chunky

Um, "mishap"??? That's one way of putting it! Cutting a long story short, I was chasing someone down the steps at full speed, and I jumped... I hit the concrete head first (right below the EXIT sign), and was unconscious for 6 1/2 hours! What really irked me was that Larry won, and Roger was second - and as I was carted off on the stretcher during the interval, I missed the only Dons' success of the year! The only time I ever made it up to the Boulevard was in 1981, on Royal Wedding Day. Simmo and Anders got a last-heat 5-1 over Joe Owen and Billy Sanders to a draw. It has only just hit me as I was writing this, but three of those are no longer with us, and the other is in a wheelchair. That is really depressing to think of that... Steve

Yes, I can see my spot too! And I can also see - right under that EXIT sign above the steps - the spot where I tried to kill myself during the 1980 Laurels... Steve

This really is some terrible news. Hard as nails, and a little scary at times, but the kind of rider every manager and every fan would welcome in their team. A 100% trier, a loyal team man, a nice guy, and someone I will remember very fondly. R.I.P. Vaclav Steve

Sorry Tony, I really can't remember who that would have been, and I have been looking for the last couple of days without success. As I said, the fact doesn't even ring a bell with me... Steve

That was of course, the OTHER Steve Brown, and not me! However, I was in attendance at that Levi's for Feet meeting. Yeah, I remember all the Wally Loak cassettes, although I never did buy any. Digressing slightly - but only slightly - I do have the LP of the 1974 World Final. Steve

We actually went through this a few years ago (2003 in fact) on here, from a Stewart Smith, Ronald's grandson. Looking at the wording here, it looks like it might be the same person enquiring? I haven't linked to that thread, because nobody was able to come up with anything. Steve

I'm sad that you called me "socially inept", and you don't even know me, or know anything about me. Other than the fact I don't disrespect others like you do; I'm sure you know that... Of course, that in itself is a statistic, so maybe not! Steve

With all due respect, that was a little different. New Cross simply fielded a "representative" side in a handful of non-official fixtures. If you count their appearances for the Rangers as "official" representation of a team, then Peter Craven was a New Cross rider... Steve

Yeah, I believe he was around the 60 mark. I wouldn't say I knew him "well", but we always used to stop and have a chinwag, and as has been said, you never knew where you were going to run into him. R.I.P mate... Steve

Glenn Ratcliffe and Geoff Radcliffe both rode for a Gunners junior team against Barrow on 21st June, 1985. Steve

Kylmakorpi didn't appear until after I had left the UK, but I was around for Niemi's entire British career. I was there the first time he rode at Plough Lane in 1976 (in the second half) and I saw him on a regular basis except for 1990 and 1991. He was never a "world-beater" but could mix it with - and often beat - the best of them. As has been said, the BL was the world's strongest league back then, and he was a remarkably consistent performer, even at international level. In view of iris123's breakdown, I will revise my original statement, and place Kylmakorpi above Teromaa. In addition to the figures provided, I think Joonas's durability gives him the edge. Teromaa was only around for a relatively short period, and was never the same after he left Leicester. Steve

I don't want to rub it in, but I am a few years younger than you, norbold! Having said that, the pair are not obscure to me either. In fact, as a kid, I remember my parents telling me about Antti Pajari! Although both were better on the long-tracks, I think Timo Laine was the better of the two, Pajari being a little on the hairy side. Kai Niemi is a definite No 1, with Ila Teromaa a clear second. The remaining three - in no particular order - I would give to Kylmakorpi, Laine, and Kaj Laukkanen, Honorable mentions for Tyrvainen and Kokko. Steve

Actually, there is, but only on the Polish Wikipedia site! It's not much, I know, and of course, it is in Polish, but Google translate will at least make it understandable. It is sad that there isn't much info available online about him. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sverre_Harrfeldt My dad became good friends with Sverre when he came to Plough Lane, and used to help him out quite a bit. When he had to return to Norway for a few days, my dad would ferry him back and forth to the airport, and would use Sverre's car in the meantime! As has been said, he was never the same after his crash (in the 1968 European Final) at Wroclaw. He struggled on his return to England in 1970, although he was just starting to find his feet when he broke his arm against Wimbledon (I was at Custom House that night). However, while not the Sverre of old, he managed to get his average back up to nearly 8 when riding for Wembley the following year. Steve

Ruddy auto-correct! So sorry... Steve

That is such a great point. Of course, winning any National Championship is an achievement, but the quality of the opposition is not as reliable. Looking at the British Final; Craig Cook has one win and three seconds, far superior to Peter Collins' one win, a second, and a third. PC's win in 1979 came against Lee (World Champ), Jessup (World No 2), Simmons (World No 2), Kennett (World No 2), Louis (World No 3), and multi-World Finalists Morton and Davis. No disrespect, but was Cook's win achieved against the same quality opposition? Back on subject, it is difficult to argue against Hveem's record, and while there have been quite a few very good Norwegians over the years, only Harrfeldt and Holta made any real impression on the international scene. In BL racing, Eide certainly stands out, and Lovaas was excellent, but neither could manage more than one World Final apiece. I also feel that while Gunnestad's international record wasn't at all special (and you can't really judge anything by his National Championships), his British career should put him next in line. Steve

Norbold mentioned it just two posts before you asked, and it was mentioned again a few posts before that! It was 30 December 1934... Steve

Not "Charles" Waterman? Steve

You know, if you are an anorak, age isn't important! Hmmm, what would my specialist subject be? Obviously, anything to do with the Dons, but Individual World Finals and the British League 1965-1990 would also be good for me... Steve

Those were the two that got me! What really p*ssed me off was the fact that I have only recently read norbold's "Speedway in London", and should have known the New Cross one... I'm so dreadfully embarrassed! Steve

This SHOULD be a no-brainer, but it IS speedway we are talking about! Just throwing this out there... A rider is credited with an appearance if he is at the track, and ready to ride, okay? If this happens once, it could happen again, right? Therefore, a rider can be considered an "ever-present" without even starting a race! Only in speedway... 😀 Steve

Very good question... I've often wondered about that. Steve Edit: just checked back on here, and it was in 2009 when people had started seeing the trailer, and it was supposedly "close" to being released. Then, in 2011, it appears that the production company was dissolved.

"Not for debate"??? Sorry, do I have to ask your permission to speak??? Steve

We actually covered this a few years ago on here! Neil Evitts appeared a few times for Stoke in 1980 while he was only 15, and Robbie McGregor rode a couple for Glasgow when he was 14... Steve

Just reverting back to the Pedersen vs Gollob comparison for a second... In DIRECT GP competition (taking the thirteen years when both were full-time), it does make interesting reading. They both rode in 131 GP's, with Pedersen scoring 1559 points, and Gollob 1510 (a massive difference of 0.37 points per GP). Pedersen had 3 world titles, and a silver to Gollob's 1 win, a silver and two bronzes. Gollob's lowest finish was 9th, while Pedersen finished lower than that on four occasions. Taking into account individual GP's, Gollob won 44 medals (17 gold, 11 silver, 16 bronze) to Pedersen's 38 (13 gold, 12 silver, 13 bronze). So, Pedersen may have won more world titles, but Gollob appears to be slightly better consistency-wise. Even taking into account their GP performances outside of the head-to-head, there is little to separate them; Gollob had a silver and two bronzes to Pedersen's brace of bronzes. So, virtually nothing to choose between the pair, and I think that gives me enough of a case to consider Gollob the better of the two. Steve

Nope... Facts tell us that Pedersen won more World Titles than Gollob. I happen to believe that Gollob is perhaps the greatest rider I have ever seen. There is a difference between how many titles someone won and where those titles place them in a list. Then Pedersen is better than Moore, Woffinden is better than Young, Williams is better than Collins, Szczakiel is better than Adams... No, you don't win multiple World Championships by being a no-hoper, but just because somebody didn't win as many as someone else doesn't necessarily make them inferior. If you use simple statistics to rate riders, then Moore, Craven, Young, Penhall, Knutson, Wilkinson, and Collins would never even be considered for a place in an all-time Top Ten list... Steve