norbold

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.

Consider yourself hereby crucified, Sidney. Just two words - Tom Farndon!

Incidentally, the thought that the Americans Maldwyn Jones, Eddie Brinck and Sprouts Elder, following in the tradition of Don Johns and Shrimp Burns before them, were broadsiding and may have been responsible for introducing the technique to Australia would seem to put another nail in the coffin of the hoary old myth that Johnnie Hoskins "invented" speedway in Australia in 1923. As always, more research is needed...

Brilliant. Thanks for that, iris.

No, I'm afraid he lost it to Graham Warren...

Yes, poor Ron Johnson was never the same again after his near fatal crash. In 1960, he rode in some second half races at New Cross and captained the New Cross Colts team that travelled to Edinburgh and won 40-32 against the home side. Johnson scored a total of three points, with all the points coming from one race. Those who saw him that night say they will never forget the one race he won as it was a real flashback to the Johnson of old as he shot out of the gate and then actually slowed down, holding up the opposition to allow his partner to come through in to second place. Once he had assured himself that they were on course for a 5-1, he tore off again, winning the race with ease. It was a real flash of the vintage Johnson. As a result of this, Johnson was signed up to ride for Edinburgh in the Provincial League. In all he rode in six matches for Edinburgh, managing just one point and one bonus point. People who saw him say there was a sense of real apprehension every time he took to the track because his arms were clearly not strong enough to hold on to the machine properly and he was a dreadful accident just waiting to happen. He frightened the other riders in the race as much as the spectators. It was a sad end for the man who had once been one of the top riders in the world and associated with New Cross for 32 years and its captain and backbone for over 20.

Teo Teodorowicz also made his home in this country after seeking asylum - sadly not for very long though.

Not forgetting a certain Mr Barry Briggs of course as well as Bjorn Knutson.

It's a very interesting question and one which goes to the heart of when did speedway begin. A rider called Don Johns who started around 1909 and won the National Dirt Track Championship in Chicago in 1912 may have been the first to slide round a bend without brakes. A contemporary description of him goes like this, “Don Johns preferred to barnstorm the 1-mile dirt track circuits of California and the Midwest, gaining experience as well as a reputation as the hardest fighting rider in the no-holds-barred game. By 1914, Johns had improved to such an extent that the Excelsior could not hold him. He would ride the entire race course wide open, throwing great showers of dirt into the air at each turn.” How else could you throw great showers of dirt into the air on the bends if not by sliding? Was Johns the first speedway rider in the world? He was followed shortly afterwards by another American called Albert “Shrimp” Burns who was killed in a track crash on 14 August 1921. Part of his obituary written by C.E.B. Clement, which appeared in Motorcycle and Bicycle Illustrated reads, “I strolled down the track to watch him take the turns. Here he came with that motor humming a great tune and into the turn he went. Watching him handle that machine in the long slide all the way around, I saw in fancy, the then great battler of the day, Don Johns. For Burns was holding the pole and fighting the rear wheel in a manner that very closely resembled the work of the then known hardest fighter of the racing game.” After the War, in the late teens and early twenties, two more Americans, Maldwyn Jones and Eddie Brinck, were renowned for the way they threw their bikes in to the bends and broadsided round, using what was known as the pendulum skid. Now, whether any of this was actually leg trailing is another matter. And so we move on to Australia... If any American may have influenced any Australians as to the advantages of broadsiding, it would have been Cecil Brown an American who rode in Australia in the early to mid 1920s. However, Brown didn't race all over Australia during the establishment of the popularity of racing on small tracks so it maybe that, just as speedway evolved, the art of "broadsiding" evolved on tracks throughout Australia as riders fought for ways to gain an advantage over their opponents while cornering aboard their powerful machines on the tighter tracks. For example, in Brisbane during the 1926-27 season, Vic Huxley was given the nickname "Broadside" Vic Huxley. He wouldn't have seen Brown nor Eddie Brinck nor Sprouts Elder (who came over later) race, so we can't be sure it was an American who taught him the art of broadsiding. He may just have developed it himself independently. By the time the Australians came over to Britain in 1928, leg trailing was well established as the preferred (and only) method of sliding round the bends.

Lees once explained his reasons for changing to this new style by saying that if you didn’t have to lean your bike so far over sideways entering a corner as all the leg-trailers had to do, it would become upright much earlier leaving the bend and so give more tyre traction.

This has become quite a far reaching topic now, so just going back a bit to one of the other issues raised...I have just looked up Stenner's rankings for 1946/7 and 1947/8 to see where Eric Langton and Jack Parker were placed. 1946/7: Parker 2nd, Langton 7th 1947/8: Parker 4th, Langton 14th Though I think it is safe to assume that Langton was past his best by then and that was his last appearance. Parker went on to be ranked 3rd, 1st, 2nd, 7th over the next four years..

A friend of mine - who had been to the first meeting at High Beech in 1928, so he knew a bit about speedway! - told me that Jack Biggs was always very nervous. He remembered seeing him in the pits at various meetings and he was just a bag of nerves. He felt he would have won many more trophies and individual events if he hadn't been so nervous. His view of the 1951 final, which he was at, was that nerves once again got the better of Jack, both in his final race and in the run-off and that's why he lost.

It was Fred Williams who spoke to Split Waterman. However, I'm sure Jack Biggs felt there was no need to say anything, he had been totally dominant that night and probably felt that he would get at least one point out of the race as that was all he needed to become World Champion.

Good stuff, Bavarian. i notice it says that Eric Langton "practically" invented the foot forward style. Now I have always been led to believe that it was, in fact, invented by Ginger Lees and that Eric Langton was an early convert. An interesting field of study!

Fairly sure it was 2001. Can't be bothered to amend Wiki - It's too complicated these days!!!

And Jim Kempster.

John Chaplin always put forward the story that Van Praag and Langton came to an agreement that whoever reached the first bend first would take the title and the other rider wouldn't overtake him. Langton reached the first bend first but later in the race Van Praag overtook him, thereby reneging on the agreement. I have always been very doubtful about this as John got the story from Eric Langton and I can't help thinking there may have been a bit of sour grapes about this, but I don't know - it may be true, maybe not.

There are Stenner rankings from 1946 - 1954 and then the Speedway Star rankings from 1956 onwards.

"Greatest ever" lists always tend to favour the more recent riders as people will have direct experience of seeing them. For those further back in time, all we can go by are their records and contemporary reports of their races. It's not surprising that most people tend to favour those they have seen. I would guess the only person who may have seen Eric Langton here is Gustix, possibly Mick the Muppet.

I wouldn't say Langton has gone under the radar. He won the Star Riders'' Championship in 1932 and was runner-up in 1934. He was also involved in the famous run-off for the first world championship in 1936. He qualified for all three pre-War World finals. He was also instrumental in making Belle Vue the outstanding pre-War team, winning the National League four times and the National Trophy five times. Even after the War he was still a top rider, averaging 10.93 in 1946. Undoubtedly one of England's finest ever riders

It was Bluey Wilkinson and Eric Langton who beat Tom Farndon at Belle Vue and neither of those results would have been that surprising. All three were very much on a par really. As far as I know Ray Tauser didn't have a brother but he may have done!

You are dead right, Sidney. Frank Arthur was the sport's first "superstar". He was the leading rider in Australia before speedway started in this country and then in the first two British seasons (28 and 29) was the top rider in this country. He was probably then overtaken by Vic Huxley but there is no doubt he deserves to be spoken of in the same way as other dominant riders of their time like Duggan, Fundin, Mauger, Nielsen, Rickardsson etc., but too early really for him to be properly remembered and lauded. P.S. Ray Tauser was an American.

Thanks Bavarian and chunky. Very interesting.

Thank you for that bit of extra info. I'll see if I can find out any more. The date is the reason I am interested in him.

A very interesting but very sad site, Bavarian. Do you have any information on Hans-Peter Finn, who was killed in 1920?