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Your 1st Meeting


Robbie B

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I think my first meeting was sometime in the beginning of May 1988 at Sheffield - being only 13 days old I cant remember much of it!

 

I am told it was a individual meeting (British Final or summat?) and was won by Kelvin Tatum, can anyone shed anymore light on this i.e who else was riding etc?

 

Sunday 9th May 1988 British Semi-Final.

 

Michael Graves: 0 0 0 0 3:3

Mark Loram : 1 0 1 1 1:4

Neil Evitts : 3 3 2 3 0:11

Sean Wilson : 2 2 3 1 1:9

Kelvin Tatum : 3 3 3 2 3:14

Neil Collins : 2 2 2 3 1:10

Sean Willmott : 1 1 1 2 3:8

Mark Courtney : 0 0 0 0 0:0

Gary Havelock : 1 1 3 2 2:9

Neville Tatum : 0 1 0 1 2:4

Andy Smith : 2 0 3 2 2:9

Chris Morton : 3 3 2 3 3:14

Richard Knight: 1 2 2 3 2:10

Paul Thorp : 3 3 1 1 0:8

Daz Sumner : 0 2 0 0 1:3

Les Collins : 2 1 1 0 0:4

 

 

Kelvin Tatum beat Chris Morton in a run off for 1st Place.

 

Paul Thorp Beat Sean Willmott for the last spot in the British Final.

 

Mark Loram replaced the injured Peter Carr in the line up.

 

Of the line up,(including Peter) 10 are still riding this season.

 

Fastest time was 62.8 by Kelvin Tatum in Ht2.

Slowest time was 65.8 by Sean Willmot in Ht18.

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Hi

Our paths must have crossed!!!! At that time I was Mechanic for Bob Humphreys and then went on to be start Marshal untill "The Knights" closed down....... Then joined Oxford.

 

BLIMEY !!!! Alan H ?, Is that really you ? the red overalls !, the baseball cap !, it's all starting to come flooding back !!. Great to see you on here mate.

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My first meeting was April 1974 & it was Halifax versus Belle Vue. Can't remember whether it was a league match or Northern Trophy :?: Eric Boocock was riding at reserve I think cos he had special dispensation following a serious arm injury the previous season :?: I'm pretty sure he beat Peter Collins a couple of times.

 

I think the score was summat like 41-36 to Halifax. The Halifax team had Boocock, Monk, Gatenby & Plant for definite possibly also Drury & Hiftle. Henny Kroeze was away on the continent. BV had PC, Morton, Pusey, Wilkinson & Tyrer plus maybe Ian Hindle & A N Other.

 

I was just short of 6 years old at the time :!:

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My grandad first went to the old Marine Gardens in Edinburgh in 1928, he used to sell Duncans Chocolate so he could get in for free! ;-)

 

My first match was in 1980 when i was days old, needless to say i havent got a clue regarding match details and such! :roll:

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BLIMEY !!!! Alan H ?, Is that really you ? the red overalls !, the baseball cap !, it's all starting to come flooding back !!. Great to see you on here mate.

 

 

Yes!!! its me, twice as fit and twice as ugly, this is a real blast from the past,where are you getting your Speedway these days ?.

 

I'm up here in Lincolnshire now, following Boston in the CL (great Speedway), I've got Peterborough and Kings Lynn within 30 odd miles, doing a bit here and there, have the 2valve Jawa out around KL now and again.

 

And the Fishing is great up here too!!!!!.

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Hi Panthersfan

Yes I was there in 1981!!!!, From 1979 till the end on that fatefull night in 1992 at Elfield Park, a coming together of factions,on another night might not ever have happened.

 

In that case you may well have known, or at least, seen my dad, Ray Wood, he rode for the Knights a few times in1981, he was probably rubbish, he lives out in Aussie now, and works for the CSIRO in the Textiles area of research. great fun.

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I was taken to my first (and second) speedway meetings as a kid in 1979.....Easter weekend April 1979 to be exact ( I was very young honest! :P ) when I lived in Birmingham. It was the first time I was allowed to go anywhere without my parents lol

 

Until today I was certain my first meeting had been at Coventry. However having spoken with the cousin who took me he thinks I am wrong and is pretty sure the first meeting he took me to was at Cradley Heath followed by a Coventry meeting later on in the season.

 

Its got me really curious and he is away to search my uncles attic when he gets the chance to see if he can find the programme but I don't hold out much hope for the search!

 

Does anyone know if there is someplace on the net that I can find out who the two were riding against that weekend and the result? Not asking for anything much then eh! I'd just like to find out for definate who/where my first meeting really was.

 

Feel I should be saying I'm looking for my Hercule Poirot cos I'm no Miss Marple!

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Thanks Andrew - I will try that too! :)

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A quick look in the speedway star archive came up with the following, Lioness...

 

April 14th 1979

 

Cradley 40 Reading 38

 

(British League)

 

Cradley

 

Dave Perks:10

Bruce Penhall:9

Steve Bastable:8

Phil Collins:6

Alan Grahame:4

Bobby Schwartz:3

Les Rumsey:0

 

Reading

 

John Davis 10

Riedar Eide:8

Bernie Leigh:7

Jan Andersson:7

Terry Betts:5

Bob Humphreys:1

Sigvart Pedersen:0

 

 

Coventry 45 Kings Lynn 33

 

(British League)

 

Coventry

 

Billy Sanders:11

Alan Molyneux:8

Steve Koppe:7

Mitch Shirra:6

Kevin Hawkins:5

Gary Guglielmi:4

Mick Bell:4

 

Kings Lynn

 

Mike Lee:12

Dave Jessup:11

Richard Hellsen:4

Pete Smith:3

Ian Turner:2

Bob Garrad:1

Derek Harrison:0

 

Sanders and Koppe were guesting for Ole Olsen and Alf Busk,Tommy Knudsen was also missing.

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And just to complete the Easter fixtures,both Cradley and Coventry had home meetings on the Bank Holiday Monday...

 

Cradley 44 Leicester 34

 

(Tri Counties Trophy,1st Leg)

 

Cradley

 

Alan Grahame:11

Bruce Penhall:8

Kevin Praestbro:7

Steve Bastable:6

Bobby Schwartz:6

Dave Perks:4

Jorg Hack:2

 

Leicester

 

Mike Farrell:8

John Titman:8

Ila Teromaa:6

T.Godal:4

Jim McNeil:3

Chris Turner:3

John Boulger:2

 

 

 

Coventry 43 Swindon 35

 

(British League)

 

Coventry

 

Ole Olsen:12

Alan Molyneux:10

Mitch Shirra:8

Mick Bell:5

Kevin Hawkins:4

Gary Gugliemi:4

 

 

Swindon

 

Phil Crump:11

Martin Ashby:7

Bob Kilby:4

Rolf Gramstad:4

Steve Gresham:4

Steen Mastrup:3

Geoff Bouchard:2

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In that case you may well have known, or at least, seen my dad, Ray Wood, he rode for the Knights a few times in1981, he was probably rubbish, he lives out in Aussie now, and works for the CSIRO in the Textiles area of research. great fun.

 

Hi Panthersfan.

 

Yes I can remember your dad, Ray Wood, he didn't ride for us for very long as I can remember, a lot water has gone under the bridge since then, as the saying goes.......He probably can't remember me but give him my regards when you speak to him.

 

To reply to this thread proper, my first meeting was at coventry, when I came out the Army in 1950, can't remember much of that first meeting, but I can remember being "Gobsmacked", and thought, I've got to be part of this!!!!!!!!!!

 

PS

The crowds then were huge

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Guest JY2003
Eastbourne V Coventry 2003

 

Hahahaha!Soz...Eastbourne V Coventry 2000 :oops: !When there was a crash between Dean Barker and somone else and Huzzel and Kokko was riding for us!

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My 1st match Cradley v Newport 28th sept 1968.

Funny story about it is that I was supposed to be going to my first Wolves match at Molineux that afternoon, but the chap who was supposed to be taking me (my mates sister's boyfriend) let me down, cue squalls of tears etc.

To try and cheer me up my Dad took me to Dudley Wood that night and it was love at first sight (with the sport that is not the "stadium").

And the Wolves got beat 6-0 HaHa!

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A quick look in the speedway star archive came up with the following, Lioness...

 

<snipped>

 

Andrew thank you for all that! I have now discovered thanks to you and my cousin (another Andrew!) searching the loft that contrary to previous belief my first ever speedway meeting was in fact Cradley v Reading!

 

Hey I've been to Cradley!

 

Thanks for all the help guys :D:approve: I appreciate it!

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Hi Panthersfan.

 

Yes I can remember your dad, Ray Wood, he didn't ride for us for very long as I can remember, a lot water has gone under the bridge since then, as the saying goes.......He probably can't remember me but give him my regards when you speak to him.

 

Give me about 4 years, though I shall probably email him before then... and probably paste the link.

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Andrew thank you for all that!

Hey I've been to Cradley!

 

Thanks for all the help guys :D:approve: I appreciate it!

 

Well thats you and Rach sorted,all I need now is to see if I found Shalewhales first meeting for the 'hattrick'.

 

I went to Cradley once aswell,bit of a culture shock compared to Owlerton lol

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The start of a long relationship, 1st September 1973

 

British League D1

 

Kings Lynn Stars 47 ... - ... 31 Coventry Bees

T. Betts 9...................................N. Boocock 13

A. Price 3+2................................P. Bailey 2

B. Humphreys 7+1.....................G. Middleton 10

E. Reeves 6+3............................G. Uhlenbrook 0

M. Simmons 12 (max)..................A. Jay 3

R. Bales 6...................................F. Smith 3

D. Gagen 4+1.............................J. Shirley 0

 

Fastest time of the night Rocket Ray Bales - 69.4 winner in heat 2 !

 

Like most first timers, who can ever forget that first whiff of methanol and the roar at the tapes. I always remember passing the huge billboard situated at the old South? Gate roundabout at Lynn every Tuesday on the way to the market and wondering what Speedway was.....finally got my dad to take me. I was hooked. That was his only ever meeting.

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