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Edward Kupczyński

Edward Kupczyński
alt=black-and-white photograph of a man sporting a leather jacket and a sash that reads (in Polish): "MISTRZ POLSKI NA ŻUŻLU 1952", which translates to "Polish Champion in Speedway 1952"
Born2 July 1929 (1929-07-02)
Lwów, Poland
Died18 July 2025 (2025-07-19) (aged 96)
Gdańsk, Poland
NationalityPolish
Career history
1950Związkowiec Warszawa
1951–1958Spójnia/Sparta/Ślęza Wrocław
1960–1966Polonia Bydgoszcz
1967–1971Gwardia Łódź
Individual honours
1952Polish Champion

Edward Kupczyński (2 July 1929 – 18 July 2025) was a Polish international speedway rider.[1]

Biography

[edit]

Kupczyński was born in Lviv (part of Poland at the time) on 2 July 1929, to a father who was a soldier in the 14th Jazłowiec Uhlan Regiment.[2] The family moved to Wrocław after World War II and lived near to the Olympic Stadium where he first experienced speedway.[2]

Kupczyński was the champion of Poland, winning the Polish Individual Speedway Championship in 1952.[3][4]

In 1956 he toured the United Kingdom with the Polish team,[5] which cost £2,000 to organise and was paid by the Polish Motor Club and British authorities.[6] He returned with the Polish team for another tour in 1958,[7] in addition to reaching the 1958 European Final as part of the 1958 Individual Speedway World Championship.[8]

Kupczyński met his wife Krystyna Kędzierska by the Brda. After retiring from riding he became a speedway coach for teams such as Polonia, Wybrzeże Gdańsk, and Gwardia Łódź. He died on 18 July 2025, at the age of 96.[2]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "INTERNATIONALS – POLAND". International Speedway. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  2. ^ a b c S.A, Telewizja Polska. "Zmarł wielki mistrz żużla lat 50. i 60. Edward Kupczyński. Jeździł m.in. w Polonii Bydgoszcz". bydgoszcz.tvp.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  3. ^ Bott, Richard (1980). The Peter Collins Speedway Book No.4. Stanley Paul & Co Ltd. p. 101. ISBN 0-09-141751-1.
  4. ^ "Polish Individual Speedway Championship". Historia Sportu Zuzlowego. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Birmingham speedway". Walsall Observer. 11 May 1956. Retrieved 10 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ "Polish speedway team visits England". Halifax Evening Courier. 4 May 1956. Retrieved 10 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ "Easy Speedway win for England". Nottingham Evening News. 7 June 1958. Retrieved 10 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ "Challenge". Sunday Mirror. 13 July 1958. Retrieved 11 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.