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3 hours ago, Sidney the robin said:

I did see Peter Craven had a really good  record in the Pride of East when it was at Norwich.I imagine Ove had a marginal head to head record there but there duels would of been worth watching..

I never got to Norwich speedway, but if anything like the duals at Belle Vue then certainly worth watching.  Do I remember right that Firs Road was 425 yards and BV Hyde Road was 418 yards, similar size and I would imagine pretty similar shape, so like home from home for each of them. Fantastic riding together as they had completely different styles as much as they were completely different heights.

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The sadly missed speedway historian, Keith Farman, who was an absolutely devoted Ove Fundin fan, made a comprehensive study of all Ove's races. He found that although Fundin beat all his main rivals more times than they beat him, Craven was the one who beat him the most times.

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6 hours ago, norbold said:

In 1951, Jack Young began the year as holder of the Silver Helmet and then went on to defend it against Arthur Forrest, Derek Close, Bob Leverenz before losing it to Tommy Miller.

Tommy Miller, what a phenomenon. Think that was only his 2nd season racing speedway, when he beat Young ? In his first year he beat Jack Parker in a Scotland v England test getting an 18 pt max...

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On 9/30/2019 at 6:27 PM, iris123 said:

To show some empathy with mick, I would say sometime actually seeing a rider clouds your judgement. In my case having seen Per Jonsson a couple of times when he was very average, it is hard for me to rate him that highly

Not quite sure what you mean as I probably saw Freddie Williams and Tommy Price more times than any of the others and Tai Woffenden the least

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On ‎9‎/‎30‎/‎2019 at 6:38 PM, norbold said:

Funnily enough, iris, I have that same problem with Peter Craven! I first went to speedway in 1960 at New Cross and there is no doubt that Fundin was the outstanding master of the Frying Pan; Moore was also excellent there and Briggo actually rode for New Cross in 1961. Craven always seemed to me to be some way behind those three. In fact I think Jack Young rode New Cross better than he did, even though he was past his best. It always seemed to me that Craven couldn't quite master such a small track and it did actually colour my view of him. 

My dad always reckoned Peter Craven was the best rider of his era around the Oxford track.

It took many years for anyone to beat the track record that PC set against Fundin in a Golden Helmet match race in 1963.

It was heavily rumoured that Craven was coming to Oxford in 1964. He'd put in a transfer request with Belle Vue at the start of '63, but was persuaded to stay one more season. Craven's main two reasons for wanting to join Oxford were apparently that it would be easier to get across to continental meetings, plus he'd be racing around a track that he loved.

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1 hour ago, mickthemuppet said:

Not quite sure what you mean as I probably saw Freddie Williams and Tommy Price more times than any of the others and Tai Woffenden the least

Think I explained myself quite clearly and find no need to clarify the point. Norbold understood, which seems to support my objective

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59 minutes ago, lucifer sam said:

It was heavily rumoured that Craven was coming to Oxford in 1964. He'd put in a transfer request with Belle Vue at the start of '63, but was persuaded to stay one more season. Craven's main two reasons for wanting to join Oxford were apparently that it would be easier to get across to continental meetings, plus he'd be racing around a track that he loved.

Cant recall that rumour at all.  I would be interested to know if any other supporter had heard about PC going to Oxford. He was a Liverpudlian, not that would stop him moving in itself. Nor did I hear he was wanting to do continental meetings, which in those days was not too common.

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2 hours ago, OveFundinFan said:

Cant recall that rumour at all.  I would be interested to know if any other supporter had heard about PC going to Oxford. He was a Liverpudlian, not that would stop him moving in itself. Nor did I hear he was wanting to do continental meetings, which in those days was not too common.

Ove can't see that  at  all ,    Craven had been at Belle Vue since 1952  he was approaching  his peak and maybe ? a testimonial  would of happened i think it would of done and deservedly so.?

Edited by Sidney the robin

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3 hours ago, OveFundinFan said:

Cant recall that rumour at all.  I would be interested to know if any other supporter had heard about PC going to Oxford. He was a Liverpudlian, not that would stop him moving in itself. Nor did I hear he was wanting to do continental meetings, which in those days was not too common.

A few of the older supporters at Oxford used to talk about it.  From the Belle Vue end, the chap who sells the programmes at the NSS is convinced PC was moving to Oxford in '64.  Remember Craven had already put in a transfer request at the start of 1963 (which we later withdrew).  To do that, there must have been a track where he was considering to move. Maybe just a rumour, but maybe there was some substance in it.

Edited by lucifer sam
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1 hour ago, Sidney the robin said:

Ove can't see that  at  all ,    Craven had been at Belle Vue since 1952  he was approaching  his peak and maybe ? a testimonial  would of happened i think it would of done and deservedly so.?

Sid, first Testimonial was Eric Boocock's in the mid-70s.  No such thing in the 60s.

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9 minutes ago, lucifer sam said:

Sid, first Testimonial was Eric Boocock's in the mid-70s.  No such thing in the 60s.

I know that but eventually it could of happened? he had been there since 1952  and he was happy.And  there had been no reference of Peter  being destined to move.

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33 minutes ago, Sidney the robin said:

I know that but eventually it could of happened? he had been there since 1952  and he was happy.And  there had been no reference of Peter  being destined to move.

Sid, he placed a transfer request in April 1963.  It was reported in the speedway press, and also recorded in the Peter Morrish book.

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You tell em Sam , I was starting to feel that Peter Craven was being overlooked on this thread. My take on the Wembley '62 final, (my first time  there) is that Peter was an

 exceptionally popular winner for both  fans and riders.

 

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10 hours ago, lucifer sam said:

A few of the older supporters at Oxford used to talk about it.  From the Belle Vue end, the chap who sells the programmes at the NSS is considering to move. Maybe just a rumour, but maybe there was some substance in it.convinced PC was moving to Oxford in '64.  Remember Craven had already put in a transfer request at the start of 1963 (which we later withdrew).  To do that, there must have been a track where he was

Never knew that Rob!

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I was a keen BV supporter before (and beyond) 1963, and BV rider,  ob Duckworth, was a close friend of our family. Never heard anything about these rumours at all. PC was a favourite wherever he went, always a gentleman, always ready to talk to fans. I can well imagine fans of other teams wishing he was with them, but I reckon he was a BV man. Sadly it all ended too soon.     Peter was patron of Wilmslow Hammers cycle speedway team (Manchester League).   I joined Wilmslow in 1965 and proudly won the Peter Craven Memorial Trophy that year.

Edited by OveFundinFan
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