Bavarian 763 Posted January 1, 2019 Stadion RKS SKra Warszawa This is the sports Stadium in Warsaw, where the speedway meetings were held from 1948 until 1969, when the cinder track was replaced with an artificial track for athletics. The Stadium has a 35,000 capacity, so I guess that the 50,000 crowd reported for that international speedway meeting in 1956 was a little bit exaggerated (as usual in those days). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bavarian 763 Posted January 1, 2019 (edited) 3 hours ago, f-s-p said: I’ll use this thread then... while scouting for other info, I found a meeting report from a meeting in Warsaw, late in 1956. Rider in the thread title was in it eith a couple of Finns as well. I’d like to know where in Warsaw they rode, in front of 50k people on the worst soeedway track in Poland. Read so in the article. Polish Wikipedia with a couple of Pictures of the Stadion RKS Skra Warszawa And here is some info about the History of Speedway in Warsaw (in Polish language) of which google translated the following part relevant to Your inquiry: Warsaw was the host of the first post-war meeting on the Speedway. The opponent of our representation was Czechoslovakia, which at that time was a recognized company on the European tracks. The place of the competition was a 405-meter track "Budowlanych", still under construction. The date September 26, 1948 probably well stuck in the memory of all those who managed to get to the stadium at Wawelska Street. The first steps on the international arena turned out to be successful for Poles. Starting with: Smoczyk, Draga, Jankowski, Kołeczek, Krakowiak, Siekalski, Wąsikowski and Wrocławski, they made a huge sensation, winning 75 - 73 against a reputable international rival. Later the "Budowlanych" track has been the place of international competitions many times. We hosted in Warsaw teams from Sweden, Finland, Austria, the Netherlands and the then professors of the slag, or league teams of the Three Crowns, Monakerna, Getingarna, Indianerna, Kaparna. Monakerna, Getingarna, Indianerna, and Kaparna. The biggest match was undoubtedly played in October 1955 with the English team Belle Vue Manchester, in whose ranks competed the newly minted world champion Peter Craven. During these competitions, Włodzimierz Szwendrowski proved able to "get around" the proud sons of Albion. In a direct clash, he defeated the "wizard of balance", and this only a few weeks after he won the title of world champion. The Warsaw facility was visited by many other speedway aces, such as Nilsson, Pajari, Bishop, Kamper, Fundin, Plekhanov, Wright, Briggs, Moore, Knutsson. Edited January 1, 2019 by Bavarian 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
auntie doris 2,333 Posted January 31, 2019 Good to see Teo has a close named after him on the new Blunsdon Meads development near the Abbey. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
customhouseregular 1,651 Posted February 1, 2019 On 9/11/2015 at 10:10 AM, Split said: I was at the Custom House stadium when that fatal accident happened. I also witnessed the crash where Australian, Dave Wills lost his life on the same track. Watching Speedway racing has given me much pleasure over the years but those are two of the saddest moments, Me too and I echo that sentiment. One never forgets. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sidney the robin 4,735 Posted February 4, 2019 On 1/31/2019 at 10:52 PM, auntie doris said: Good to see Teo has a close named after him on the new Blunsdon Meads development near the Abbey. Great that Doris, used to work at Whitworth rd cemetery and Teo's final resting place was always kept nice. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JOS50 149 Posted April 16, 2020 Teo with Ian Williams, taken around the time he arrived here . 4 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
customhouseregular 1,651 Posted April 19, 2020 On 9/11/2015 at 10:10 AM, Split said: I was at the Custom House stadium when that fatal accident happened. I also witnessed the crash where Australian, Dave Wills lost his life on the same track. Watching Speedway racing has given me much pleasure over the years but those are two of the saddest moments, Like you I witnessed both tragedies and yes, it puts things in perspective, sadly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cityrebel 2,960 Posted April 23, 2020 On 2/1/2019 at 1:22 PM, customhouseregular said: Me too and I echo that sentiment. One never forgets. My dear old mum was at West Ham on the night Ernie Roccio lost his life. It stayed with her for years. She was always a reluctant visitor to Custom House, right up to the 1970's. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites