Chadster

This has been a very interesting thread for someone like me who has not much interest in machinery and even less knowledge about it. It's a shame because when I got interested in speedway in the late 60s there was little talk about the machines beyond whether someone was riding a JAP or a JAWA and set up seemed to be about picking the right gearing. So speedway could sell itself as a motor sport for people who weren't much interested in motors. Now it seems you have to be a mechanical expert to take part or pay someone a lot of money to be one for you.

Test matches in the summer would be very difficult to organise now bit I have wondered if we could organise somthing at the start of our season, before other counties get started. A 3 match series against, say Denmark would be a great way to highlight the start of our season. You might even try to link it into the Ben Fund meeting. I thought the Danes rather than the Aussies as it would be arare chance to see the top Danes in this country and might attract more fans.

Sadly, I can't see it happening. When the Dons were booted out of Plough Lane they looked long and hard for some land on which to build a track but to no avail and I would imagine the situation would be worse now. Another consideration is that if we accept that speedway is traditionally a white, working-class sport, then the demographic changes in London (and many other cities) would suggest that the target audience is either no longer there or would be vastly reduced.

I loved the Russell Lanning years at Wimbledon; a good team on the track, Dave Lanning on the mic and always something going on off track. Great fun!

I think current starting procedure is a s good as it has been, with the 2 minute clock forcing the riders to come to order. Something that would stop gardening would be a concrete starting area, but they tried it in the 50s and got rid of it. I never saw that in operation. Perhaps someone who saw it being used might like to comment? I am old enough to remember the days when even breaking the tapes did not bring an automatic exclusion and the starts then were awful and, I reckon, wasted more time than gardening today.

Roger Johns

Wimbledon is part houses, part football ground. Hackney became the media centre for the Olympics, which I believe has now been converted to residential use. London White City is now BBC offices. Harringay is a supermarket, New Cross housing and a park and Walthamstow is housing. Wembley is still Wembley, just a very different Wembley.

I highly suspect that someone posting under the name OveFundinFan is a pensioner themselves. If he'd begun his last paragraph with 'worryingly' rather than 'interesting' his meaning would be much clearer. Anyway, no cause for worry, there's no chance of the government seeing the SoN or even knowing what speedway is.

Wearing a Smederna race jacket. That might help narrow it down.

Happily, I didn't see the Vic Harding crash but I did see Denny Pyeatt's fatal crash. It's over 40 years ago but it's still as clear as day to me. Not something I ever want to see again Those of us who were there also won't forget that 1980 season when the Hawks almost won the League having propped up the table the previous two seasons. It all came to a sad end when Cradley won at Waterden Road but I'll never forget the Hackney fans giving the Heathen a great reception on the tractor ride afterwards. Spoke volumes about them and speedway fans in general. One of the highlights of that season (but not for me!) was Dons getting thumped 56-22. Cyril Maidment unwisely complained that the announcer was mispronouncing Eddie Jancarz's name, upon which the announcer simply replied, 'Hackney 56 Wimbledon 22'.

Some footage from the Soviet tour in 1966;

Thanks for reminding me about Alan Mogridge. I think the Dons tried out a young Andy Galvin and he perhaps looked the liveliest of all the likely lads before Kelvin came along. I was surprised the Dons didn't persist with Galvin. Of course he was later a pantomine villain in his appearances at Plough Lane with Hackney. Something always seemed to happen when he was around!

In the late 70s and early 80s Wimbledon made a habit of picking a novice at no. 7 in order to get the team under the point limit. Lads like Jay Pleece and Dave Brewer were given a go. It wasn't that they couldn't ride but they just struggled massively out of the starts. So when the Dons announced the signing of another unknown, Kelvin Tatum, I was completely underwhelmed. His first meeting against Ipswich was a revelation, not just for the points scored but for his sharpness out of the tapes. The two seasons Kelvin spent at the Dons were two of my most enjoyable watching speedway, seeing him go from raw novice to potential superstar. Just a shame that he fulfilled his potential away from Plough Lane. Great to see the earlier post about Roger Johns. I didn't see him when he was struggling but he was such a great rider to watch. Definitely one rider you hoped would miss the gate!

First one I have clear memories of was Belle Vue v Newport in 1967.Heat 1 ended Nevitt, Roper, Erskine, Golden. I think Tommy Roper and Jon Erskine are still going, but I'm not sure about Norman Nevitt. Alby Golden died some years back.

Another point is that the league in 1966 was arguably stronger. Riders like Nordin, Fundin and Jansson didn't ride in 65 and Betts, Peter Moore and Persson appeared only briefly in 65 but rode a full season in 66.