What Me Miss About 70s Speedway

[Wildcat Steve]

Nevs reminded me of the times we used to put playing cards pegged on our back wheels. this would have been about 1972 - 73 being around farms we used to get the old ICI fertilzer bags which were blue wash them out turn them inside out cut them out into race jackets and paint the skull and crossbow on them. I remember we had some yellow bags once we turned into Kings Lynn race jackets and raced around the grass triangle at the cross roads in the village of Mappowder in Dorset. Its still the same today.

Makes me smile when ever i drive through there from time to time. Myself and my friend nigel used to be Poole while my brother and anyone else we could incourage to play were the away team. Oh great memories

[DW]

13 ht format, which I bet everyone can still remember, which numbers rode in which heat

4TT qualifying rounds

Trying to finish in the top8 in the NL to get into the following years ILKOC

The toilets on the third bend at Blantyre on a dark night(there were no lights!!!)

Brian Collins and his Smiths Crisps leathers and second half race jacket

Silver Helmet

Proper Test Matches over 18 heats

Tigers scoring 17 at Edinburgh in 1978 and doing the same at Berwick the following night!!

Sawdust covered tracks in the wet

 

 

 

[False dawn]

13 ht format,

Happiness is 40-38. Hmmmm

 

[asturmer]

 

Being chased halfway home on my old (fast) motorbike, by a copper on a slow LE Velocette and getting away, having imagined myself as Les Rumsey or Barney Kennett, after a night at Canterbury speedway!!!

[mr_smudge57]

i remember being able to get the riders autographs as they pushed there bikes back to there cars on the second bend at the halifax shay where they were parked on the embankment. what a fantastic track the shay had,also getting the track staff to pass ya the disgarded goggles from the riders so you could watch the racing and keep the grit out of ya eyes.

[Beckford Boy]

i remember being able to get the riders autographs as they pushed there bikes back to there cars on the second bend at the halifax shay where they were parked on the embankment. what a fantastic track the shay had,also getting the track staff to pass ya the disgarded goggles from the riders so you could watch the racing and keep the grit out of ya eyes.

 

My favourite track of all time,it was breathtaking watching the Dukes and all the big track riders roaring around that massive bowl.Although my team,Wimbledon, took some terrible thrashings there,I always enjoyed my visits to the Shay.Anyone know if the Three Pigeons pub is still standing?

[mr_smudge57]

My favourite track of all time,it was breathtaking watching the Dukes and all the big track riders roaring around that massive bowl.Although my team,Wimbledon, took some terrible thrashings there,I always enjoyed my visits to the Shay.Anyone know if the Three Pigeons pub is still standing?

 

the three pigeons ale house is still going strong,what a great old fashioned boozer that is.

[Trees]

Although I only caught speedway at the end of the 70's I'd say:

 

Big Sunday afternoon meetings in the UK, with parades of cars etc

70's music

The certain smell of the KL programmes

soup

Having no worries about standing directly behind the one wooden fence, bobbing down when the riders came past

Being totally filthy after a meeting, dust in your hair, ears and nose lol

The flags and bunting flying in the centre GREEN at Lynn

Riders sitting on their bikes on the track before each race (something they should bring back!)

The water bowser lorry at Lynn

Track rakers!!

BLRC at Belle Vue

Wembley

The anoraks you could buy underneath the stand at Lynn

My yellow and green scarf

Golden Helmet match races

Edited May 12, 2010 by Trees

[Grachan]

 

70's music

 

You still get that at Swindon.

[Dietbowers]

You still get that at Swindon.

Aye,I`ve noticed your foot tapping a few times

[Trees]

70's music is ace .................. good old Swindon

[liverpool chad]

What i miss about speedway in the 1970's

 

The crooked house outside Cradley, hot pork and crackling butties at Cradley.

Peter Collins and his mechanic cutting the grip off the outside of his back tyres in the market squre at Kings lynn one bank holiday monday, and then going and hammering Michael Lee from the back.

The smell's around certain tracks like Sheffield, Hackney and Newport-Newports almost square track and wondering how nobody ever ended up on the railway track.

Fans with anoraks covered in sew on badges, Home made programme boards, Scarfs with rosettes of favorite riders pinned to them.

The Daily Mirror Tournament, Lenningrad touring, Full blown test match series.

Queuing down the street to get into Exeter for the first time

Going to Belle Vue and visiting the zoo in the afternoon speedway in the evening and then a quick walk around the fair before going home, Watching the scenic railway and bobs inbetween races.

Seeing Alan Wilkinson clatter Charlie Monk comming out of the last bend at Halifax and poor old Charlie being picked up outside the pit gate having kartwheeled the length of the home straight

Seeing Alan Wilkinson slide off at Hyde Road against Swindon and never ride or walk again

Watching the bank holiday fixtures up and down the country one track in the morning and the return in the evening. Trying to get to three tracks on a bank holiday monday!

Watching speedway at Nelson and watching the cricket nextdoor inbetween heats.

Big meetings at Wembley(empire stadium)

Dag Lovas reveling in the rain

Soldier Boy, the deaf and dumb man selling pens.

Simmo missing lots of meetings with some unbelievable excuses!

Taking two weeks off work in 1976 and traveling all over the country watching speedway and cricket, 14 days 14 meetings and from that time i have tried to get to at least 3 meetings every week up and down the country.

Coventry vs Hull for the league title(what a crowd)

Golden helmet Match race's- seeing Tommy Jansson winning the runoff at Cradley and then never seeing him again

World of Sport covering speedway.

These are just some of the memories that made the 1970's a greet time for me and speedway.

[emerald tyke]

Memories where do I start!!...

 

Queuing to get through turnstiles at Odsal every wednesday night.....tears if it was a wet day and cancellation!!

 

Being able to stand directly behind the fence and feel the "shudder" as the riders went by....while catch the dirt on our coat when bent down, and ahhhhhhhhh that smell and grunt of the engines

 

Floodlights standards every so many feet around the full length of track...(can't recall which rider lost control and struck his head on the said lights)

 

Sid and Mick Sheldricks white and blue vests "flapping in the turbulence" as they sped around the Odsal bowl, and the sad night when Sid did serious damage to his hip (I think!) when exiting the final bend where it used to narrow inwards....caught many a rider out that did!!.

This was when the Odsal start tapes were on the same straight as the clubhouse, when the stadium had 2 stands...more modern era it was at opposite straight as no stand at other side after the modernizations 1985:rolleyes:

 

Racing up behind the stand from the pips chasing Steve Wilcock in his hunter(car) to get his autograph!...again!!

 

 

..Finally the best one....running to the very primative loos and it was only when the cubicle door hit you on the forehead that you knew some lady was in the loo before you.....NO LIGHTS!

[StevePass]

Riders going over to the safety fence prior to a race and straightening the front wheel alignment out by leaning the wheel against the fence and turning the handle bars.

[psymon]

Your name being drawn out by the Junior Supporters Club to be ridden round on your favourite riders bike during the interval (although in my case it had to be by Ashley Pullen, as Kelvin Mullarkey had been knocked off by Merv Jankie (surely not), collected Hughie Sanders and ended up being bashed round by the safety fence so he couldn't take me (sigh)

 

Sitting on big cushions my mum had covered with gold and blue material on the concrete stand at Rye House

 

The riders having flour fights and stuff in the last meeting of a season

 

Being part of a large away support at speedway meetings

 

Chanting in the stands (Give us an R etc.)

 

Weslakes!

 

Watching Peterborough riders trying to ride Areana Essex before it had a safety fence and getting excluded for going too wide

 

Watching the Inter-Continental Final at White City

 

Watching speedway in a full Wembley Stadium

 

Being in the crowd for the filming of King Cinder

 

Buying replica race-jackets in the club shop and wearing it as you rode round on your Grifter push bike at home

 

Getting home after speedway to eat buttered crumpets as you watched the Muppets on TV

 

Riders with proper names like Dingle Brown and Tiger Beech

 

Seeing loads of Banners at speedway

 

Driving up to away meetings and (a) being passed by the riders doing over 100 ( seeing loads of other cars with the team scarf's jammed in the top of the car windows

 

Cars with speedway related Sun Visors

[Trees]

Riders going over to the safety fence prior to a race and straightening the front wheel alignment out by leaning the wheel against the fence and turning the handle bars.

Yeah lol, they never do that anymore, was it just a habit?

[mervjankefanclub]

 

Cars with speedway related Sun Visors

 

 

I can still remember being on an FA coaching course as a youngster back in the early 80s (near enough to the 70s ) We were based in Sandwell and it seemed that every other vehicle I saw had some sort of speedway related stickers on the windows. I was well impressed, as it was something you never saw much of up here. We were also taken to Dudley Wood for a meeting one Saturday night, which was the highlight for me The Midlands really was a hotbed of speedway back then Although with the revival of the Brummies and hopefully Leicester next year, it will be again

 

What about the model speedway bikes made by Britains, I used to have loads of them and spent hours firstly racing them round the oval pattern on my mums 70s style carpet before progressing to a piece of wood with a track marked out on it, filling out old programmes as I went Wish I had kept hold of them as they now seem to fetch quite a few sheckles on Ebay.

[Bavarian]

I miss the variety and the big events of the 1970's speedway. Most of all the Test matches, the winter tours of Australia by the British Lions and other.

[george.m]

 

When riders started putting wee name plates on their rear mudguard

 

 

I'd forgotten about them. I used to see these when I mingled in the pits after meetings in the hope of getting an autograph or for some strange reason some of those perspex "visors" thingys which were held in by bulldog clips on the end of helmet duck bill.

 

Also miss Daytona boots and real bull horn handle bars.

Edited July 19, 2010 by george.m

[george.m]

Just remembered the vendor in the white coat shouting, "Speedway Star, Speedway Mail".

 

At the start of the meeting he stood at the turnstiles, then during the meeting he walked around.

 

Best bit though was at the end of the meeting when he had copies of the Star from years back on the floor and he sold them cheap!