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Olching UK Tour 1973

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In the Speedway Star (edition dated 25 May 2019), the 'Spotlight On' article on page 23 featured MSC Olching of Germany. It mentioned that the Olching team had undertaken a tour of UK Second Division tracks in 1973.

Well, the article reminded me of perhaps the biggest anti-climax in my entire almost 50 years of watching speedway.

One of the clubs Olching visited was my hometown team, Boston Barracudas, and pre-match it was advertised as likely being one of the toughest matches the ‘Cudas were going to face that entire season. I can still remember the excitement building up to the start of the match – I was a teenager and a programme seller at New Hammond Beck Road in those days – and I remember we even opened the turnstiles, and began selling programmes, earlier than usual for the 6.45p.m. start.

But oh dear - what a let-down!! The result?

BOSTON BARRACUDAS 64 – 12 OLCHING

It was the old 13 heats format back then, of course, when a maximum a team could score was 65 points. And, if I remember correctly without visiting the loft to dig out the programme, the only Boston rider to be beaten and not score a max/paid max that day was Tony Featherstone. Apologies to ‘Tiger Tony’ if it wasn’t him.

Such was that score line totally unexpected, and the match a huge anti-climax, the Barracudas' management published an apology in both the local Boston Standard newspaper, and in the following week’s programme, for the one-sided nature of the meeting.

Thankfully, there was lots of excitement during that year to more than compensate for that particularly disappointing Sunday evening - the Barracudas completing a League and KO Cup double!!

I can’t honestly remember the other tracks that Olching visited on that tour, but maybe some supporters will be able to add to this thread with their memories of the German club’s visit to race against their team?

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1973 i remember it well  "carl  glover" knocking both taffy owen and mitch graham off in ht 1 in the knockout cup final to beat us , and a good night at home with lou and mal getting a 5-1 in a last ht decider to beat boston .lou was the king of the second division that year.

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Olching also raced at Birmingham that season (at the old greyhound stadium across the road from the present Birmingham venue) and did only slightly better. Their team consisted of mainly unknown German riders who seemed to be well into their 30's, and they were completely baffled by the track which was very small and very tight. In many of the races, one Olching rider would knock another one off and the Birmingham riders just took things easy and were able to pass without breaking sweat when the Olching riders veered out to the fence. One of the Olching riders was named Muller and we were led to believe that it was Egon Muller, and only found out that it wasn't when he went on track!

The match took place a day after the Boston debacle, and Joe Thurley moved heaven and earth to keep that result dark.

The Olching riders all seemed really friendly blokes and I did strike up a friendship with their photographer, Herbert Retzer. We corresponded for a few years and spoke on the phone once or twice, but then we lost touch and I never knew what became of him. Martin Smolinski did try to locate him for me, but had no success.

Edited by brianbuck
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Have looked up the programme for the Birmingham v Olching meeting. The result was 51-27 to the Brummies and points scorers were: Birmingham: Mike Gardner 10+1, Terry Shearer 10+1, Pete Bailey 8+2, Malcolm Corradine 7+1, George Major 6+2, Cliff Emms 6, Mick Hines 4+3. Olching: Josef Angermuller 11, Otto Barth 7, Hubert Kullmann 6, Dieter Dauderer 1+1, Georg Gilgenreiner 1, Otto Weiss 1, Alois Muller 0.

Birmingham produced a souvenir programme for the match - upping the price from 6p to 10p!

Arthur Browning was missing from the Birmingham team having been booked to ride in the Scottish Six Day Trial at Fort William in Scotland, and Archie Wilkinson was also absent through injury - but - (present day promoters please note!) used their own second halfers rather than bring in a guest!

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Slightly off-topic, but in response to geoff100 - how horrible to see the photo from Derwent Park in the latest edition of the Speedway Star, and the news that the shale was being removed.

Sadly, there are so many tracks I travelled to see Barracudas visit throughout the 1970s that no longer exist - including, of course, Boston itself - and with the removal of the shale, it seems that might now be fate of speedway at Derwent Park. 

The site of Boston's own New Hammond Beck Road stadium and car parks is now occupied by Tesco; B & Q and Aldi. Sad to say that there is virtually absolutely no chance of the sport ever returning to Boston - especially after all the efforts of Stephen Lambert (Simon's father) to find a new site in the Boston area during the time he ran Boston Barracudas and riding home matches at King's Lynn. 

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The rugby club and football and council have stiched up the comets big style esp over a new stadium which i hope will never get built.

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19 hours ago, brianbuck said:

Have looked up the programme for the Birmingham v Olching meeting. The result was 51-27 to the Brummies and points scorers were: Birmingham: Mike Gardner 10+1, Terry Shearer 10+1, Pete Bailey 8+2, Malcolm Corradine 7+1, George Major 6+2, Cliff Emms 6, Mick Hines 4+3. Olching: Josef Angermuller 11, Otto Barth 7, Hubert Kullmann 6, Dieter Dauderer 1+1, Georg Gilgenreiner 1, Otto Weiss 1, Alois Muller 0.

Birmingham produced a souvenir programme for the match - upping the price from 6p to 10p!

Arthur Browning was missing from the Birmingham team having been booked to ride in the Scottish Six Day Trial at Fort William in Scotland, and Archie Wilkinson was also absent through injury - but - (present day promoters please note!) used their own second halfers rather than bring in a guest!

Josef Angermuller rode for Reading in 1971 riding 8 matches, also rode for Hull in 1974,  and sadly lost his life in a grass track/longtrack crash in 1977

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Gilgenreiner was German Speedway championing 1980 and was part of the bronze medal German team in the 1981 WTC final 

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On ‎6‎/‎3‎/‎2019 at 4:57 PM, racers and royals said:

Josef Angermuller rode for Reading in 1971 riding 8 matches, also rode for Hull in 1974,  and sadly lost his life in a grass track/longtrack crash in 1977

It was not in a grass- or long-track event, but in a world speedway championship qualifying round, at Civitanova in Italy, in April of 1977.   

Josef "Seppi" Angermüller was one of the most popular German riders of that era, he came close to match Egon Muller in popularity over here in the mid 1970s.  

 

 

By the way, I just wonder if any other rider ever was killed in a world championship meeting? Was Angermüller the only one?

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Another who rode for that MSC Olching touring team of 1973 was Otto Weiss, who became a quite successful engine tuner in the 1980s and '90s. I seem to remember that Otto Weiss was the engine tuner for Jan O. Pedersen, when he won the 1991 world title.

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On 6/2/2019 at 8:48 PM, brianbuck said:

Have looked up the programme for the Birmingham v Olching meeting. The result was 51-27 to the Brummies and points scorers were: Birmingham: Mike Gardner 10+1, Terry Shearer 10+1, Pete Bailey 8+2, Malcolm Corradine 7+1, George Major 6+2, Cliff Emms 6, Mick Hines 4+3. Olching: Josef Angermuller 11, Otto Barth 7, Hubert Kullmann 6, Dieter Dauderer 1+1, Georg Gilgenreiner 1, Otto Weiss 1, Alois Muller 0.

Birmingham produced a souvenir programme for the match - upping the price from 6p to 10p!

Arthur Browning was missing from the Birmingham team having been booked to ride in the Scottish Six Day Trial at Fort William in Scotland, and Archie Wilkinson was also absent through injury - but - (present day promoters please note!) used their own second halfers rather than bring in a guest!

Bring back the second-halves and get some youngsters having a go against the 'big' boys. It's the only way to improve

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