steve roberts Posted January 9, 2016 Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 (edited) Just reading the book 'Bobby Moore - The Man In Full' (proving a good read incidentally) where it quotes: "At the end of the year, he (Moore) was crowned BBC Sports Personality Of The Year...his victory was inevitable. What was truly extraordinary was, Geoff Hurst, the hat-trick hero of the World Cup Final, finishing in third place behind Barry Briggs, a speedway rider from New Zealand." Edited January 9, 2016 by steve roberts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iris123 Posted January 9, 2016 Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 Not sure what you are looking for Steve,but every year there is a Sports personality thread started and I think every year this comes up in the thread .2015,2014,2013 etc Have a search and I am sure you will find lots of posts on the subject Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
van wolfswinkel Posted January 9, 2016 Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 The same Briggo that rode for those famous Wiltshire Robins. He was at the Abbey Farewell Meeting(which was not a farewell!) in October, did a few laps on an old Jap machine with Broady, Briggo wearing a blue boiler suit, and The Red Devil in red, Was itching to go full-throttle! Just shows how popular speedway was in the 60s, think he came runner-up also in another year, but voting was rigged by the Beeb so a motor-cyclist didn't win it. Moore and Hurst also my heroes that year, after Armstrong and McLintock at Arsenal. Will be worth reading the Mooro book, after I finish Arry Redknapp and AP McCoy auto-biogs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iris123 Posted January 9, 2016 Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 (edited) Think in 1964 he finished behind Mary Rand......but if I use a quote from Parsloes from a few years back in answer to the rigged vote That's pure Speedway urban myth.In '64 he was second to Mary Rand who had year had become the first British woman ever to win Olympic Gold in Athletics.In '66 he was second to Bobby Moore and ahead of Geoff Hurst - yes, THAT '66!!To suggest that Briggo was robbed in such cases is frankly nonsense - to have beaten either of those two in those years would not have been right; to finish ahead of hat-trick hero Hurst is a massive achievement in itself! Edited January 9, 2016 by iris123 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted January 9, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 (edited) Not sure what you are looking for Steve,but every year there is a Sports personality thread started and I think every year this comes up in the thread .2015,2014,2013 etc Have a search and I am sure you will find lots of posts on the subject ...just that speedway got a mention in a book about the England Football 'skipper' who won the World Cup in 1966? Edited January 9, 2016 by steve roberts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iris123 Posted January 9, 2016 Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 (edited) ...just that speedway got a mention in a book about the England Football 'skipper' who won the World Cup in 1966? Yes,speedway was big back then and people like Briggo were also friends with football players and even got to know stars like Steve McQueen!!!! And I think even earlier George Formby was a bit of a speedway fan Edited January 9, 2016 by iris123 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted January 9, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 Yes,speedway was big back then and people like Briggo were also friends with football players and even got to know stars like Steve McQueen!!!! And I think even earlier George Formby was a bit of a speedway fan Yes he apparently 'taught' Steve McQueen to ride a speedway bike and would often have David Webb (Chelsea & Southampton) with him at meetings (who looked like a bouncer) On one occasion when Briggo was having problems with Anders Michanek having Webbie in the pits helped smooth over any 'misunderstandings!' The same Briggo that rode for those famous Wiltshire Robins. He was at the Abbey Farewell Meeting(which was not a farewell!) in October, did a few laps on an old Jap machine with Broady, Briggo wearing a blue boiler suit, and The Red Devil in red, Was itching to go full-throttle! Just shows how popular speedway was in the 60s, think he came runner-up also in another year, but voting was rigged by the Beeb so a motor-cyclist didn't win it. Moore and Hurst also my heroes that year, after Armstrong and McLintock at Arsenal. Will be worth reading the Mooro book, after I finish Arry Redknapp and AP McCoy auto-biogs. Well worth reading the book...it's very different to Tina Moore's biography that appeared some years ago. I won't spoil it for you but I'm finding it quite revealing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iris123 Posted January 9, 2016 Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 (edited) That's right,Dave Webb.For some reason Micky Droy always comes into my head.....memories eh? Edited January 9, 2016 by iris123 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
van wolfswinkel Posted January 10, 2016 Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 That's right,Dave Webb.For some reason Micky Droy always comes into my head.....memories eh? That big airy monster from Highbury, played in some crap Chelsea sides, and even turned out for the pride of sarf London, The Amlet, in later years. Can remember Pete Munday smacking Anders in the Blunsdon pits as loads ran over to watch the excitement. My first game as an Arsenal fan was in 1966, we beat The Ammers 2-1, Moore and Hurst playing in the first game after The World Cup win. Big crowd, great atmosphere, never went back to The Valley after that! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iris123 Posted January 10, 2016 Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 That big airy monster from Highbury, played in some crap Chelsea sides, and even turned out for the pride of sarf London, The Amlet, in later years. Can remember Pete Munday smacking Anders in the Blunsdon pits as loads ran over to watch the excitement. My first game as an Arsenal fan was in 1966, we beat The Ammers 2-1, Moore and Hurst playing in the first game after The World Cup win. Big crowd, great atmosphere, never went back to The Valley after that! Think I last saw him down at Kingstonians old ground:he was player manager there.Got replaced in the Chelsea side by my old school mate Colin Pates,who also had a spell at Charlton and The Arse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
van wolfswinkel Posted January 10, 2016 Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 Think I last saw him down at Kingstonians old ground:he was player manager there.Got replaced in the Chelsea side by my old school mate Colin Pates,who also had a spell at Charlton and The Arse Patesy also played in crap Chelsea teams, was a good signing for The Addicks, saw him play against The Arsenal in the old Div 1 days when they shared Selhurst Park with The Palace, never played much for The Gunners when they surprisingly signed him, should have stayed at Charlton Athletic IMO. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Split Posted January 10, 2016 Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 Going from memory here (dangerous), but I think that Briggo’s second place in the Sports Personality of the Year competition was a result of a campaign in the Speedway Star. I believe it was an effort to promote the sport on national television. I recall reading an article in the Daily Mirror written by a sportswriter named Sam Leitch attempting to expose the vote as a farce maintaining that most of the general public had never heard of this bloke named Barry Bloggs (sic). @Mad Moose. as a South East London boy I also supported the 'amlet as well as New Cross in my younger days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BL65 Posted January 16, 2016 Report Share Posted January 16, 2016 Going from memory here (dangerous), but I think that Briggo’s second place in the Sports Personality of the Year competition was a result of a campaign in the Speedway Star. I believe it was an effort to promote the sport on national television. I recall reading an article in the Daily Mirror written by a sportswriter named Sam Leitch attempting to expose the vote as a farce maintaining that most of the general public had never heard of this bloke named Barry Bloggs (sic). @Mad Moose. as a South East London boy I also supported the 'amlet as well as New Cross in my younger days. Good memory. Speedway Star did encourage readers to cast their votes, with the slogan 'A vote for Briggs is a vote for Speedway'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted January 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2016 Good memory. Speedway Star did encourage readers to cast their votes, with the slogan 'A vote for Briggs is a vote for Speedway'. I recall the same applied in 1972 whereby fans were encouraged to vote for Ivan Mauger. I think he came second or third? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norbold Posted January 16, 2016 Report Share Posted January 16, 2016 (edited) I recall the same applied in 1972 whereby fans were encouraged to vote for Ivan Mauger. I think he came second or third? Barry Briggs is the only speedway rider to have been in the first three. Ivan Mauger never made it. Edited January 16, 2016 by norbold Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted January 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2016 Barry Briggs is the only speedway rider to have been in the first three. Ivan Mauger never made it. Where did Ivan end up? I remember the whole family voting for him and I thought that he finished quite high up in the standings? Memories play funny tricks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norbold Posted January 17, 2016 Report Share Posted January 17, 2016 Where did Ivan end up? I remember the whole family voting for him and I thought that he finished quite high up in the standings? Memories play funny tricks!! I don't know. But 1st, 2nd and 3rd in 1972 were: Mary Peters, Gordon Banks and Richard Meade. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parsloes 1928 nearly Posted January 17, 2016 Report Share Posted January 17, 2016 Going from memory here (dangerous), but I think that Briggo’s second place in the Sports Personality of the Year competition was a result of a campaign in the Speedway Star. I believe it was an effort to promote the sport on national television. I recall reading an article in the Daily Mirror written by a sportswriter named Sam Leitch attempting to expose the vote as a farce maintaining that most of the general public had never heard of this bloke named Barry Bloggs (sic). @Mad Moose. as a South East London boy I also supported the 'amlet as well as New Cross in my younger days. Which is exactly why such campaigns are counter-productive and only cause bad publicity for the sport that attempts then. Am grateful for iris quoting my post from before (and thrilled to realise he obviously has a folder on his PC where he stores my words of wisdom!!)! With the great Bobby Moore (surely up there as one of THE greatest sportspersons this country has ever produced) passing away so young and assuming therefore the status of 'saint', can you imagine the bitterness that would be churned up again and again by the media and others every time it was mentioned that in 1966 he'd been denied this traditional honour by some dirt track motorcyclist from New Zealand..?! It would do Speedway massive harm so we should all be grateful that it didn't happen... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iris123 Posted January 17, 2016 Report Share Posted January 17, 2016 (edited) Which is exactly why such campaigns are counter-productive and only cause bad publicity for the sport that attempts then. Am grateful for iris quoting my post from before (and thrilled to realise he obviously has a folder on his PC where he stores my words of wisdom!!)! With the great Bobby Moore (surely up there as one of THE greatest sportspersons this country has ever produced) passing away so young and assuming therefore the status of 'saint', can you imagine the bitterness that would be churned up again and again by the media and others every time it was mentioned that in 1966 he'd been denied this traditional honour by some dirt track motorcyclist from New Zealand..?! It would do Speedway massive harm so we should all be grateful that it didn't happen... I gave up long ago the hope of a folder.It was that quote and the folder never expanded,so I put it in the 'one quote wonders' folder instead Edited January 17, 2016 by iris123 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norbold Posted January 17, 2016 Report Share Posted January 17, 2016 Just thinking about all this again, wasn't there one year when an angler actually got most votes as the result of a campaign by the Angling Times and the BBC said this was against the rules and discounted his votes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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