won the Scottish Open with 14 points. During the winter break of 1953-54 he toured south Africa and rode for the Durban team. In 1954 Old Meadowbank was closed mid season as Speedway hit on hard times. He finished the season with Ipswich before he quit the sport. He did some car racing but seven years later he was back in speedway with the Monarchs in 1961. His return was memorable he broke the track record on his first race back. He struggled with illness for most of 1962 and decided to call it a day. He was involved with track preparation and managed the team for a while in early 1963. Dick died in a work related accident in the early 1990s. |
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