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BOBBATH

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Posts posted by BOBBATH

  1. Posted

    I don't think there's  any speedway in NZ anymore- just a bunch of retired riders- Bob Andrews, Roy Trigg,. Tommy Sweetman, Dave Gifford etc. I think they meet up quite regularly.

  3. Posted

    I remember Alf , but at Edinburgh in the PL. I know Alf has passed away I think at a relatively young age (i.e. anybody younger than me -77). Didn't he unfortunately lose two legs in later life-not sure if it was to some disease or as a track accident)

  4. Posted

    Thanks Beirao, I have great memories of Willie from both the early BL days and the PL daysWhile the top heat leaders were George Hunter and  Doug Templeton and sometimes Wayne Briggs, Willie was a solid sontributor and all round good guy.

    • Like 1

  5. Posted

    I got to 5; 1965,1975,1978,1981,1982. I think the most exciting racing was 1981. Particularly the overtaking of Olsen and Knudsen by Bruce Penhall. Any other forumlanders get to 1982 in L.A. (besides Chunky and me) ?

  7. Posted

    Don't give me a hard time  if this subject has cropped up beforeI!!. My  first WF was 1965- Bjorn Knutson's only win.  I was enthralled by the whole thing, the old Wembley Stadium, what seemed to me a huge crowd  and a wonderful atmosphere. The first heat was a shocker, Nigel Boocock finishing ahead of Ove Fundin. Second heat Brian Brett beat Ken McKinlay, third heat Bengt Jansson beat Bjorn Knutson, fourth heat Igor Plechanov beat Barry- Briggs. So after one heat the 3 pointers were Boocock, Brett, Jansson and Plechanov. Was there going to be an upset?? Well, forumlanders (undoubtedly some of whom were there) any memories ?? Wot was the first WF for other forumlanders?? I think only  6 of the 16 1965 riders are still with us ( though I may be wrong-not for the first time!!)

     

  9. Posted

    I recall these attractions,   always appreciated them as part of the overall entertainment, even if some of them weren't that great it was part of the promoters attempts to make it a fun evening out for the family. Anyone recall the end of season fireworks. As regards my experience- me and my mates would go to the Newport County  Supporters Club at Somerton Park  after the main event and sink a couple of Whitbread's Trophy Beer -then go watch the remaining riders - second halfers (in Newport's case Alan Jones , Peter Harris , Ian Terrar, etc etc). Seing Bob Hughes become  a regular team member, Fred Powell(formerly of St. Austell). That made it an all round great evening.  I wish I could go bak in time to those great days.

     

     

     

    riders,, rider of the night final

  11. Posted

    Split I am in an even worse shape than you, I gotta go to young Jim McMillan at #31. I can recall watching Jim's older brother, Bill, and seeing Jim starting out. Class bloke!! Wot about others of our generation e.g. Norbold, BL65 where would you rank!!

  12. Posted

    14 hours ago, chunky said:

    Yep... He lost his last race to Ray Wilson, but it was enough for both of them to qualify ahead of Broady, who had won the previous race to finish on 9 points.

    Interestingly, Nigel Boocock won his first race and broke the track record (Heat 1), but he ended up with only  7 points and didn't qualify for the WF. When he met brother Eric, Eric won that race and Nigel finished second. I recall it as being a very warm evening and the racing was excellent.

  14. Posted

    4 hours ago, chunky said:

    Really sad. A very underrated rider, and I'm sure that a lot of modern fans don't know that he was a World Finalist.

    That's a downer. As you would imagine I certainly remember Rick making the World Final, in fact I was at WEst Ham for the meeting when he qualified-1967 tight?

  15. Posted

    14 hours ago, BL65 said:

    Excerpts from the book '50 Days of Speedway, Sunderland in 1964':

    “It would probably be appropriate to describe him (Parker) as a successful man in business but, overall, he had many more failures than successes in speedway promotion.  He did not prolong his association with tracks that were not making money for him.”
    “By April 1964 when Mike Parker and Bill Bridgett opened Sunderland speedway, excluding Newcastle and Wolverhampton, which were their speedway home bases, the time Parker had been associated with the other tracks he had been involved with averaged just 13 months.  This was the track record of a man with a focus on short-term profitability rather than long-term development…. the only major team trophy success during his association with the club (Newcastle) was the Provincial League title in 1964, following the demise of Sunderland.”
    “Len Silver made a success of Hackney post-Parker.  The key to that track becoming a viable proposition was ensuring that a good show was put on for spectators, with a competitive team which was exciting to watch, a lesson which Mike Parker failed to learn at several of his short-lived tracks.

    Reg Fearman, his former business partner in the early days of the Provincial League, says that Parker 'had no feel for speedway'.  Parker was racing midget cars at Belle Vue in the 1950s, until the speedway riders complained about the cars causing damage to the track. He was encouraged to find a track of his own, hence the meetings staged at Bradford, Liverpool and Cradley Heath in 1959. It was obvious to him that speedway was likely to be more profitable than the midget cars and so he became a speedway promoter as well as a car driver.  He was party to some poor business decisions and/or team planning when taking on Liverpool, Bradford Greenfield, Leicester and Hackney during the PL years. Newcastle was his success during the 1960s and he can take credit for bringing back Ivan Mauger to the UK, although even Ivan got fed up with him eventually.  Parker took a back seat role at Stoke, Middlesbrough, Newport and Wolverhampton, which had 'speedway men' at the helm and all three lasted more than a single season as a result.  In the British League era his involvement at Nelson, Crayford, Doncaster and Bradford was also painfully short.  Some may describe him as hard-nosed and astute but his choice of venues to operate from indicated poor decision making more often than not.  By comparison many non-Parker tracks which opened or returned to league speedway in the 1960s had a more impressive life-span, such as Berwick, Cradley Heath, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Halifax, King's Lynn, Long Eaton and Sheffield.

    Mike Parker did do a lot for speedway, but he was nowhere near as honorable a  character as Reg Fearman. The latter was not only a man of his word , but  always had a real feel for speedway and is a mine of knowledge about Speedway  History and even this day keeps in touch with many of the former riders e.g. Bob Andrews , Arthur Payne etc etc. His book "Both Sides of the Fence " is a great read. Reg is now 90 but fortunately is still sharp as a tack

     

  17. Posted

    Thanks Norbold, I should have known that- did you enjoy your PL meetings, as much as your NL ones? I recall Hackney of 64-three great Heat Leaders- Pratt, Trigg and Les McGillivray. I thought they looked like they would win the League until overtaken by Newscastle. From your memory did Hackney's gates compare favourably with say Norwich or Wimbledon- obviously WH had huge support their comeback year of 64. I liked the old Hackney uniform  -blue and red quarters with a yellow diagonal.. Much simpler  (and better in my view) than the fancy-schmancy blue and white checkerboard that replaced it!!!. I liked the old  non-fussy uniforms the best.

  18. Posted

    Would Reg Reeves have finished second in 1961 without TR's e.f.. I guess Trevor Redmond won it in 1960? Merry Xmas all.

    Thanks for the info  Notbold-was the 1961 PLRC Final at Harringay, I think so-which helps explain why youwere ther-was he 1960 Final also held at Harringay also?. One question, I know you weren't into the PL but did you ever consider following Hackney when they started up in the PL. I loved the action in the PL- always eventful.

  21. Posted

    Thanks guys, BTW did anyone in forumland ever get to see a PLRC Final- I think maybe Norbold was at Harringay in 1960 when Reg Reeves won  following Trevor Redmonds'  e.f after he was unbeaten from four rides. Anybody else BL65 maybe?. 

  22. Posted

    Re Ivor Brown- the Provincial league which commenced in 1960 was the making of Ivor, firstly at Yarmouth and then as you say with CH. He bacame a Prov League star and outstanding rider booked for many second halves at other tracks. he could always be relied upon to add a few extra on the gate. Strangely enough he never won the PLRC Final- does anyone know why?

     With the start of the BL in 1965 he looked like he could easily hold his own with the old NL stars until his terrible crash at the 1965 Internationale while racing against Ove.. He did come back but I think it's fair to say he was never quite as good as before, although he was still a useful scorer and I think got to a British WC semi Final in 1965. 

    He was certainly the man we loved to hate at Newport-great showman!! 

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