Are There Any Characters Within The Sport Anymore?

[steve roberts 9,246]

Having not followed the sport closely for the last ten years or so I was aware that it was becoming increasingly difficult for riders and/or officials to trade insults and/or actions due to legislation within the sport (as well as outside influences). I would be interested to know if there are any true characters today (I'm not advocating Nikki Pedersen!!)?

 

I recall Jack 'The Villan' Millen being a real character. The occasion that he dressed as Batman when the riders were being introduced to the crowd or when he wore a race jacket with the Roman numerical 'V' in place of the number 5 and turning his back to the crowd and jumping up and down thereby giving the 'V' sign! As you can imagine it got the crowd going and, it must be remembered, speedway is not just a sport but an entertainment at the end of the day. The Teesside promoter (Ron Wilson?) would book Jack into Open meetings realising that he would bring people in and increase the attendance. I do think that the sport has become somewhat sterile and could do with the likes of the sadly missed Jack, Garry Middleton etc but I guess that the PC brigade would forbid such a return to those days or do fellow contributors think differently?

Edited December 1, 2015 by steve roberts

[foamfence 2,917]

Garrity!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Dave the Mic 258]

Garrity is a good shout, as is Nicki Pedersen. I think Rosco & Havvy would be much larger personalities than they are, but I think, Steve, that your point regarding the sanitised nature of pretty much all sport these days, prevents any real characters emerging.

[The White Knight 9,039]

Having not followed the sport closely for the last ten years or so I was aware that it was becoming increasingly difficult for riders and/or officials to trade insults and/or actions due to legislation within the sport (as well as outside influences). I would be interested to know if there are any true characters today (I'm not advocating Nikki Pedersen!!)?

 

I recall Jack 'The Villan' Millen being a real character. The occasion that he dressed as Batman when the riders were being introduced to the crowd or when he wore a race jacket with the Roman numerical 'V' in place of the number 5 and turning his back to the crowd and jumping up and down thereby giving the 'V' sign! As you can imagine it got the crowd going and, it must be remembered, speedway is not just a sport but an entertainment at the end of the day. The Teesside promoter (Ron Wilson?) would book Jack into Open meetings realising that he would bring people in and increase the attendance. I do think that the sport has become somewhat sterile and could do with the likes of the sadly missed Jack, Garry Middleton etc but I guess that the PC brigade would forbid such a return to those days or do fellow contributors think differently?

You never said a truer word.

 

Still a Legend and a Hero here in Sunderland.

 

Thanks for the memories Jack.

 

R.I.P. +

[steve roberts 9,246]

You never said a truer word.

 

Still a Legend and a Hero here in Sunderland.

 

Thanks for the memories Jack.

 

R.I.P. +

Or the occasion he kicked the start line phone over the tapes when a decision went against him!

 

He should have joined Oxford when the Stoke promotion took up residence prior to the 1976 season but he wasn't part of the deal apparently. I would have enjoyed his exploits as a 'Cheetah!'

 

Despite his on-track demeanour apparently he was a nice guy off the track.

 

PS White Knight...are you a Macam? I am on my mother's side!!

Edited December 1, 2015 by steve roberts

[The White Knight 9,039]

Or the occasion he kicked the start line phone over the tapes when a decision went against him!

 

He should have joined Oxford when the Stoke promotion took up residence prior to the 1976 season but he wasn't part of the deal apparently.

 

Despite his on-track demeanour apparently he was a nice guy off the track.

 

PS White Knight...are you a Macam? I am on my mother's side!!

Mackem and proud my friend. :approve:

[ColinMills 1,728]

mitch shirra was a fiery little character

[NOBODY 538]

Starman......

[Kester 3,028]

Garrity is a good shout, as is Nicki Pedersen. I think Rosco & Havvy would be much larger personalities than they are, but I think, Steve, that your point regarding the sanitised nature of pretty much all sport these days, prevents any real characters emerging.

 

The reality is that 'characters' are often harked back to, not just in speedway but across all sports. However, whenever a modern sportsperson acts like one of those 'personalities' from the past - often involving booze/drugs/birds/mild violence/minor crime - they are vilified for their lack of professionalism etc.

 

Look at Darcy, if he had been around 40/50years ago folk would be reminiscing about his cheeky antics legging it from the cops etc. How would George Best be viewed these days?

 

The press react with hysteria at any deviation from the ultra-professional model, so it's no surprise that nobody does deviate from that model. A fact which the same press then moans about.

[coventry1963 99]

Les Owen at Coventry was another such character. He was an England International rider and very close to major success before a bad head injury took the edge off his performance. His fights were numerous, but mainly on behalf of his younger, more inexperienced team-mates, including one night at Leicester with Anders Michanek after Les thought his team-mate had been badly treated on track. He came out from the pits to "greet" Michanek as he returned to the pits and a right melee followed. I was driving home that night when Les pulled up alongside us at a traffic junction. Some Leicester fans on the other side of him were shouting the odds and Les was laughing fit to bust! He once tried to put Barry Briggs out of contention in a race by running him out to the first bend fence at Coventry. Briggo lifted his front wheel over Les' s back wheel and Les piled into the fence. He told me afterwards it was shock that Briggo had got away! A real gentleman off track and a real character on it! He suffered a very serious accident that stopped his career when he and John Harrhy collided on the back straight at Coventry, when they both went for the same bit of track. Les hit a lamppost, which in those days were very, very close to the fence, almost ripping his arm off and John ending up in a halo arrangement for a broken neck. Les was resuscitated several times before they got him to hospital and he lost almost total use of the arm. I spoke to him a couple of years later and he had built up a bike to ride with clutch and throttle on the one side of the handlebar and was talking of trying to ride again! Gave a huge amount of pleasure and entertainment in his career.

[topsoil 2,498]

The problem with having 'characters' in this era of social media and forums is that as soon as there is an incident, everybody has to have an opinion. Also, each sporting body is a lot more aware of image these days and any incident that they fear may damage the image of a sport is frowned upon. Take two incidents this year, the Greg Hancock / Nicki Pedersen clash and the Sam Masters / Nicki Pedersen clash. In years gone by these incidents would have been lapped up by the fans. Nowadays, look at the pages these incidents raised on here. And I bet if you trawled through the pages on the forum you would see each of the riders being abused or labelled. Had social media, camera phones, forums been around in days gone by, who knows what would have happened.

[Dave the Mic 258]

 

The reality is that 'characters' are often harked back to, not just in speedway but across all sports. However, whenever a modern sportsperson acts like one of those 'personalities' from the past - often involving booze/drugs/birds/mild violence/minor crime - they are vilified for their lack of professionalism etc.

 

Look at Darcy, if he had been around 40/50years ago folk would be reminiscing about his cheeky antics legging it from the cops etc. How would George Best be viewed these days?

 

The press react with hysteria at any deviation from the ultra-professional model, so it's no surprise that nobody does deviate from that model. A fact which the same press then moans about.

I agree to a point, but with respect, the kind of people I would refer to as "characters" would not be caught up in drink driving, implicated in possible rape cases & taking drugs. I don't call those things "cheeky antics" with all due respect to Darcy & his circumstances. I can't imagine anyone in any era would really condone that kind of behaviour.

[waiheke1 4,295]

I agree to a point, but with respect, the kind of people I would refer to as "characters" would not be caught up in drink driving, implicated in possible rape cases & taking drugs. I don't call those things "cheeky antics" with all due respect to Darcy & his circumstances. I can't imagine anyone in any era would really condone that kind of behaviour.

really? The Moran brothers are generally regarded as "characters." Cowboy Cook also. Kenny Carter likewise. that would seem to disprove that theory

[Dave the Mic 258]

really? The Moran brothers are generally regarded as "characters." Cowboy Cook also. Kenny Carter likewise. that would seem to disprove that theory

So you feel that people condone the Moran's being under the influence when racing? Or Carter murdering his wife? Interesting.

[BWitcher 12,453]

So you feel that people condone the Moran's being under the influence when racing? Or Carter murdering his wife? Interesting.

 

There is hardly ever a bad word said about the Morans, they are regarded as heroes, when the reality is they made Darcy look like an angel.

 

Likewise Carter, folk are constantly going on about what a 'great guy' he was and waxing lyrical about his riding. He was a murderer, Nothing more, nothing less, what he did on a bike is irrelevant.

 

As regards the 'lack of characters' it is very often the very same people who bang on about the great characters of the past who are the first to speak out in outrage at a slight indiscretion of a modern day rider.... we're seeing some of those very people on this thread.

Edited December 2, 2015 by BWitcher