BOBBATH

Newport- Welsh championship

I recall Norman Nevitt, also Bill Powell and Jim Yacoby- about the same vintage and level. Are any of these guys still with us-I hope they all are. If memory serves I think Bill Powell was the most successful of the three , but I could be wrong (not for the first time!!!!!)

That's depressing chunks- so many teams gone. BTW Roy Trigg alive and well- unfortunately his wife passed recently. I think Roy now lives in NZ. Tommy Sweetman also still with us and also in NZ

Sorry chunky- I had totally forgotten my previous post- I have indeed become gustix!! Glad you enjoyed it anyway Salty .

First race I ever saw was in 1964- Newport v. Long Eaton. The four riders were Alby Golden, Jon Erskine, Ken Adams and John Mills. Wasps 5-1 and Alby broke the track record. Only one is still with us sad to say. Jon Erskine -who I guess is in his early eighties!! Any other forumlanders recall their first race.

Martin Yeates?

Sorry for the confusion guys re the wrong thread- I'm turning into gustix (RIP)!!

Who was the next Speedway Dane after Morian Hansen- I'm thinking Ole Olsen- but there must have been others before him. Help!!

I agree, I greatly enjoyed this article. Thanks Beirao.

Have just heard from Reg Fearman, who heard from Bert Harkins that Eric has passed away- 94 years old. R.I.P. Eric-that means that all four riders in the first heat of the first ever meeting of the British League have now left us. I remember Eric well.

What do you reckon the increase in speed at Wimbledon in 83 was due to-?

Yup, I reckon so- Norwich had closed so NL were down to 6 tracks. PL was on the up so I think all 3 PL tracks would have opened up anyway. Interesting thread though and I'd be interested in other folks' thoughts.

In his response Trackman used the word "Cobber" -do our Aussie mates still use that word or has it been retired (like me)!!

I'd forgotten that fact about about Halifax. BTW, Tony Clarke rode in 9 BL meetings for WH in 65.

I've been thinking of this for a while. which of those two tracks, both champions in the respective years, were the better. Firstly league results W.Ham in 1965 . Results M.34 W 23 D1 L 10. Halifax in 1966 M 36 W 27 D 0 L 9. Better record for Halifax Head to Head : 1965 Halifax 39-38 at Halifax. West Ham 45-33 at West Ham. 1966 Halifax beat West Ham both times by same score 41-37 each time . Better record for Halifax Riders CMA 1965 West Ham : McKinlay 10.72, Harrfeldt 10.36, Hunter 9.56, Simmons 6.16, Trott 4.6, Leonard 3.68, Ede 2.84 . These were the seven most frequent riders Total of CMA's 48.12 Riders CMA 1966 Halifax : Boocock 10.41, Boothroyd 9.35, Younghusband 9.02, Roper 7.42, Kingston 5.64, Jameson 5.27, Gavros 4.71. These were the seven most frequent riders. Total of CMA's 51.82 Clearly in 1965 the Hammers had the best Heat leaders by far, whereas in 1966 Halifax were by far the better balanced e.g in 66 Gavros' 4.71 lowest of the 7 would be ahead of the 3 lowest Hammers in 65 (Trott, Leonard, Ede) My conclusion, as a nerd , and who went to many meetings both years is that Halifax were more dominant in 66 , than West Ham were in 65, so I reckon that Halifax were a better team in the 66 BL than West Ham were in the 65 BL. Only reason I did all this was because West Ham ,justly , are often more praised for their championship winning season in 65, whereas Halifax's achievement doesn't seem to get the same recognition, which is a shame. Hope folks find this interesting- even the many hammers fans on the forum. Both tremendous teams though