sandman 0 Posted June 18, 2004 phil was not a stylist. wasnt photogenic. just 100% pure racer. a site to behold in his hey day. the only other comparable would have been egon muller on a 1000 meter grasstrack that was rough. broken leg, bit of broken spirit i fear for phil. but, being femur bone, totally understandable..sorry he felt he had to make a comeback when he was past it though, glad i didnt see it.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lupus 1 Posted June 19, 2004 (edited) Oh yes, Mr Crump senior...................My (late) Mum's favourite rider!!! We had a photo of him on our windowsill and my Dad said it'd frighten any burglars so he didn't mind!!!!!! I was 'lucky' enough to nanny for a family that lived in the same cul-de-sac as the Crumps in about 83/84! Jason spent his whole life riding round and round in circles in the middle of the road - no doubt what HE was going to be!!!!! The people I worked for (a maitre'd of a posh restaurant and a solicitor!) didn't like their daughter playing with the Crump kids - they weren't 'their' sort of people! But I thought it was great and got quite friendly with Carole (Phil's wife) from going to the school to collect the kids! The neighbours complained about the noise coming from Phil's garage the once - so he decided to work on his bike's with the doors shut - it was only when Jason (who was with him) started to throw up that he realised it wasn't such a good idea!!! Carole had been out shopping and when she found out what had happened she gave him hell - you could hear it clean across the street!!! He didn't do THAT again! As for his riding - it was said that if the World final was over 16 laps round Exeter he'd have won it every year!!!! THAT was Crumpie (the original!!!) He was one of the masters of the 'switch back' - along with Peter Collins - and his opponents often didn't know which way he was coming round them - and he almost always DID come round them!!! In 'my' Robins' days - Phil Crump WAS Swindon Speedway! The sort of team we put out would have fitted in well with the EL of today - almost always Crumpie and then six 'also-rans' - it's a wonder we EVER won a meeting!!! When we did, Crump almost always got a max or close to it!!!!! A GREAT man!!!!! Edited June 19, 2004 by lupus Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grachan 7,362 Posted June 19, 2004 (edited) Great post, Lupus, though not sure I like the sound of your employers much! Sound like a couple of right snobs! So true about Crumpie plus a bunch of also rans. I think one year Malcolm Holloway was actually Swindon's second heat leader. Do you remember the match against the 1983 Cradley side, possibly the best team ever. They completely hammered Swindon - 29-49 I think it was. If I remember rightly, not one Swindon rider managed to beat a Cradley rider, with the exception of Crumpie, who scored an impeccable 15 point maximum. When the Cradley team came round on their lap of honour, half the crowd were on the greyhound track chanting 'Crumpie! Crumpie!'. Edited June 19, 2004 by Grachan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lupus 1 Posted June 19, 2004 I remember it well Grachan - I WAS on that greyhound track!!!!!!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grachan 7,362 Posted June 19, 2004 Ah, so was I. Only Crumpie could make a complete thrashing seem like a victory! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iris123 20,988 Posted June 19, 2004 Not very kind to call the likes of Kai Niemi,Jimmy Nilsen and Finn Thomsen "also rans" and they are just a few i can think of Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grachan 7,362 Posted June 19, 2004 Not very kind to call the likes of Kai Niemi,Jimmy Nilsen and Finn Thomsen "also rans" and they are just a few i can think of Good riders, though Thomsen was past his best at Swindon. None of them were in the legendary, nil conquering 1983 side though. Second in the averages was Bjorn Andersson on an average of around six! Also in the side: Martin Yeates, Malcolm Holloway, Phil Herne, Alf Busk (ok, I'll admit he was brilliant), Per Sorensen, Milan Spinka and some old geezer called Bob Kilby. Trust me. If you'd been supporting them you would have known it was Phil Crump and a bunch of also-rans (much as I loved them all of course). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
norbold 7,110 Posted June 19, 2004 some old geezer called Bob Kilby. Good in his day though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grachan 7,362 Posted June 19, 2004 some old geezer called Bob Kilby. Good in his day though. Brilliant in his day, and one of the best gaters in Speedway history and one of my all time favourites. Trouble was he'd retired in about 1980! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iris123 20,988 Posted June 19, 2004 Trust me. If you'd been supporting them you would have known it was Phil Crump and a bunch of also-rans (much as I loved them all of course). Didn`t know what particular year, if any Lupus was refering too as his period of supporting the Robins.Maybe Yeates was more a second division rider(one of my favourites)but have never heard him described as an "also ran".But then i didn`t have to watch the team every week Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lupus 1 Posted June 19, 2004 Couple of things Iris123..........As Grachan said, it was the 82-85 type era I was thinking of and at that time the team WAS Phil Crump!!!! The best 'other' rider we had during that time was Bo Petersen - another hero of mine (me and my mate ran his fan club for a while)! The others you mentioned didn't pull up too many trees during the epriod in question - even Nilsen as he was only 'up and coming' at that time! IMHO both Niemi and Thomsen were past their sell by date when they rode for the Robins! Martin Yeates definatly flattered to decieve - apart from one good season, when he did well in the WC rounds - he was the 'Stonehewer/Wilson' of his day. A great top rider in the old NL but defiantly an 'also-ran' in the BL!!!!! Finally - you said 'he' when talking about my previous post.........................I'll leave to work out why I bring that up!!!!!!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iris123 20,988 Posted June 19, 2004 oops should have guessed what with the swapping of team allegiance that you was a girlie Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lupus 1 Posted June 19, 2004 I DO have my reasons for swapping, but I can't be a**ed to go into them now!!!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iris123 20,988 Posted June 19, 2004 Might be worth starting a thread at a later date though,as it seems a few have changed.Can`t imagine it myself,so i would be interested.Even though i now live in Germany and have not seen the ressurected Dons i still consider myself a Wimbledon supporter Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
comebackkings 113 Posted June 19, 2004 I first saw Phil Crump in 1971 as a second half rider at Crewe, where on a borrowed bike he frightened the life out of the established heat leaders. He was the backbone of the Crewe double winning season of 1972 and apart from the odd engine faliure he was unbeatable at home. Not the classiest of riders, but if you ever needed a rider to give 200% Phil was the man. I saw both Jason and Phil (spannering not riding) at Stoke ealier this year at Jan Steachmanns testimonial and where Phil was 100% grit and effort, Jason is a much more polished rider and I for one hope he wins the GP title this year. Phil Crump the fastest reserve I have ever seen, for 12 meetings anyway. The man is and always will be a legend to Crewe speedway fays. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
