Pat Flanagan

[AndyO 39]

Just wanted to note the recent passing of Pat. Whilst never a star he was riding for Canterbury when I attended my first ever meeting as a 10 year old in 1968 and even then to me he looked like someone from the past with his WW2 goggles and his long scarf over his face, pretty sure he had white boots at the time also. Always had time for the kids and was usually smiling broadly..

Its riders like Pat that make speedway and he left a lasting impression on me at the time. R.I.P.

[Tsunami 10,219]

4 hours ago, AndyO said:

Just wanted to note the recent passing of Pat. Whilst never a star he was riding for Canterbury when I attended my first ever meeting as a 10 year old in 1968 and even then to me he looked like someone from the past with his WW2 goggles and his long scarf over his face, pretty sure he had white boots at the time also. Always had time for the kids and was usually smiling broadly..

Its riders like Pat that make speedway and he left a lasting impression on me at the time. R.I.P.

Pat came up to Newcastle with my favourite Gil Goldfinch in 1961 to strengthen us and gave us a much better team.

I think that used to come up on the train, and we had to take vehicles to get them and their gear to the track. They stayed overnight and did the return the following morning.  

RIP Pat

Edited April 10, 2021 by Tsunami

[steve roberts 9,242]

Yes supporters often get somewhat engrossed with the 'star' riders but it's often the bread and butter riders who made the sport what it was/is.

RIP

[Tsunami 10,219]

3 hours ago, steve roberts said:

Yes supporters often get somewhat engrossed with the 'star' riders but it's often the bread and butter riders who made the sport what it was/is.

RIP

Yes. Gil was about a 5 at our level but had flitted between Wimbledon and the Southern League. Pat was probably a 2 and held his own riding in Southern teams/leagues. 

Edited April 10, 2021 by Tsunami

[chunky 6,081]

16 minutes ago, Tsunami said:

Pat was probably a 2 and held his own riding in Southern teams/leagues. 

And an important member of the Speedway Riders XI football team...

[E I Addio 15,841]

5 hours ago, AndyO said:

Just wanted to note the recent passing of Pat. Whilst never a star he was riding for Canterbury when I attended my first ever meeting as a 10 year old in 1968 and even then to me he looked like someone from the past with his WW2 goggles and his long scarf over his face, pretty sure he had white boots at the time also. Always had time for the kids and was usually smiling broadly..

Its riders like Pat that make speedway and he left a lasting impression on me at the time. R.I.P.

If my information and my arithmetic is correct he must have been about 97 or 98 years old. I hope he was in good health to the dead. I never saw Len Silver ride but from photographs I think Len started the white boot craze, and Pat was, of course at Exeter with him. I think Alan Cowland may also have been a white booter and Norman Hunter certainly was for a while.

Sad to hear of his passing . Riders like him were the backbone of the sport.

[chunky 6,081]

27 minutes ago, E I Addio said:

If my information and my arithmetic is correct he must have been about 97 or 98 years old.

Yep; born 13th September, 1923. 

[BOBBATH 466]

R.I.P Pat-I recall him riding for Exeter in the early sixties. As others have said, riders like Pat were (are) the backbone of the sport.

[iris123 20,922]

Would this be the same Pat Flanagan that made an appearance for Ireland in 1948 ?

http://www.internationalspeedway.co.uk/ireveng.htm

[AndyO 39]

16 minutes ago, iris123 said:

Would this be the same Pat Flanagan that made an appearance for Ireland in 1948 ?

http://www.internationalspeedway.co.uk/ireveng.htm

Classic Speedway magazine had him down as starting his riding career with Aldershot in 1950 however he would have been 24/25 in 1948 so I guess it's possible?

[iris123 20,922]

Seems quite possible it is the same rider

Looking at the link with Hastings, I can find a 'Bud' Flanagan riding on 17th May 1948 at Hastings. Then a Pat Flanagan is riding for Hastings in Ireland on 11th July that year

https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/hastings1948.pdf

[chunky 6,081]

4 hours ago, AndyO said:

Classic Speedway magazine had him down as starting his riding career with Aldershot in 1950 however he would have been 24/25 in 1948 so I guess it's possible?

The Speedway proboards site also has him starting in 1950.

[iris123 20,922]

Is this 1950 thing the work of speedway historian John Hyam by any chance ?

[chunky 6,081]

1 hour ago, iris123 said:

Is this 1950 thing the work of speedway historian John Hyam by any chance ?

Well, I did find a couple of items online that were attributed to the poster from Penge...

I did have a look to see if I could find any other info, but I have mislaid my copy of "British Speedway Leagues 1946-1964". If anyone has a copy to hand, there might be something in there.

[iris123 20,922]

On ‎4‎/‎11‎/‎2021 at 5:55 PM, AndyO said:

Classic Speedway magazine had him down as starting his riding career with Aldershot in 1950 however he would have been 24/25 in 1948 so I guess it's possible?

I'd now go so far as to say a lot of these pieces on Pat Flanagan are wrong

Fairly sure it is the same rider who rode at Hastings in 1948 and then the next year turns up at Harringay

https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/harringay1949.pdf