Sprouts Elder
| Born |
4 August 1904 Fresno, California |
|---|---|
| Died | 8 August 1957 (aged 53) Fresno, California |
| Nationality |
 United States
|
| Current club information | |
| Career status | Deceased |
| Career history | |
| 1930 | Southampton Saints |
| Individual honours | |
| 1925 | American Champion |
| 1927, 1928 | Maroubra Golden Helmet |
| 1928 | Manchester Golden Helmet |
| 1928 | Leicester Golden Helmet |
| 1928 | West Ham Golden Gauntlet |
| 1928 | West Ham Championship |
| 1928 | Wimbledon Silver Wheel |
| 1928 | Wimbledon Silver Sash |
| 1928 | West Ham Silver Belt |
| 1929 | Scottish Golden Helmet |
| 1929 | Scottish Silver Helmet |
| 1929, 1930, 1931 | Argentine Golden Helmet |
| 1929, 1930 | Argentine Silver Helmet |
| 1929 | Argentine Bronze Helmet |
| 1931 | World Champion (unofficial) |
James Lloyd Elder, known as Lloyd 'Sprouts' Elder (born 4 August 1904 in Fresno, California, United States – died 8 August 1957 in Fresno, California) was an international motorcycle speedway rider. Elder is considered the father of American broadsliding.
Elder initially wanted to become a jockey but by his late teens had grown to almost six feet tall, leading to his 'Sprouts' nickname. He got a job in a motorcycle shop and began racing, eventually taking up speedway. He initially learned to race racing on some of the last surviving board track racing circuits during the 1920s. In the late 1920s Elder really began to make a name for himself by racing overseas.
Elder was also a pioneer of speedway racing in the USA. He was a champion rider at home and abroad during the 1920s and early 1930s and helped organize speedway racing on the east and west coasts of America, later becoming an AMA referee and a member of the competition committee. In 1925 Sprouts Elder became the inaugural AMA American Speedway Champion.
Elder was also a visitor to Australia, winning the Maroubra Golden Helmet four times in 1927, and once in 1928 on the concrete 1 mile Maroubra Speedway. In Australia Elder raced against top Australian as well as several top British and American riders who also spent the winter months racing in the Australian summer, mostly on the larger showground tracks of the day such as the Sydney Showground Speedway, Brisbane Exhibition Ground (Ekka), the Wayville Showground in Adelaide, and Perth's Claremont Speedway (as of 2014 only the Ekka and Wayville stand as they did in the late 1920s and early 1930s when Elder rode there). Elder also won titles in South America, including the first unofficial Speedway World Championship event at Buenos Aires, Argentina, while under contract to A.J.Hunting. He also won numerous Argentine Gold, Silver and Bronze Helmets in 1929, 1930 and 1930.
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