Bobby Beaton (speedway rider)
{{Short description|British and Scottish motorcycle speedway rider}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox Speedway rider
| name = Bobby Beaton
| image =
| nationality = British (Scottish)
| birth_date = {{birth-date and age|14 May 1952}}
| birth_place = Blantyre, Scotland
| death_date =
| death_place =
| career1 = Glasgow Tigers
| years1 = 1968–1972, 1986–1988
| career2 = Coatbridge Tigers
| years2 = 1973
| career3 = Hull Vikings
| years3 = 1974-1981
| career4 = Newcastle Diamonds
| years4 = 1982–1984
| career5 = Belle Vue Aces
| years5 = 1982-1983
| career6 = Edinburgh Monarchs
| years6 = 1984-1985
| indivyear1 = 1980
| indivhonour1 = British Championship finalist
| indivyear2 =
| indivhonour2 =
| teamyear1 = 1979
| teamhonour1 = Inter-League Four Team Tournament
| teamyear2 = 1982, 1983
| teamhonour2 = National League Champion
| teamyear3 = 1982
| teamhonour3 = National League KO Cup Winner
| teamyear4 = 1982, 1983
| teamhonour4 = National League Supernational Playoff Winner
| teamyear5 = 1982, 1983
| teamhonour5 = National League Four Team Champion
}}
John Robert Thompson Beaton (born 14 May 1952) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider from Scotland.{{cite web |url=https://wwosbackup.proboards.com/thread/228/bobby-beaton|title=Speedway riders, history and results|website=wwosbackup|access-date=21 July 2021}}{{cite web |url=https://blantyreproject.com/2016/09/beaton-brothers/|title=Beaton Brothers|website=Blantyre project|access-date=21 July 2021}}
Speedway career
Beaton rode in the top tier of British Speedway from 1968 to 1985, riding for various clubs.{{cite web |url=https://britishspeedway.co.uk/docs/Ultimate_Index_1929-2022.pdf |title=ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022 |website=British Speedway |access-date=12 August 2023}}{{cite web |url=https://www.speedwaygb.co.uk/historyarchive|title=History Archive|website=British Speedway|access-date=21 July 2021}} He reached the final of the British Speedway Championship in 1980.{{cite web|url=http://www.speedway.org/history/|title=HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK|website=Speedway.org|access-date=21 July 2021}}
In 1982, he helped the Newcastle Diamonds win the Fours Championship during the 1982 National League season and he repeated the success the following year during the 1983 National League season.{{cite news |title=Heartbreak puncture robs Tigers of national Fours title |work=Cambridge Daily News |date=26 July 1982 |access-date=10 May 2023 |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003740/19820726/019/0019 | via = British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription }}{{cite news |title=Tigers miss out again in dramatic finish |work=Cambridge Daily News |date=25 July 1983 |access-date=10 May 2023 |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003740/19830725/019/0019 | via = British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription }}
At retirement he had earned 15 international caps for Scotland national speedway team and 1 cap for the Great Britain national speedway team.
Family
His younger brother Jim Beaton was a speedway rider and his older brother George Beaton was a junior rider before he was killed in a car crash in 1972. His father Jimmy Beaton Sr. was a promoter at Glasgow Tigers.