Memories of Ron How and Brian Crutcher.

[Sidney the robin 4,735]

23 minutes ago, norbold said:

But it wasn't just a "what if?" for Tom Farndon. He did enough in his short life to be counted amongst the greats without the need for a what might have been.

He held every National League track record simultaneously. He won the 1933 Star Riders' Championship and was favourite for the 1935 Final which, of course, he never competed in due to his fatal accident the night before. He was also unbeatable in the British Indivdual Match Race Championship and made the title his own beating off challenges from the likes of Vic Huxley, Dick Case, Max Grosskreutz and Ron Johnson. So much so that after his death the title was suspended until after the War. He also won the London Riders' Championship twice at a time when the title was second only to the Star Riders. He was also a regular for the England Test team.

Great post Norbold but do you think many people would put a non world champion in a all time top ten ever.?There is not a right or wrong in any answer but when doing  my all time top ten an awful lot of great riders are missed out.In my top ten riders ever Fundin,Briggs, Mauger,Rickardsson, Nielsen,Crump, Olsen, are my only certainties the three other spots are really difficult for me.

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Edited December 24, 2019 by Sidney the robin

[steve roberts 9,246]

27 minutes ago, norbold said:

But it wasn't just a "what if?" for Tom Farndon. He did enough in his short life to be counted amongst the greats without the need for a what might have been.

He held every National League track record simultaneously. He won the 1933 Star Riders' Championship and was favourite for the 1935 Final which, of course, he never competed in due to his fatal accident the night before. He was also unbeatable in the British Indivdual Match Race Championship and made the title his own beating off challenges from the likes of Vic Huxley, Dick Case, Max Grosskreutz and Ron Johnson. So much so that after his death the title was suspended until after the War. He also won the London Riders' Championship twice at a time when the title was second only to the Star Riders. He was also a regular for the England Test team.

To have been around to watch the greats from that era would have been a real privilege.

[norbold 7,114]

9 minutes ago, Sidney the robin said:

Great post Norbold but do you think many people would put a non world champion in a all time top ten ever.?There is not a right or wrong in any answer but when doing  my all time top ten an awful lot of great riders are missed out.In my top ten riders ever Fundin,Briggs, Mauger,Rickardsson, Nielsen,Crump, Olsen, are my only certainties the three other spots are really difficult for me.

.

The thing is, Sidney, that there was no World Championship prior to 1936, so you can't just dismiss everyone who rode before then. You have to take into account what the big events were at the time and how well the riders did in them. And certainly, the Star Riders' Championship was the equivalent to the World Championship. Essentially, it's purpose was to find the best rider in the World and was run on very similar lines with qualifying rounds and a final. As a secondary "big" event, the London Riders' Championship brought together all the top riders in the world apart from those who unfortunately rode for Belle Vue (!) Also, the Golden Helmet was a very significant competition between the world's elite, which Farndon absolutely dominated.

The fact that Tom Farndon was a dominant force in all these competitions means you can't just dismiss him because he died a year before the World Championship started.

[steve roberts 9,246]

1 minute ago, norbold said:

The thing is, Sidney, that there was no World Championship prior to 1936, so you can't just dismiss everyone who rode before then. You have to take into account what the big events were at the time and how well the riders did in them. And certainly, the Star Riders' Championship was the equivalent to the World Championship. Essentially, it's purpose was to find the best rider in the World and was run on very similar lines with qualifying rounds and a final. As a secondary "big" event, the London Riders' Championship brought together all the top riders in the world apart from those who unfortunately rode for Belle Vue (!) Also, the Golden Helmet was a very significant competition between the world's elite, which Farndon absolutely dominated.

The fact that Tom Farndon was a dominant force in all these competitions means you can't just dismiss him because he died a year before the World Championship started.

Jack Parker would have been another to be taken into consideration.

[Sidney the robin 4,735]

11 minutes ago, norbold said:

The thing is, Sidney, that there was no World Championship prior to 1936, so you can't just dismiss everyone who rode before then. You have to take into account what the big events were at the time and how well the riders did in them. And certainly, the Star Riders' Championship was the equivalent to the World Championship. Essentially, it's purpose was to find the best rider in the World and was run on very similar lines with qualifying rounds and a final. As a secondary "big" event, the London Riders' Championship brought together all the top riders in the world apart from those who unfortunately rode for Belle Vue (!) Also, the Golden Helmet was a very significant competition between the world's elite, which Farndon absolutely dominated.

The fact that Tom Farndon was a dominant force in all these competitions means you can't just dismiss him because he died a year before the World Championship started.

Totally agree Norbold and you have a solid case also how many riders became World Champion  over the years when they were not recognised as the best .? Farndon,Duggan,Warren,Adams,Jessup, Sigalos, Jansson are all riders that i believe were good anough to be world champion but fate intervened.

[iris123 20,989]

As an aside and further to the pre- world championship days, even pre-High Beech days. Does anyone know the basis on how a rider entered the Aussie championships in 1925-28... just that I see in 1928 Vic Huxley left Brisbane via Sydney to compete in the Championship, but other top riders like Arthur, Lamont etc didn’t . Bit of a mystery at the moment whether a rider was chosen from a track possibly

[norbold 7,114]

50 minutes ago, steve roberts said:

Jack Parker would have been another to be taken into consideration.

Yes, and Vic Duggan, both of whom were never world champion but won the equivalent trophy of the time. 

[Sidney the robin 4,735]

45 minutes ago, norbold said:

Yes, and Vic Duggan, both of whom were never world champion but won the equivalent trophy of the time. 

Who were your three favourite rider's style wise Norbold ? be interesting to hear your views.Mine had to be Tommy Jansson and Ole Olsen, Leigh Adams.

[norbold 7,114]

19 minutes ago, Sidney the robin said:

Who were your three favourite rider's style wise Norbold ? be interesting to hear your views.Mine had to be Tommy Jansson and Ole Olsen, Leigh Adams.

Crickey, Sidney, that's a difficult one. But if forced to, I suppose the three riders I liked watching most were Sverre Harrfeldt, Christer Lofqvist and Peter Craven.

[norbold 7,114]

12 hours ago, iris123 said:

As an aside and further to the pre- world championship days, even pre-High Beech days. Does anyone know the basis on how a rider entered the Aussie championships in 1925-28... just that I see in 1928 Vic Huxley left Brisbane via Sydney to compete in the Championship, but other top riders like Arthur, Lamont etc didn’t . Bit of a mystery at the moment whether a rider was chosen from a track possibly

I messaged my good friend, Ross Garrigan, one of Australia's leading speedway historians, to see if he knew the answer to your question. I don't think his reply is of much help really! But this is what he said:

"I don't think there was too much organization competitors-wise with the staging of Australian Championships back in those days. Vic Huxley spent some time racing in Adelaide before heading to England in 1928. I seem to recall he returned to Brisbane to say farewell to his parents and then left again to head south at the time Hunting's party was about to leave Brisbane to head to England.

Another thing, I think Huxley went back to South Australia after his brief return to Brisbane because he had met a girl there. Probably to say goodbye to her before leaving for England."

[iris123 20,989]

Thanks for that norbold. And happy Xmas 

[Sidney the robin 4,735]

On 12/24/2019 at 8:48 AM, steve roberts said:

Jack Parker would have been another to be taken into consideration.

I often think Jack gets forgotten after Tommy Price and Freddie Williams.

[wealdstone 3,454]

I saw Jack Parker ride but by then he was well past his best.

[norbold 7,114]

26 minutes ago, wealdstone said:

I saw Jack Parker ride but by then he was well past his best.

He did beat Malcolm Simmons though!

[iris123 20,989]

17 hours ago, norbold said:

I messaged my good friend, Ross Garrigan, one of Australia's leading speedway historians, to see if he knew the answer to your question. I don't think his reply is of much help really! But this is what he said:

"I don't think there was too much organization competitors-wise with the staging of Australian Championships back in those days. Vic Huxley spent some time racing in Adelaide before heading to England in 1928. I seem to recall he returned to Brisbane to say farewell to his parents and then left again to head south at the time Hunting's party was about to leave Brisbane to head to England.

 

 

 

Another thing, I think Huxley went back to South Australia after his brief return to Brisbane because he had met a girl there. Probably to say goodbye to her before leaving for England."

 

What makes me question this though is the line up for the 1st Adelaide meeting, which was the 1928 qualifier for the finals the next weekend. It seems quite organised in that each State was represented. For the mile championship and the same riders were swapped around for the 2 mile championship. Also seen a few times that Schlam is listed as Syd.?

Frank Duckett (Adelaide) rode against Sprouts Elder (US)

Syd. Schlam (W.A) v V. Huxley (Qu)

A. Taylor (Adelaide) v C.Datson W.A) + B.Morris (Vic)

P.Dean (NSW) v H.Managham (ex- New Zealand!!)

And as I mentioned at least Huxley left Brisbane a few weeks before and had a couple of meetings in Sydney( v Van Praag etc) on his way to the Aussie Championships

Again, more research needed

Edited December 25, 2019 by iris123