Rye House 1980 Team

[screm 8,057]

If anyone deserved a testimonial it was Kelvin Mullarkey. Makes me laugh when I see riders like Kasprazak earning a lucrative pay day

 

Back in the day riders did actually rider ten years for one club so thoroughly deserved their testimonials, changed days nowadays in the vast majority of cases.

[Toad 26]

Kelvin could ride a bike too, even though his machine sounded as rough as guts and popped round the track! He had the knack of making his bike twice as wide as it should be and seemed to know just where the opposition would be coming from and where to ride to block them, a skill sadly lacking in the highly tuned sport we have now.

 

One second half final I will always remember at Rye is when he held off a young Andrew Silver (must have been '84) who was just starting to make a name for himself and was twice as fast, by blocking his every attempt to get past. Silver jnr was not best pleased in the pits afterwards!

[RobMcCaffery 2,752]

I remember Kelvin coming out of retirement to help out an injury ravaged Rockets side in the late 80's when he would've been in his late 30's... Hughie Saunders must've been mid 30's when he called it a day

Hughie was 35 in '79 (going on 16!) . Kelvin was 39 in his final season with the Rockets, 1990.

 

There was one night after a particularly good after-meeting session in the stadium Saunders and I we were both letting out the booze in the luxury gents. I looked across and said to this drunken apparition "You know Saunders, you were my childhood hero!" I've never seen a man sober up so quickly...

 

Then there was the time we were having a barbecue at Peter Jordison's place. Hugh was loading the bonfire with any wood he could find, roaring "I may not be able to give you a good team but I can at least give you a good fire!"

 

Both of them true characters.

Edited July 23, 2015 by rmc

[Brian 63]

Hubbard and Mullarkey were worth the admission whenever Barney Kennett was in the opposition team. If social media had been around then it would have melted by the numbers outraged at their behaviour.

Great days.

Edited July 23, 2015 by Brian

[RobMcCaffery 2,752]

Hubbard and Mullarkey were worth the admission whenever Barney Kennett was in the opposition team. If social media had been around then it would have melted by the numbers outraged at their behaviour.

Great days.

I remember Barney Kennett being interrupted while walking down the dog track to the pits by a woman presenting him with a very large lollipop on the basis that he was a big baby. He laughed and took it in the spirit intended - just a bit of fun.

 

Oh to see Kennett v Mullarkey round Kingsmead one more time.

[Sharon Mullarkey Johnson 4]

Kelvin is retired after being hospitalised with guillians barre disease, I am his sister and I live in Australia but Kelvin has a facebook Tribute page and has also recently come into the 21st century and become a facebook user himself, although in a wheel chair the same old Kelvin hasnt changed a bit and its been great catching up through technology

[Sharon Mullarkey Johnson 4]

For those interested look up on You Tube scrambling kids 1962 im the cute little blonde lol its a british path BBC doco they done on my dad and brothers and you will see kelvin as an 11 year old

[Willowman 212]

Kelvin is retired after being hospitalised with guillians barre disease, I am his sister and I live in Australia but Kelvin has a facebook Tribute page and has also recently come into the 21st century and become a facebook user himself, although in a wheel chair the same old Kelvin hasnt changed a bit and its been great catching up through technology

You have all got my total sympathy. My dad had this little known disease which also left him disabled to an extent.

[waco 1,026]

I was the track maintenence man at that time at Rye and used to go to away meetings with Hughie Saunders .I can remember a day we were riding at Weymouth after the previous night at Exeter.The team were smashing one another up at Weymouth go cart track just 4 hours before the meeting it was great fun Kelvin nearly turned me over,,could not see that happening today,the team spirit was fabulous,,and the boys won both those meetings and Kelvin Mullarkey won the second half final....

Edited December 6, 2015 by waco

[Phil Silvers 59]

I started going circa 1973/4 when Brian Foote was #1.