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HertsRacer

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Posts posted by HertsRacer

  2. Posted

    17 hours ago, iris123 said:

    Another new piece of speedway history for me.

    Apparently after the 1932/33 Australian season Hoskins along with a group of riders set out to conquer America. A decent group including Frank Arthur, Billy Lamont, Jack Ormston, George Greenwood and Ray Tauser initially wanted to start off in Toronto, but couldn't find a suitable track. They then headed off to New York where the same situation met them, But apparently a US style speedway was going on at Coney Island, but the touring group found they had to ride at a slow pace to make a decent match of it with the locals. On the other coast things were different with 10 tracks running and a good standard of opponent

    The tour wasn't a great success, but Hoskins said they broke even. Yet again, Madison Square Gardens were said to be interested in the sport.Plans were for a group of US riders to head out for Australia and Hoskins and his group would head back to the US the next year

    Not sure if anyone can add to this, but it seems as far as I can tell neither of these planned tours took place. A US team did make Australia in 1935 though

    What happened to Hoskins UK career at this time? He left Wembley and took over at West Ham sometime around this period. Seems all the riders took a break from UK speedway this season ?

    Think it was after this tour that Hoskins and Frank Arthur formed a company to run speedway and cars at the Sydney Royale. Jack Ormston took 1933 off to run the family butchers business, returning to Halls Green the next season. Ray Tauser was recovering from a bad injury I think. 

    • Like 1

  3. Posted

    2 hours ago, iris123 said:

    Also a possibility Henning Loof stayed on ? I think he got married to a British woman, although he did turn up in Germany a few years back and rode in one or two meetings before disappearing again. So not sure where he is

    His Instagram account says he lives in Somerset. Don't know when that was posted though.

    • Like 1

  4. Posted

    15 hours ago, iris123 said:

    There was a polish rider that stayed on and lived down by Exeter possibly ?

    Could this have been Max Rech who was Polish and rode for Fleetwood and St Austell in the early 1950's. I read somewhere that he settled in England after retiring from speedway.

    • Like 1

  7. Posted

    1 hour ago, auntie doris said:

    Just been given this programme, my current and ex-team. Anyone have score and heat details? Briggo at 3 for Rangers.

    Go onto Speedway Researcher website under team by team, Swindon, all the details are there. Briggo scored an 18 point max that night.

     

     

    • Like 2

  8. Posted

    3 hours ago, cityrebel said:

    Who would go to Northside with its limited facilities. When NL racing was staged at Iwade, no one went. Yet a couple of miles down the road, they turn up in their droves to watch the same level at Central Park. 

    Thought I read years ago that one of the conditions of the grants received to help build Northside was that professional racing was not allowed. Has that changed or was I just imagining it? 

  9. Posted

    1st August 1961, Parents (both former Wembley and Harringay supporters) took me while on holiday to an East Anglican League match between Yarmouth and Norwich 'B'. Heat 1 won by Roy Trigg (Y) followed by Clive Featherby (N), Peter Atkins (N), and Johnny Fitzpatrick (Y). The Bloaters won 39-37 after both Norwich riders failed to finish in the last heat. Been hooked ever since.

  10. Posted

    47 minutes ago, gustix said:

    When stock car racing started at The Firs, Norwich, in 1954, speedway riders were banned by the Control Board from competing there - and at other tracks. Many skirted the ban by driving under other names. The Norwich opening meetings were dominated by a driver named Spencer Morton. I have a suspicion who that may have been. Anyone care to speculate? I'll give my opinion later in this thread - if there are more Posts!!!

    Definitely Wal Morton. 

  11. Posted

    3 hours ago, gustix said:

    Basically I remember Ernie Hancock as a keen supporter of New Cross through from circa 1946 to its demise in the 1960s.
    When I first started attending New Cross in the late 1940s I recall Ernie and his mum used to position at the riders stadium entrance. They both wore scarves, carried rattles and wore the club badge and its yearly update bars. In cause of time I found out that they were surnamed Hancock.
    In subsequent years up to the 1953 New Cross closure I know nothing of him, but he appeared again on the New Cross scene briefly in 1954 when stock cars arrived in the UK on Good Friday. He was then active working on the centre green track staff.
    I then have recollections that he became involved around the early 1960s with the Rye House track staff for a few seasons.
    He next came to note when he was the organiser for a ‘teletext’ results system that appeared on a daily basis. But my memories of that are hazy.
    Speedway wise he also published a speedway magazine for a few editions circa 1963.
    It must be 10 years or so since he passed away. At the time he lived in a flat/house in Sydenham, south London. From what I recall there was a tragedy speedway-wise when this happened. Apparently the landlord cleared all his speedway collection along with other personal items into a skip and it was all carted away. I have a vague idea that Terry Stone heard what was happening and tried to arrive in time to save Ernie’s collection but was too late to do so.

    Remember him being involved with Rye House. Think there was an individual trophy named after him which was raced for. I remember him being smallish in statue, with black hair and black framed glasses. I may be wrong, but I think he died a lot longer than ten years ago.

  13. Posted

    3 hours ago, Skidder1 said:

    If you bothered to actually read what I wrote rather than getting into yet another 'I know better then you' strop, I never stated that Eurosport was on Freeview !  I stated that Eurosport (or the Discovery group if you prefer) have other channels that are available on Freeview for example Quest and Quest Red, which have previously been utilised to show sports including speedway and other motor sport. I really don't know how that amounts to ignorance - merely stating a fact - something that someone such as yourself claims 'to know something about'!

    You are quite right in that Quest and Quest Red are both owned by Discovery Inc. Although I can't find any record of Quest Red ever showing sport, Quest have shown Superbikes, MotoGP, Formula E, Le Mans, Darts, Snooker, Football etc either live or highlights. 

    Always thought Eurosport was available on Freeview, but as I don't use it I may be wrong. Certainly Quest is available on Virgin, not sure about Quest Red.

  14. Posted

    1 hour ago, Skidder1 said:

    Yes Quest and Discovery etc are all part of the Eurosport stable.

    Not quite. Eurosport is owned by US media company Discovery Inc. The Discovery Channel is their major American channel. Eurosport is their worldwide sports outlet.

    • Like 1

  15. Posted

    26 minutes ago, chunky said:

    That's one of the things I was looking for! The only tracks I have found multiple appearances were Rye and Coventry; everywhere else seems to be a one-off, but without complete records, it's difficult to tell.

    There is one other item I found. It's a write-up in the Peterborough Advertiser from 17 June 1955, and references a line-up for a meeting. I can't access the complete article, but looking at some of the riders listed, it would suggest that it was at Norwich. Joe is listed with names such as Tip Mills, Ivor Brown, Malcolm Flood, Wal Morton, and Harold Sansby. Again, I am trying to find out more about that!

    Steve

    Steve

    Many thanks for that. I've managed to find the 1955 article (and others)  through the British Newspaper Archives. Seems he was a grass tracker before he tried speedway.

    Once again thanks for all your efforts, very much appreciated.

  16. Posted

    38 minutes ago, chunky said:

    Can't say I've heard of him before, and there isn't much to be found online. What I did find - and I assume it's the same guy - was that he went into sidecar speedway. There are records of him racing at Coventry in 1962 and at Norwich and Hednesford the following year. Unfortunately, even looking for more info with regard to the outfits doesn't lead anywhere.

    One interesting thing is that at Norwich, he apparently raced against Harry Denton, who also rode solos. Harry rode in the "Stars of Tomorrow" meeting at King's Lynn in 1965 (at the age of 49 or 50!), but tragically lost his life at Adelaide's Rowley Park in November 1967.

    Back to Joe Neath, and I wonder if he just dabbled in various forms of motorsport, without committing to any. I will keep looking...

    Steve

    Many thanks Steve, some great stuff there.

    I can only find him riding speedway in early 1960, so he may well have just flirted with the sport and moved on. The fact he appeared at Coventry and Hednesford would suggest he may have been part of the Leicestershire branch of our family.

  17. Posted

    With so many amazingly knowledgeable people on this site, I wonder if anybody could help me with any information about a rider called Joe Neath who rode in three open meetings at Rye House in 1960 as well as representing Rayleigh in a 4 team tournament.

    It's an unusual surname, but one we share, and I would like to find out if we were related in any way. The only other rider I know of with this surname was Chris Neath, who I'm not directly related with.

     

     

     

     

  19. Posted

    46 minutes ago, chunky said:

    Rremember that it was the introduction of the entertainment tax that was at the root of the problem back then, not a lack of support.

    Plus, back then, there was no shortage of venues - and many potential venues - available. The Great British NIMBY has ensured that isn't the case now, as well as the demise of greyhound racing.

    Steve

    Although entertainment tax killed many tracks, attendances were already falling after the post war boom. You are right about the number of venues available at the time, many of which have now been demolished. Looking at pictures of some of these venues, which were right next to houses,  they would never have got planning permission these days.

  21. Posted

    16 hours ago, orion said:

    Other sports that  are much more televised don't have a problem .. another only in speedway thing .

    Problem is there is no atmosphere at live speedway these days, so you don't miss anything by watching it on TV. I watch ice hockey on TV and it is a bit dull, but go to a live match the atmosphere is electric with plenty of away supporters and lots of banter. I would always rather pay to watch a game live than watch it on TV.

    • Like 2

  22. Posted

    On 6/17/2019 at 5:35 PM, Chris116 said:

    The short lived and VERY NARROW track at Romford was at the old football stadium. I remember enjoying my visits as a young teenager but it may be due to rose tinted spectacles syndrome! 

    Always thought the racing at Brooklands was good. Thinking back Wembley was ok, as was White City.  Also went to Rochdale which was around a rugby pitch, though I can't remember what the racing was like, and Nelson which had a football pitch, the track being narrow and virtually square in shape. That was awful.  

  24. Posted

    On 4/18/2019 at 12:04 PM, Sidney the robin said:

    Just been reading up on the Irish lady rider who rode from the 1920s onwards Fay Taylour she seemed a real star.Mixing it with the men and being a box office attraction when visiting different venues .Anybody got any more information about her be great to hear about it.

    Try http://www.historicspeedway.co.nz/Fay Taylour.htm or just type Fay Taylour speedway into your search engine. There's lots available.

    • Like 1

  25. Posted

    11 minutes ago, gustix said:

    Possibly there were so many sports stadia in 'the old days' because TV was not so dominant as it is nowadays? I remember a 1951 comment by Wimbledon's Canadian star Jimmy Gibb in regard to the demise at that time of speedway as a major motorcycle sport in the USA - he blamed much of it on the many attractions TV had to offer.  

    It is generally thought that the decline in pubs, cinemas, theatres and sporting venues, can be blamed directly on the Queen. Her Coronation in 1953 led to thousands of people buying or renting television sets to watch the event, and meant that in future they no longer needed to leave their houses to find entertainment.

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