A Question Of Sport

[Skodaman]

Dave Jessup was on, dare I say it, Jim'll Fix It.

[The White Knight]

Dave Jessup was on, dare I say it, Jim'll Fix It.

 

Well he is vertically challenged. :shock: :rofl:

[Gemini]

No.

 

Peter Collins certainly appeared on Superstars and did very well.

As far as I can recall he was the only speedway rider to appear on it. Fairly sure Jessup and Penhall didn't.

 

Jessup was on a golf programme though. Either Pro-Celebrity Golf, or Around with Alliss

You may be correct about Jessup but you're definitely not about Penhall and I have the photos to prove it.

Very nice ones of him with George Best, Geoff Capes and Brian Jacks etc. and photos of him canoeing, weightlifting, cycling, running etc. I seem to recall a rider getting on a bicycle and then falling off straightaway. Was that Collins?

[John Leslie]

You may be correct about Jessup but you're definitely not about Penhall and I have the photos to prove it.

Very nice ones of him with George Best, Geoff Capes and Brian Jacks etc. and photos of him canoeing, weightlifting, cycling, running etc. I seem to recall a rider getting on a bicycle and then falling off straightaway. Was that Collins?

Pretty sure P.C. did fall off a push bike in Superstars. Seem to remember him doing pretty good at weightlifting, and I think he was in the same heat as Geoff Capes and finished ahead of him overall.

 

Don't remember Michanek on Superstars, but that will have been a bit before my time.

 

Don't remember Penhall doing it either, and he's not on the list posted by The Abbott above, so that one's got me puzzled

[KEITH M]

 

Pretty sure P.C. did fall off a push bike in Superstars.

That was Kevin Keegan

Edited January 29, 2014 by KEITH M

[John Leslie]

 

Pretty sure P.C. did fall off a push bike in Superstars.

That was Kevin Keegan

Kevin Keegan had a big crash in the pushbike racing on Superstars (think it's on youtube), but it wasn't connected to P.C.'s fall. Don't think the two incidents were even in the same year.

 

.

Edit: I've found Keegan's crash on youtube. It was 1976.

Collins' crash will have been in the heat broadcast in January 1979

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4OzPrskdqU

Edited January 29, 2014 by John Leslie

[piston197]

Phil Morris was on tv in a couple of quiz shows, definitely Eggheads and possibly 15 to 1 and he won a few pounds from his quiz exploits,

They also had "dancing on ice" at Telford where some of the riders danced comically with a professional ice skater ,Nick Simmons was a sensation ( for all the wrong reasons) think Jack Hargreaves won it ?

[oldace]

Kevin Keegan had a big crash in the pushbike racing on Superstars (think it's on youtube), but it wasn't connected to P.C.'s fall. Don't think the two incidents were even in the same year.

 

.

Edit: I've found Keegan's crash on youtube. It was 1976.

Collins' crash will have been in the heat broadcast in January 1979

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4OzPrskdqU

 

 

You are getting confused between superstars and superbike 6. PC took part in superstars in 1977, the event was held a Welwyn Garden City and he finished second to Dutch speed skater Hans Van Helden, he didn't fall in the cycle race, he didn't win it either.

 

He also took part in an event called superbike 6 in 1978, along with Mike Lee and Ivan Mauger from the speedway world. It pitted competitors from various motorcycle disciplines against each other in all the other disciplines other than their own.

 

In the road race event PC took a right purler and I suspect that is what you are getting mixed up with

[John Leslie]

You are getting confused between superstars and superbike 6. PC took part in superstars in 1977, the event was held a Welwyn Garden City and he finished second to Dutch speed skater Hans Van Helden, he didn't fall in the cycle race, he didn't win it either.

 

He also took part in an event called superbike 6 in 1978, along with Mike Lee and Ivan Mauger from the speedway world. It pitted competitors from various motorcycle disciplines against each other in all the other disciplines other than their own.

 

In the road race event PC took a right purler and I suspect that is what you are getting mixed up with

No you're getting confused. There were no pushbikes in Superbike 6. (Though P.C. took a heavy fall in the road racing section).

 

The Superstars heat where P.C. fell off his pushbike was, as I said, broadcast on 19 January 1979. (Not the 1977 European Superstars heat).

 

Superbike 6 was purely for Motorcycling sports (and go-karts I seem to remember). P.C., Ivan and Mike Lee represented Speedway. There were a couple of grasstrack riders (one of the Baybutts and another?), road racers, scramblers, enduro riders, and possibly Eddie Kidd(?)

 

They all did each others sport but had to sit out their own. However as well as sitting out the speedway, P.C., Ivan and Lee were also given a ridiculous handicap in the grasstracking (half a lap, I think) and had no chance of making up the distance, and so had no chance of winning overall.

 

Pretty sure the speedway was done at Wolverhampton, and it was the event that all the others dreaded.

 

 

Edit: I'm almost sure Don Godden was the other grasstracker

Edited January 29, 2014 by John Leslie

[oldace]

No you're getting confused. There were no pushbikes in Superbike 6. (Though P.C. took a heavy fall in the road racing section).

 

The Superstars heat where P.C. fell off his pushbike was, as I said, broadcast on 19 January 1979. (Not the 1977 European Superstars heat).

 

Superbike 6 was purely for Motorcycling sports (and go-karts I seem to remember). P.C., Ivan and Mike Lee represented Speedway. There were a couple of grasstrack riders (one of the Baybutts and another?), road racers, scramblers, enduro riders, and possibly Eddie Kidd(?)

 

They all did each others sport but had to sit out their own. However as well as sitting out the speedway, P.C., Ivan and Lee were also given a ridiculous handicap in the grasstracking (half a lap, I think) and had no chance of making up the distance, and so had no chance of winning overall.

 

Pretty sure the speedway was done at Wolverhampton, and it was the event that all the others dreaded.

 

 

Edit: I'm almost sure Don Godden was the other grasstracker

 

Fair enough, wasn't aware PC had taken part in another superstars competition after the 1977 one.

 

Yes the supebike 6 was totally unfair on the speedway guys. All the others missed only there own event but the speedway guys were given ridiculous handicaps on the grass that it effectively ruled them out of two events. Plus the fact they were given two stroke bikes to ride which were alien to all of them, don't think Ivan had ever even ridden one.

[lucifer sam]

Bruce Penhall capsized in Superstars... he was definitely on it.

 

All the best

Rob

Edited January 29, 2014 by lucifer sam

[StevePark]

Bruce Penhall capsized in Superstars... he was definitely on it.

 

All the best

Rob

 

Not according to the full list of athletes to appear on it, he wasn't. (See post #40)

[lucifer sam]

 

Not according to the full list of athletes to appear on it, he wasn't. (See post #40)

 

The list is wrong. People - I'm one of them - remember Bruce Penhall being on it.

 

EDIT: The Abbott, if you're so confident he wasn't in it, I'll bet you £1,000 that he was. Deal?

 

All the best

Rob

Edited January 29, 2014 by lucifer sam

[StevePark]

 

The list is wrong. People - I'm one of them - remember Bruce Penhall being on it.

 

EDIT: The Abbott, if you're so confident he wasn't in it, I'll bet you £1,000 that he was. Deal?

 

All the best

Rob

 

I don't remember BP on it, I have to say. I'm only saying that he's not on the list! whether the list is right or not, I have no idea.

[lucifer sam]

 

I don't remember BP on it, I have to say. I'm only saying that he's not on the list! whether the list is right or not, I have no idea.

 

Well I used to be a huge Penhall fan, and I have no doubts whatsoever that he was on it. I don't remember PC because I wasn't old enough to remember that one, but Penhall was 100% on it. He managed to capsize his canoe.

 

All the best

Rob

[John Leslie]

Well I used to be a huge Penhall fan, and I have no doubts whatsoever that he was on it. I don't remember PC because I wasn't old enough to remember that one, but Penhall was 100% on it. He managed to capsize his canoe.

 

All the best

Rob

That bit about Penhall capsizing a canoe rings a vague bell with me. Just wondering if it was some spin off of the original series, that isn't covered by that website. Wasn't there some later kind of international event called Superteams or something like that?

[StevePark]

That bit about Penhall capsizing a canoe rings a vague bell with me. Just wondering if it was some spin off of the original series, that isn't covered by that website. Wasn't there some later kind of international event called Superteams or something like that?

 

I think Superteams is included on the link as the athletes who took part in it are in italics (according to the bit at the top!).

[lucifer sam]

In addition to everyone's memories, also all the references to the 1982 Golden Hammer say Penhall missed his first race, because he was travelling back from filming Superstars.

 

Will have a quick look through the Speedway Stars from 1982 later on as well.

 

It looks like a fan-compiled list as opposed to anything professional - they must have accidently omitted Bruce.

 

All the best

Rob

Edited January 29, 2014 by lucifer sam

[Grand Central]

I don't remember BP on it, I have to say. I'm only saying that he's not on the list! whether the list is right or not, I have no idea.

The lists referred to on here are clearly not exhaustive as they do not cover all the heats that took place every year.

 

Bruce Penhall's appearance is not one that I remember watching personally either on TV, but it did happen as there are a variety in photographs available that show him with the T shirt at the event with the other participants.

 

In addition being at Cradley that night to watch Kenny Carter win that was the reason given for him missing his first ride.

Edited January 29, 2014 by Grand Central

[Mr Ore]

Kevin Keegan had a big crash in the pushbike racing on Superstars (think it's on youtube), but it wasn't connected to P.C.'s fall. Don't think the two incidents were even in the same year.

 

.

Edit: I've found Keegan's crash on youtube. It was 1976.

Collins' crash will have been in the heat broadcast in January 1979

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4OzPrskdqU

I remember that PC definitely had a fall on Superstars during the cycling event. I was very young at the time but remember loads of people who I worked with who used to follow Wembley in the early 70s so much speedway talk at that time. Discussion was around how PC kept hold of the handlebars when he slid off so was able to remount and not lose too much time as a result. He told the commentator that this was natural in speedway as (from memory) you were less likely to be hit by your bike in a fall if you were holding onto them. Makes sense.

 

Also recall PC in a televised celebrity darts tournament playing with Leighton "The Man Who Played Before Players Had Nicknames" Rees. Like many posts on the BSF I may not be telling the truth here but I think he was the only celebrity to either hit a ton or hit a winning double. Also sure he was the only sporting celebrity in the contest, with others being from TV etc. Got a feeling Susan Hanson aka Miss Diane from Crossroads was one of the other celebs, so good opposition to beat.

 

Surprised that Jason Crump's appearance on QOS hasn't been bigged up more here as he proved to be one of the most generically knowledgeable panellists ever; answering questions on cricket, soccer, rugby union etc as well as recognising Greg "The Grin" Hancock in a cryptic photo round. Jason is well known for his knowledge of speedway's history but he showed up most major celebs who are applauded for knowing the most basic stuff about their own sport with his brilliance on a whole range. Totally eloquent too.

 

Mr "Iron" Ore.