Wayne Briggs

[BOBBATH]

I think Trevor Redmond won one and Reg Reeves the other-I think the one Reg won was because Trev either fell or had e.f.-people who went said he was the best on the night-not sure which was which tho-60 or 61??

[britmet]

I think Trevor Redmond won one and Reg Reeves the other-I think the one Reg won was because Trev either fell or had e.f.-people who went said he was the best on the night-not sure which was which tho-60 or 61??

 

At the risk of repeating whats already been covered on the subject of the PLRCs, Trevor Redmond won at Cradley in 1960 and was set to do the same at Harringay in 1961 when his chain snapped and so Reg Reeves won.

 

Jack Scott who was the phenomenum of '61 after buying a new bike with a UK pools win, failed to shine at Harringay, (yes, thats how it was spelt before the pc brigade took over,) but Scotty, then with Plymouth did qualify for the Wembley Final, only a British Final that year, which was still quite something for a PL rider.

[BOBBATH]

I realise this topic has ranged far and wide from Wayne Briggs but does anyone know what happened to Jack Scott(mentioned in britmet's last post) after his famous year of 1961- I seem to recall he came back to UK in mid sixties(Poole or CH???) but wasn't as good as before.

[BL65]

Jack Scott joined Cradley Heath for the 1967 season, having won the Australian championship during the preceding winter. I saw his debut at Wolverhampton on 24th March and he was quite impressive, scoring 8 points from 3 completed rides (2 wins and a second place) on a borrowed bike. He survived being paired with Chris Julian! In the return match at Dudley Wood the next evening he won his first two races (one as a tactical substitute), then had a last place and a fall before withdrawing from his 5th ride.

 

I was looking forward to seeing him become a top man for Cradley Heath, but sadly he suffered a lot of machine problems and took a few heavy falls before deciding to return to Australia in June. He did have a few very good meetings when he scored double figures and it was a great disappointment when he left. This followed the 'retirement' in May of Jack Biggs, who had joined Cradley Heath from Newport (although Jack joined Hackney later in the season). As Howard Cole (who had won the New Zealand championship during the winter) refused to return to Cradley Heath (eventually joining King's Lynn) the team struggled, although the signing of Brian Brett midway through the year was a bright spot.

 

When Howard Cole returned to Dudley Wood with his new team on 17th June we saw Brian Brett fall in Heat 9 and he was excluded from the re-run. Howard Cole then had machine problems and was lapped by Chris Julian and David Crane. Howard impeded Chris and Cradley lodged a protest after Lynn took a 3-2 heat advantage. In keeping with the mad happenings that frequently occurred at Dudley Wood, Heat 9 was re-run (with 2 riders only) after Heat 13 and despite bouncing off the fence a few times Chris Julian held on to his machine to pick up the 2 points needed to give his team a 39-38 win (so, as it happened, the original 2-3 could have been allowed to stand). Happy days.

[britmet]

I realise this topic has ranged far and wide from Wayne Briggs but does anyone know what happened to Jack Scott(mentioned in britmet's last post) after his famous year of 1961- I seem to recall he came back to UK in mid sixties(Poole or CH???) but wasn't as good as before.

 

Bob, old boy, it comes to all of us eventually, and so it has. Don't you recall discussing Jack Scott, Bluey Scott and the other Jack S, the canadian singer of "What In the World's Come Over You" on this site about a year ago? (Lost since the site and its host chamged, so I copied this (below) from the Cradley site:

Jack had a triple heart bypass in 2008. He's now 76.

 

Jack Scott back in 1961, on loan from his parent club Southampton to Plymouth Bulldogs, had been the phenomenon of the Prov’l Lge., having invested in new equipment from a UK pools win after 2 struggling years at Banister Court. He had scored 212 league points, second only to our own Ivor Brown with 213pts, and though he had disappointed in the Harringay PLRC he was the only PL rider to get thru the NL rounds to the British Final of the World Championship at Wembley, - quite a feat. (On such form he ought to have earlier reverted to the NL, but the SCB refused it, declaring S’ton, with new men Briggs and Knutson, to be too strong. It cost S’ton the 1961 NL title !)

With a NL place guaranteed, Scott failed to return to the UK in ’62. Despite attempts by everyone, every year, to sign him up, Cradley made a coup in 1967 and lured him back to the UK, - on a 2-year contract at that ! The preceding year Cradley had signed the new Aussie champ, Chum Taylor. Our need for a former NL heat-leader in the amalgamated British Lge had become obvious, and former World Finalist and WTC rider Chum was to be that man. But at 38 years old, the Coca-Cola Kid, (Chum’s employer, whose logo he proudly bore on his tank, and of whom he loyally would speak, -“Pepsi ? no comparison”,) disappointed, with an average of just 6.3 and had to take much criticism. He was even reprimanded by the ref at Newcastle for not trying! 1966 was to be Chum’s last year of UK league racing. Undeterred, Cradley again went back to Australia and signed the newly-crowned Aussie Champion, Scott. With visions of his 1961 performances still in mind, surely he would do better than last year’s champ, we all thought. Scotty flew in, and for the first month used Ken Wakefield’s Rotrax-Jap whilst his own ESO was on the high seas, (the norm back then.) He did …, - well - , not too bad, “ But wait till his own bike arrives,” we said.

 

Meanwhile Howard Cole was sitting it out in NZ, arguing with the Cradley management that a champion should get his air fare paid. This subject was a regular ‘sticker’ in negotiations back then. Anzac riders had moved from the fast 10-day ship journey (with bikes on the slower 2-3 week freighters,) to flying in, bikes to follow. UK riders were trying on the same thing, and many would sit it out, waiting to see if their club, or any club desperate to boost a poor start to the season, would buckle first. Briggs, for instance, sat out 1959 after 2 World Final wins, to be brought back by the promoters’ assoc’n only in August to defend his title at Wembley. Scot Ken McKinlay was another who decided home was Perth, WA, and regularly expected his ticket paid or withheld his services. Cradley held firm with Cole and it was well into the season before the new NZ champ returned, - to Kings Lynn ! (Did they pay his fare?)

 

With the arrival of his own shipped bike Jack Scott proceeded to get some double figures, but then had a couple of falls and several blown motors, and in early June he walked out of a mtg. and wasn’t seen for a few weeks! Scotty and his wife Pat had been living in Quarry Bank. She, - English born, Aussie bred - , was getting homesick, we learnt: they went down South to familiar territory and put up with fellow Aussie Geoff Mudge and his wife. Two weeks later they were sailing back to Aussie, - 2-year contract or not - , having sold his equipment to buy tickets home !

Cradley completed the season with neither of the champions they thought they would be running with, and fared little better than in ‘66, escaping the Wooden Spoon by one place, - 18th out of 19 teams. Chum Taylor was now lauded for his loyalty in staying the course through the full 1966 season despite poorer than expected results, ( 34 appearances, ave. 6.3, c.f. Scott’s 16 appearances, ave. 6.5,) and Jack Scott was never forgiven, – nor chased by any British promoter again.

In Sept 2008 Scotty had to have triple heart by-pass surgery, after which some other complications followed. He apparently is “ still not too good now” but at the age of 75, in a country town outside Adelaide where he has 20 acres of land, he gets around on his tractor, farming a few sheep and assembling the odd computer or two.

[BOBBATH]

Sorry Britmet-you are right re previous discussion of Jack Scott 1 and 2 and the singer Jack Scott-I forgot- don't think it was Alzheimers but thatI think I was too interested in my other famous posts e.g. were there any gay speedway riders(I would have got red arrowed for that if it had been the Daily Mail!!!!) and the endless discussion of the tallest ever speedway rider -who was it again-Graham Miles???Anyway thanks for your last post!!!