Sidney the robin Posted December 4, 2016 Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 Going back over old matches and results ten riders who come to mind who were brilliant riders great servants but for me often get forgotten about.The ten i thought of were Alan Hunt,Peter Smith( Mr Poole),Eric Boothroyd,(great promoter as well) Brian Crutcher,Jimmy Mcmillan, Trevor Hedge,Neil Street,George Hunter,Mike Broadbank Jimmy Gooch just a few. There are hundreds of others you could all name what are your memories of some of these legends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 4, 2016 Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 Going back over old matches and results ten riders who come to mind who were brilliant riders great servants but for me often get forgotten about.The ten i thought of were Alan Hunt,Peter Smith( Mr Poole),Eric Boothroyd,(great promoter as well) Brian Crutcher,Jimmy Mcmillan, Trevor Hedge,Neil Street,George Hunter,Mike Broadbank Jimmy Gooch just a few. There are hundreds of others you could all name what are your memories of some of these legends. There are many riders - what we term as journeymen - who spent years (many of them) in the sport without getting real recognition. Names that spring quickly to mind for me are Jack Winstanley, Geoff Pymar and Wal Morton. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foamfence Posted December 4, 2016 Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 (edited) Going back over old matches and results ten riders who come to mind who were brilliant riders great servants but for me often get forgotten about.The ten i thought of were Alan Hunt,Peter Smith( Mr Poole),Eric Boothroyd,(great promoter as well) Brian Crutcher,Jimmy Mcmillan, Trevor Hedge,Neil Street,George Hunter,Mike Broadbank Jimmy Gooch just a few. There are hundreds of others you could all name what are your memories of some of these legends. I remember Eric Boothroyd saying that Alan Hunt (who he rode with at one time) was his favourite rider. Briggo once said the same about Crutcher, he was tipped to be a World Champion but didn't seem to ride for long. I'm sure many of us saw the other names you featured. Edited December 4, 2016 by foamfence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidney the robin Posted December 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 I remember Eric Boothroyd saying that Alan Hunt (who he rode with at one time) was his favourite rider. Briggo once said the same about Crutcher, he was tipped to be a World Champion but didn't seem to ride for long. I'm sure many of us saw the other names you featured.Crutcher i never see him ride but in a way he was like Arthur Forrest never stayed in the game that long. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted December 4, 2016 Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 (edited) My unsung heroes would include the likes of Rick Timmo, Bernie Leigh (albeit one enforced year away from Reading) and Mike Keen, middle order riders who gave sterling service to just the one team. Edited December 4, 2016 by steve roberts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ovalman Posted December 4, 2016 Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 Keener Dukey Munday Bouchard Hitchy David Ashby Mad Wellie etc, loyal clubmen for the Robins, mostly local lads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidney the robin Posted December 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 Keener Dukey Munday Bouchard Hitchy David Ashby Mad Wellie etc, loyal clubmen for the Robins, mostly local lads.Loved watching all of those also Billy Wall, Bobo Valentine, Martin Hewlett, ( bless him) all the Smarts/Chessell's and even Rosco. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted December 4, 2016 Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 (edited) Loved watching all of those also Billy Wall, Bobo Valentine, Martin Hewlett, ( bless him) all the Smarts/Chessell's and even Rosco. I thought that Kevin Smart had an abundance of talent but injuries held him back. He was a revelation when riding for Oxford in 1982 & 83 and did himself proud whenever he was called upon when 'The Cheetahs' moved up into the British League. David, sadly, ended his life tragically. Gone but I'm sure not forgotten by those who knew him. Edited December 4, 2016 by steve roberts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fromafar Posted December 4, 2016 Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 Colin Caffrey for Glasgow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOBBATH Posted December 5, 2016 Report Share Posted December 5, 2016 Bob Hughes and Jon Erskine of Newport-also wot about Vic White-great servants of the sport. I'd agree with Mike keen also. BTW who is the David who sadly ended his life as per Steve Roberts post above?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Doctor... Posted December 5, 2016 Report Share Posted December 5, 2016 Bob Hughes and Jon Erskine of Newport-also wot about Vic White-great servants of the sport. I'd agree with Mike keen also. BTW who is the David who sadly ended his life as per Steve Roberts post above?? David Smart. Swindon second string. As a Reading fan, he was an annoyingly consistent opposing rider. Took his own life (I think) a few years back. Dave Mullett was my unsung hero for what it's worth. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted December 5, 2016 Report Share Posted December 5, 2016 Bob Hughes and Jon Erskine of Newport-also wot about Vic White-great servants of the sport. I'd agree with Mike keen also. BTW who is the David who sadly ended his life as per Steve Roberts post above?? David Smart was a good middle order rider who rode for a succession of teams (Oxford included) and was often forced to move to other clubs purely because his average didn't fit (these sort of riders are always the ones that tend to suffer under points regimes). He became a successful and popular re-enactor of World War Two events (as did brother Kevin) but sadly took his own life (details were vague at the time). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ovalman Posted December 5, 2016 Report Share Posted December 5, 2016 Used to visit the Smarts Chessells and a few others to renew their personal accident insurance, all nice guys. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norbold Posted December 5, 2016 Report Share Posted December 5, 2016 Stan Stevens would be my unsung hero. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iris123 Posted December 5, 2016 Report Share Posted December 5, 2016 Stan Stevens would be my unsung hero. Surely you have priased him often enough for him to be a sung hero by now? What about Dave Morton.Is he a sung hero or unsung?Mostly in the shadow of his brother.The same could be said of Barney Kennett.Not that he was in Chris Mortons shadow though.Met him in Vojens some years back when Eddie was in the world U21 meeting there.Nice bloke.Barney that is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidney the robin Posted December 6, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2016 Surely you have priased him often enough for him to be a sung hero by now? What about Dave Morton.Is he a sung hero or unsung?Mostly in the shadow of his brother.The same could be said of Barney Kennett.Not that he was in Chris Mortons shadow though.Met him in Vojens some years back when Eddie was in the world U21 meeting there.Nice bloke.Barney that is Dave Morton was only in the shadow of Chris after he broke his fibia which basically finished him as a top class rider.At Hackney Dave was superb and for me was a better rider than Chris up until he broke his leg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted December 6, 2016 Report Share Posted December 6, 2016 Widening my search riders like Ian Turner, Mike Lanham, Norman Storer, Roger Johns, Trevor Geer...all good dependable 'team' riders who are what league speedway is really all about. Okay we crave the 'stars' but without the middle order cum reserves team speedway just wouldn't be able to exist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iris123 Posted December 6, 2016 Report Share Posted December 6, 2016 (edited) Dave Morton was only in the shadow of Chris after he broke his fibia which basically finished him as a top class rider.At Hackney Dave was superb and for me was a better rider than Chris up until he broke his leg. Rubbish.Even though Chris was 3 years younger he had already made a world final by 1976 and even in the 1975 British Final he outscored his older brother. Edited December 6, 2016 by iris123 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted December 6, 2016 Report Share Posted December 6, 2016 One of my favourite unsung heroes was John Dews. He was allocated to Oxford in 1973 (as a replacement for Dave Hemus) and really struggled around Cowley initially. He eventually got to master Oxford and by 1975 carried a very respectable average of around six and a half points. His team riding with both Dag Lovaas and especially Richard Greer were a joy to watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidney the robin Posted December 6, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2016 (edited) Rubbish.Even though Chris was 3 years younger he had already made a world final by 1976 and even in the 1975 British Final he outscored his older brother.Iris Dave Morton before he broke his leg at Hackney was never in the shadow of Chris in 76 Dave averaged over 10 not bad. Chris who i admired greatly had a great career but Dave before his injury was no mug certainly not in his brothers shadow. Edited December 6, 2016 by Sidney the robin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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