Florian Kapała
| Born | 28 March 1929 Szymanowo, Poland |
|---|---|
| Died | 19 November 2007 (aged 78) Tarnów, Poland |
| Nationality | Polish |
| Career history | |
| 1948-1950, 1952-1957 | Rawicz |
| 1951 | Ostrów |
| 1958-1967 | Rzeszów |
| Individual honours | |
| 1961 | Speedway World Championship finalist |
| 1953, 1956, 1961, 1962 | Polish champion |
| 1961 | Continental Final Champion |
| 1961 | Poland Golden Helmet Winner |
| Team honours | |
| 1961 | World Team Cup Winner |
| 1960, 1961 | Polish League Champion |
Florian Kapała (1929 - 2007) was an international speedway rider from Poland.[1]
Speedway career
[edit]Kapała reached the final of the Speedway World Championship in the 1961 Individual Speedway World Championship.[2]
He was a four times Polish champion after he won gold at the Polish Individual Speedway Championship in 1953, 1956, 1961 and 1962.[3] Kapała won the World Team Cup with Poland in 1961.
In 1956 he toured the United Kingdom with the Polish team, which cost £2,000 to organise and was paid by the Polish Motor Club and British authorities.[4] Although he did not ride in the British leagues throughout his career he nearly signed for Birmingham Brummies in 1957[5] and was named in the Wimbledon Dons team during the same season. He was working as an ambulance driver in Poland at the time.[6]
In 2008 the year after his death, the Kolejarz Rawicz renamed their stadium to the Florian Kapała Stadium, in honour of him.[7]
World final appearances
[edit]Individual World Championship
[edit]- 1959 -
London, Wembley Stadium - Reserve - Did not ride - 1961 –
Malmö, Malmö Stadion - 7th - 8pts
World Team Cup
[edit]- 1961 -
Wrocław, Olympic Stadium (with Marian Kaiser / Henryk Żyto / Mieczysław Połukard / Stanisław Tkocz) - Winner - 32pts (6) - 1962 -
Slaný (with Marian Kaiser / Mieczysław Połukard / Joachim Maj / Paweł Waloszek) - 3rd - 20pts (5)
References
[edit]- ^ "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX". British Speedway. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
- ^ "World Speedway finals" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
- ^ Bott, Richard (1980). The Peter Collins Speedway Book No.4. Stanley Paul & Co Ltd. p. 101. ISBN 0-09-141751-1.
- ^ "Polish speedway team visits England". Halifax Evening Courier. 4 May 1956. Retrieved 10 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Pole may sign on". Sports Argus. 4 May 1957. Retrieved 10 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Speedway starts on Good Friday". Streatham News. 19 April 1957. Retrieved 10 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Metalika Recycling Kolejarz Rawicz". Sportowe Katy. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
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