mikebaker Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 Remember Aussie Kerry Gray making an impact when he first joined the Rockets. 83 season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
semion Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 Use to love watching Bobby Garrad as a Rye House Rider, when he came to Lynn he didnt quite cut the mustard. The same could really have been said about Mel Taylor, it was hoped he was going to be the next big thing following on from Michael lee, but never really got beyond decent 2nd string level. Shame as mel had a lovely style about him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCB Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 Just done a bit of research on a few of the guys mentioned in this thread, it seems odd that Karl Fiala retired so soon but equally Bobby Garrad seemed to make it too a very good level very young but then seemed to drop back alarmingly while still young and he too seems to have retired in mid-late 20s too. What was it about Rye House at that time that seemed to make young, one time promising riders retire so young?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
semion Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 How old were Kelvin Mularkey, Hughie Saunders and Ted Hubbard when they retired ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobMcCaffery Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 The set-up behind the scenes at Rye House could be 'difficult' back then and wasn't the same as when Colin Pratt built the eventual championship side. I think modern fans will recognise how matters can sour there very quickly. Â Colin's arrival turned a team of ageing riders into a hotbed of young talent and while the side he built went on to win the title the year after he left it was never the same again, as anyone who witnessed the appalling 1981 season and the years of rapid decline that Ron Russell was left to try to sort out. Â I think you'll find that Karl felt that he'd achieved what he set out to do - win the title, and that was enough for him. He's an intelligent guy, was settling into family life and decided enough was enough. I could be wrong of course. Karl's now extremely active on Facebook so perhaps someone could ask him? Â It was a mystery to me how Bob didn't go further in the sport. Â As semion says above, there were plenty of Rockets who rode into maturity so I don't think there was 'something about Rye House'. Â It wasn't Rayleigh though.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 Karl Fiala retired because he was worried about losing his off-track employment. Â Bob Garrad was a regular double figure scorer for Hackney in the early season league cup matches in 81, but got injured, lost his confidence and dropped back down to Rye House. He never really fulfilled his potential. Â I always remember a comical on-track fight between Kelvin Mullarkey and Kevin Smith, looking like a couple of robots while punching each other with their helmets on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadders Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 (edited) How old were Kelvin Mularkey, Hughie Saunders and Ted Hubbard when they retired ? I remember Kelvin coming out of retirement to help out an injury ravaged Rockets side in the late 80's when he would've been in his late 30's... Hughie Saunders must've been mid 30's when he called it a day Edited July 23, 2015 by Shads Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boothers Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 I'll always remember Kelvin (I'm sure it was him!) shinning up the lamp standard at Cleveland Park during a match against Middlesbrough to remove the bulb from the White exclusion light and throwing it at the referee's box. H&S would throw the book at him now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
screm Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 It says on Kelvin Mullarkey`s Wilipedia page that he didn't miss a single meeting for Rye House for nine seasons, is this true, if it is that is one helluva record. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadders Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 If anyone deserved a testimonial it was Kelvin Mullarkey. Makes me laugh when I see riders like Kasprazak earning a lucrative pay day 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
screm Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 If anyone deserved a testimonial it was Kelvin Mullarkey. Makes me laugh when I see riders like Kasprazak earning a lucrative pay day  Back in the day riders did actually rider ten years for one club so thoroughly deserved their testimonials, changed days nowadays in the vast majority of cases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toad Posted July 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 Kelvin could ride a bike too, even though his machine sounded as rough as guts and popped round the track! He had the knack of making his bike twice as wide as it should be and seemed to know just where the opposition would be coming from and where to ride to block them, a skill sadly lacking in the highly tuned sport we have now. Â One second half final I will always remember at Rye is when he held off a young Andrew Silver (must have been '84) who was just starting to make a name for himself and was twice as fast, by blocking his every attempt to get past. Silver jnr was not best pleased in the pits afterwards! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobMcCaffery Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 (edited) I remember Kelvin coming out of retirement to help out an injury ravaged Rockets side in the late 80's when he would've been in his late 30's... Hughie Saunders must've been mid 30's when he called it a day Hughie was 35 in '79 (going on 16!) . Kelvin was 39 in his final season with the Rockets, 1990. Â There was one night after a particularly good after-meeting session in the stadium Saunders and I we were both letting out the booze in the luxury gents. I looked across and said to this drunken apparition "You know Saunders, you were my childhood hero!" I've never seen a man sober up so quickly... Â Then there was the time we were having a barbecue at Peter Jordison's place. Hugh was loading the bonfire with any wood he could find, roaring "I may not be able to give you a good team but I can at least give you a good fire!" Â Both of them true characters. Edited July 23, 2015 by rmc 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 (edited) Hubbard and Mullarkey were worth the admission whenever Barney Kennett was in the opposition team. If social media had been around then it would have melted by the numbers outraged at their behaviour. Great days. Edited July 23, 2015 by Brian 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobMcCaffery Posted July 24, 2015 Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 Hubbard and Mullarkey were worth the admission whenever Barney Kennett was in the opposition team. If social media had been around then it would have melted by the numbers outraged at their behaviour. Great days. I remember Barney Kennett being interrupted while walking down the dog track to the pits by a woman presenting him with a very large lollipop on the basis that he was a big baby. He laughed and took it in the spirit intended - just a bit of fun. Â Oh to see Kennett v Mullarkey round Kingsmead one more time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharon Mullarkey Johnson Posted December 5, 2015 Report Share Posted December 5, 2015 Kelvin is retired after being hospitalised with guillians barre disease, I am his sister and I live in Australia but Kelvin has a facebook Tribute page and has also recently come into the 21st century and become a facebook user himself, although in a wheel chair the same old Kelvin hasnt changed a bit and its been great catching up through technology 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharon Mullarkey Johnson Posted December 5, 2015 Report Share Posted December 5, 2015 For those interested look up on You Tube scrambling kids 1962 im the cute little blonde lol its a british path BBC doco they done on my dad and brothers and you will see kelvin as an 11 year old 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willowman Posted December 6, 2015 Report Share Posted December 6, 2015 Kelvin is retired after being hospitalised with guillians barre disease, I am his sister and I live in Australia but Kelvin has a facebook Tribute page and has also recently come into the 21st century and become a facebook user himself, although in a wheel chair the same old Kelvin hasnt changed a bit and its been great catching up through technologyYou have all got my total sympathy. My dad had this little known disease which also left him disabled to an extent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waco Posted December 6, 2015 Report Share Posted December 6, 2015 (edited) I was the track maintenence man at that time at Rye and used to go to away meetings with Hughie Saunders .I can remember a day we were riding at Weymouth after the previous night at Exeter.The team were smashing one another up at Weymouth go cart track just 4 hours before the meeting it was great fun Kelvin nearly turned me over,,could not see that happening today,the team spirit was fabulous,,and the boys won both those meetings and Kelvin Mullarkey won the second half final.... Edited December 6, 2015 by waco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Silvers Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 I started going circa 1973/4 when Brian Foote was #1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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