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John Dews

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John Dews
Born(1945-03-26)26 March 1945
Wakefield, England
Died7 August 1995(1995-08-07) (aged 50)
NationalityBritish (English)
Career history
1962-1963Belle Vue Aces
1962-1970Sheffield Tigers
1971-1972Wimbledon Dons
1973-1975Oxford Rebels
1976White City Rebels
Team honours
1962, 1963, 1964Provincial Northern League Champion
1975Midland Cup winner

John Dews (26 March 1945 – 7 August 1995) was a motorcycle speedway rider from England.[1][2]

Career

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Born in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, Dews started his speedway career as a trainee at Belle Vue Aces, had his longest team history with Sheffield Tigers, scoring over 1,300 points for the club. Speedway rules required a change of team due to his averages and he moved to Wimbledon Dons for two years,[3] before Oxford in 1973, as a replacement for Dave Hemus,[4] He won the Radio Oxford Best Pairs match at Oxford in May 1974,[4] partnering Richard Greer.

He was a member of the Midland Cup winning team in 1975, after drawn matches with Swindon Robins in the first round requiring reruns.[5] He then moved with the Rebels under promoters Danny Dunton and Bob Dugard to White City Stadium in 1976,[6][7] where he ended his racing career as a popular rider.[8]

He rode 270 matches in his career, having 1033 rides, with a match average of 6.29. He went back to Sheffield to be the team manager in 1977 until 1980.

John Dews died in August 1995, aged only 50, after a short illness.

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References

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  1. ^ Lawson,K (2018) “Riders, Teams and Stadiums”. ISBN 978-0-244-72538-9
  2. ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  3. ^ "John Dews". WWOS Backup. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  4. ^ a b Bamford,R & Shailes,G (2007). The Story of Oxford Speedway. ISBN 978-0-7524-4161-0
  5. ^ Lawson,K (2018) “Rebels 1975 – The Last Season”. ISBN 978-0-244-99725-0
  6. ^ "John Dews". Acton Gazette. 18 March 1976. Retrieved 22 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ "John Dews to move?". Acton Gazette. 1 April 1976. Retrieved 20 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ "Rider averages 1929 to 2009" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 10 August 2023.