BOBBATH

One of my all time greats- always a popular visitor to Somerton Park with Oxford, and then O joy! he joined Newport in 1967. Was privileged to see him appear in his only World Final in 1965- guess he was 37 then-what seemed an ancient age to me. Didn't he famously have a punch up with Ove at Norwich?

You are right Chunky-my mistake mate.

Come on mate -are you kidding, no way could he have won under a GP system-ditto Egon. I would rank many Poles worthier and ahead of Jerzy. In no particular order: Waloszek, Woryna , Podlecki, Wygenda, Jancarz, Pogozelski, Plech, Stancl. Any thoughts from anybody??

I think this may have got mixed up with my Wally Loak thread-but here goes. My most hated but respected (along with the Newport crowd) was Ivor Brown- he was the most hated visitor to Newport In Prov. League days-because he was so good, always smartly turned out-he would be booked for second halves just to get the crowd wound up. Hard rider indeed , but off track was the nicest and most mild mannered gentleman. It was a dam shame when he got injured early in 1965. I always think of Ivor as the epitome of our wonderful sport- I can still see him in my mind's eye-what a great bloke. And a wonderful advert for speedway in his era.

Is Wally still with us- I purchased a couple of his tapes of meetings years ago , but I guess his business was superseded by video. Anybody know??

Is Wally still with us- I purchased a couple of his tapes of meetings years ago , but I guess his business was superseded by video. Anybody know??

Another thought- Could Sverre have done it in say 1963??

Do you reckon Olsen would have ever been Champ under a GP system? I agree with norbold here particularly re Peter Craven.. Think you are being generous to Briggo re 1958 but not sure about Knutson in 1965- but maybe he could have done it in 1964 as well as 1965. As you say Norman it's a field of endless speculation-but isn't that what makes all these threads and comments so fascinating-many great comments from other enthusiasts.

Come on mate -are you kidding, no way could he have won under a GP system-ditto Egon. I would rank many Poles worthier and ahead of Jerzy. In no particular order: Waloszek, Woryna , Podlecki, Wygenda, Jancarz, Pogozelski, Plech, Stancl. Any thoughts from anybody??

Just going back a bit further- I reckon Ove Fundin would have dominated in the fifties and sixties under a GP system- how do you reckon he would have stacked up re Moore, Briggo and Craven under such a system. Do you in fact think those three could ever have topped Ove as World Champ under GP- think Ove tended to be the most consistent over a whole season . I do think however that its unfortunate that its possible to become World Champ under GP without winning a single GP meeting (e.g. Mark Loram).

That's a good point El Addio- certainly riders his age were in the Prov. League and did well, some even older-a good example being Jim Squibb who was born in 1921 (I think)

Was reading the excellent Hans Nielsen thread and how he would have done well in a GP world (which I would agree with). Then I got thinking about Ivan and how he would have done if the GP system had started , say , in 1968. I wonder if Ivan would have been World Champ in 68,69,70, 71 ,72 right thru till about 78. One exception, I seem to remember that Anders MIchanek in the year before he actually became Champ in 1974 was winning everything. So maybe Anders could have been a GP champ in 1973.. Not sure Ole could have ever won under a GP system-what say other forumlanders. Again to all- I really enjoy the threads that are posted here-brings back many memories.

I've greatly enjoyed this thread and again thanks for the videos of Arthur-tip of thehat to BL65 for figuring out the marriage stuff-I would expect no less from you-always impressed by your knowledge and research.

Thanx for posting this iris123-this is the only time I have heard Arthur's voice-do you know when this interview took place and how long it was before Arthur's passing-he certainly looks fighting fit there.. I think Arthur married the sister of another speedway rider- Jack Hughes? Arthur Wright? and joined that family's thriving business. Not sure though

I think Arthur died at a relatively young age.

Wow, 29 was very young for Brian Brett to retire-was that about the same age as Brian Crutcher quit or was he even younger??

Hi guys was interested in Norbold's post- particularly poor old Brian Brett having an average of 1.4. When I arrived on the scene in 1964 Brian Brett was an NL star- I think he led the qualifiers to the British Final that year- was regarded as a cert to make the World Final, and indeed had a chance of being British Champ. However not to be-there is a famous photo of him (was it in Speedway Post-I am thinking here of a glossy monthly publication associated with Speedway Star I think) flat on his ass after falling in his first ride. The blurb said he could still have qualified but obviously he was un-nerved. I was glad to see he rode with distinction in the 1965 World Final ( i woz there as Max Boyce would say). Any memories of Brian-maybe retired too early , died quite young, could have been a contender (as per Marlon Brando in "On the Waterfront'). Saw him ride for Newcastle in 65 and then (I think) CH in 1966-could be wrong though. Comments welcome.

Lots of interesting stuff here mates, but hang on for a minute-getting back to Atomic Tommy what do you reckon was the reason for his precipitous decline after Glasgow. He was like a shining comet that fell to earth.

Sorry to see Alan Wilkinson passed away recently-indeed an honourable entry into the "hard riders" thresd

Sorry BL65- my mistake-misread the thread, you are quite right.

And don't lets forget Teo Teodorowicz

Interesting comments BL65, George was the first real top star of the Prov. League that I saw, for Monarchs when they visited Newport in 1964-very impressive. Wondered if he could ever make a World Final, but never seem to do well in big qualifying memories e.g. the 1966 European Final at Wembley-nerves maybe or motivation or just not good enough at big occasions. However being involved in the fatal Peter Craven crash didn't seem to affect his later riding as it might have for some other riders.

This is exactly why I love this forum-so much interesting stuff and you get to find out so many interesting things-thanks for starting this thread iris 123. BTW how did you come up with that moniker-also how would you folks rank the following in order- McKinlay, Miller, , Bainbridge. While different eras would anyone like to compare George Hunter to Tommy.

Sorry, just got to the link BL65 posted and that answered some of my questions-should have looked there first. I did see he died at the very young age of 51 -that's awful young even for that era.

I am interested in Tommy also- I got the impression he may have flamed out a bit too soon, wasn't he a heavy drinker? Toured Oz a few times, not sure if he came close to a World Final spot (can anyone tell me anything about how close he ever came to qualifying?) How would speedway historians compare Tommy to say Junior Bainbridge another White City rider. Think Junior kept going longer. Also didn't Tommy die at a youngish age?