Nigel Boocock
Nigel Boocock

Wakefield , England Died 3 April 2015 (aged 77)
Queensland , Australia Nationality British Current club information Career status Deceased Career history 1955-1957 Bradford Tudors 1957 Birmingham Brummies 1958 Ipswich Witches 1959-1976 Coventry Bees 1977-1978 Bristol Bulldogs 1979-1980 Exeter Falcons 1979 Canterbury Crusaders 1980 Swindon Robins Individual honours 1962, 1968 Midland Riders' Champion 1966 The Laurels 1966 Brandonapolis
indiyear4 = 1968
indiv honour4 = [Internationale] 1969 South Australian Champion Team honours 1968 British League Champions 1967 British League KO Cup Winners 1968 World Team Cup 1960, 1966, 1969,1970, 1971, 1976 Midland Cup 1961 Central Shield
Nigel Boocock (17 September 1937 – 3 April 2015) was a British speedway rider [1] who appeared in eight Speedway World Championship finals and was a reserve in one other (1962). [2]
Career [ edit ]
Born in Wakefield , England, [3] Boocock started his career with the Bradford Tudors in 1955 and stayed there until 1957, followed by spells with the Birmingham Brummies and the Ipswich Witches , before moving in 1959 to the Coventry Bees . He spent the next eighteen seasons with the Bees, winning the British League Championship in 1968. [4]
Boocock was the first English rider to win the prestigious FIM Internationale meeting held at Wimbledon. He was known for the blue leathers he raced in when most other riders wore black leathers – he was nicknamed "Little Boy Blue". He appeared with brother Eric Boocock in the 1970 Speedway World Pairs Championship finals, finishing in third place. He was also a regular England International rider and captain of the National team for many years.
Personal life [ edit ]
Boocock married Cynthia Boon in 1958, and they had three children, Victoria, Darren and Mandy. He and Cynthia retired to Australia, which he had visited on numerous occasions with British Lions and England teams during the English winter months. For some time they lived in Maroubra ( Sydney ), NSW; and Darren and Mandy attended Maroubra Bay Public School.
In 2006, Boocock, who continued to support junior speedway and speedway in general, joined former World Champion Ivan Mauger , and other guests such as South Australian speedway legends John Boulger and Bill Wigzell , Australian flagman Glen Dix , and former Rowley Park Speedway ( Adelaide , South Australia) promoter Kym Bonython for the official opening of a junior speedway track on the infield of one of Australia's premier motorcycle speedways, the Gillman Speedway in Adelaide. Bonython officially opened the 111-metre-long track, with Boocock and Boulger acting as starting marshals for the night.
In 2008 his son Darren Boocock, a former rider and Coventry Bees mascot, and his wife Sharon were killed in a road accident in Yorkshire . His and Cynthia's children each had at least one child - Jack, Daniel, Carl, Thomas and Liam
Nigel Boocock died on 3 April 2015, aged 77. [5]
World final appearances [ edit ]
Individual World Championship [ edit ]
-
1956
-
London , Wembley Stadium - Reserve, did not ride
-
1962
-
London , Wembley Stadium - Reserve, did not ride
-
1963
-
London , Wembley Stadium - 7th - 8pts
-
1964
-
Göteborg , Ullevi - 9th - 6pts
-
1965
-
London , Wembley Stadium - 8th - 8pts
-
1966
-
Göteborg , Ullevi - 15th - 2pt
-
1968
-
Göteborg , Ullevi - 16th - 1pt
-
1969
-
London , Wembley Stadium - 4th - 10pts
-
1971
-
Göteborg , Ullevi - 9th - 6pts
-
1972
-
London , Wembley Stadium - 10th - 6pts
World Pairs Championship [ edit ]
-
1969
*-
Stockholm , Gubbängens IP (with Martin Ashby ) - 3rd - 21pts (11)
-
1970
-
Malmö , Malmö Stadion (with Eric Boocock ) - 3rd - 19pts (6)
* Unofficial World Championships.
World Team Cup [ edit ]
-
1960
*-
Göteborg , Ullevi (with Peter Craven / Ron How / Ken McKinlay / George White ) - 2nd - 30pts (1)
-
1964
-
Abensberg , Abensberg Stadion (with Barry Briggs / Ron How / Ken McKinlay / Brian Brett ) - 3rd - 21pts (3)
-
1965
-
Kempten (with Barry Briggs / Charlie Monk / Ken McKinlay / Jimmy Gooch ) - 3rd - 18pts (6)
-
1966
-
Wrocław , Olympic Stadium (with Barry Briggs / Terry Betts / Ivan Mauger / Colin Pratt ) - 4th - 8pts (4)
-
1968
-
London , Wembley Stadium (with Ivan Mauger / Barry Briggs / Martin Ashby / Norman Hunter ) - Winner - 40pts (10)
-
1969
-
Rybnik , Rybnik Municipal Stadium (with Martin Ashby / Ivan Mauger / Barry Briggs ) - 2nd - 27pts (5)
-
1970
-
London , Wembley Stadium (with Ivan Mauger / Barry Briggs / Eric Boocock / Ray Wilson ) - 2nd - 31pts (2)
* 1960 for England . All others for Great Britain .
References [ edit ]
- ^ Lawson,K (2018) “Riders, Teams and Stadiums”. ISBN 978-0-244-72538-9
- ^ Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship . Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5
-
^
Oakes, Peter;
Mauger, Ivan OBE, MBE
(1976).
Who's Who of World Speedway
. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd.
ISBN
0-904584-04-6
.
{{ cite book }}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list ( link ) - ^ Montague, Trevor (2004). The A-Z of Sport . Little, Brown. p. 515. ISBN 0-316-72645-1 .
- ^ " Nigel Boocock 1937–2015 ", speedwaygb.co, 3 April 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015
- 1937 births
- 2015 deaths
- Sportspeople from Wakefield
- British speedway riders
- English motorcycle racers
- Speedway promoters
- Coventry Bees riders
- Exeter Falcons riders
- Canterbury Crusaders riders
- Birmingham Brummies riders
- Bradford Dukes riders
- Bristol Bulldogs riders
- Ipswich Witches riders
- Swindon Robins riders