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BOBBATH

1946/1947 Leadue Riders I got to see

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19 minutes ago, Sidney the robin said:

With this great thread still running did anyone see much of speedy Pete Jarman in his early career Stoke. 1960...

??? He was a rider i only saw from late 60s to 70s and for me he was in the mould of Jimmy Squibb a real character a tough but fair rider.

Remember Pete Jarman when he turned out for 'The Rebels' and Eastbourne towards the back end of his career. Great buddy of 'Joe' Gooddy.

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I went to watch the last meeting at Liverpool in 1960. I can't remember anything about it except that it rained hard but a check on the Speedway Researcher website has Wal Morton at No 1 for the Pirates. The winning time for heat 1 was 95.8. Has there ever been a slower time in Heat 1 of a meeting?

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3 hours ago, steve roberts said:

Remember Pete Jarman when he turned out for 'The Rebels' and Eastbourne towards the back end of his career. Great buddy of 'Joe' Gooddy.

Jarman, Timmo, Dews, Hasse, Pander, Samuelson, Gooddy, Genz, Strachan all made of the same ilk whatever level.

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On ‎12‎/‎3‎/‎2019 at 6:15 PM, Sidney the robin said:

With this great thread still running did anyone see much of speedy Pete Jarman in his early career Stoke. 1960...

??? He was a rider i only saw from late 60s to 70s and for me he was in the mould of Jimmy Squibb a real character a tough but fair rider.

Didn't Pete Jarman start his career as a cycle speedway rider and move on to the motorised version later in life?

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2 hours ago, Split said:

Didn't Pete Jarman start his career as a cycle speedway rider and move on to the motorised version later in life?

Yes I think that you are right.

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3 hours ago, Split said:

Didn't Pete Jarman start his career as a cycle speedway rider and move on to the motorised version later in life?

Yes Split did cycle speedway then in 1959 went to the Rye House training track.

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On ‎12‎/‎3‎/‎2019 at 11:36 AM, steve roberts said:

Remember Pete Jarman when he turned out for 'The Rebels' and Eastbourne towards the back end of his career. Great buddy of 'Joe' Gooddy.

Hi Steve-I started a thread on this site on Speedy Pete way back on Dec 26 2006 entitled  "What happened to the Lemon Drop Kid" there were a number of responses you might be interested in. Sadly Pete passed away in 2007 aged 72 from prostate cancer- I remember him well-he scored 11 points in the last PLRC Final and just missed a run off for third with Pete Kelly and Roy Trigg

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Sorry I should have posted this as a quote to Sidney the Robin rather than Steve who in turn quoted Sid. Anyway am glad Pete's name came up again!!

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3 hours ago, BOBBATH said:

Sorry I should have posted this as a quote to Sidney the Robin rather than Steve who in turn quoted Sid. Anyway am glad Pete's name came up again!!

Great stuff Bobbath no problem  Steve 

has alot more sense than me , he is a really nice guy / top bloke.Speedy was a character along with Chris Julian, Jimmy Squibb, Jimmy ,Gooch real speedway people the unsung heroes all four  were all tough not to be messed with.

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

Great stuff Bobbath no problem  Steve 

has alot more sense than me , he is a really nice guy / top bloke.Speedy was a character along with Chris Julian, Jimmy Squibb, Jimmy ,Gooch real speedway people the unsung heroes all four  were all tough not to be messed with.

Thanks Sid and it's always a great pleasure to reminisce with you and other like minded people about years gone by!

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On ‎12‎/‎2‎/‎2019 at 2:22 PM, BOBBATH said:

Enjoyed your post Norbold-where was Ron Johnson riding in 1960??wish I could have seen him although I guess he must have been a shadow of himself. I know Geoff Pymar kept going for a long time -was he in a Prov. League team when you saw him?? Think I may have only just missed seeing Cyril Brine and Wal Morton but not sure.

I saw Cyril Brine often. He almost always partnered Ronnie Moore who almost always protected Cyril during the race from opponents overtaking. I remember nights where Cyril scored maximum points of 15 and Ronnie 12 points coming second in all 5 races as he took a line that made it difficult for the opposition to do anything about it. Ronnie was the ultimate team rider. Cyril was involved in a terrible accident with Ron Johnson...……..

The racing career of New Cross speedway star Ron Johnson ended in a terrifying Catherine Wheel of bikes and limbs in the dirt of Wimbledon on August 1, 1949.

It was to be another 11 years before Johnno - by then 52 years old - would accept that it was all over. When the accident happened, in heat seven of the second-leg of a London Cup tie, Johnson was at his peak and very much the idol of the Old Kent Road --his home fans at New Cross in south-east London.

At the time of the crash, Johnson was following his New Cross partner Cyril Roger for a 5-1 heat win. But Roger faltered in front of him and Johnson fell. As he rose to his feet his Wimbledon opponent Cyril Brine ran him down, fracturing his skull. Later, Johnson said that his life was saved by the low protection his helmet gave the back of his neck. "Otherwise, I would have been killed," he said.

 

 

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On 12/2/2019 at 7:22 PM, BOBBATH said:

Enjoyed your post Norbold-where was Ron Johnson riding in 1960??wish I could have seen him although I guess he must have been a shadow of himself. I know Geoff Pymar kept going for a long time -was he in a Prov. League team when you saw him?? Think I may have only just missed seeing Cyril Brine and Wal Morton but not sure.

I saw Johnson in a second half race at Odsal about 1960, it was terrible to see, he wasn't even sliding the bike. Pymar and Morton were both in the Bradford team in 62 at Greenfield stadium, I don't know how long they carried on after that but I seem to remember Geoff saying that he hadn't intended retiring but his mother had bought a caravan park and wanted him to manage it.    http://www.defunctspeedway.co.uk/Bradford Greenfield.htm

Edited by foamfence

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Yes, poor Ron Johnson was never the same again after his near fatal crash. In 1960, he rode in some second half races at New Cross and captained the New Cross Colts team that travelled to Edinburgh and won 40-32 against the home side. Johnson scored a total of three points, with all the points coming from one race. Those who saw him that night say they will never forget the one race he won as it was a real flashback to the Johnson of old as he shot out of the gate and then actually slowed down, holding up the opposition to allow his partner to come through in to second place. Once he had assured himself that they were on course for a 5-1, he tore off again, winning the race with ease. It was a real flash of the vintage Johnson.

 

As a result of this, Johnson was signed up to ride for Edinburgh in the Provincial League. In all he rode in six matches for Edinburgh, managing just one point and one bonus point. People who saw him say there was a sense of real apprehension every time he took to the track because his arms were clearly not strong enough to hold on to the machine properly and he was a dreadful accident just waiting to happen. He frightened the other riders in the race as much as the spectators.

 

It was a sad end for the man who had once been one of the top riders in the world and associated with New Cross for 32 years and its captain and backbone for over 20.

 

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