Charles_Cullum_(speedway_rider)

Charles Cullum (speedway rider)

Charles Cullum (speedway rider)

American motorcycle speedway rider (1913 – 1990)

Charles Leonard Cullum (March 8, 1913 – January 9, 1990) was a motorcycle speedway rider from the United States.[1]

Quick Facts Born, Died ...

Biography

Cullum, born in Missouri, was part of Putt Mossman's motorcycle stunt team in the mid-1930s, after the pair met at a motorcycle dealership. Cullum and Mossman travelled all over the America and beyond, performing wild stunts.[2] He gained the unwanted nickname of Pee-Wee Cullum due to his size.

Cullum took up speedway and won the Dirt Track Championnat du Monde (an early version of the Speedway World Championship and rival of the Star Riders' Championship) at Stade Buffalo in Paris during 1936.

As America's third best rider in 1949, behind Wilbur Lamoreaux and Jack Milne, the Belle Vue Aces were keen to secure a contract with him but faced problems over S.R.A rules.[3]

However, Cullum did begin his British leagues career riding for Belle Vue Aces, during the 1949 Speedway National League season.[4] He won the National Trophy with the Manchester club during his debut season.[5] Another highlight was also reaching the Championship round of the 1949 Individual Speedway World Championship.[6]

The following season in 1950, he signed on again for Belle Vue and improved his average to 7.02,[7] despite struggling with cartilage issues in the summer and wearing a special steel leg brace.[8]

References

  1. [1]
    "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  2. [2]
    "Putt Mossman". AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  3. [3]
    "Lone-American rule can keep Pee-Wee off British Tracks". Daily Mirror. 2 March 1949. Retrieved 5 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. [4]
    "1949 season" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  5. [5]
    Oakes, Peter (1978). 1978 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. ISBN 978-0904584509.
  6. [6]
    "Lamoreaux should qualify for finals with Warren". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 29 August 1949. Retrieved 5 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. [7]
    "Rider averages 1929 to 2009" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  8. [8]
    "Cullum is back". Daily Mirror. 14 August 1950. Retrieved 5 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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