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chunky

Monkey Masks

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Okay, if I can squeeze in here between gustix's many memories, I would like to ask a question.

We all miss the old face masks - in particular, the good ol' monkey masks - but thinking about it, they really weren't around for long. Obviously, there were several different models; the standard one with the small vent in the middle, the style worn by Mauger, Collins, and Olsen, the Gordon Kennett one, the Joe Owen one etc... So, does anyone know when they were introduced?

The American racing driver Dan Gurney made one around 1958, but they were never used in speedway that early. Even around 1969 and 70, the majority of the face masks were simple leather ones with slits in them.

Trying to think back, I can't actually remember when they took over, or who were the first riders to use them. I know Ronnie Moore wore one around 1971 or 72...

Anyone?

Steve

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They were around in the late 50's. Ronnie Moore was guesting for Poole at Southampton and I have a photo of him using one in either 1958 or 1959.

The only difference between the 'Mauger' version was a piece of cut inner tube! Simple as that.

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I used to be able to recognise many riders by their masks and recall Anders Michanek just wearing a scarf covering his mouth. Once the full face helmets came in it became less easy.

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53 minutes ago, BobC said:

They were around in the late 50's. Ronnie Moore was guesting for Poole at Southampton and I have a photo of him using one in either 1958 or 1959.

Hmmmm... That's fascinating, and I have never seen that photo!

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38 minutes ago, steve roberts said:

I used to be able to recognise many riders by their masks and recall Anders Michanek just wearing a scarf covering his mouth. Once the full face helmets came in it became less easy.

We all could! There were so many different masks (and goggles) that riders wore. Wasn't just Mich who wore a scarf; Fundin, Sjosten, Crutcher etc were a lot earlier.

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48 minutes ago, chunky said:

Hmmmm... That's fascinating, and I have never seen that photo!

 

Bradley Dick Moore Ronnie 1958.jpg

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That is definitely the earliest pic I have seen of one!  I believe that would have been from Tuesday, April 28, 1959...

Cool!

Funny thing is, that has jogged my memory. I have seen another photo of Ronnie wearing a monkey mask during (what I believe to be) a World Championship round. I don't know the date of that, but I would say it has to be early 60's before he broke his leg.

Just wondering why they never really caught on until over a decade later, and of course, on his return to the UK, Ronnie reverted back to a simple leather mask.

Edited by chunky

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Does anyone know who was the last to wear one regularly in British speedway? Finn Thomson and Kelvin Mullarkey come to mind as riders that persevered with them into the 1980s - anyone know of anyone else?

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If you look at my avatar, Ove Fundin in Belle Vue colours so 1967, he was still wearing a scarf around his mouth

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1 hour ago, OveFundinFan said:

If you look at my avatar, Ove Fundin in Belle Vue colours so 1967, he was still wearing a scarf around his mouth

Pretty sure he just wore a scarf at Wembley in 1969, as did Sjosten. I can't think of any others who were just using a scarf after that time - other than Michanek.

Seemed to be popular in Sweden...

Steve

Edited by chunky

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1 hour ago, falcace said:

Does anyone know who was the last to wear one regularly in British speedway? Finn Thomson and Kelvin Mullarkey come to mind as riders that persevered with them into the 1980s - anyone know of anyone else?

I've only followed the sport since 1990 but i always remember alan grahame wearing a weird old mask and per jonsson and armando wearing very distinctive half face kinda mask helmet things in the 90 world final..  i know diddly about this kinda stuff, but was that a modern angle on the monkey masks ?

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 What exactly do people mean by monkey masks ? I have always taken them to mean the one- piece goggles and face mask combined but it seems some take it to mean any kind of face mask other than a scarf.

Could we clarify that ?

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57 minutes ago, E I Addio said:

 What exactly do people mean by monkey masks ? I have always taken them to mean the one- piece goggles and face mask combined but it seems some take it to mean any kind of face mask other than a scarf.

Could we clarify that ?

If you look back at my original post, you will see that I did clarify that. They are indeed the one piece goggles/face mask, with nose protector. As I said, there were several different styles, but I consider them all to be "monkey masks". That is why I named certain riders, as most of us are familiar with what they worem

The simple one-piece leather ones (again various styles) were something different.

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1 hour ago, The Doctor... said:

I've only followed the sport since 1990 but i always remember alan grahame wearing a weird old mask and per jonsson and armando wearing very distinctive half face kinda mask helmet things in the 90 world final..  i know diddly about this kinda stuff, but was that a modern angle on the monkey masks ?

There were a number of rigid masks worn by odd riders, including those you mentioned above. Alan Grahame and Castagna were two of the most notable riders to wear these, but Scott Autrey, Andy Grahame, Mitch Shirra, and Ray Morton (amongst others) were also known for their masks. Google for their pics, and you will see.

Steve

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