chunky

That's what I have been trying to find out, and that really wouldn't surprise me! I can't comment on Cayre as that was after I emigrated, and I don't know anything about him, except that he didn't score a point in nine rides. Of course, there are those who witnessed Timmy Joe Sheppard's appearance at Hackney in 1975, and still claim that he was the worst... Steve

Oh, I know he has a much worse points-scoring record! Just one from 29 rides, but I don't have a complete breakdown of his rides... Jensen is probably the worst rider is have seen at a truly competitive level (if you can in fact call him competitive). I was talking about the record of Raba scoring four paid points from beating only one rider! I'm sure that hasn't happened too often! Steve

Come on, frigbo, at least tell the whole story! Against Reading, he score his point in the only race he finished (two falls and an EF), and beat the mighty Franz Kreimoser. At Bristol, he scored his point in one of only two races he finished (two more falls), and it came at the expense of Phil Crump - who didn't finish... At home to Bristol, he actually beat Soren Sjosten - and he managed to finish all three races he started. So, in those challenge matches, he rode eleven times. He suffered four falls and an EF. In the six races he finished, he scored four (paid) points, yet only "beat" one rider... That could be a record in itself? Steve

How about them????? Steve

And NO, you can't have Ed Pye and Ryszard Dolomisiewicz either...

Two letters different, one letter different, two letters different. Anyway, that's easy; we are talking about FULL names. If we kept it to just surnames, there would be many more. Steve

Following Mr. Plinge's tactic of rearranging letters, Aussie Mick Powell was preceded by Mike Powell, who rode one match for Newport in 1975. Steve

Couple more Aussies; Dave Wills (West Ham) and Dave Mills (Hull).

Thanks for the unintentional nudge; Chris Bass and Bristol's Chris Boss! Steve

And you have the temerity to claim that I deviated? Bill hooks!

That was another I thought of, but you beat me to it! Steve

Yeah, he's only represented GB in the under-21 SWC, and was runner-up in the British Under-21 Championship, so he's not that well-known. Oh, and a British grass-track champion... Sreve

Good call!

What's that? Is that the same as flat-track? Steve

...but it nearly is... Thanks to that splendid comment yesterday in response to gustix posting different names in a thread about the same names, it gave me an idea! In addition to the names posted by Mr. Hyam, let's see what other "nearly identical" names (one letter different) we can come up with. Bob / Rob Jones (Swindon / Wimbledon) Kevin Brice / Price (Canterbury / Exeter) Ron Johnson / Johnston (New Cross / Belle Vue) Andy Fines / Hines (Rye House / Peterborough) Steve Naylor / Taylor (Crayford / Ellesmere Port) Ole / Ove Olsen (Coventry / Birmingham) Mark Ferry / Terry (Stoke / Hackney) Garry Hay / May (West Ham / Weymouth) Steve

I'm so glad YOU said that, and not me or iris123... Steve

He wasn't the first to do that! Remember, the 1937 Speedway Riders set of ciggy cards from Players' did the same thing years before... Steve

Damn you! This is one of my favourite categories and you've stolen all these from me! Still, there was : Ian Williams (Swindon / Wimbledon junior) The much-discussed Barry Lee (West Ham junior / Rayleigh). Andy Buck (Eastbourne etc / Middlesbrough) Jack Bibby (Aussie at Sheffield and Hackney / Crayford) Steve

Doing a little research, and it seems Basil quite a name in the National League Division Three. In 1947, he was the backbone of the Eastbourne team, and won both the Supporters Cup and a qualifying round of the British Riders Championship. He then switched to Tamworth, where he was a heat leader, and then moved to Aldershot where he was a star for several years. He won the 1950 Easter Cup at Tongham against the likes of Jack Instead, Pat Flanagan, and Vic Gooden. Steve

As I said, he never really established himself at the higher level, but I think he was decent in the lower leagues. From what I have seen in a very few photos, he seemed a little ungainly, although that wasn't unusual at that time with the foot-forward style. Obviously, you can find info on speedway researcher, although it is fragmented because of the different teams. If you Google his name, there doesn't seem to be any singular concise resource, and being well before my time, I can't really add too much. As far as being a "favourite", there is more to it than simple ability and achievement. For instance, one of the first names on a list of favourites for me would be Jim Tebby. Jim was a good family friend, and we would meet at his house, then go to Ron How's pub and play darts! One of the loveliest guys I ever knew, and that is why he is a personal favourite of mine. Basil could have been the same... I just wish it was easier to find stuff on riders like him. Steve

One of my best memories from Plough Lane was when Roger and Eddie got a last-heat 5-1 (from the back) against Olsen and Shirra to earn us a draw! Brilliant race... Steve

This may surprise you, but he is an ex-Don! Never really established himself there, but was at Plough Lane in the immediate post-war years. Also rode for Aldershot, Eastbourne, and Tamworth. Steve

Please stop getting so butthurt, John. As I said on another thread, I have had conversations with you and explained why some people have a problem with some of the stuff you post. It is not always WHAT you post, but the WAY you post it. You aren't stupid - yes, I believe that - but you often act like you are. Worse than that, you act like everybody else is. Talk about Byrd McKinney, that's fine, but don't make out that we will be clamouring to answer you when we already know what the answers are. Directing people to your own articles is fine - sometimes - but you really don't need to do it as an automatic response to a topic. Just some friendly advice... Steve

Something to do with pots and kettles, I think??? Steve

Look, I've had my issues with iris, but I'm not going to harbour a grudge for ever just because... Not for the first time, his criticism of gustix is justified. Get used to it. You acting all grown-up and saying "f... You" is not justifiable. Let's just put away the handbags and move along... Steve