Motorcycle, speedway legend, ‘King of the World’ Jack Young inducted into South Australian Sport Hall of Fame
He was an idol of London’s East End and won world championships in front of 90,000 people. Now legendary speedway racer Jack Young is to be inducted to the SA Sport Hall of Fame.
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From the mudflats that later became the suburb of West Lakes, Jack Young became the “King of the World” on two wheels.
The first Australian to win two World Championships in any form of motorsport, Young became an idol of Adelaide and London’s East End during the 1950s.
Young, who passed away on 28 August 1987 aged 62, was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1988, the Australian Speedway Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Motorcycling South Australia Hall of Fame in 2014.
Now he has been inducted into the South Australian Sport Hall of Fame.
Born in West Hindmarsh, Young learned to right motorcycles aged 10 on a circuit around his father Walter’s row of vegetables in Findon.
He honed his skills on mudflats which became West Lakes.
But his greatest asset was said to be an amazing sense of balance.
He was able to walk along the tops of corrugated-iron fences and it was said on a bicycle Young could raise the front wheel off the ground and while balancing there undo the front axle wing-nuts, removing the wheel and holding it aloft.
This gave him the unique ability in speedway of being able to keep both feet on their footrests when he overtook competitors on the outside as they either dragged or led with a steel-capped boot.
Given the label of the “Armchair Rider”, so effortless his style on a bike was, Young went to Scotland in 1949 to ride for the Edinburgh Monarchs - winning on his first four starts.
He won the Scottish solo championship and team riders’ championship, earning him a ride for Scotland against England and in an Australian Test team that was victorious over the British Lions.
On September 20 1951 at the old Wembley Stadium Young won the world solo speedway championship, even though no second-division rider had ever gained the title.
The West Ham Hammers then took him to the first division, for a record transfer fee of 3750 pounds, and in front of 93,000 fans at Wembley he defended his title the following year - becoming the first rider to retain the title.
This cemented his position as an idol of the East End in London and 10 days after that victory on September 18 1952 he was welcomed by a big crowd at Adelaide’s Parafield Aerodrome with the procession escorting Young to his home was 3.2km in length.
He would be a place getter in five other world championship and won the British match race championship - the Golden Helmet - 12 times in succession before ceasing racing in Europe in September 1961.
Returning to Australia he chose to not participate for the national titles because he preferred to spend his summer holidays fishing, but won nine SA championships before retiring from Australian competitions in 1963.
Despite his success and fame, Young was not tempted at all by the high life of a world champion and it emerged he used his World Championship trophies to store his fishing sinkers with former Rowley Park promoter Kym Bonython saying at Young’s funeral this “epitomised his attitude to fame and fortune that was so eagerly sought by others”.
The Jack Young Solo Cup is held in his honour every year at the Gillman Speedway.
Young will be inducted at the South Australian Sport Awards & Hall of Fame Dinner alongside Neil Kerley and five others at November 22 at the William Magarey Room at Adelaide Oval.