chunky

Surprised you never mentioned it before?

Who?

So, here is the current list, and hopegully there won't be any other changes this year. Must admit, it's nice to see four Dons at positions 9-12! Looking at World Champions, I found this very interesting! Looking at how many surviving World Champions (World Fnals) were born in each decade, we find: 1930's - 3 (10 titles) 1940's - 3 (5 titles) 1950's - 5 (11 titles) 1960's - 4 (4 titles) 1970's - 1 (1 title) 01 - Arthur Payne - 28/08/23 02 - Chum Taylor - 04/04/27 03 - Ian Williams - 04/08/31 04 - Ove Fundin - 23/05/33 05 - Dan Forsberg - 25/03/34 06 - Josef Hofmeister - 17/06/34 07 - Brian Crutcher - 23/08/34 08 - Mike Broadbank - 25/09/34 09 - Barry Briggs - 30/12/34 10 - Bob Andrews - 27/10/1935 11 - Reg Luckhurst - 11/11/193512 - Sverre Harrfeldt - 23/11/1937 13 - Leif Larsson - 16/02/1938 14 - Bjorn Knutson - 27/04/38 15 - Rick France - 12/07/1938 16 - Gunnar Malmqvist - 25/12/1940 17 - Andrzej Wyglenda 04/05/1941 18 - John Louis - 14/06/1941 19 - Jim Airey - 19/08/194120 - Bengt Jansson - 09/01/194321 - Anders Michanek - 30/05/194322 - Trevor Hedge - 30/08/194323 - Terry Betts - 15/09/194324 - Howard Cole 29/12/194325 - Martin Ashby - 05/02/194426 - Jan Simensen - 26/07/194427 - Zygfryd Friedek - 19/10/194428 - Jerzy Trzeszkowski - 10/01/194529 - Eric Boocock - 02/02/194530 - John Boulger - 18/06/194531 - Hasse Holmqvist - 18/06/194532 - Jim McMillan - 03/12/194533 - Soren Karlsson - 23/10/194634 - Ole Olsen - 16/11/194635 - Ray Wilson - 12/03/194736 - Doug Wyer - 16/08/1947 37 - Grigori Khlinovsky - 11/11/4738 - Egon Muller - 26/11/194839 - Christoph Betzl - 13/02/194940- Jiri Stancl - 18/11/194941 - Viktor Kuznetsov - 27/11/1949 42 - Georg Hack - 20/02/195043 - Marek Cieslak - 28/06/195044 - Alois Wiesbock - 31/07/195045 - Tommy Johansson - 21/10/1950 46 - Vladimir Gordeev - 30/11/195047 - John Titman - 26/01/195148 - Dag Lovaas - 25/02/1951 49 - Jan Verner - 03/03/1951 50 - Petr Ondrasik - 08/10/195151 - Phil Crump - 09/02/195252 - Henny Kroeze - 11/03/195253 - Valery Gordeev - 28/08/195254 - Dave Jessup - 07/03/195355 - Ales Dryml - 10/06/195356 - Scott Autrey - 09/07/195357 - Gordon Kennett - 02/09/195358 - Robert Slabon - 15/09/195359 - Peter Collins - 24/03/195460 - Larry Ross - 15/06/195461 - John Davis - 10/11/195462 - Finn Thomsen - 16/02/195563 - Mikhail Starostin - 24/02/195564 - Tommy Nilsson - 10/03/195565 - Jan Andersson - 07/05/1955 66 - Kai Niemi - 15/09/195567 - Jerzy Rembas - 18/04/195668 - Chris Morton - 22/07/195669 - Steve Bastable - 16/09/195670 - Bruce Penhall - 10/05/195771 - Karl Maier - 24/08/195772 - Roman Jankowski - 05/10/195773 - Bo Petersen - 21/02/195874 - Les Collins - 24/05/195875 - Mitch Shirra - 27/09/195876 - Michael Lee - 11/12/195877 - John Cook - 18/12/1958 78 - Richard Knight - 26/05/195979 - Dennis Sigalos - 16/08/195980 - Erik Gundersen - 08/10/195981 - Hans Nielsen - 26/12/1959 82 - Olli Tyrvainen - 11/01/1960 83 - Phil Collins - 02/06/1960 84 - Sam Ermolenko - 23/11/1960 85 - Rick Miller - 12/01/1961 86 - Jeremy Doncaster - 16/06/1961 87 - Tommy Knudsen - 09/11/1961 88 - Zoltan Adorjan - 15/11/1961 89 - Shawn Moran - 19/11/1961 90 - Peter Ravn - 16/03/1962 91 - Zenon Kasprzak - 10/05/1962 92 - John Jorgensen - 18/07/1962 93 - Antal Kocso - 22/12/1962 94 - Sandor Tihanyi - 28/04/1963 95 - Lance King - 13/08/1963 96 - Armando Castagna - 22/09/1963 97 - Kelvin Tatum - 08/02/1964 98 - Marvyn Cox - 11/07/1964 99 - Zdenek Tesar - 30/07/1964 100 - Mikael Blixt - 08/08/1964 101 - Paul Thorp - 09/09/1964 102 - Tony Olsson - 13/03/1965 103 - Gerd Riss - 17/03/1965 104 - Conny Ivarsson - 15/04/1965 105 - Simon Cross - 31/05/1965 106 - Bohumil Brhel - 10/06/1965 107 - Slawomir Drabik - 06/02/1966 108 - Per Jonsson - 21/03/1966 109 - Andy Smith - 25/05/1966 110 - Jan Staechmann - 05/06/1966 111 - Ronnie Correy - 08/11/1966 112 - Jimmy Nilsen - 16/11/1966 113 - Brian Karger - 09/02/1967 114 - Jan O. Pedersen - 27/07/1967 115 - Craig Boyce - 02/08/1967 116 - Troy Butler - 22/09/1967 117 - Piotr Swist - 20/06/1968 118 - Todd Wiltshire - 26/09/1968 119 - Gary Havelock - 04/11/1968 120 - Stefan Danno - 10/02/1969 121 - Martin Dugard - 18/05/1969 122 - Gert Handberg - 30/05/1969 123 - Chris Louis - 09/07/1969 124- Billy Hamill - 23/05/1970 125 - Greg Hancock - 03/06/1970 126 - Henrik Gustafsson - 14/08/1970 127 - Tony Rickardsson - 17/08/1970 128 - Mark Loram - 12/01/1971 129 - Tomasz Gollob - 11/04/1971 130 - Leigh Adams - 28/04/1971 131 - Josh Larsen - 12/05/1972 132 - Joe Screen - 27/11/1972 133 - Jason Crump - 06/08/1975

So sad to hear that. How come we have only just found out?

Nah... It's 'cos so many of the GP's are in Poland! There are a bunch on here who will tell you that! He's just lucky...

No it's not! It's the greatest ever! All we need is a suitable nickname... Like the "Sheffc****s"...

Well, my first thought was Harry Bastable...

Absolutely he did. Thing is, coming from a country where speedway didn't exist made it very difficult. He did ride in odd meetings on the continent, but obviously, was more successful on long track and grass.

I know you don't think it's worth more than twenty quid, but...

With McKinlay, I don't think it could be considered "something" of a collapse! 7 points from his first three, and then nowt from his last two. Worst thing is, he couldn't even beat Glucklich, Mucha, or Klementiev in those... I was there that night.

Ron Mountford 1965 - 8.74 1966 - 9.29 1967 - 8.66 1968 - 9.62 Over those four years, his average was 8.92. Compare to some of the other riders I mentioned. From 1965 to 1969: 10.73 - Nigel Boocock 10.31 - Eric Boocock 9.46 - Martin Ashby 9.44 - Terry Betts 9.43 - Ken McKinlay 9.27 - Ray Wilson 9.22 - Trevor Hedge 9.14 - Norman Hunter 9.03 - Dave Younghusband

Here are the Top Ten averages by year (over 9.00) 1965 11.12 - Nigel Boocock 10.83 - Ken McKinlay 10.48 - Mike Broadbank 10.16 - Ron How 9.90 - Jimmy Gooch 9.65 - Cyril Maidment 9.45 - Ronnie Genz 9.43 - Eric Boocock 9.42 - Norman Hunter 9.35 - George Hunter 1966 10.54 - Nigel Boocock 10.46 - Eric Boocock 10.00 - Colin Pratt 9.67 - Ken McKinlay 9.60 - Mike Brooadbank 9.55 - Cyril Maidment 9.42 - Norman Hunter 9.41 - Terry Betts 9.39 - Trevor Hedge 9.29 - Eric Boothroyd 1967 10.52 - Nigel Boocock 10.43 - Ray Wilson 10.29 - Eric Boocock 9.74 - Terry Betts 9.53 - Ken McKinlay 9.37 - Roy Trigg 9.12 - Dave Younghusband 1968 10.74 - Nigel Boocock 10.72 - Martin Ashby 10.17 - Eric Boocock 9.71 - Norman Hunter 9.62 - Ron Mountford 9.58 - Colin Pratt 9.45 - Terry Betts 9.40 - Malcolm Simmons 9.37 - Ray Wilson 9.15 - Trevor Hedge 1969 11.08 - Eric Boocock 10.78 - Nigel Boocock 10.56 - Ray Wilson 10.35 - Norman Hunter 10.33 - Trevor Hedge 10.01 - Jim McMillan 9.97 - Martin Ashby 9.39 - Reg Luckhurst 9.38 - Dave Younghusband 9.35 - Terry Betts

Hurriken, definitely. If you're looking at league figures, Eric Boocock will be there too.

Here are the results I've been able to find. Southampton 51 - 45 Belle Vue Leicester 45 - 51 Birmingham Swindon 51 - 45 Poole Coventry 50 - 46 Wimbledon Ipswich 60 - 36 Norwich Rayleigh 46 - 50 Poole Coventry 59 - 37 Birmingham Ipswich 57 -39 Bradford Oxford 37 - 59 Belle Vue Leicester 49 - 47 Bradford Oxford 60 - 36 Bradford Leicester 55 - 41 Norwich Rayleigh P - P Wimbledon Southampton 55 - 42 Norwich Ipswich 54 - 42 Belle Vue Swindon 33 - 63 Wimbledon Oxford P - P Birmingham Coventry 55 - 41 Poole Southampton 64 - 32 Wimbledon Southampton 48 - 47 Birmingham

Oh, that's so sad to hear. I know he was still very active on Facebook, but I haven't been on there for a few days. Thanks for that...

I'm just trying to work out what language he's speaking...

Make that three reasons... I've often said that they state at the GP's, " the track takes a few heats to settle down". Same with league; if the juniors get out there first, the track will be in great shape from the start.

Great theory! Except that like you, I use Chrome as my browser on my Chromebook and phone, and I have no problem liking a post! Our darts website has been having some weird problems too. We have downloadble spreadsheets that you use to submit results. 90% of people - including myself - have no problem at all, yet there are a few who say they can't download them! I think that there is so much stuff out there that conflicts with everything, particularly after there are major updates. It seems to me that nothing is tested properly for compatability before it is unleashed on us. Thing is, it's difficult to find an answer when not everyone is experiencing the same thing. As I keep saying, technology is great - when it works!

Very valid point. Again, when people complain about the sport's demise being down to the speedway authorities, I am always quick to point out that the lack of venues is just as much to blame. Particularly with the decline of greyhound racing... Ah, the days when speedway was a "city centre" sport...

So, here are the remaining teams by the number of seasons : 12 - Crayford, Ellesmere Port, St. Austell 10 - Kent, Liverpool 9 - Yarmouth 7 - Coatbridge, Crewe, Lea Bridge 6 - Aldershot, Barrow, Crystal Palace, Iwade, Nottingham 5 - Glasgow Ashfield, Birmingham Hall Green, Linlithgow, Sunderland 4 - Armadale, Cardiff, Fleetwood, Motherwell, Rochdale, Romford, Stamford Bridge, Tamworth, Walthamstow, London White City 3 - California, Carmarthen, Leeds, Nelson, Preston, Wombwell 2 - Barnsley, Brafield, Doncaster, Hastings, High Beech, Leicester Super, Paisley, Ringwood, Skegness, Warrington, Manchester White City 1 - Bolton, Burnley, Dagenham, Neath, Salford, Smallford, Wigan

Well, I was thinking about it, and while speedway fans love stats, they never seem to post that particular stat.

Not really... I will post the rest of the teams later, but I didn't want to make a single post too large and unwieldy!

Okay.... So everyone thinks that British speedway is on its last legs, largely due to the reduction in the number of tracks. In 2023, there were 19 tracks hosting league action - the same number as in other post-covid years. Doesn't seem like many does it? Particularly with the loss of Peterborough and Wolves. Are you aware that there have been a total of 14 seasons with fewer tracks hosting "official" (league) fixtures? A few will remember 1958, when the National League dropped to 10 teams - plus a reserve team from Yarmouth. Everyone thought speedway was dead then. It didn't die. As early as 1935 we had a season with only SEVEN teams in league action - and six of those were London teams! Anyway, now I've eased your worries, let's look at how many tracks have staged league racing since 1929, and how many seasons they have run. That last part of the sentence is the scary thing... I've compiled a list of tracks. When a team changed names (St. Austell, Arena Essex), but rode at the same track, that counts as one. When a team rode at different tracks (Glasgow, Belle Vue) that counts as one. This includes years where a team did not complete the season, but rode in at least one official fixture. Track shares are not counted as separate. 88 - Belle Vue 75 - Coventry 74 - Poole 73 - Sheffield 71 - Swindon 67 - Glasgow 66 - Ipswich 63 - Wolverhampton 62 - Edinburgh, Newcastle 61 - Oxford, Wimbledon 59 - Stoke 59 - Eastbourne 56 - King's Lynn 54 - Berwick, Exeter 53 - Peterborough 46 - Leicester 45 - Birmingham, Rye House 44 - Mildenhall 42 - Cradley Heath 40 - Reading 38 - Middlesbrough 35 - Arena Essex, Hackney 34 - Workington 33 - Plymouth 32 - Bradford, Scunthorpe 30 - Long Eaton, West Ham 29 - Newport 25 - Buxton, Halifax, Southampton 24 - Hull, Wembley 22 - Isle of Wight, Norwich 20 - Canterbury, Somerset, Weymouth 19 - Rayleigh 17 - Boston, Harringay, New Cross, Redcar 16 - Bristol 15 - Milton Keynes

A Big Mac?

Jealousy, jealousy... Did ye put your boot through telly in 1966? Bahsta' Geoff Hurst...