Arthur George "Bluey" Wilkinson (27 August 1911 – 27 July 1940) was an international speedway rider. Wilkinson was Speedway World Champion in 1938 after narrowly missing out on winning the inaugural Championship in 1936. Early life Wilkinson was nicknamed "Bluey" because of his red hair (an Australian custom). At the age of four, Bluey's family moved to Bathurst, New South Wales which he really considered to be his home town. He was working as a butcher boy when speedway first started at the Bathurst Sports Ground in 1928. It was love at first sight for Wilkinson and he promptly gave up a promising rugby league career and invested his savings in a battered old belt driven Rudge. Career On the Rudge, Bluey Wilkinson wasn't a world-beater, but when Sydney and international star rider Lionel Van Praag came to Bathurst he loaned Wilkinson one of his spare bikes. In a battle of future World Champions, Wilkinson defeated Van Praag in a match race and his talent was recognised. He upgraded his machinery and the results came with it. In 1929 he headed for England in an effort to get noticed by rich Speedway clubs. He rode in the lower divisions for three seasons before he was offered a contract by the West Ham Hammers and stayed with the London based club until 1939. He went on to finish third in the Star Riders' Championship in 1933. The Riders' Championship was the forerunner to the Speedway World Championship which was first held in 1936. Wilkinson continued to return home to Australia to race in the Australian season, usually October through April. 1935 saw Bluey win the Australian Championship at the Sydney Showground. He would win the title again in 1938 at the 509m long Showground, winning both the three lap and four lap titles and on both occasions defeating Wilbur Lamoreaux of the United States. At the inaugural Speedway World Championship Final at London's Empire (Wembley) Stadium in 1936, Wilkinson was undefeated to score a 15-point maximum. However, as the championship also counted bonus points from the Semi-finals, Bluey finished with a total of 25 points, one behind fellow Aussie Lionel Van Praag and Englishman Eric Langton. Van Praag won a runoff from Langton with Wilkinson credited as finishing the Final in third place. In 1937 Wilkinson won the National League with the Hammers and in 1938 he won the ACU Cup