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customhouseregular

Your best speedway year

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Most speedway fans have a favourite year depending on age and length of time watching our sport. Mine would be 1965. The British League was formed and we had a long league season. Many more teams to visit Custom House and many new riders to watch. West Ham won the league, the KO cup and the London cup.  Bjorn Knutsson became World Champion and finished second in the Internationale. All in all the year that has remained in my memory when others have faded.

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1972...my first year attending speedway. I was 12 years old and I was hooked from the very first meeting (Oxford vs. Coventry) watching four riders hit the bend at speed with no brakes and fearless. The smell and the noise was something else. As a long time football fan I was immediately struck by the excitement that speedway offered and from that day on football took a back seat. I have many memorable moments during my years following speedway (far too many to mention here) and wouldn't have changed any of it for the world.

Great days and many fabulous memories to look back on.

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1965 like you of course, CHR. An amazing year for the Hammers.

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No question has to be 1965, getting to see all the Nat. League Teams and riders we'd read about coming to Somerton Park. Also seeing how the Prov. League stars did up against the "big boys"- not too badly-thinking of Charlie Monk, Eric Boocock, George Hunter etc. It was a wonderful year and I will never forget it. BTW Of the old Prov League tracks the highest placed finisher in the 1965 BL was Newport-won every meeting at home , plus two away and the never to be forgotten 2 point only loss to the Dons at Wimbledon. Jack Biggs unforgettable season as a Newport heat leader-surprised everybody.

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1970 probably. The first season i stretched my legs and saw league racing at famous venues like Wembley and West Ham. It was a real eye opener for me as a child, and made me what i am today. A sad bugger!

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7 hours ago, BOBBATH said:

Also seeing how the Prov. League stars did up against the "big boys"- not too badly-thinking of Charlie Monk, Eric Boocock, George Hunter etc.

Out of interest, I thought I would look up to see who were the best PL riders and how they did against former NL riders.
In the 1965 league averages top of the list of former PL riders was Charlie Monk, who was 6th overall with 10.28.

Then: Eric Boocock (13th with 9.43); George Hunter (15th with 9.35); Ivor Brown (16th with 9.27); Bill Andrew (19th with 9.07); Dave Younghusband (20th with 9.06)
Those were the top six and the only former PL riders with a 9+ average.

Incidentally, our old friend from another thread, Nigel Boocock, was top of the averages, the only rider with an 11+ average.

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18 minutes ago, norbold said:

Out of interest, I thought I would look up to see who were the best PL riders and how they did against former NL riders.
In the 1965 league averages top of the list of former PL riders was Charlie Monk, who was 6th overall with 10.28.

Then: Eric Boocock (13th with 9.43); George Hunter (15th with 9.35); Ivor Brown (16th with 9.27); Bill Andrew (19th with 9.07); Dave Younghusband (20th with 9.06)
Those were the top six and the only former PL riders with a 9+ average.

Incidentally, our old friend from another thread, Nigel Boocock, was top of the averages, the only rider with an 11+ average.

In fairness , I think at least Monk , Boocock and Hunter were on the way up and were hardly typical of the average PL rider. If there had been no combination of leagues they would likely have made the jump from PL to NL anyway, Similarly there were Malcolm Simmons Norman Hunter and Ray Wilson who were making tremendous progress in the course of the season.

It was without doubt the start of a golden era for British Speedway.

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The long hot summer of 1976 for me. The Hawks getting their highest league placing since 68. Dave Morton reaching world class standard, Zenon Plech's first season in Britain and Keith White looking like a future star in his debut year..and of course PC doing the business in Katowice.

 

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2004.. got back into speedway at Workington after 30 year break.

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Aged 49, fan since 1984, but 2019 was my best speedway year ever, as I suspect it was for all Leicester Lions fans. The Lions did the double as did the Cubs, and we also got the see the next step in the Thompson Twins career.

There were Lions fans at Glasgow that waited over sixty years to see their team win the league.

 

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1982. First full season watching. League champions, with a fellow kiwi, all time favourite rider Larry Ross riding at number 1. Mort and Pc in heat 13. A 16 year old andy Smith making his debut.

Quality visiting riders who excelled around Hyde Rd, such as Carter, Gundersen, Penhall, S Moran. 

Good times!

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1969 for me. Although I have some happy memories from before then, that seems to be when speedway actually enveloped me. In particular, Mirac coming back (I wasn't old enough to actually remember watching him previously) was a big deal for me, and that was also my first World Final.

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16 hours ago, BOBBATH said:

No question has to be 1965, getting to see all the Nat. League Teams and riders we'd read about coming to Somerton Park. Also seeing how the Prov. League stars did up against the "big boys"- not too badly-thinking of Charlie Monk, Eric Boocock, George Hunter etc. It was a wonderful year and I will never forget it. BTW Of the old Prov League tracks the highest placed finisher in the 1965 BL was Newport-won every meeting at home , plus two away and the never to be forgotten 2 point only loss to the Dons at Wimbledon. Jack Biggs unforgettable season as a Newport heat leader-surprised everybody.

 1966 has to be one of the most interesting years in the history of British speedway .Eric Boocock garecrashed the top ten as the highest ranked rider from the old Provincial league to prove the gap could be bridged if good anough.The top 10 averages in 1966 were 1.Briggs - 11.12.       2. N.Booccock- 10.54      3.E.Boocock -10.46.     4. Nordin - 10.44.     5. Nygren - 10.40.     6.Pratt - 10.00.    7.Harrfeldt - 9.89.    8. Mauger - 9.82.         9. Mckinlay- 9.67.       10. Broadbank 9.57. 

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