Arnold Haley

[steve roberts]

Anybody remember Arnold Haley who spent the best part of his career at Sheffield? Interesting that when I was visiting the NYMR during the week I got talking to a stranger (as you do) and found out that he used to mechanic for Arnie!

 

Unfortunately he couldn't tell me much as he admitted that it was a very long time ago and his memory wasn't what it once used to be except that Arnie used to ride flat out and never knew how to shut off!

[speedibee]

Anybody remember Arnold Haley who spent the best part of his career at Sheffield? Interesting that when I was visiting the NYMR during the week I got talking to a stranger (as you do) and found out that he used to mechanic for Arnie!

 

Unfortunately he couldn't tell me much as he admitted that it was a very long time ago and his memory wasn't what it once used to be except that Arnie used to ride flat out and never knew how to shut off!

I had a speedway yearbook ,with a photo or arnold haley , his bike was vertical heading for the fence with him still hanging on ,the photo was titled Haleys Comet !!

[Chadster]

A very solid heat leader for Sheffield in his day. Qualified as reserve for the 1969 World final but didn't get a ride. A year or so later I remember him beating Ivan Mauger around Belle Vue in nthe Silver Sash match race.

[The Third Man]

A very solid heat leader for Sheffield in his day. Qualified as reserve for the 1969 World final but didn't get a ride. A year or so later I remember him beating Ivan Mauger around Belle Vue in nthe Silver Sash match race.

He didn't just beat him, he beat him from the back at Hyde Road, just after we had won 40 - 38 I think in the cup, sure it was 1969 as well, but could have been 1970, still have the programme somewhere

 

Arnie was a great rider, stuck to the inside line and passed people which was not easy to do at Sheffield , as above was non riding reserve in the 1969 world final and represented his country quite a few times in Britain and Australia

 

I am sure he worked as a gardener for a council, could have been Halifax as well as riding, died a few years ago, remember his minutes silence at Sheffield

Edited June 3, 2017 by The Third Man

[Chadster]

Was at that cup meeting, still possibly the best meeting I've ever seen, with all three results possible as three riders roared off the last bend of heat 13 together. I seem to recall Bengt Larsson also beating Mauger that night as well.

[OveFundinFan]

Was one of my fav riders visiting Belle Vue, and did ride for BV for a while in 1979. Always exciting. Stuck with Sheffield from '65 to '78, BV and Workington in '79, Exeter and Edinburgh in '80, Oxford and Cradley in '81 before retiring. Came 4th in the British Final 1970, also appearing '69, '71 and '72.

He died in 2003 aged 60, after a fall in his brothers garden, went upstairs to lie on bed, fell down stairs few hours later. Took to hospital but never recovered.

[frigbo]

http://wwosbackup.proboards.com/thread/1148/arnold-haley

[Sidney the robin]

Was one of my fav riders visiting Belle Vue, and did ride for BV for a while in 1979. Always exciting. Stuck with Sheffield from '65 to '78, BV and Workington in '79, Exeter and Edinburgh in '80, Oxford and Cradley in '81 before retiring. Came 4th in the British Final 1970, also appearing '69, '71 and '72.

He died in 2003 aged 60, after a fall in his brothers garden, went upstairs to lie on bed, fell down stairs few hours later. Took to hospital but never recovered.

. He was a great team man and he is a example of a dedicated one club man.Ie he was a very exciting rider to watch and was very underrated indeed.

[Tigerblade]

He didn't just beat him, he beat him from the back at Hyde Road, just after we had won 40 - 38 I think in the cup, sure it was 1969 as well, but could have been 1970, still have the programme somewhere

 

Arnie was a great rider, stuck to the inside line and passed people which was not easy to do at Sheffield , as above was non riding reserve in the 1969 world final and represented his country quite a few times in Britain and Australia

 

I am sure he worked as a gardener for a council, could have been Halifax as well as riding, died a few years ago, remember his minutes silence at Sheffield

I definitely remember reading about him being a landscape gardener.

 

Sadly I never saw him at anything like his best, as I think there were only a couple of home league meetings at the back end of the 1977 season and I'd be surprised if he got double figures in total. Then of course in his first race in the first home meeting of 1978 he suffered a broken femur and his season was finished on the spot. But obviously I have read my Tigers history and realised how good he actually was at his peak.

Edited June 5, 2017 by Tigerblade

[False dawn]

I knew Arnie for a while in the mid 90's. I was working away from home in Morley, near Leeds. One lunchtime I was talking to the landlord of a pub about speedway when this chap came up to me. He said, "If you want to know about speedway you should speak to that bloke there". I didn't recognise "that bloke" but his mate introduced me. It was Arnie. By coincidence I had seen Arnie a few weeks before at Sheffield speedway. A couple of the current team had persuaded him to do a few laps after the meeting. Not the "Golden Greats" performance you might have expected and he was embarrassed when I said I had witnessed his performance. But we swapped stories and became firm friends. He didn't drive and when I offered to take him to Sheffield with me the next Thursday, he jumped at the chance. Actually he was very beholding to me for taking him which was no imposition at all. I welcomed his company on my usual trip to Owlerton. Anyway we travelled together and much to my surprise he got me in for free as a VIP guest. What that meant was that Annie went to the bar and held court while I went to the terraces and watched the racing. No problem, we both went home happy. This continued for several weeks.

Circumstances changed, and we lost touch. The next time I looked him up I found he had died and I was sad.

A racer from back in the day. Contemporary with the likes of Nigel Boocock who was an early hero of mine and a character who knew the sport from the inside. I'm glad I knew him, even if it was for a short while.

[steve roberts]

I knew Arnie for a while in the mid 90's. I was working away from home in Morley, near Leeds. One lunchtime I was talking to the landlord of a pub about speedway when this chap came up to me. He said, "If you want to know about speedway you should speak to that bloke there". I didn't recognise "that bloke" but his mate introduced me. It was Arnie. By coincidence I had seen Arnie a few weeks before at Sheffield speedway. A couple of the current team had persuaded him to do a few laps after the meeting. Not the "Golden Greats" performance you might have expected and he was embarrassed when I said I had witnessed his performance. But we swapped stories and became firm friends. He didn't drive and when I offered to take him to Sheffield with me the next Thursday, he jumped at the chance. Actually he was very beholding to me for taking him which was no imposition at all. I welcomed his company on my usual trip to Owlerton. Anyway we travelled together and much to my surprise he got me in for free as a VIP guest. What that meant was that Annie went to the bar and held court while I went to the terraces and watched the racing. No problem, we both went home happy. This continued for several weeks.

Circumstances changed, and we lost touch. The next time I looked him up I found he had died and I was sad.

A racer from back in the day. Contemporary with the likes of Nigel Boocock who was an early hero of mine and a character who knew the sport from the inside. I'm glad I knew him, even if it was for a short while.

Great anecdote...thank you for that!

[False dawn]

Great anecdote...thank you for that!

One thing Annie told me that I do now remember.

He was on tour in Oz with the British Lions. I forget the year or who he was rooming with (might have been Nigel Boocock) but he did get fed up. Being away from home, not earning a fortune etc. Anyway he announced he was going home. The Aussie promoters threw their hands up in horror. Offered him bega bucks to stay and so he did. Hire cars, the best accommodation and much improved money.

Oh, those were the days.

[jsteve1999]

I used to go to Sheffield speedway and watched Arnie entertain he was a great rider it was sad to hear of his death and after being in such a dangerous sport

I was very lucky as some years ago I bought an old grass track bike, did it up and the engine got a new big end fitted,on the con rod was A Haley  in permanent

Marker on the crank case was stamped the initials DH so if any body has any info I would be grateful I would also be pleased to give anybody any info I can .

Regards 

Steve Exley

 

 

 

 

[geoff100]

Remember him riding for the comets wad past his best but remembet he was always smiling 

 

[steve roberts]

24 minutes ago, geoff100 said:

Remember him riding for the comets wad past his best but remembet he was always smiling 

 

He also turned out for the "Cheetahs" but, again, well after his most successful years.

[tigerowl]

On 10/27/2020 at 11:25 AM, jsteve1999 said:

I used to go to Sheffield speedway and watched Arnie entertain he was a great rider it was sad to hear of his death and after being in such a dangerous sport

I was very lucky as some years ago I bought an old grass track bike, did it up and the engine got a new big end fitted,on the con rod was A Haley  in permanent

Marker on the crank case was stamped the initials DH so if any body has any info I would be grateful I would also be pleased to give anybody any info I can .

Regards 

Steve Exley

 

 

 

 

DH could be Derek Hobson who was a respected Sheffield based engine tuner in Arnie's day. 

Edited November 2, 2020 by tigerowl

[Garry1603]

I remember when he joined Belle Vue at the very end of his career when he came in as a reserve. I thought that he could be a really potent weapon there but sadly time had caught up with him and he was a shadow of his former self. A great rider at Sheffield though.

[moxey63]

1 hour ago, Garry1603 said:

I remember when he joined Belle Vue at the very end of his career when he came in as a reserve. I thought that he could be a really potent weapon there but sadly time had caught up with him and he was a shadow of his former self. A great rider at Sheffield though.

       

That was 1979.

But, remember, Arnie arrived at Hyde Road with a back catalogue of recent injuries, his demise hastened by the fact he had completed just one full season - 1977 - of the last three. In 1976 he missed the entire season barring one league match with a broken arm. In 1978 a broken thigh, again after one league match, restricted him to the sidelines. He was an eight-point rider in 1975 before the setbacks.

Arriving at Belle Vue in 1979, aged 36, considered old for a rider back then, it was a period of change in Belle Vue’s make-up. With Alan Wilkinson injured the year before, fans tried adjusting as riders arrived from rival clubs as the conveyor belt of training school talent was ending.

Pekka Hautamaki came from Cradley and an unknown, Emil Sova, from Czechoslovakia. The side was terrible early on, especially to fans brought up on a diet of 1970s success, and for much of the season tried desperately to get out of the bottom three. Changes had to come. Haley lost his place when the club brought in Dave Allen in August.

Manager Eric Boocock liked Haley and thrilled when he got him from Owlerton, revealing he looked fitter than he had ever done. But in hindsight, the signing didn’t prove good, and Haley struggled to cope, especially away. He totalled a meagre paid six in 12 league matches on the road - three of which came at old track Sheffield. He failed to open his account in nine of a dozen matches on his travels.

Perhaps his saviour was his Hyde Road form, which may have bought him more time in the side. He scored a reserve league maximum in his penultimate match for Aces in August 1979, before adapting better to the National League when loaned to struggling Workington, where he completed the year.

Four points (two at Belle Vue) from nine early 1981 matches in Cradley colours signalled the end of Arnie’s racing days. It was clear his dabbling with top league competition was behind him and he joined Oxford, then in the National League, in May, but rode only one match for them before calling time on his career.

[Garry1603]

19 minutes ago, moxey63 said:

       

That was 1979.

But, remember, Arnie arrived at Hyde Road with a back catalogue of recent injuries, his demise hastened by the fact he had completed just one full season - 1977 - of the last three. In 1976 he missed the entire season barring one league match with a broken arm. In 1978 a broken thigh, again after one league match, restricted him to the sidelines. He was an eight-point rider in 1975 before the setbacks.

Arriving at Belle Vue in 1979, aged 36, considered old for a rider back then, it was a period of change in Belle Vue’s make-up. With Alan Wilkinson injured the year before, fans tried adjusting as riders arrived from rival clubs as the conveyor belt of training school talent was ending.

Pekka Hautamaki came from Cradley and an unknown, Emil Sova, from Czechoslovakia. The side was terrible early on, especially to fans brought up on a diet of 1970s success, and for much of the season tried desperately to get out of the bottom three. Changes had to come. Haley lost his place when the club brought in Dave Allen in August.

Manager Eric Boocock liked Haley and thrilled when he got him from Owlerton, revealing he looked fitter than he had ever done. But in hindsight, the signing didn’t prove good, and Haley struggled to cope, especially away. He totalled a meagre paid six in 12 league matches on the road - three of which came at old track Sheffield. He failed to open his account in nine of a dozen matches on his travels.

Perhaps his saviour was his Hyde Road form, which may have bought him more time in the side. He scored a reserve league maximum in his penultimate match for Aces in August 1979, before adapting better to the National League when loaned to struggling Workington, where he completed the year.

Four points (two at Belle Vue) from nine early 1981 matches in Cradley colours signalled the end of Arnie’s racing days. It was clear his dabbling with top league competition was behind him and he joined Oxford, then in the National League, in May, but rode only one match for them before calling time on his career.

Yes, all good points.

1979 and 1980 were pretty unsettled years for the Aces

[salty]

Saw him riding for Cradley at the start of 1981. It was sad to see him struggling so much, Peter Adams ran out of patience and replaced him with John McNeill. 

Prefer to remember the quality rider he was in his pomp round Owlerton.