Mick Handley
Born29 December 1946 (1946-12-29) (age 77)
Dudley, West Midlands, England
NationalityBritish (English)
Career history
1966–1970Wolverhampton Wolves
1968Crayford Highwaymen
1971West Ham Hammers
1971–1972Cradley Heathens
1973, 1975Chesterton/Stoke
1973Long Eaton Rangers
1973–1975Swindon Robins
1976–1978, 1979–1982Oxford Cheetahs
1978Scunthorpe Saints

Michael Handley (born 29 December 1946 Dudley) known as Mick Handley is a former Motorcycle speedway rider from England.[1][2]

Speedway career

Mick was about 16 when he bought a speedway bike, which he used to push across fields to a cycle speedway track where he started to learn to ride. When he first rode at Cradley in second half rides, he had no transport and he would push the bike the two miles from home to the track, which he did several times before a lift was organised for him. A neighbour would give him lifts to Wolverhampton until he had an ultimatum to decide on which club he would ride for. As Wolves were about to tour in Italy and offered him a place on the team, he signed without hesitation. Handley rode in the top two tiers of British Speedway from 1966 to 1982, riding for various clubs.[3][4]

In 1968, he topped the league averages during the 1968 British League Division Two season.[1][5] When Oxford Speedway was rescued from closure in 1976, Mick was one of the first riders to represent the reformed Oxford Cheetahs under promoters Harry Bastable and Tony Allsopp. [6] His last professional race was in 1983 at Oxford

After speedway

He had still remained a builder by trade throughout his career and returned to housebuilding full time after hanging up his leathers. Lives in Dudley with wife, Arlene, and is a father and grandfather. To keep fit, he uses a gym and does boxing training. No longer with any involvement with speedway, he is a Wolverhampton Wanderers supporter

References

  1. 1 2 "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  2. ↑ "Mick Handley". Cradley Speedway. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  3. ↑ "History Archive". British Speedway. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  4. ↑ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  5. ↑ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  6. ↑ Lawson,K (2018) “The Cheetahs – The Resurrection”. ISBN 978-0-244-69934-5
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