chunky 6,086 Posted June 10, 2020 41 minutes ago, gustix said: You are correct in regard to the Mike Bast issue. It was a foolish attitude on my part and should never been allowed by me to carry on as it did. For my part I have no idea what being described as 'whimsically eccentric'. may mean. TBH you seem far more concerned about the reference than I am. " Do you not know what "whimsical" means? Do you not know what "eccentric" means? I'm not sure you can accurately be described as whimsical, but you are certainly eccentric. No, this is not an insult... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Doctor... 1,478 Posted June 10, 2020 8 minutes ago, chunky said: Do you not know what "whimsical" means? Do you not know what "eccentric" means? I'm not sure you can accurately be described as whimsical, but you are certainly eccentric. No, this is not an insult... vocabulary.com says the following... crackpot, crank, fruitcake, nut, nut case, screwball a whimsically eccentric person 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Doctor... 1,478 Posted June 10, 2020 and a crossword solver site offers the following... We have 11 Answers for: A WHIMSICALLY ECCENTRIC PERSON Top Answers ODD 3 COOT 4 CRANK 5 WEIRDO 6 ODDBALL 7 i'm not sure that fella liked you to be honest John... 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted June 10, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, chunky said: Do you not know what "whimsical" means? Do you not know what "eccentric" means? I'm not sure you can accurately be described as whimsical, but you are certainly eccentric. No, this is not an insult... 1 hour ago, The Doctor... said: vocabulary.com says the following... crackpot, crank, fruitcake, nut, nut case, screwball a whimsically eccentric person 1 hour ago, The Doctor... said: and a crossword solver site offers the following... We have 11 Answers for: A WHIMSICALLY ECCENTRIC PERSON Top Answers ODD 3 COOT 4 CRANK 5 WEIRDO 6 ODDBALL 7 i'm not sure that fella liked you to be honest John... The comment made about me by Martin Rogers seems to offend other people more than it does me. I have been in reasonable contact with Martin Rogers for at least 60 years. I had my most recent FACEBOOK PM from him only a few days ago. As I see it other people are more concerned in regard to the comment than I am. Especially the hamburger iris123 who seemingly has his Germanic knickers in a very tight twist about it. And that just as we were entering the 11th year of his ongoing debunking of most BSF comments I make! Watch for his response to this Post! Watch for something like Ha! Ha! Edited June 10, 2020 by Guest Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chunky 6,086 Posted June 10, 2020 18 minutes ago, gustix said: The comment made about me by Martin Rogers seems to offend other people more than it does me. Serious question, John; do you REALLY think others are "offended" by Martin's comment? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted June 10, 2020 (edited) 45 minutes ago, chunky said: Serious question, John; do you REALLY think others are "offended" by Martin's comment? On reflection I doubt anyone really cares. It's just another of those sadly tedious items that tend to belittle the BSF when more interesting topics are available. For all that I can see it is attracting much interest with a Hamburg-based BSF poster. Edited June 10, 2020 by Guest Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted June 10, 2020 Being me! it's more than likely I have missed the relative Post. But is there a Post which details the start and end of the racing career of Lloyd 'Sprouts' Elder? Thank you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chunky 6,086 Posted June 10, 2020 18 minutes ago, gustix said: Being me! it's more than likely I have missed the relative Post. But is there a Post which details the start and end of the racing career of Lloyd 'Sprouts' Elder? Thank you. I haven't found anything yet - certainly not in any detail. Iris123 has done some research of his own on Sprouts, but there really isn't a huge amount of information that is readily available. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chunky 6,086 Posted June 10, 2020 (edited) 7 hours ago, gustix said: Being me! it's more than likely I have missed the relative Post. But is there a Post which details the start and end of the racing career of Lloyd 'Sprouts' Elder? Thank you. Okay, a little sketchy, but... Elder's first love was horses, and wanted to be a jockey, but at over 6', that wasn't an option. He started motorcycling, and rode on both dirt and board tracks. With Eddie Brinck and Cecil Brown, he went to Australia in 1925/26, where he made an immediate impact. He met Johnnie Hoskins, which is why he came to the UK. Edited June 11, 2020 by chunky Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
salty 2,200 Posted June 10, 2020 7 hours ago, gustix said: TBH I am not sure what the comment means in the first place. I have never evader seen a copy of the Martin Rogers book so have no idea of any preamble leading up to the remark that may have been written. My suggestion - and I make it sincerely - is that you try to buy a copy of the Martin Rogers book. The preamble there may help you in your inquiry. As the person who made the initial post, which I came across whilst confirming that Martin knew nothing of Speedway until sent on his first assignment to Plough Lane 60 years ago, I can confirm there isn't really any preamble to his description of you. He is simply telling us who the respective editors of "Soccer Star" and "Speedway Star" were when he started working for their publishers. He describes Jack Rollin simply by his name, but obviously felt the embellishment of "whimsically eccentric" was required in your case. Sadly, there is no further mention of you in his tome (which I have to say is a good read and very informative of his time around (and in) the sport), though he does mention that when Paul Parish took over as Editor of Speedway Star it "took a step up market"! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted June 10, 2020 (edited) 27 minutes ago, salty said: As the person who made the initial post, which I came across whilst confirming that Martin knew nothing of Speedway until sent on his first assignment to Plough Lane 60 years ago, I can confirm there isn't really any preamble to his description of you. He is simply telling us who the respective editors of "Soccer Star" and "Speedway Star" were when he started working for their publishers. He describes Jack Rollin simply by his name, but obviously felt the embellishment of "whimsically eccentric" was required in your case. Sadly, there is no further mention of you in his tome (which I have to say is a good read and very informative of his time around (and in) the sport), though he does mention that when Paul Parish took over as Editor of Speedway Star it "took a step up market"! Thank you salty. An interesting comment. After leaving Speedway Star, circa 1962 to 1970 I was at Weekly Post Newspapers in West Middlesex, firstly as sports editor then Group Editor. From late 1970 to 1973 I was sports editor at the South London Advertiser. From 1973 until 2013 I was at the South London Press, progressing from a subbing editor to Chief sub-editor and retired in August 1997 because of age. Within two weeks they recalled me on a part-time basis two days a week as a sub- editor. Sports wise in that SLP era I also did coverage of Wimbledon speedway 1973 to 1991, then the Conference League era 2002-05. Also in the SLP days besides the sub-editorial work I reported on the oval car racing at Wimbledon Stadium and dabbled in reporting on other local sports like women's football, baseball, tennis and athletics. Somewhere in the preceding load of bumf hopefully I have established albeit rather confusingly that post-Speedway Star era days I had some ongoing links with speedway for many years. Edited June 10, 2020 by Guest spelling error Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chunky 6,086 Posted June 11, 2020 Yet again, I will attempt to redirect this thread back the original topic, if nobody has any objections? Although the dates here are not from the 1930's hopefully this will interest both Doug and John... I didn't know too much about Sprouts Elder's exploits on non-speedway tracks, but I was intrigued by this information from Aussie in 1927. On 12th March, 1927, Elder won the Golden Helmet at Maroubra, NSW. He rode a 4-valve Rudge at an average speed of 88 mph. Pretty impressive considering that this was his first ride on a concrete track! He returned on 9th April, and again won the Golden Helmet, this time on an Indian. Here he beat his fellow countryman, Eddie Brinck, with both riders lapping at 97 mph, and the rest of the field were nowhere. On this occasion, there was an additional 5-mile match race between the two Americans. Elder's bike gave up the ghost early on, and Brinck struggled to the finish line with a sick motor. Under the circumstances, Brinck refused to take the win, and suggested a rematch. This time, "Sprouts" won by inches. Eddie Brinck's last outing before heading home was the Golden Helmet on 14th May. Spencer Stratton won the first heat, beating Brinck by half a wheel, while Elder took the second. The final was a tense affair with the lead changing hands several times, but with half a lap to go, it was Brinck who was in front. Then Elder passed him on the outside, and held on to win by a wheel to complete his hat-trick, as they crossed the line at 97 mph. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iris123 20,935 Posted June 11, 2020 (edited) 5 hours ago, chunky said: OKay, a little sketchy, but... Elder's first love was horses, and wanted to be a jockey, but at over 6', that wasn't an option. He started motorcycling, and rode on both dirt and board tracks. With Eddie Brinck and Cecil Brown, he went to Australia in 1925/26, where he made an immediate impact. He met Johnnie Hoskins, which is why he came to the UK. Not so sure on that. Could be right, but first I have found of Elder in Australia is making his debut at the Showground in December 1926, where he is mentioned as being ' a very retiring chap for an American'. The American Hall of Fame website generally has some good bio's, but I tried to access it a week or so ago and it was being rebuilt or some problem In the summer of 1926 he was racing at Fresno in a Raisin Day meeting, but was coming 2nd best to B.Sarkegian, so wasn't even the best local rider at that time Edited June 11, 2020 by iris123 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chunky 6,086 Posted June 11, 2020 (edited) 9 minutes ago, iris123 said: Not so sure on that. Could be right, but first I have found of Elder in Australia is making his debut at the Showground in December 1926, where he is mentioned as being ' a very retiring chap for an American'. The American Hall of Fame website generally has some good bio's, but I tried to access it a week or so ago and it was being rebuilt or some problem You know, I actually wondered the same thing! Maybe that should be 1926/27 instead? Thing is, perhaps he hadn't actually taken up "speedway" at that point? The trouble with the bios on the Hall of Fame is that they aren't usually that detailed, certainly not enough for people like us! I've actually been trying tonight, to find more specifics on his non-speedway career.. Edited June 11, 2020 by chunky 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chunky 6,086 Posted June 11, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, iris123 said: In the summer of 1926 he was racing at Fresno in a Raisin Day meeting, but was coming 2nd best to B.Sarkegian, so wasn't even the best local rider at that time That was Bob Sarkegian, who had an Indian dealership in San Diego. He was actually a pretty accomplished rider, often being mentioned alongside such legends as Ralph Hepburn, Jim Davis, and Ray Weishaar. Edited June 11, 2020 by chunky 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
