Historic Gathering Of Champions To Benefit Team Us

[Conkers]

This is a press release from the USA regarding a fundraising event. Quite a good idea really:

 

LONG BEACH, California - An historic gathering of America's past World

Champions in the sport of Speedway motorcycle racing will take place here on

Sunday, January 29, aboard the historic RMS Queen Mary ocean liner.

 

The Inaugural Team USA Speedway Testimonial will feature a lavish brunch and

Honoree Ceremony recognizing the six American Speedway greats who have won

Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) individual world

championships, followed by a memorabilia auction to benefit Team USA

Speedway's 2006 efforts in FIM World Championships.

 

Since the FIM World Speedway Championship was created in 1936, five American

riders - the late Jack Milne ('37), Bruce Penhall (1981-82), Sam Ermolenko

('93), Billy Hamill ('96) and Greg Hancock ('97) -- have captured the

sport's top prize - and in 1983 Shaun Moran became America's only FIM Long

Track Champion.

 

All of the Speedway champions will attend the event, and the machine on

which Jack Milne became America's first-ever world motorcycling champion

will be displayed in memory of the pioneer of American motorcycle sport who

passed away in 1995 at age 88.

 

This is thought to be the first time that all of the surviving American

Speedway World Champions will make a joint appearance, and the occasion will

be marked by production of a limited-edition group portrait.

 

The champions will pose for the photo with Milne's 1937 championship machine

and will autograph 125 numbered prints that will be offered for sale to

Speedway enthusiasts and memorabilia collectors. No other prints of the

photo will be authorized and all digital images from the photo shoot will be

destroyed after the exclusive, one-time run of 125 prints has been produced

 

Jack Milne's historic machine is being provided by Gary and Sandy Hicks of

Riverside, California. Mrs. Hicks is Milne's niece and the daughter of the

late Cordy Milne, who was also a Speedway racing star and whose racing

achievements included four US National Championships.

 

Noted motorsports announcers Terry "Ike" Clanton and Bruce Flanders,

both fixtures on the Speedway racing scene, will donate their services for

the 2006 Team USA Speedway Testimonial. Flanders will be Master of

Ceremonies for the Honoree Ceremony and Clanton will be the lead auctioneer.

 

 

"We're confident that the Speedway racing community will want to be on hand

for this unique gathering of champions and to support Team USA Speedway,"

said event organizer Bill Amick, who serves as Team USA Speedway Manager.

"From our announcers to Jack Milne's family and from our great champions to

a cast of special guests that we'll announce soon, people are showing

tremendous generosity and commitment to Team USA Speedway.

 

"The signed and numbered portraits are sure to become collector's items,"

Amick added, "and they represent just a portion of the great items that will

be up for bid in the memorabilia auction.

 

American teams have won five FIM Team World Championships and three FIM Best

Pairs titles, the most recent in 1998. Those championships have since been

consolidated into a single event, the FIM Speedway World Cup, which America

has yet to capture. Team USA bowed out of the 2005 competition in the first

round, missing a transfer by a single position.

 

Proceeds from the 2006 Team USA Speedway Testimonial will be used to defray

the cost of participation in the 2006 FIM Speedway World Cup and also to

 

assist individual American entries in the FIM World Junior Speedway

Championships and Speedway Grand Prix Qualifiers.

 

The Team USA Speedway Testimonial event offers a wide range of sponsorship

opportunities to companies involved in Speedway racing, and enthusiast

sponsorship packages will also be available. A private welcome dinner for

the event's honorees and sponsors will be held on Saturday evening, and

Sunday's Honoree Brunch and AMA-sanctioned memorabilia auction will be open

to the public.

 

"We have a long tradition of success in FIM Track Racing championships and

we're pleased to lend support to AMA's Team USA Speedway and join the

 

Speedway community in honoring our past world champions," said American

Motorcyclist Association President Robert Rasor, who also serves as Vice

President of the FIM.

 

"Enthusiasts can really make a difference for Team USA Speedway by attending

the testimonial activities on January 29, donating items for the memorabilia

auction and purchasing the limited-edition portraits."

 

Enthusiasts and collectors who are interested in more information about the

2006 Team USA Speedway Testimonial, about providing auction items, or about

attending the auction as buyers are asked to contact Heartland Media &

Events by phone at (740) 397-1647 or email to teamusaspeedway@yahoo.com.

News updates will also be posted at www.HeartlandMedia.info

[Main Man]

Would be nice to also see some of the proceeds used to help fund the Americans of the future --The USA Dream Team who will be heading for the UK again next April for a tour who finance the trip entirely themselves.

[Addy]

Best wishes for a successful outcome ...

 

Mind you - I've been on that Ship (Queen Mary) and it is well haunted.

In particular the First Class Swimming Room, where a number of people have died, has a very opressive atmosphere.

 

Mind you, January (or any month) in California

[iris123]

Well Queen Mary 2 has just left Hamburg after some work on her,part of wich was getting rid of ghosts.Seems as if the US are a bit strapped for cash,doing this sort of thing.Hope it goes well something missing if they don't enter competitions.

[BertHoven]

Best wishes for a successful outcome ...

 

Mind you - I've been on that Ship (Queen Mary) and it is well haunted.

In particular the First Class Swimming Room, where a number of people have died, has a very opressive atmosphere.

 

Mind you, January (or any month) in California 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Addy,

 

I could give you Terry's number. He's looking for someone to complete his team of pushers. He recently described himself as the dope and the man behind him as his pusher.

 

You would need to be a pushy woman though. Question is: are you a pushy woman or a pussycat?

 

Joy to you,

 

Ron.

[Addy]

Addy,

 

I could give you Terry's number.  He's looking for someone to complete his team of pushers.  He recently described himself as the dope and the man behind him as his pusher.

 

You would need to be a pushy woman though.  Question is: are you a pushy woman or a pussycat?

 

Joy to you,

 

Ron.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

I'm a retiring wallflower compared with the Great Terry of Connor.

Edited November 19, 2005 by Addy

[Sandy from Crossroads]

Ron and Julie,

The Queen Mary's banqueting suite is definately haunted.

On each occasion I've been in there, the beer was headless.

 

I've moved on from requiring pushers to needing carriers these days.

My wheelchair was towed recently and yesterday my walking device was reposessed by the baliffs.

 

However if Kelly and Shooey are going to be at this event, I'll be carrying them home.

They make Oliver Reed look like a church going teetotaller nowadays.

I saw Kelly a while back and he told me that when pink elephants get rat legged, they see HIM.

 

Julie, most of the deaths in the first class swimming room were due to the fact that the victims in question dived in the deep end blissfully unaware that the water had been drained from the pool when the ship was originally decomissioned.

 

Ron the first time Gaz Hicks introduced me to Jack Milne, I was so in awe of the great man I could hardly get any words out. Eventually He clocked that I was asking if I could take a photo of himself and the motorcycle in question on which he won the 1937 world final at Wembley.

It turned out that Jack ended up using my camera to take a picture of me sitting on the bike. We got on like a house on fire and became good friends. Some of the speedway stories Jack used to tell me were absolutely fantastic. I could listen to him all night. He was an absolute gentleman and the signed photograph with the kind words he wrote is, along with my signed picture of Jack Parker, one of my most treasured posessions.

Jack Milne was a champion in every sense of the word.

 

TERRY.