The White Knight

R.I.P. + Rick. My condolences to his friends and family.

A sinner in my opinion as was Bill Bridgett too. I can never forgive them for what they did to Sunderland 'Saints' in 1964. They closed us so that they could strengthen their other two Tracks, namely Newcastle and Wolverhampton by 'divvying up' our riders between them, their reasons given for closing just did not add up. The weather was not great, but, we suffered no 'rain offs'. The crowds were pretty good - I know this for I was there at every match. It is notable that Wolverhampton were bottom of the League at the time of our closure, Newcastle got Ken Sharples and went on to win the League, Wolverhampton finished third in the League that year with a good number of Sunderland riders in their team. Jim Airey, Gordon Guasco and Colin McKee. I am still very bitter and disgusted about the way Sunderland Speedway was treated by the Promoters in 1964.

I do sincerely hope that something can be done about this. At the moment, those lads were deserving of being called 'World Champions' but, for whatever reason, were not recognised as such. I think it would be great if this could happen. Fingers crossed for their families sake.

Excellent,

I live in Sunderland and cannot make it. Very best wishes for your efforts though, I sincerely hope you can succeed in keeping Speedway in Peterborough. I have been to the Peterborough track on a number of occasions and thoroughly enjoyed, not just the racing, but the the atmosphere too. Good Luck.

Very sad news. John, old friend, May you Rest in Peace. +

You echo my thoughts on Jim and Jack, Steve. I am desparately sorry to learn of Jim's passing. I remember watching him as a new rider at reserve when he joined us and eventually became our Number One. It was great watching his progress over the years. He came over to the UK around 2006 and we had a 'do' for him, we also met up with him at Redcar to watch a Speedway match.. He was a lovely fellow and a smashing rider... He will be sadly missed by all Sunderland 'Stars' Supporters. My sincere condolences go out to Jim's family and friends. May he Rest In Peace. +

Very sad to hear this. Ray Day rode for Sunderland 'Saints' in 1964. He also attended a couple of our Reunions. My sincere condolences to his family and friends. R.I.P. + Ray. Condolences to Peter's family too. May he R.I.P. +

Dennis rode for Sunderland for a short time. R.I.P. + Dennis

Signed. Enjoyed a number of meetings over the years. I would be gutted if the EoES went the same way as Brandon and others.

Very sad to hear. Yet another Rider from my era who has passed away. My condlences to his family and friends. R.I.P. Duncan.

Thank you frigbo.

This book is excellent. It really is a fascinating read. Proves my point 100% as to why we closed in 1964 - it had nothing to do with the weather or attendances - the reasons given by the Promoters. There are a lot of very shady things went on when Sunderland opened in 1964. A lot has come out in this book that I never new about. A decent social history of Sunderland too. The Author is to be congratulated on some superb research.

I'm glad I have my books. I obviously can't remember off the top of my head these days. Thank you for the info.

He left under a bit of a cloud. Came back to ride for Birmingham I think, memory sometimes lets me down these days..

Thank you for posting this Chunky. I had forgotten that, you are right John Goodall was the first one I saw. John was only with us for about half the Season in 1971, he returned to New Zealand.

First time I ever saw a full face helmet was in about 19972. Dave Gatenby wore one when riding for Sunderland 'Stars'.

Sad news indeed. R.I.P. + Billy.

I've felt that way since 1974. Nearly FIFTY years ago now.

Too true Bobbath, too true.

Totally agree Steve. Fantastic stuff. Absolutely BRILLIANT!!! A trifle early for me - I started watching Speedway in 1964. Absolutely superb viewing this. Pity we can't go back to those days Speedway wise. A far superior product then, in my opinion. No doubt many will disagree with me, which is fair enough. I know how I feel.

Sunderland 'Saints', 1964: Mike Parker/Bill Bridgett. Sunderland 'Stars' 1971 to 1974: Len Silver, Charlton and Fell, Elizabeth Taylor. Here endeth Sunderland's involvement with Speedway.

I know the feeling.

Brilliant this. Love it.

That was my thinking too.....