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{{Short description|American motorcycle speedway rider (1904-1957)}}
{{Infobox Speedway rider
{{Infobox Speedway rider
| name= Lloyd 'Sprouts' Elder
| name = James Lloyd 'Sprouts' Elder
| image = Sprouts Eldedr - El Gráfico 542.jpg
| image =
| caption = Elder on the cover of [[The Graphic]], November 30, 1929
| nationality = {{USA}}
| nationality = [[Americans|American]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1904|8|4}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1904|8|4}}
| death_date = 1957
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1957|8|8|1904|8|4}}
| birth_place = [[Fresno, California|Fresno]], [[California]]
| birth_place = [[Fresno, California]]
| death_place =
| death_place = Fresno, California
| website =

| retired = Deceased
| years = 1929<br>1930
| years1 = 1930
| career = [[West Ham Hammers]]<br>[[Southampton Saints]]
| career1 = [[Southampton Saints]]
| indivyear1 = 1925
| indivhonour = [[AMA National Speedway Championship|American Champion]]<br>Manchester Golden Helmet<br>Leicester Golden Helmet<br>West Ham Golden Gauntlet<br>West Ham Championship<br>Wimbledon Silver Wheel<br>Wimbledon Silver Sash<br>West Ham Silver Belt<br>[[Individual Speedway World Championship|World Champion]] (unofficial)
| indivhonour1 = [[AMA National Speedway Championship|American Champion]]
| indivyear = 1925<br>1928<br>1928<br>1928<br>1928<br>1928<br>1928<br>1928<br>1931
| indivyear2 = 1927, 1928
| teamhonour =
| indivhonour2 = Maroubra Golden Helmet
| teamyear =
| indivyear3 = 1928
| indivhonour3 = Manchester Golden Helmet
| indivyear4 = 1928
| indivhonour4 = Leicester Golden Helmet
| indivyear5 = 1928
| indivhonour5 = West Ham Golden Gauntlet
| indivyear6 = 1928
| indivhonour6 = West Ham Championship
| indivyear7 = 1928
| indivhonour7 = Wimbledon Silver Wheel
| indivyear8 = 1928
| indivhonour8 = Wimbledon Silver Sash
| indivyear9 = 1928
| indivhonour9 = West Ham Silver Belt
| indivyear10 = 1929
| indivhonour10 = Scottish Golden Helmet
| indivyear11 = 1929
| indivhonour11 = Scottish Silver Helmet
| indivyear12 = 1929, 1930, 1931
| indivhonour12 = Argentine Golden Helmet
| indivyear13 = 1929, 1930
| indivhonour13 = Argentine Silver Helmet
| indivyear14 = 1929
| indivhonour14 = Argentine Bronze Helmet
| indivyear15 = 1931
| indivhonour15 = [[Individual Speedway World Championship|World Champion]] (unofficial)
}}
}}


'''Lloyd 'Sprouts' Elder''' (born 4 August 1904 in [[Fresno]], [[California]], [[USA]] - died 1957) was an international [[motorcycle speedway]] rider.<ref name=spwy>Bamford, R. & Stallworthy, D. (2003) ''Speedway - The Pre War Years'', Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2749-0</ref>
'''James Lloyd Elder,''' known as '''Sprouts Elder''' (born 4 August 1904 in [[Fresno]], [[California]], Unihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Aboutted States – died 8 August 1957 in [[Fresno]], [[California]]) was an international [[motorcycle speedway]] rider.<ref name=spwy>Bamford, R. & Stallworthy, D. (2003) ''Speedway – The Pre War Years'', Stroud: Tempus Publishing. {{ISBN|0-7524-2749-0}}</ref><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=28 July 2023}}</ref> Elder is considered the father of American broadsliding.


== Career ==
== Career ==
Elder initially wanted to become a [[jockey]] but by his late teens had grown to almost six feet tall, leading to his 'Sprouts' nickname.<ref name="Chaplin">Chaplin, John (1990) "Sprouts: The Scarlet Streak", in ''Speedway Special: The Classic Legends'', Penrove Books, ISBN 0-9515857-0-3, p. 55-62</ref> He got a job in a motorcycle shop and began racing, eventually taking up speedway.<ref name="Chaplin" /> He initially learned to race racing on some of the last surviving [[board track racing]] circuits during the 1920s. In the late 1920s Elder really began to make a name for himself by racing overseas.<ref name="ama">{{cite web|url=http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/detail.aspx?RacerID=168|title=Sprouts Elder|publisher=AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame|accessdate=2008-10-09}}</ref>
Elder initially wanted to become a [[jockey]] but by his late teens had grown to almost six feet tall, leading to his 'Sprouts' nickname.<ref name="Chaplin">Chaplin, John (1990) "Sprouts: The Scarlet Streak", in ''Speedway Special: The Classic Legends'', Penrove Books, {{ISBN|0-9515857-0-3}}, p. 55-62</ref> He got a job in a motorcycle shop and began racing, eventually taking up speedway.<ref name="Chaplin" /> He initially learned to race racing on some of the last surviving [[board track racing]] circuits during the 1920s. In the late 1920s Elder really began to make a name for himself by racing overseas.<ref name="ama">{{cite web|url=http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/detail.aspx?RacerID=168|title=Sprouts Elder|publisher=AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame|accessdate=2008-10-09}}</ref>


Elder was also a pioneer of speedway racing in the USA. He was a champion rider at home and abroad during the 1920s and early 1930s and helped organize speedway racing on the east and west coasts of America, later becoming an AMA referee and a member of the competition committee. In 1925 Sprouts Elder became the inaugural [[AMA National Speedway Championship|American Speedway Champion]].
Elder was also a pioneer of speedway racing in the USA. He was a champion rider at home and abroad during the 1920s and early 1930s and helped organize speedway racing on the east and west coasts of America, later becoming an AMA referee and a member of the competition committee. In 1925 Sprouts Elder became the inaugural [[AMA National Speedway Championship|AMA American Speedway Champion]].


Elder was also a visitor to [[Australia]], racing against top Australian as well as several top British and American riders who also spent the winter months racing in the Australian summer, mostly on the larger showground tracks of the day such as the [[Sydney Showground Speedway]], [[Brisbane Exhibition Ground]] (Ekka), the [[Adelaide Showgrounds|Wayville Showground]] in [[Adelaide]], and [[Perth]]'s [[Claremont Showgrounds|Claremont Speedway]] (as of 2014 only the Ekka and Wayville stand as they did in the late 1920's and early 1930's when Elder rode there). Elder also won titles in South America, including the first unofficial [[Individual Speedway World Championship|Speedway World Championship]] event at [[Buenos Aires]], [[Argentina]], while under contract to A.J.Hunting.
Elder was also a visitor to Australia, winning the Maroubra Golden Helmet four times in 1927, and once in 1928 on the concrete 1 mile [[Maroubra Speedway]].<ref>[http://www.speedwaychampions.yolasite.com/golden-helmet-champions.php Australian Golden Helmet]</ref> In Australia Elder raced against top Australian as well as several top British and American riders who also spent the winter months racing in the Australian summer, mostly on the larger showground tracks of the day such as the [[Sydney Showground Speedway]], [[Brisbane Exhibition Ground]] (Ekka), the [[Adelaide Showgrounds|Wayville Showground]] in [[Adelaide]], and [[Perth]]'s [[Claremont Speedway]] (as of 2014 only the Ekka and Wayville stand as they did in the late 1920s and early 1930s when Elder rode there). Elder also won titles in South America, including the first unofficial [[Individual Speedway World Championship|Speedway World Championship]] event at [[Buenos Aires]], [[Argentina]], while under contract to [[Albert John Hunting|A.J. Hunting]]. He also won numerous Argentine Gold, Silver and Bronze Helmets in 1929, 1930 and 1930.


1928 saw Elder turn his attention to racing in the [[United Kingdom]], becoming one of the most popular riders in the country. He could command fees of £100 per meeting, plus prize money, and once earned £350 in a day by racing at three nearby tracks.<ref name="Chaplin" /> He is estimated to have earned £50,000 in his first three years of riding in Britain.<ref name="Chaplin" /> Crowds of 30,000 to 40,000 were not uncommon at larger meetings during the heyday of speedway racing in England. Elder's popularity was revealed when the British paper ''Speedway News'' honoured Elder by calling him the greatest showman of all time.<ref name="ama">{{cite web|url=http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/hofbiopage.asp?id=168|title=Sprouts Elder|publisher=AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame|accessdate=2008-10-09}}</ref> In 1928 he won several titles in Britain, including the Golden Helmet at [[White City, Manchester]], the Golden Gauntlet and West Ham Championship at West Ham, the Silver Wheel and Silver Sash at Wimbledon, the Silver Belt at [[Custom House]], and the Golden Helmet at [[Leicester Stadium|Leicester]].<ref name="Jones">Jones, Alan (2010) ''Speedway in Leicester: The Pre-War Years'', Automedia, p. 14-15</ref> He also rode for the [[West Ham Hammers]]in 1929<ref>[http://www.freewebs.com/customhousekid/ridersetoh.htm West Ham Hammers riders]</ref>, and in 1930 he rode for the [[Southampton Saints]].<ref name="Morgan">Morgan, Tom (1947) ''The People Speedway Guide'', Odhams Press, p. 58</ref>
1928 saw Elder turn his attention to racing in the United Kingdom, becoming one of the most popular riders in the country. He could command fees of £100 per meeting, plus prize money, and once earned £350 in a day by racing at three nearby tracks.<ref name="Chaplin" /> He is estimated to have earned £50,000 in his first three years of riding in Britain.<ref name="Chaplin" /> Crowds of 30,000 to 40,000 were not uncommon at larger meetings during the heyday of speedway racing in England. Elder's popularity was revealed when the British paper ''Speedway News'' honoured Elder by calling him the greatest showman of all time.<ref name="ama"/> In 1928 he won several titles in Britain, including the Golden Helmet at [[White City, Manchester]], the Golden Gauntlet and West Ham Championship at West Ham, the Silver Wheel and Silver Sash at Wimbledon, the Silver Belt at [[West Ham Stadium|Custom House]], and the Golden Helmet at [[Leicester Stadium|Leicester]],<ref name="Jones">Jones, Alan (2010) ''Speedway in Leicester: The Pre-War Years'', Automedia, p. 14-15</ref> while also winning the Scottish Gold and Silver Helmets in 1929. He never rode for the [[West Ham Hammers]] in 1929 but was their overseas representative in the [[Star Riders' Championship]],<ref>[http://www.freewebs.com/customhousekid/ridersetoh.htm West Ham Hammers riders E to H]</ref> and in 1930 he rode for the [[Southampton Saints]].<ref name="Morgan">Morgan, Tom (1947) ''The People Speedway Guide'', Odhams Press, p. 58</ref>


Elder was one of speedway's pioneers and featured in the first [[Star Riders' Championship]], the forerunner to the [[Speedway World Championship]] in 1929. He was beaten in the semi final of the 'overseas' section by Australian [[Vic Huxley]].
Elder was one of speedway's pioneers and featured in the first [[Star Riders' Championship]], the forerunner to the [[Speedway World Championship]] in 1929. He was beaten in the semi-final of the 'overseas' section by Australian [[Vic Huxley]].


During the mid-1930s, Elder returned to the United States to help organize American speedway. Speedway racing was among the popular forms of motorcycle racing in the country. Elder, along with [[Wilbur Lamoreaux]], [[Jack Milne|Jack]] and [[Cordy Milne]], he helped found and promote speedway in America.<ref name="ama">{{cite web|url=http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/hofbiopage.asp?id=168|title=Sprouts Elder|publisher=AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame|accessdate=2008-10-09}}</ref>
During the mid-1930s, Elder returned to the United States to help organize American speedway. Speedway racing was among the popular forms of motorcycle racing in the country. Elder, along with [[Wilbur Lamoreaux]], [[Jack Milne (speedway rider)|Jack]] and [[Cordy Milne]], he helped found and promote speedway in America.<ref name="ama"/>


== Retirement ==
== Retirement ==
Elder retired from racing after joining the [[California Highway Patrol]] and was responsible for securing sponsorship from the Highway Patrol for a number of meetings. Elder retired from the patrol after suffering life-threatening injuries in a traffic accident. Even after retirement, Elder stayed involved with racing through his duties on the AMA Competition Committee.<ref name="ama">{{cite web|url=http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/hofbiopage.asp?id=168|title=Sprouts Elder|publisher=AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame|accessdate=2008-10-09}}</ref>
Elder retired from racing after joining the [[California Highway Patrol]] and was responsible for securing sponsorship from the Highway Patrol for a number of meetings. Elder retired from the patrol after suffering life-threatening injuries in a traffic accident. Even after retirement, Elder stayed involved with racing through his duties on the AMA Competition Committee.<ref name="ama"/>


He lost his fortune after investing in a failed mining venture.<ref name="Chaplin" />
He lost his fortune after investing in a failed mining venture.<ref name="Chaplin" />


== Death ==
== Death ==
Elder died in 1957 after committing [[suicide]] following the death of his wife.<ref name=spwy>Bamford, R. & Stallworthy, D. (2003) ''Speedway - The Pre War Years'', Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2749-0</ref> He was inducted into the [[American Motorcyclist Association|AMA]] [[Motorcycle Hall of Fame]] in 1998.
Elder died in 1957 after committing [[suicide]] following the death of his wife.<ref name="spwy" /> He was posthumously inducted into the [[Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame]] in 1962,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fresnoahof.org/current-past-inductees|title=Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame {{!}} Home|website=Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame {{!}} Home|access-date=2017-02-03}}</ref> and into the [[American Motorcyclist Association|AMA]] [[Motorcycle Hall of Fame]] in 1998.


== References ==
== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


== External links ==
== External links ==
* [http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/hofbiopage.asp?id=168 AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame * http://www.speedwaychampions.com/world-champions.php Speedwaychampions.com]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081002084437/http://motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/hofbiopage.asp?id=168 AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame]
* [http://www.speedwaychampions.yolasite.com/world-champions.php Speedwaychampions.com]

{{Authority control}}


{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME =Elder, Sprouts
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = American motorcycle speedway rider
| DATE OF BIRTH = 1904-08-04
| PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Fresno, Ca]]
| DATE OF DEATH = 1957
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elder, Sprouts}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elder, Sprouts}}
[[Category:1904 births]]
[[Category:1904 births]]
[[Category:1957 deaths]]
[[Category:1957 suicides]]
[[Category:American speedway riders]]
[[Category:American speedway riders]]
[[Category:Motorcycle Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Motorsport racers who committed suicide]]
[[Category:Southampton Saints riders]]
[[Category:Southampton Saints riders]]
[[Category:West Ham Hammers riders]]
[[Category:American expatriate speedway riders in England]]
[[Category:1957 deaths]]
[[Category:Suicides in California]]

Latest revision as of 03:54, 22 April 2024

James Lloyd 'Sprouts' Elder
Elder on the cover of The Graphic, November 30, 1929
Born(1904-08-04)4 August 1904
Fresno, California
Died8 August 1957(1957-08-08) (aged 53)
Fresno, California
NationalityAmerican
Career history
1930Southampton Saints
Individual honours
1925American Champion
1927, 1928Maroubra Golden Helmet
1928Manchester Golden Helmet
1928Leicester Golden Helmet
1928West Ham Golden Gauntlet
1928West Ham Championship
1928Wimbledon Silver Wheel
1928Wimbledon Silver Sash
1928West Ham Silver Belt
1929Scottish Golden Helmet
1929Scottish Silver Helmet
1929, 1930, 1931Argentine Golden Helmet
1929, 1930Argentine Silver Helmet
1929Argentine Bronze Helmet
1931World Champion (unofficial)

James Lloyd Elder, known as Sprouts Elder (born 4 August 1904 in Fresno, California, Unihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Aboutted States – died 8 August 1957 in Fresno, California) was an international motorcycle speedway rider.[1][2] Elder is considered the father of American broadsliding.

Career

[edit]

Elder initially wanted to become a jockey but by his late teens had grown to almost six feet tall, leading to his 'Sprouts' nickname.[3] He got a job in a motorcycle shop and began racing, eventually taking up speedway.[3] He initially learned to race racing on some of the last surviving board track racing circuits during the 1920s. In the late 1920s Elder really began to make a name for himself by racing overseas.[4]

Elder was also a pioneer of speedway racing in the USA. He was a champion rider at home and abroad during the 1920s and early 1930s and helped organize speedway racing on the east and west coasts of America, later becoming an AMA referee and a member of the competition committee. In 1925 Sprouts Elder became the inaugural AMA American Speedway Champion.

Elder was also a visitor to Australia, winning the Maroubra Golden Helmet four times in 1927, and once in 1928 on the concrete 1 mile Maroubra Speedway.[5] In Australia Elder raced against top Australian as well as several top British and American riders who also spent the winter months racing in the Australian summer, mostly on the larger showground tracks of the day such as the Sydney Showground Speedway, Brisbane Exhibition Ground (Ekka), the Wayville Showground in Adelaide, and Perth's Claremont Speedway (as of 2014 only the Ekka and Wayville stand as they did in the late 1920s and early 1930s when Elder rode there). Elder also won titles in South America, including the first unofficial Speedway World Championship event at Buenos Aires, Argentina, while under contract to A.J. Hunting. He also won numerous Argentine Gold, Silver and Bronze Helmets in 1929, 1930 and 1930.

1928 saw Elder turn his attention to racing in the United Kingdom, becoming one of the most popular riders in the country. He could command fees of £100 per meeting, plus prize money, and once earned £350 in a day by racing at three nearby tracks.[3] He is estimated to have earned £50,000 in his first three years of riding in Britain.[3] Crowds of 30,000 to 40,000 were not uncommon at larger meetings during the heyday of speedway racing in England. Elder's popularity was revealed when the British paper Speedway News honoured Elder by calling him the greatest showman of all time.[4] In 1928 he won several titles in Britain, including the Golden Helmet at White City, Manchester, the Golden Gauntlet and West Ham Championship at West Ham, the Silver Wheel and Silver Sash at Wimbledon, the Silver Belt at Custom House, and the Golden Helmet at Leicester,[6] while also winning the Scottish Gold and Silver Helmets in 1929. He never rode for the West Ham Hammers in 1929 but was their overseas representative in the Star Riders' Championship,[7] and in 1930 he rode for the Southampton Saints.[8]

Elder was one of speedway's pioneers and featured in the first Star Riders' Championship, the forerunner to the Speedway World Championship in 1929. He was beaten in the semi-final of the 'overseas' section by Australian Vic Huxley.

During the mid-1930s, Elder returned to the United States to help organize American speedway. Speedway racing was among the popular forms of motorcycle racing in the country. Elder, along with Wilbur Lamoreaux, Jack and Cordy Milne, he helped found and promote speedway in America.[4]

Retirement

[edit]

Elder retired from racing after joining the California Highway Patrol and was responsible for securing sponsorship from the Highway Patrol for a number of meetings. Elder retired from the patrol after suffering life-threatening injuries in a traffic accident. Even after retirement, Elder stayed involved with racing through his duties on the AMA Competition Committee.[4]

He lost his fortune after investing in a failed mining venture.[3]

Death

[edit]

Elder died in 1957 after committing suicide following the death of his wife.[1] He was posthumously inducted into the Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame in 1962,[9] and into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Bamford, R. & Stallworthy, D. (2003) Speedway – The Pre War Years, Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2749-0
  2. ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e Chaplin, John (1990) "Sprouts: The Scarlet Streak", in Speedway Special: The Classic Legends, Penrove Books, ISBN 0-9515857-0-3, p. 55-62
  4. ^ a b c d "Sprouts Elder". AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2008-10-09.
  5. ^ Australian Golden Helmet
  6. ^ Jones, Alan (2010) Speedway in Leicester: The Pre-War Years, Automedia, p. 14-15
  7. ^ West Ham Hammers riders E to H
  8. ^ Morgan, Tom (1947) The People Speedway Guide, Odhams Press, p. 58
  9. ^ "Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame | Home". Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame | Home. Retrieved 2017-02-03.
[edit]
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