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BOBBATH

First meeting-how many riders still alive.

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Are you sure Kelvin Mullarkey has passed away-I thought he was still living with Len Silver's ex Hazel, near where Len lives and all three were still the best of friends.??

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4 hours ago, BOBBATH said:

Are you sure Kelvin Mullarkey has passed away-I thought he was still living with Len Silver's ex Hazel, near where Len lives and all three were still the best of friends.??

Absolutely, Bob. He passed away in June 2018.

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On 2/1/2021 at 6:17 PM, Sotonian said:

Only 2/7 are still alive - Yeatesy and Middlo. For the era, that's surprisingly few.

That's what scares me. I sit here reading match reports from the mid-to-late 70's, and it's amazing just how many we have lost. Certainly makes me feel old...

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5 hours ago, BOBBATH said:

Are you sure Kelvin Mullarkey has passed away-I thought he was still living with Len Silver's ex Hazel, near where Len lives and all three were still the best of friends.??

I thought that she was married to Steve Naylor?

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Sorry guys my mistake re Mullarkey and Naylor

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My 1st ever meeting: Sept 1st 1973  Kings Lynn vs Coventry Bees

Stars:

T Betts
A Price
B Humphreys
E Reeves
M Simmons
R Bales
D Gagen

Bees
Nigel Boocock
Pete Bailey
Garry Middleton
Alan Jay
Frank Smith
Jeff Shirley

I assume that a few are not with us any more.  Simmo I know.

 

Edited by MassMarauder

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Well mate, I know that NIgel Boocock and Garry Middleton have passed in addition to Simmo-not sure about the others. Can someone in Forumland help re this ???

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Also wasn't Pete Bailey killed in a car crash many years ago?

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2 hours ago, BOBBATH said:

Also wasn't Pete Bailey killed in a car crash many years ago?

From memory he was killed on his way to a meeting at Coventry whilst crossing a dual carriageway in his car during early 1974?

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First ever meeting for me was Rayleigh V Plymouth on 11th May 1968

Rayleigh

1. Geoff Maloney,  2. Graeme Smith,  3. Dennis Mannion,  4. Mike Gardner,  5. Laurie Etheridge,  6. Terry Stone,  7. Colin Tucker

Plymouth

1. Phil Woodcock,  2. Eric Howe,   3. Dave Whittaker,  4. Frank Payne,  5. Tony George,  6. Mike Cake,  7. Keith Marks

I think all the Rayleigh team are still with us, which is quite remarkable,  not sure about the Plymouth riders

 

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Eric Howe has definitely passed away....

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Terry Stone still with us-has done a lot for speedway and has kept in touch with many former riders. I recall him coming to Canada and going out of his way to meet Mike Tams, then close to the end of his life. Good on you Terry - a valued member of the speedway family.

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Can't exactly remember my first meeting, my Dad took me during school holidays from 1969, I'd have been 4 for my first one. I count my first one instead from when I was allowed to go every week and that was from July 27th 1972, Ipswich v Leicester:

Ipswich

1 Olle Nygren  2 Sandor Levai  3 Tommy Johansson  4 Alan Sage  5 John Louis  6 Tony Davey  7  Billy Sanders

Leicester

1  Ray Wilson  2 Norman Storer  3 John Boulger  4 Malcolm Shakespeare  5 Dave Jessup  6 Alan Cowland  7 Malcolm Brown 

The Witches chucked away an eight point lead to lose 40-38

From the Witches Sandor and Billy are no longer with us and from the Lions, as far as I can find out are all still going apart from Alan Cowland

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21 hours ago, Shrub said:

Can't exactly remember my first meeting, my Dad took me during school holidays from 1969, I'd have been 4 for my first one. I count my first one instead from when I was allowed to go every week and that was from July 27th 1972, Ipswich v Leicester:

Ipswich

1 Olle Nygren  2 Sandor Levai  3 Tommy Johansson  4 Alan Sage  5 John Louis  6 Tony Davey  7  Billy Sanders

Leicester

1  Ray Wilson  2 Norman Storer  3 John Boulger  4 Malcolm Shakespeare  5 Dave Jessup  6 Alan Cowland  7 Malcolm Brown 

The Witches chucked away an eight point lead to lose 40-38

From the Witches Sandor and Billy are no longer with us and from the Lions, as far as I can find out are all still going apart from Alan Cowland

Can't believe I post this and within 24 hours the sad passing of Olle Nygren is announced. Olle won the first heat of the above meeting.  I was quite young when he rode for Ipswich, what I remember most about him was his winning times were usually 2-3 seconds slower than all the other times, which I later came to realise was due to track craft, the fact you never needed to put on sunglasses to look at his machinery and him and Rick France kicking lumps out of each other down the backstraight at Foxhall during a race, real X-rated stuff. A true speedway legend.

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48 minutes ago, Shrub said:

Can't believe I post this and within 24 hours the sad passing of Olle Nygren is announced. Olle won the first heat of the above meeting.  I was quite young when he rode for Ipswich, what I remember most about him was his winning times were usually 2-3 seconds slower than all the other times, which I later came to realise was due to track craft, the fact you never needed to put on sunglasses to look at his machinery and him and Rick France kicking lumps out of each other down the backstraight at Foxhall during a race, real X-rated stuff. A true speedway legend.

Recall reading that he was instrumental in Ipswich winning at Sheffield in 1972 when some members of the "Tigers" team were making a nuisance of themselves and Olle decided to get tough with them.

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