with the Hammers. However the pinnacle of his career was becoming World Champion in 1938 at Wembley Stadium after finishing third in the inaugural Championship in 1936. He was unlucky not to win the crown in 1936 as he was unbeaten in five races in the final held at Wembley, but was relegated to third place behind winner Lionel Van Praag and England's Eric Langton under a 'bonus points' system which operated during qualifying rounds. Wilkinson's 1938 championship win was considered a gutsy effort after he had actually broken his left collarbone in a meeting for West Ham the night before the World Final. Determined not to miss the final, Bluey had the Tottenham Hotspur club doctor put his arm and shoulder in plaster. He ignored the pain he was in to win his first four rides before finishing a safe second in his fifth and last to clinch the World Championship before a crowd of 95,000. Bluey Wilkinson retired from riding in 1939 to become the promoter at the Sheffield Speedway. During his career, Wilkinson also rode for Australia in test matches against England and the United States. He scored a maximum 18 points in each of the five Tests against England staged in Australia in the 1937/38 season, a feat he failed to duplicate the following season by only a single point. Wilkinson was inducted into the Australian Speedway Hall of Fame in 2008. World Final Appearances 1936 - London, Wembley Stadium - 3rd - 25pts 1938 - London, Wembley Stadium - Winner - 22pts Death After being involved in dozens of spectacular crashes during his speedway career and walking away from them all, Bluey was killed in a road accident in the Sydney suburb of Bondi on 27 July 1940. Riding a motorcycle with his wife Muriel as pillion he was struck by a lorry which had swerved to avoid a car. He was killed almost instantly with a fractured skull. Muriel survived the accident physically with only little more than a few cuts and bruises. Players cigarette cards Wilkinson is listed as number 48 of 50 in the 1930s Player's cigarette card collection. External links Bluey Wilkinson Wilkinson, Arthur George (1911–1940) References 1911 births 1940 deaths Australian speedway riders Individual Speedway World Champions Sportsmen from New South Wales West Ham Hammers riders Motorcycle road incident deaths Road incident deaths in New South Wales Sport Australia Hall