iris123 Posted February 14, 2019 Report Share Posted February 14, 2019 (edited) If I remember rightly Tebby wasn’t so much sacked as dropped.He was I think asked to ride in the second halves and refused and then I think shortly after got a team spot at Newport.That is life and sport What should have happened,but wasn’t the done thing at the time,was Jim should have had a meeting held in his honour Edited February 14, 2019 by iris123 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted February 14, 2019 Report Share Posted February 14, 2019 (edited) My abiding memories of Wimbledon are firstly White City winning a very tight encounter there in 1977 (40-38) and Oxford achieving a memorable victory during their return to the British League in 1984 when they scored, if I recall, three 5-1's in the last four heats to secure the match. Oxford achieved a similar feat at King's Lynn towards the back of the season much to the annoyance of Martin Rogers! Great days and memories! Edited February 14, 2019 by steve roberts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 14, 2019 Report Share Posted February 14, 2019 (edited) My most outstanding memory about a Wimbledon team was at New Cross in 1949. The feature was an immaculate 18 point maximum by their Canadian rider Jimmy Gibb in a London Cup match. Despite his performance New Cross won the match. Edited February 14, 2019 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunky Posted February 14, 2019 Report Share Posted February 14, 2019 4 hours ago, steve roberts said: and Oxford achieving a memorable victory during their return to the British League in 1984 when they scored, if I recall, three 5-1's in the last four heats to secure the match. I honestly can't remember if it was three 5-1's in the last four heats, but you definitely got 5-1's in the last two! The next night, we came to Cowley and got a last-heat 5-1 to a draw! Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityrebel Posted February 14, 2019 Report Share Posted February 14, 2019 1 hour ago, chunky said: I honestly can't remember if it was three 5-1's in the last four heats, but you definitely got 5-1's in the last two! The next night, we came to Cowley and got a last-heat 5-1 to a draw! Steve It was three 5 -1's for Oxford at plough lane to win 37 - 41, followed by a last heat 5 - 1 to the Dons at Cowley to win 38 - 40. I was at both meetings, it seems like yesterday! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted February 14, 2019 Report Share Posted February 14, 2019 (edited) 2 hours ago, chunky said: I honestly can't remember if it was three 5-1's in the last four heats, but you definitely got 5-1's in the last two! The next night, we came to Cowley and got a last-heat 5-1 to a draw! Steve I think that 'The Dons' sneaked a win in the return match with one time 'Rebel' Gordon Kennett proving a match winner! Edited February 14, 2019 by steve roberts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunky Posted February 14, 2019 Report Share Posted February 14, 2019 4 hours ago, cityrebel said: It was three 5 -1's for Oxford at plough lane to win 37 - 41, followed by a last heat 5 - 1 to the Dons at Cowley to win 38 - 40. I was at both meetings, it seems like yesterday! Okay, thanks for the clarification! See, old age is catching up on me, but I knew it was something like that! I was at both too; thirty-five years ago - scary... Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted February 14, 2019 Report Share Posted February 14, 2019 (edited) 8 hours ago, cityrebel said: It was three 5 -1's for Oxford at plough lane to win 37 - 41, followed by a last heat 5 - 1 to the Dons at Cowley to win 38 - 40. I was at both meetings, it seems like yesterday! I actually recall the last race at Plough Lane very well. Hans made the gate and Jens Rasmussen passed Gordon Kennett low down on the white line entering the third bend on the first lap thus securing the 5 -1 for 'The Cheetahs'! Superb stuff! 'The Cheetahs' started the 1984 season in scintillating form but injuries began to take their toll and eventually ran out of steam...but then, of course, 1985 & 86 followed on and the rest, as they say, is history! Edited February 14, 2019 by steve roberts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityrebel Posted February 15, 2019 Report Share Posted February 15, 2019 On 2/14/2019 at 8:00 AM, iris123 said: If I remember rightly Tebby wasn’t so much sacked as dropped.He was I think asked to ride in the second halves and refused and then I think shortly after got a team spot at Newport.That is life and sport What should have happened,but wasn’t the done thing at the time,was Jim should have had a meeting held in his honour Trevor Hedge was another Dons rider that was due a testimonial, but never got one. Like you say, that was the way things were in those days. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehone Posted February 15, 2019 Report Share Posted February 15, 2019 i used to love it at Wimbledon where all the lights would go off around the stadium and just leave the track lights for the race, great feel about it 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunky Posted February 16, 2019 Report Share Posted February 16, 2019 31 minutes ago, stevehone said: i used to love it at Wimbledon where all the lights would go off around the stadium and just leave the track lights for the race, great feel about it Yeah, that was special - along with the sound of 'em revving under the green light! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted February 16, 2019 Report Share Posted February 16, 2019 7 hours ago, stevehone said: i used to love it at Wimbledon where all the lights would go off around the stadium and just leave the track lights for the race, great feel about it ...and the fountain lit up on the centre green. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityrebel Posted February 16, 2019 Report Share Posted February 16, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, steve roberts said: ...and the fountain lit up on the centre green. All five London tracks I've seen league racing at were different in many ways. Wimbledon was ala carte speedway with fine dining and fountains. West Ham had History all over it. Iconic stadium and great track. Wembley famous stadium, venue of legends, but not the best race track. Hackney not the best facilities of the five, but fantastic racing. White City fabulous White elephant of a stadium where the crowd seemed lost at such a vast arena. Produced some decent racing for a 440 yard track. I enjoyed them all and feel fortunate to have visited them on numerous occasions. Edited February 16, 2019 by cityrebel Mistake in post 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted February 16, 2019 Report Share Posted February 16, 2019 I visited all those tracks bar West Ham which was a massive regret (they closed down the season I first started going) and as you say all offered differing experiences...never to be repeated. I enjoyed my trips to 'The Smoke' and three years following 'The Rebels' at Wood Lane offer great treasured memories! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HGould Posted February 16, 2019 Report Share Posted February 16, 2019 I visited Wimbledon, White City and Hackney quite a lot and Crayford once. I loved Plough Lane, facilities in those days were excellent and the quirks were positive - the staggered start and finish line, the lights over the track rather than on the fence, the track was better than some gave it credit for in my opinion and truly a team of legends over the years. Great atmosphere from what I remember. Hackney however many times I went i always got lost, one of my favourite race tracks, fair and fast and Len Silver always put on a great show, sadly missed. Saw Zenon Plech ride there and always though Bo Petersen rode it better than anyone and of course Barry Thomas. White City, saw both WC/Internationals and League Racing there, some of the League crowds would have been decent anywhere but as been said "lost in the vastness"; a shame it could not have been saved and re-vamped as would make a superb venue now for 30-40,000 capacity major meetings, would have allowed us to have an English and British GP. Main gripe there was Car Parking from memory. I went to Crayford once but for a Dog meeting and could not believe how small the speedway track looked. Shame i never got there to see the Costa Mesa of UK speedway at the time, would it have been about same size as Plymouth? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted February 16, 2019 Report Share Posted February 16, 2019 24 minutes ago, HGould said: I visited Wimbledon, White City and Hackney quite a lot and Crayford once. I loved Plough Lane, facilities in those days were excellent and the quirks were positive - the staggered start and finish line, the lights over the track rather than on the fence, the track was better than some gave it credit for in my opinion and truly a team of legends over the years. Great atmosphere from what I remember. Hackney however many times I went i always got lost, one of my favourite race tracks, fair and fast and Len Silver always put on a great show, sadly missed. Saw Zenon Plech ride there and always though Bo Petersen rode it better than anyone and of course Barry Thomas. White City, saw both WC/Internationals and League Racing there, some of the League crowds would have been decent anywhere but as been said "lost in the vastness"; a shame it could not have been saved and re-vamped as would make a superb venue now for 30-40,000 capacity major meetings, would have allowed us to have an English and British GP. Main gripe there was Car Parking from memory. I went to Crayford once but for a Dog meeting and could not believe how small the speedway track looked. Shame i never got there to see the Costa Mesa of UK speedway at the time, would it have been about same size as Plymouth? Managed to get to Crayford during their last season to watch one of my favourites making a rare appearance...Hasse Holmqvist! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityrebel Posted February 16, 2019 Report Share Posted February 16, 2019 3 hours ago, steve roberts said: Managed to get to Crayford during their last season to watch one of my favourites making a rare appearance...Hasse Holmqvist! I went to Crayford over 80 times between 1975 and 83, including the reopener against Boston and the last ever v Newcastle. It was a small tricky track, but the stadium had great facilities and excellent grub. I started to go more regular in 1979 wnen White City shut. Unfortunately i never got there in the Highwaymen era, but i managed to squeak one in at Romford to make up for it. Thanks Dad! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Sidney Posted February 16, 2019 Report Share Posted February 16, 2019 14 hours ago, stevehone said: i used to love it at Wimbledon where all the lights would go off around the stadium and just leave the track lights for the race, great feel about it For a time I had the pleasure of being the person who turned the lights out and then back on again at the end of the race. A vital job! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Sidney Posted February 16, 2019 Report Share Posted February 16, 2019 On 12/23/2007 at 9:19 PM, salty said: I moved down to Kingston Poly in 1981 and was a regular at Plough Lane for the rest of the decade. First match was the 38-38 draw against Cradley which was a pretty good start. I used to love the smell of the bikes coming up through the wooden terracing on the first bend. The free pint I invariably got from Doris on the bar, the idiosyncratic announcing of Ken Tozer who would often not notice that a rider was missing from the parade. The guy in the beret on the pit gate. Enjoyed the Russell Lanning years when you really felt the club was being promoted. Fav riders.. Malcolm Simmons, Kai Niemi, Toddy, Nathan Simpson and Terry Mussett. Always feel a bit guilty that finances (or lack of them) dictated I rarely went for the last 2 seasons. You never know a change of ownership or policy with the GRA and there might be a return in the future. Only just catching up with this thread! Dear old Ken Tozer - not unknown for him to ask a rider who he was during the introductions. Happy days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehone Posted February 16, 2019 Report Share Posted February 16, 2019 also one of the nicest people i've ever met through speedway, dear old Lionel Crossley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.