Goldhawk

i do remember standing on bend 1 at Plough Lane with I believe the famous "Pit Loonie" home fans. Garry Middlelton was just in a class of his own for the Hawks there that night. One of them bawled out " MIDDLETON ! " .... MAY YOUR EARHOLES TURN TO ARS-H-L-S AND SH-T RIGHT DOWN OUR NECK !! " : D Nice LOL Season 1980 - Just ran out of steam a bit in the end - What a season !!! - Bo Bo had an incredible season that year too !! Near on Unbeatable - UNFORGETABLE

Agreed entertainers they were. The fateful crash with Vic just horrific. it happened right in front of me too. Worst ever, Len was in tears. You could have heard pin drop. I think the match referred on AG to was at Long Eaton with Andy Galvin and the last race. i was there. He took one Long Eaton rider out. Amazingly fallen rider excluded. in the re-run he did it again and fallen rider Long Eaton excluded !! There were riots afterwards from home fans. not happy !! ; )

.... And who can forget Zuper Zenon with a last to first missile surge at Waterden Road down the back straight taking current W.C. Ole Olsen from the back in the process with other two riders AND smashing the Hackney track record at same time !! ( i stand corrected, was it in time of 62.0 seconds ?? ) i think it was in the 1979 season. i went to World Final at Chorzow that year to cheer him on with the 100,000 + Polish fans. He finished 2nd but should have won. Even Briggo said it. August 9th 1980 : Halifax v Hackney Oh boy the meeting of a lifetime if your a fan of the Hackney Hawks. i had the amazing pleasure to be there ! Hackney 11 ? points down at heat 7 they came back, and back , and back.. winning 39 - 38 in the last race. Zenon was in class of his own with 14 paid 15 maximum despite Kenny Carter there in his prime ! The track was incredible i have to say. What a spectacle seeing riders going round at high speed on huge banked track. Leaping Len was in meltdown with happiness ! i hope he reads this forum and pages for his beloved Hawks - Len Silver IS HACKNEY ! My other half had a mini around this time with a .... ZUPER ZENON !! STICKER in the back window. She was toddling down M11 in it one day. A car pulled up along side her and the driver waved ! Who was it - The man himself !!!!!

Peanuts ! 20p a bag !! another

Lambretta GT 200 . : )

On the subject of break downs to and from meetings I rode back to Essex c 1972 from Wimbledon on a scooter with a broken throttle cable ! I wedged s stick in carburettor to keep revs up and carried on riding. It worked up to a point but coming through slowing of stationery traffic the only solution was to pull in clutch. It didn’t half startle people !! : )

Absolutely . Got it in One ! Wasn’t it just great to also to Whoop those Dons too, especially at Plough Lane . Garry Middleton was KING there . Hackney Speedway 1969 to 1996

The Magnificent Seven and Skipper Barry Thomas leading out The HACKNEY HAWKS ! The excitement was incredible !! Zuper ZENON was The Goldest Hawk of them All !!! The years roll on but the memories never fade of my youth and Friday at 8 at Hackney Speedway. Leaping Len = LEGEND ! GO HACKNEY !! ( Len should be Sir Len for services to Speedway ) Maybe Speedway Star can start the ball rolling ? Hackney will always be my club and hold very special place in my heart. The racing was just brilliant !! A thrill a minute. Len Silver on the mic geeing up the Hackney crowd after another another brush with officialdom on centre green telephone !!!

My first memory was of seeing Tiger at Romford in 1970. A GREAT rider and he is Ipswich Speedway ! RIP Tiger Louis a modern day Speedway Legend.

Great News - People investing in British Speedway - Lets hope some Whopper Sponsor/s are encouraged to come on board now for Premiership League and for clubs. This is in my view is how the sport can thrive again. Its about the money. If Premiership continues to be rebuilt and we have 10 + teams in it doing well then success can follow on its coat tails for lower league/s too and snowball from there. This is the Polish model and Ekstraliga. Where was that 30 years ago ? They built that to a super league and rest history. Speedway now a top sport in Poland with massive sponsorship. Phil Morris is making a difference and steering in right direction.

Pratty was a white line rider at the Wick as i remember, can't say elsewhere. Only saw him a few meetings there as a youngster in 1969 before moving to Cradley Heath for 1970. season. Was priveleged to see him guest for Hackney that year and score a 12 point maximum the Friday before going to Lokeren for the weekend. it would have been his last ever meeting as a rider. Went to a thing at Paradise Park re Tatum and Pearson around 6 years ago and spoke to Pratty. What an ordinary down to earth guy and top bloke he was. i remember going to chippy in Hoddesdon after he retired in early 70s and he was there serving fish and chips !! : )

Agreed. Phil Morris and league need full support.

Hackney really was an outstanding race track where riders could and did pass anywhere. I've read in the past it was felt by some too fast for size of track. There may be some truth in that tbh, but the overriding issue of all the time i watched Speedway there ( 24 years ) was riders hitting lamp standards with serious injuries or worse. Both fatalities there with Vic Harding and Denny Pyatt were caused by them. i also saw the worst looking crash i have ever seen there in 1973 between Allan Emmett & Dave Kennett where they locked handlebars going full speed going down the back straight and didn't turn hitting fence on third bend at full speed upright. Allan Emmett was a star in the making and retired the following year and Dave Kennett wasn't the same rider after. He potentually could have been as good as Gordon. Hackney was a great track, if today safety fence regulations were in place of today the injuries of the time would have been very much less . The were much worse tracks out here. The lamp standards were the issue. Maybe Wimbledon was the safest track of the time with their supported fence without any lamp standards if i remember rightly. Did it match Hackney for racing ? em ...............................; ) PS On Milo (reference last paragraph and post) Milo has made a successful career out of stand up comedy since crash. He still harbours hope to walk one day..

i subscribe to the the Star but haven't fully read the article yet . I was there at Hackney that night on the 4th bend where the sickening crash occurred. Milo ( "The Red Knight" ) was making great strides.at Hackney and wowing the fans every week with his daredevil swoops round the fence. Tragic crash. Hackney was an outstanding race track but the lamp standards there at that time caused many injuries, indeed worse. It is brilliant that they now have to be away from fence and have air fences. If Milo had had that crash today very likely he would have got up and walked away.

Is it time for anyone working in the pits at a speedway meeting, to be required to conform to a dress code? Black seems to be the best, but instead of heavy metal bands tour t-shirts, plain polo shirts with "pits crew" on the back, plain black trousers or long shorts, and black shoes& socks (NO flip-flops allowed). If BSPL could find a sponsor whose logo could be added, then it should be able to supply most of this kit (except shoes) free of charge via riders and promoters. This would help to portray a better image when matches are televised and to new spectators. ABSOLUTELY ! Great idea. Couldn't agree more. i remember the professionalism in the past with track staff (and now hopefully pits staff too) Would be a great step forward to get sport projected well at the clubs and as said on TV.. I remember watching the presentation at Wimbledon back in the day (early 1970s) and with everything else being done there at the time and attention to detail it was very very impressive and all added to the show. SGP are doing, it so should the Premiership too for starters. maybe a sponsor as Hamish said could be found for uniformity of kit for above at all clubs .

I agree with that. They could be very impressive if they click and may surprise a few with their overall strength. Leaving aside negative thoughts by many on Buster Chapman, or positive come to that. Lynn are long overdue a top flight title win , good luck to them, don't think thev'e ever won one in their 60 years history at Saddlebow Row ? . It would be good for the sport. i hope with a decent and successful Premiership season more clubs can come up and hopefully make 10 in the league in 2025. If the top league in good shape and thriving the sport can rebuild in popularity, leagues below can get on the back of that. Wouldn't it be a boost to get Coventry back for starters in next couple of seasons.

Hans = Top Bloke

Agreed, The dream would be to rebuild the stadium to rival, indeed surpass, Belle Vue !

Absolutely Kev . Hope you are well.

Note to Mick Bratley : Mick you and the club were absolutely incredible in helping honour the memory of Panthers fan David Pratley there after his sudden passing aged just 52 in 2007 ( Dave was my best mate and got me into Speedway as a kid at Rayleigh and i still am a fan now 50 odd years later ) His family along with my self are eternally grateful to you for all you did. We all met up to remember him in August at the track. Must have been over 20 of us there . His ashes were scattered on bend 3 back in 2007. Was wondering if we might be able to recover some shale from the track to give to family to remember him by ? I hope you and others in the consortium are successful in bring back the Panthers to the Showground very soon. Any help gratefully received. Sounds like shale at Kings Lynn ??

Nikki P would be another and OTT on track but I think away from track a much nicer person

Absolutely

Uncle Len kept clubs going when others couldn't he is a Speedway Legend !!!!!

Leaving aside whether this actually trancends into a return of the Hammers and the whys and why nots, if it were to happen with half decent facilities, it has the potential to be a very well supported club and likely far better supported than previously i would think. Why i say this is it will be the only club in the south east . Since closure at Lakeside Rye , Eastbourne and Kent have gone. i know Iwade are operating as Kent but with Lakeside operating in Premier or Championship fans likely to go there instead. When Rye was Saturdays a few years ago in Premier they were getting decent crowds, c 1,500 - 2,000, and the people i spoke to there were coming from far and wide. At that time there were 3 other tracks in the south. I would be very optimistic if they can get Hammers back on track and sensible stadium facilities here or elsewhere in borough. UP THE HAMMERS ! WOULD BE GREAT TO SEE THEM BACK.

Would be just great to see them back at some time in the future. Maybe create a Torun stadium in Essex ? Well we can all dream I guess : ) Was a sponsor here for many years. The guys involved in this are doing a great job, a big well done to them.