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Ove Fundin - 70 today.


Gemini

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Congratulations to Ove Fundin on reaching his 70th birthday today. :D

He's not putting his feet up either as he has been walking from his home in the South of France through Belgium, Germany, and Denmark to reach Transas - hopefully in time to celebrate his birthday. What a man!

The most vivid memories I have of Ove are of a determined racer who was most upset if he lost a race. Seemed a bit of a loner and not very well liked by the fans.

I remember seeing him sitting all alone in the pits at Leicester in the 1950's getting some abuse from the Leicester fans and being a typical emotional teenager I felt really sorry for him. I wrote him a letter via The Firs at Norwich and a couple of weeks later was surprised to get a personal reply from him all the way from Malmo. I still have this letter. :approve:

Any more memories?

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Having known Ove since the old Southampton days, I was thrilled to be asked to be Team Manager for Briggo's World Select side at Poole a couple of years ago.

 

Briggo, being the showman he is, wanted all the riders to do a parade lap without Crash Helmets, just like the old days.

 

A message came down to the pits from the Referee via Press Officer, Gordon Day - "Tell your boys they can parade without helmets, but no Broadsides or Practice Starts. The ref said he will fine them".

 

Tell my BOYS !!! I then had to go round and tell this Pit full of former World Champions and legends what they had to do.

 

Feeling extremely embarrassed, I proceeded to dish out the instructions. When I got to Ove, who was chatting to Reg Fearman, I said "Ove, I'm really sorry but I've got to let everyone know that the Ref will only allow a Parade without helmets if everyone agrees to no Broadsiding and no Practice Starts".

 

Ove smiled at me, as only he does and said "That's OK. You can tell the Referee I already had enough practice".

 

I have been delighted to tell that story at a number of functions since, and I think it demonstrates the charming and humourous side of a great and accomplished gentleman that is uniquely Ove Fundin.

 

# Name Removed #.

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Congratulations to Ove Fundin on reaching his 70th birthday today. :D

 

Seemed a bit of a loner and not very well liked by the fans.

 

Apart from Norwich fans of course who idolised him.

 

I have no personal memories of him from his riding days in the sense that I never actually met him then, but I have a number of memories of his racing. He won the first race I ever saw, beating Split Waterman in heat one of the New Cross v. Norwich Britannia Shield match. He went on to get an 18 point maximum that night.

 

In 1967 I took a group of college friends to the World Championship Final. They had never seen speedway before and didn't know anything about the riders. I told them we should support Ove as our college was in Norwich. It was more in hope than anything else as it did seem as though Ove was a bit past his best by then. Of course he won the 1967 World Championship and the fact they were supporting the winner went down very well with my friends and even got one or two of them interested in speedway.

 

I first met him two years ago at the annual Norwich Veteran Riders' Association Eastern Region Social and Dinner. He was a real gentleman. I presented him with a copy of my book "Speedway in East Anglia". He told me he'd heard a lot about the book and that he was looking forward to reading it. I said I hoped he found that I had done his contribution to Norwich justice. A couple of weeks later he 'phoned me from his home in France to say how much he had enjoyed my book and, remembering what I had said, he added that he felt that the book had more than done him justice and he was very pleased that his time at Norwich was still so well remembered.

 

I have spoken to him several times since to ask him questions mainly. He never fails to be extremely helpful and courteous and always seems to be only to happy to take the time to talk to me and answer my questions fully.

 

He's a real hero.

 

Happy birthday Ove.

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Gem - he just had to be a Gemini, didn't he? :approve:

 

(or should I say Gemini - Taurus cusp)

 

and

I know another Gem / Taurus cusp who just thinks alot of him - and got his autograph this year !

 

Happy Birthday Ove :approve:

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Guest starfundin

If Ove was not liked by away supporters it was for the simple reason that their own favourites generally had to take second place when he was in a race.

I first met him at the Royal Norfolk agricultural show just after he joined Norwich in 1955 and he seemed surprised that anybody should want his autograph. During the next ten seasons, in my opinion, he was without equal and more than that he was loyal to Norwich Stars.

I met up with him, just over a year ago, at a Stars reunion and took along my new fangled digital camera which my wife had never used. Ove agreed to be photographed with me and was patience it's self while my wife got to grips with the complexity of the camera. A real gentleman.

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Guest cheetahhawk

I do hope that Ove had a super birthday yesterday.When I was a little girl my Aunt and Uncle would be talking about Ove and Briggo and Ronnie Moore in the same way that we now talk about Tony Rickardsson.When I actually met Ove at Wimbledon and got his autograph he was really nice to me and I just can't understand the people who used to "put him down" so to speak. I guess they were just jealous of the guy.The only time I was disgruntled with Ove was in that 1967 World final when he outfoxed Bengt Jansson :!: Hope you had a good day Ove and hope your feet aren't too sore from all that walking. :lol:

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Man of few words then, unlike a typical Gemini who tends to go on a bit. :D

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