The Birth Of Speedway

[Ron Butler]

The emphasis seems to have shifted from the 'birth' of speedway, as we know it, to the question of whether it actually evolved from another genre of motorcycle sport.

 

Is it a hybrid?

[norbold]

As has been said above, Ron, I suppose it depends on what you mean by speedway. Even at Britain's "first" meeting at High Beech there was no sliding and the bikes had brakes which were used as it was considered "unethical" to put your foot on the ground.

 

When did the brakes come off? That's the question.

Edited April 1, 2006 by norbold

[Guest Jim Blanchard]

When did the brakes come off?

 

And maybe when broadsliding began too?

 

Sounds to me that High Beech was far from the first 'speedway' meeting. More like a motorcycle race meeting on a field.

 

They had the first official TT race in the Isle of Man in 1907, roads in theory - but by the looks of the photo's the dust would not allow 'road racing' in the true sense.

 

It looks like Ron might be right.

 

Or, when did the first dirt track event take place where the bikes had no brakes and broadsliding exsisted? Was it organised by JH after all?

[iris123]

Wasn't it a Welsh rider,living in the US,that is credited with "inventing" the slide.Maldwyn Jones?

 

As to Hoskins being the one who "invented" speedway,it puts me in mind of the sewing machine! There were a number of sewing machines developed but none really any better than doing it by hand.Then one chap patented an idea and went round trying to sell it.No luck in America,he came to England.No luck in England either.On returning to America he found a number of people producing machines using his ideas.One by a Mr Singer,a man who had turned his idea down when he had shown him! Most people know of Singer sewing machines,very few have heard of Elias Howe

Funnily enough another who came up with a different machine was Helen Blanchard

Edited April 1, 2006 by iris123

[norbold]

And maybe when broadsliding began too?

 

Sounds to me that High Beech was far from the first 'speedway' meeting. More like a motorcycle race meeting on a field.

 

Or, when did the first dirt track event take place where the bikes had no brakes and broadsliding exsisted? Was it organised by JH after all?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Wasn't it a Welsh rider,living in the US,that is credited with "inventing" the slide.Maldwyn Jones?

 

Yes, Maldwyn Jones and Eddie Brinck are credited with "inventing" broadsiding in America in the early 1920s, long before either the West Maitland meeting or the High Beech meeting. As far as I know the brakes had come off and sliding the norm in Australia well before High Beech; though when it first happened in Australia I am not sure.

 

High Beech was a dirt track, though, like Droylsden, not made for sliding. At the end of the day, top Australian promoter, A J Hunting, told Jack Hill-Bailey (the promoter of the High Beech meeting), "My boy, you're all wrong - this isn't the way to run a dirt-track meeting." The official ACU report of the meeting made a number of recommendations including widening the track by a further 16 feet and also recommended that "certain parts of the track be rolled at intervals, and then raked over to a depth of two inches in order to retain sufficient looseness to permit skidding."

 

It was probably at High Beech's second meeting on 9 April that broadsiding was seen for the first time in England when Australian Digger Pugh and two British riders, Colin Watson and Alf Medcalf, showed how it was done. The Motor Cycle magazine commented, "For the first time in this country real, honest-to-goodness broadsiding was seen..."

[iris123]

It was probably at High Beech's second meeting on 9 April that broadsiding was seen for the first time in England when Australian Digger Pugh and two British riders, Colin Watson and Alf Medcalf, showed how it was done. The Motor Cycle magazine commented, "For the first time in this country real, honest-to-goodness broadsiding was seen..."

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Or was it at Stamford Bridge in 1927? Think Billy Galloway gave a demonstration in front of the cameras,most probably as a publicity film.Galloway and McKay came over before the rest and rode round for the news reel people,but from the report it was only Galloway who really gave it some "welly".Not a meeting of course.

[norbold]

Yes, that's true. Of course it was expected that Galloway and McKay would demonstrate the art of broadsliding at the first High Beech meeting but, owing to the nature of the track, they were unable to do so.

 

Galloway also suffered from another difficulty and that was that he was unable to use his own bike and instead had to borrow Freddie Dixon's Isle of Man TT machine with road racing gearing. Even worse for Galloway was the fact that he never managed to get out of bottom gear because, as he said afterwards, he didn't know how to.

 

This also shows, of course, that the bikes had gears as well as brakes at that first meeting.

[Ross Garrigan]

Or was it at Stamford Bridge in 1927? Think Billy Galloway gave a demonstration in front of the cameras,most probably as a publicity film.Galloway and McKay came over before the rest and rode round for the news reel people,but from the report it was only Galloway who really gave it some "welly".Not a meeting of course.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

One of the great speedway myths, which has been perpetuated down the years in print in the UK, is that Keith McKay was an experienced speedway rider prior to venturing to the UK.

 

That is not so.

 

Not only was Keith McKay not an experienced speedway rider prior to leaving Australia, I have never found his name in meeting results at all as having competed in motorcycle speedway events in this country. He was a highly intelligent person with the future of speedway one of the main goals in his life. His tragic and premature passing robbed the sport of a great asset.

 

 

Australian Speedway History

http://www.ausm.info/aus_history/ashist_header.htm

Edited April 2, 2006 by Ross Garrigan

[iris123]

Ross,i guess it only natural that Keith McKay was hyped up.Wouldn't have done the early publicity much good saying he was a novice.It could be that everyone on this side were kept in the dark about his ability.

There are plenty of myths that get passed down through the years.One i was surprised to still see recently was that Gerhard Uhlenbrock escaped from East Germany with his family hidden in a sidecar .This was just a publicity stunt made up by ex-Coventry promoter Charles Ochiltree.It has been dispelled a number of times in the Speedway Star,etc but still gets trotted out.With speedway,particularlly in Britain it's not easy to know truth from fiction sometimes.And that takes us back to Mr Hoskins

Edited April 2, 2006 by iris123

[Ross Garrigan]

Ross,i guess it only natural that Keith McKay was hyped up.Wouldn't have done the early publicity much good saying he was a novice.It could be that everyone on this side were kept in the dark about his ability.

There are plenty of myths that get passed down through the years.One i was surprised to still see recently was that Gerhard Uhlenbrock escaped from East Germany with his family hidden in a sidecar .This was just a publicity stunt made up by ex-Coventry promoter Charles Ochiltree.It has been dispelled a number of times in the Speedway Star,etc but still gets trotted out.With speedway,particularlly in Britain it's not easy to know truth from fiction sometimes.And that takes us back to Mr Hoskins

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I have details of a press interview Keith McKay gave on arriving back in Australia at the end of 1928. He had such great plans for the following season, including racing in the USA. He did well financially out of his 1928 season in the UK and on the Continent. He was fatally injured at his first racing appearance back in Australia. There is a great little story, and a sad one it is, just waiting to be told.

 

 

Australian Speedway History

http://www.ausm.info/aus_history/ashist_header.htm

Edited April 2, 2006 by Ross Garrigan

[norbold]

It was probably at High Beech's second meeting on 9 April that broadsiding was seen for the first time in England when Australian Digger Pugh and two British riders, Colin Watson and Alf Medcalf, showed how it was done. The Motor Cycle magazine commented, "For the first time in this country real, honest-to-goodness broadsiding was seen..."

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Further to my comment above, Billy Galloway and Keith McKay put on an exhibition race with two of the local riders at Audenshaw on 3 March 1928. The race was won by McKay after Galloway suffered engine failure. Although I have seen no report of the race it could be that Galloway at least (given Ross's remarks regarding McKay) practised sliding in this race, which, if so, would beat the second High Beech meeting by just over a month as the first time broadsiding was seen in Britain.

Edited April 3, 2006 by norbold