Shrub

Knew I should have scrolled back a few pages to check!

Shouldn't the Tiger be on that list? Born in 1941 I think. And like you, Friedek was the only one on that list I never saw ride

Always lively 'banter' on the terraces there, Steve! I could have been one of the fans you were having discussions with! Normally it was the Dons fans getting frustrated as the Witches were winning so easily! I enjoyed my visits to Plough Lane. In the 70's early 80's it was the polar opposite to Foxhall Heath. The stadium looked so smart. Always felt I should wipe my feet on entering! The racing was entertaining, good atmosphere on the steep terracing and I liked how compact and enclosed it was, again the total opposite to Foxhall. You could sense the history. Enjoyable as it was watching the customary tonking of the Dons back in 70's, I think the most fun was had though in the two seasons the Witches dropped down to the NL, 1989 and 90. The PA was always cranked up, Dave Lanning really got the crowd going and there were some superb meetings between the two teams. I think the Dons won them all! - but always tight. We would have a sweepstake amongst us as to which section of fence Moggo would take out first. Mind you, we did that everywhere...

And of course there was that loony Tormod Langli at Halifax and I think Bristol before then in the mid '70's. Rather robust style but I think his main claim to fame was breaking his arm hang gliding

Lucky for 13 years?! They won three league titles and 4 KO Cups. And most seasons if they weren't there they were thereabouts. In '76 when they won the double they lost No.1 John Louis for six weeks due to injury and No 3 Tony Davey also missed a couple at the time due to a workshop accident yet operated R/R and double R/R instead of guests. Louis was top of the averages so in theory could have used any one as a guest. Berry took a stand as he could see the damage that guests did to the credibility of the sport. It can be done.

And ever since those halcyon days people keep making excuses, saying yes but... instead of dealing with the problem. As stated, Ipswich operated 13 years without guests. It can be done.

They also said they were a 'necessary evil' back in the halcyon days of the 70's and early 80's, yet, as has been mentioned on the forum many times before, Ipswich under John Berry proved you can operate without guests and still be highly successful.

And Ted Howgego had the lot beat!

You probably felt how I felt on the journey home after the absolute stuffing you dished out in the league fixture! And how it's felt being an Ipswich fan these past 20 or so years.....

You're right it was frost and I believe coupled with it being slightly over-watered. It was a strange meeting, we had been absolutely annihilated in the league at Hyde Road a couple of months before but came up full of confidence after destroying Reading at Smallmead earlier in the week to win the league so didn't know what to expect. In the end it was a very easy Ipswich win. You mention Mort and PC being barely able to slide their bikes which is true yet Sanders, Knight Niemi and Cook had no problems, indeed (from memory) I think Richard Knight recorded one of the fastest times of the season during the meeting. A case of the home side caught out with unusual home track conditions and the away side just got on with it and rode it as they saw it? It was a shame it did end like that though, it could have been a truly classic final. Certainly the two best sides in the league, Belle Vue the strongest on paper against a confident Ipswich side on a roll. Two teams with some great racers in them. It is mad isn't it, having the showpiece event at that time of year when the weather is likely to be the winner? We did go out onto the track well after the meeting / bars closing and I can't ever remember seeing such deep ruts on a track. And after a few steps it felt like you had a couple of bricks strapped to your feet...

John Louis, Tony Davey, Mike Lanham, Ted Howgego and Moggo

The rule was reputedly brought in to stop Louis being used by all and sundry as a guest in Div 1, after he was guesting often for Newport in 1970. Shrimp's crash was actually in heat 4, his third ride of the afternoon, it seemed a routine first bend spill. It's scary to think I saw that 49 years ago.....

Some really good shouts on here and I'd just like to add Tony Davey. Only started riding late 1970, had a handful of matches at the tail end of the season to average 3.38. On to 1971, he achieved in his first six matches scores of 15-5 (away), 15-5 (a) + track record, 12-4 (h) + T/R, paid 14-5(a), 15-5 (h) 9-4 (h) plus a fall. Ended the season on 9.93, with 9 full and three paid max, finishing 7th in the overall averages. What could have been but for the terrible hand injury the following year....

Not really sure how to title this one! What I mean is what examples are there of meetings between two sides on the same track in the same season which have produced hugely opposite results. It came to mind when chatting to my Dad at the weekend, the conversation always turns to speedway and meetings we attended. He remembered from 1977 Belle Vue v Ipswich, KO Cup in early summer ending 59-19 to BV. The league match in September ended 26-52 (PC wasn't riding). Not quite so big a swing, the same two sides in 1984 league 55-23 to BV, six weeks later in the Cup Final 33-45 to Ipswich. So a 40 point loss turned into a 26 point win. Are there any better?

Back in either 1988 or 89 I was at the Czech Golden Helmet at Pardubice where we stayed at the Grande Hotel. The night before the main meeting we were all in the bar (beer was the equivalent of 2p per pint, a Coca Cola was 4p) when in walked Kelly Moran, he'd flown in late after riding for Belle Vue(?) earlier. He proceeded to catch up with everyone else and by 2am was totally pissed, ignoring all attempts to get him to go to bed. I guess around 3am he called it a night - around 12 hours before the meeting - and promptly fell over in the lift and damaged a hand which swelled up like a balloon. Next day we were on the bus ready to go to the meeting but no Kelly, who was getting a lift with us. The tour organiser eventually got him up and out and he was clearly hungover. The parade for the meeting back then involved all the riders walking a lap of the track which they did, waving at the noisy crowd but trudging along on his own about 20 yards behind the rest came Kelly, wearing still dirty leathers. He ran two very distant lasts and that was his meeting done. The meeting organisers must have felt extremely angry and let down. As has been said, a super talented rider who didn't achieve anywhere near what he could have.

As has been said before on here John Berry proved over many years you can operate without guests - and still be highly successful.

Again from memory Olle had an easy style that took up a lot of track but as hard as nails when he wanted to be. Regarding the Rick France incident, I was stood by the stock car fence on the third bend looking directly down the straight watching these two blokes genuinely kicking hell out of each other. I think, though my memory may be wrong here, the other Sheffield rider (Reg Wilson?) had been excluded after a fall following a robust challenge from Olle, he then carried out something similar to France in the re-run which lead to the kung-fu, both then fell, France was excluded giving the Witches a 5-0! Olle would have been around 44 years old at the time!

Can't believe I post this and within 24 hours the sad passing of Olle Nygren is announced. Olle won the first heat of the above meeting. I was quite young when he rode for Ipswich, what I remember most about him was his winning times were usually 2-3 seconds slower than all the other times, which I later came to realise was due to track craft, the fact you never needed to put on sunglasses to look at his machinery and him and Rick France kicking lumps out of each other down the backstraight at Foxhall during a race, real X-rated stuff. A true speedway legend.

Can't exactly remember my first meeting, my Dad took me during school holidays from 1969, I'd have been 4 for my first one. I count my first one instead from when I was allowed to go every week and that was from July 27th 1972, Ipswich v Leicester: Ipswich 1 Olle Nygren 2 Sandor Levai 3 Tommy Johansson 4 Alan Sage 5 John Louis 6 Tony Davey 7 Billy Sanders Leicester 1 Ray Wilson 2 Norman Storer 3 John Boulger 4 Malcolm Shakespeare 5 Dave Jessup 6 Alan Cowland 7 Malcolm Brown The Witches chucked away an eight point lead to lose 40-38 From the Witches Sandor and Billy are no longer with us and from the Lions, as far as I can find out are all still going apart from Alan Cowland

Maybe a situation the other way round? I saw Brett Alderton tragically killed at King's Lynn back in '82 and my memory of that was he had a very young and speedway wise inexperienced Jeremy Doncaster fall in front of him entering the third bend and Brett, though not miles behind but also not overly close just ploughed into the stricken machine , there appeared to be no attempt to lay the bike down, and ended up hitting the fence head first. I'm sure most of us have seen riders drop on a sixpence to avoid fallen riders, to me sometimes it happens so fast it must be an instant natural reaction as there'd be no time to think and then react.

Also on the first bend, probably after shoving past Lefty when leaving the Top House! About half a dozen of us hired a crap cheap mini bus for the weekend, the plan was to camp anywhere we saw suitable. Left Friday evening, stopped at a pub on the A1 near Peterborough for a beer, set off again then back to pub to retrieve my coat complete with tickets that I'd forgotten, then camped at some service station. Top House, final then on to Halifax for the evening meeting then pub. Then looked for somewhere to camp, it was pissing with rain by then and very dark, finally found some quiet flat area to pitch the tents, just got set up when flashing blue lights descended upon us. We were apparently camping on a cricket pitch and were politely asked to bugger off. Moved on and we all slept in the van. Onto Belle Vue for the test match then broke down on the way home. Happy Days!

And there's some strong contenders in that field, from Ipswich signings in the 90's and early 00's alone!

We used to often have a circus camped on part of the car park during the summer. This one evening, I guess because it was late and the speedway crowd had left they tethered this camel for the night in the car park, I was told afterwards they often tethered the 'tamer' (or ones without big teeth!) animals out for the night when the weather was nice. Doubt it would be allowed to happen now. Anyway my journey across the very dark car park, vaguely aiming for a gap in the scrub to cut the corner off the walk to the road took me directly into the path of a sleeping and subsequently very noisy and indignant camel. I sort of caught it with my foot somewhere around it's rear end and over I went. I don't know who was most surprised but it don't half sober you up quickly! I do remember patting it's head and apologising to it!

Sorry Steve, as they say I've had one hell of a crappy week! Anyway, to put you out of your misery......... a sleeping camel!!

Drunk and in the pitch black I'd still be able to avoid that!