8. Lloyd “Sprouts” Elder
Lloyd “Sprouts” Elder is America’s forgotten speedway star. He was widely known as the “Father of American Broadsliding.” He won the inaugural AMA National Championship in 1925. He also won titles on four different continents. In the late 1920s he turned his attention to racing in England and became an extremely popular rider. The British publication Speedway News referred to him as the “Greatest Showman of All-time.” In 1931, Elder won the Unofficial World Championship. Like Bruce Penhall did for television, when Elder retired from speedway he became a real-life member of the California Highway Patrol.
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