Thomas was born in
Ilkley,
West Yorkshire and left school aged 15. After failing to become a professional speedway rider he took up various jobs before finding his way into the promotion of speedway. Thomas and his business partner Jeff Brownhut founded
Workington Comets after a successful application was made by for a licence to race at
Derwent Park for the 1970 season. The move is credited in helping the
Workington Town rugby league club avert financial troubles. The rugby pitch required moving 25 yards sideways to accommodate the speedway track. Thomas started a company called Premier Sporting Promotions and in 1971 began to bring entertainment acts such as
Ken Dodd to Derwent Park. It was at Hull that he formed a promoting partnership with
Wally Mawdsley. In 1974, Thomas bought the defunct
Sunderland Gladiators licence and transferred it to re-form the
Newcastle Diamonds, entering the team to race in the
1975 New National League season. Thomas was named the manager of the England team in December 1979, to work alongside
Eric Boocock, who was named coach and technical adviser. As England team manager he saw the international success, which included winning the
1980 Speedway World Team Cup and
1980 Speedway World Pairs Championship. His career took a dive after he incurred financial losses of £40,000 with Newcastle during the 1984 season. He was forced to sell his house before launching a new promotion company. Workington experienced a golden era, winning multiple trophies from 1999 to 2010. Thomas died from cancer in 2011. == References ==