chunky

Good point - except that I didn't actually include Ted Ede's average in the team total! I just listed those who had an extended spell in the team... To be honest, I was expecting you to jump in and give us the stats!

Well, I had a quick run through the 'Ammers from '65 (BL)... Harrfeldt - 10.97 (H) - 9.77 (A) McKinlay - 10.93 (H) - 10.67 (A) Hunter - 10.53 (H) - 8.06 (A) Clarke - 7.2 (H) - 4.00 (A) Simmons - 7.06 (H) - 5.43 (A) Trott - 5.78 (H) - 3.12 (A) Leonard - 4.46 (H) - 2.64 (A) Ede - 2.5 (H) - 3.04 (A) 56.93 (H) - 43.69 (A) ...and Dukes from '66... Boocock - 10.85 (H) - 9.47 (A) Boothroyd - 10.67 (H) - 7.94 (A) Younghusband - 9.94 (H) - 8.37 (A) Roper - 8.18 (H) - 6.70 (A) Kingston - 6.64 (H) - 4.15 (A) Jameson - 6.56 (H) - 4.00 (A) Gavros - 5.49 (H) - 3.09 (A) 58.33 (H) - 44.15 (A)

And they dictate the condition (and depth) of the track surface...

Well, you know how many unofficial "World" Championships back then, so it wouldn't surprise me if we had some unofficial "US" Championships around. Plus, the history of speedway and the AMA hasn't always been that clear...

Ah yes, I remember that win! Pat Pawson rode that night, and scored a couple!

Oh, okay... Thing is, while I didn't witness any of the fatalities at Hackney, I get the idea that at least a couple of them were kind of "freak" accidents, and the only real issue was the lamp standards. If you look at my website, you will also see that Newcastle had several fatalities. When I commented on that once, I was told that I was being most unfair. The thing is, we know that crashes can be caused by a variety of factors, including collisions. Are these collisions a result of situations caused by the track, or the bikes? I just think that the big problem there was the lamp standards...

Trust me, there were MANY bad accidents happening before the mid-70's...

That sounds much more like it...

The way that modern bikes rev and kick, it needs to be! I still don't get why we need all that power, just for wheelspin, and then it picks up a bit of dirt, and they're over the fence... Thing is, Hackney was just one of many where the (or 'a') racing line moved out during the meeting - and it made for great racing. I grew up never hearing the term "blue groove", but it seems to be what the riders want these days.

Ah, that makes more sense, then! Thanks.

Thing is, even now, some riders love to ride out wide - often right up against the fence (we've seen certain riders actually USE the fence - so what do you do? By its very nature, speedway is a dangerous sport, and no amount of air fences, helmets, or padding will change that. In ANY motorsport, competitors will take chances, as they look for a little extra. Yes, it's risky, but that's why riders enjoy riding, and we enjoy watching ..

Well, this just means I have even more questions! I live in Cincinnati, and this is confusing. We did have a short-lived board-track in Sharonville (south-east of Hamilton), but that closed in 1919. Nearly all of the info I can find about "Cincinnati-Hamilton Speedway" refers to a track on the Dixie Highway - that didn't open until 1929! I have found reference to a track that supposedly opened in 1919, but I have no official name or location. Guess I'll have to dig a little deeper...

Well, I have just found some newspaper references to Wilbur Lamoreaux as the 1933 "National Champion", which does seem more likely than Ray Grant. They are all in the 'Fresno Bee'; from August 15, 1934, August 19, 1934, and October 18, 1935. Two of them also reference Miny Waln as 1932 Champ, and one mentions Cordy Milne as 1934 Champ. These tie in with the info on the 'Speedway Champions' website. Seems strange how the different resources agree on the other years, but not 1933.

Thing is, the US was really a prominent speedway nation in the early days of the sport. Having evolved from board-racing into Class 'A' racing (flat-track) into speedway, there was a ton of quality American riders (and Canadians) back then.

I love how you dig up these old articles!

When people talk about the "great" Americans, Hancock, Penhall, Autrey, Bast, the Milne Brothers, even Ray Tauser, are the names mentioned. Why not Wilbur Lamoreaux? When you look at his achievements, he certainly deserves to be considered as one of the best. Born in Roseville, IL, on February 26, 1907, he didn't start racing until he was well in his 20's. "Lammy" came to the UK in 1937 to ride for Wimbledon, and finished the year with a fine league average of 8.14, recording three maximums. The following year, he upped that to 10.93, (second only to Jack Milne), posting fourteen maximums. He further improved in 1938 with a brilliant 11.06 (second only to Cordy Milne), and improved his seasonal maximum count to fifteen. By the time he returned to Britain after the war, he was in his 40's. That didn't stop him from recording a 9.71 in 1948 (for Wembley), with eight maximums, which left him third behind Vic Duggan and Ron Johnson. He was even better the following season with a 9.86 (and twelve maximums) for Birmingham the following season. That left him a terrible fourth place behind Duggan, Graham Warren, and Jack Parker. Remarkable figures when you look at them, but what about the World Championship? Going into the 1937 final, only Jack Milne scored more bonus points than "Lammy", and on the big night, four wins wasn't enough as he was pipped to the title by his buddy Jack, Going into the 1938 final, only Bluey Wilkinson scored more bonus points, and on the night, he picked up four more wins, which left him third overall. Going into the 1939 final, only Cordy Milne scored more bonus points, and of course, Adolf got the final called off. Going into the 1949 final, he was only the sixth highest qualifier, but was just three points behind top qualifiers, Tommy Price and Graham Warren. On the night, "Lammy" scored 9 from four completed rides to finish fifth. Had his machine not given up the ghost in his fourth ride (against Louis Lawson), a third rostrum finish was likely. I knew Wilbur Lamoreaux was good, but until now, I wasn't quite sure HOW good. When you look at the above stats, you can see how he truly was one of the all-time greats of the sport.

Thing is, Americans have such a mix of ancestry, going back back just two or three generations. Personally, I don't have much idea of mine. I think that my mum's side was largely English, but not so on my dad's side. One grandad was Swiss, and he married a Dutch woman!

Well, I don't think he had the internet to help him!

I don't think so, as fewer than 900 people live there!

It's in the middle of nowhere, between Peoria and Burlington, IA.

Ah yes, Mike "Zoomer" Coomber! Again, one of my earliest childhood memories, along with "Slim Jim", "Hedgehopper", and Olle "White-boots"!

I seem to recall reading about an individual whose "First ever race" was at New Cross on Wednesday, April 17, 1946. Perhaps iris123 noted the identity of that individual?

You know, I thought it was just me... Sounds like midlandred has sand in his ** again!

I was a Dons fan - crazy Dons fan. However, I always loved the sport as a whole, and often missed our meetings on Bank Holidays so I could take in three meetings! I would travel all over the country just to watch speedway.

Are you talking about World Finals, or just World Champions? Seeing that you mention Hancock, I would think the latter. Well, the first one that sprang to mind was Tomasz Gollob. He was 39 years and 5 months old when he won in 2010 Tommy Price was 37 years, 9 months and 20 days old (1949) Egon Muller was 34 years, 9 months, and 9 days old (1983). Sam Ermolenko was 32 years, 9 months, and 6 days old (1993). Jason Doyle was 32 years and 22 days old (2017). Anders Michanek was 31 years, 3 months, and 7 days old (1974) Artem Laguta was 31 years and 19 days old (2021). Jack Milne was 30 years, 2 months, and 29 days old (1937). These are the only riders who won their first titles in their 30's.