US riders of the 30's

[iris123]

Report from 1935 states Cordy Milne turned down an offer to ride in Britain as he was earning 200 pound a week in California. He obviously changed his mind the next year

Others to visit on their way from NZ to England that season were

Pete Colman, described as the baby of the group, who started racing in 1933, and was 3rd in the 1935 national championship behind the Milne brothers (?) and just pipped to the North California title on the last night by Jack

'Bo' Lisman ,22 years old and the largest speedway rider in the US at over 6 ft had been riding for 5 years

Sam Arena, 23 years old and also a hill climbing and road racing expert 

and Neks Hubbard, 27 and new to track racing, coming from the hill climbing scene

Byrd McKinney, Putt Mossmann, Pee Wee Cullum, Ray Grant, Manuel Trujillo, E. Schnitzer and of course Putt's sister and Ray Grants wife Dessie Grant

Edited May 17, 2020 by iris123

[iris123]

An interesting piece from 1936

Flat track racing fans have a real treat in store.The only man to ever hold 4 major flat track titles is going to race at the San Francisco speedway for the first time tomorrow night. Ray Tauser, one of the most daring flat track riders has sent in his entry blank.....he captured the English star trophy championship, the Australian championship, the French championship and the world's dirt track championship.

One young man who is not the least bit frightened over the European star is Lou Casazza. Casazza is a San Francisco Italian, and is the pride of the Italian populace

Now I also saw something about Tauser making his first appearance at Emeryville a few months later and was also captain of the Fresno team in the league. But must admit I have never heard of Lou Casazza

Mention of Emeryville speedway, which ran meetings from 1933-1936

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland_Speedway

By 1938 it seems Tauser had become the track manager at the Hinchliffe City stadium in Patterson NJ, where Bo Lisman was the main attraction along with Crocky Rawding

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinchliffe_Stadium

Edited May 22, 2020 by iris123

[iris123]

An interesting piece from Fresno (the home of Sprouts Elder) in 1935

Talking about the first team meeting to be held there between two 6 man teams from North and South California. Lammy riding with among others Al Chasteen, Ray Grant and Lou Casazza, whilst Bo Lisman was captaining the other team including Manuel Trujillo and 'Snooks' Blankenburg. But it also reports that a few weeks earlier a test was held between the USA and Australia, which I can't find any mention of in International speedway

Seems the teams were

Australia

Ernie Evans, Bert Spencer, Clem Mitchell and Bill Rogers

USA

Miny Waln, Jack Milne, Lammy and Sam Arena

An article on Sam Arena

Jet Propelled No. 79 Sam Arena

 

From Motorcyclist Magazine

In six of the West Coast’s postwar events-in the half-milers at Dixon and Tulare, the Modesto class “C” hillclimb, the Stockton and Clovis half-milers and the San Rafael T.T.-one rider has won every event he entered except one, and in the lone exception he rode neck and neck with the leader until he spilled, a hundred yards from the finish line.

Weak competition has not been the reason for his record. At Clovis and Stockton he was pitted against the Coast’s top-rank riders. At Dixon, where he won the Time Trials, his heat, the trophy dash, and the Main Event, his fellow-contestants were skilled and able, as they were at Modesto and San Rafael and Tulare.

Sam Arena, No. 79, top man for his district, winner of every start from 1941 to 1945, has what it takes. In the opinion of the writer, he is the outstanding motorcyclist of all time, judged on the basis of versatility, honesty, and extraordinary ability

San Jose’s favorite son got his start early. At fourteen, he acquired his first motor vehicle-a Smith Motor Wheel attached to his bicycle. Shortly after, he purchased his first real motorcycle, an old job which was followed by several others until 1933, when he went to work in Tom Sifton’s Harley-Davidson shop in San Jose.

Sam’s first entry into com petition took place shortly after this time, when short track racing was just beginning on the West Coast. Winning his first event, a class “B” four-lap six-man heat in a meet at Emeryville Speedway, a fifth-mile flat oval in the Bay District, he was transferred to Class “A” and given the now-famous number “79”. His first major race, on a rugged course which was a keen test for recognized veterans, came early in 1934, when, on a stock motorcycle, he won at the Northern California Gypsy Tour at Lake Yosemite.

Win followed win throughout 1935-in his own district, in Florida, back again at Hollister, California, where heavy sand and a rough course which drew blisters on the hands of every competitor brought out his stamina. Then, in the fall of ‘35, Sam signed up with “Putt” Mossman for a tour of New Zealand and Australia and a season of short-track racing. At the season’s end he came back to marry his one and only, Myrtle Scott, and together they toured across the United States and thence to join Mossman and his troupe in England.There Sam represented his country well against the finest competition in the world, making the official team of Hackney Wick.

Short track racing was at its height when he returned to the Bay District the next year, and four northern California tracks were operating every night. He won every start at the San Francisco Motordrome, which was considered the roughest night speedway course in the district, and distinguished himself in the same way at Emeryville and the other speedways.

However, when he returned to class “C” racing, he found his pull to the top a long and tough one. His competitors had gained far more experience on heavier machines than he, and throughout 1936 and 1937 he had to go to work all over again, and content himself with 2nd and 3rd places in an effort to regain his top position

In 1938, however, he struck his stride in class “C” competition, four straight wins in the weekly races on Neptune Beach’s quarter-mile T.T. course. He continued to be one of the top men throughout the season, and in the fall won the Pittsburg, Calif., T.T. race. At the final Pacific Coast event for that year, the 2nd Oakland 200-miler, Sammy truly showed his mettle. Against a field of the best men in the country, he won the event and broke all records from 10 to 200 miles on a class “C” motorcycle. Sam’s average for the 200 miles was the spectacular time of 83 m.p.h., as against the former record of 74 m.p.h.

Edited May 22, 2020 by iris123

[Guest]

On 2/5/2019 at 9:42 PM, Sidney the robin said:

You are bias Steve  to loyal Iris does put some good stuff on and i have learned a lot but he has that touch of nastiness about him.Also any Thread Steve is the forum's thread not the individual who created it.

Hmmm! Not my sole opinion then Sidney the robin?

[iris123]

4 hours ago, gustix said:

Here's a snippet from a brief Post I found elsewhere. I will have a renewed search for more later. It appears to be Central USA in the mid-1930s and reads: "...

USA league racing brings to light this information from an American newspaper about a competition on the East Coast in 1937 mainly centred on the famous Tri-City Speedway in New Jersey. It reads: “The match is the third partido event of the season and is the last all-star battle in the eastern circuit. After tonight's events the star sprinters will be scattered 

“The Jimmy Gibb-Crocky Rawding pairing as rival captains continues a rivalry as old as the Eastern League. Last season, Jimmy led the the Tri-City Eagles to the league championship replacing Rawding's Paterson trio as the pennant winners.”

New Jersey isn't normally considered to be Central USA, John. It is on the eastern seaboard. I think those areas in the Central time zone, which New Jersey and New York for instance aren't.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Time_Zone

This might be causing some confusion when you are enquiring about Central US speedway

[Guest]

4 hours ago, iris123 said:

New Jersey isn't normally considered to be Central USA, John. It is on the eastern seaboard. I think those areas in the Central time zone, which New Jersey and New York for instance aren't.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Time_Zone

This might be causing some confusion when you are enquiring about Central US speedway

Thank you!!! I have deleted/HIDE the item. Strange now to view a CORRECTED quote when its origin no longer exists on the BSF. Have a nice day!!!

Edited May 26, 2020 by Guest

[Guest]

On 2/5/2019 at 10:36 PM, chunky said:

Please stop getting so butthurt, John. As I said on another thread, I have had conversations with you and explained why some people have a problem with some of the stuff you post. It is not always WHAT you post, but the WAY you post it.

You aren't stupid - yes, I believe that - but you often act like you are. Worse than that, you act like everybody else is. Talk about Byrd McKinney, that's fine, but don't make out that we will be clamouring to answer you when we already know what the answers are. Directing people to your own articles is fine - sometimes - but you really don't need to do it as an automatic response to a topic.

Just some friendly advice...

Steve

Hmmm! Not how I see things on the BSF! There's a much friendlier attitude IMO on FACEBOOK. 

[racers and royals]

1 hour ago, gustix said:

Hmmm! Not how I see things on the BSF! There's a much friendlier attitude IMO on FACEBOOK. 

A friendly bit of advice from a BSF member- in that case why don`t you pi$$ off to Facebook. 

[Guest]

2 hours ago, gustix said:

Hmmm! Not how I see things on the BSF! There's a much friendlier attitude IMO on FACEBOOK. 

 

11 minutes ago, racers and royals said:

A friendly bit of advice from a BSF member- in that case why don`t you pi$$ off to Facebook. 

Your response typifies the attitude of many - NOT ALL - devotees to the BSF. I am on Facebook - I have been for about six years. Your response does much to illustrate my opinion in regard to the differences in member attitudes on the BSF as compared tp FB. WELL DONE!

Edited May 26, 2020 by Guest

[chunky]

2 hours ago, gustix said:

Hmmm! Not how I see things on the BSF! There's a much friendlier attitude IMO on FACEBOOK. 

Why the hell would you suddenly dig up and quote a post that is over a year old?

If (if...) there is a friendlier attitude on FB, it's because YOU don't treat everybody like sh!t! Still, you've been kicked out of groups on FB, and are barred from others, so what does THAT tell you? Besides, most of us are on FB too, and I have seen some of the crap you have posted there...

Why can't you act like an adult?

Why the endless self-promotion, and hijacking of threads to make it "all about gustix"?

Why can't you answer a legitimate question, which is common decency?

Why do you have to act like a little child, and just sit there for hours on end clicking on emojis?

Why do you act like you're superior to the rest of us, just because you worked for a local newspaper?

How sad is it when a "speedway journalist" - and one who supposedly concentrates on the "years gone by" - can't recognise Igor Plechanov, Ronnie Moore, and Ivan Mauger?

Why do you act like none of us know anything about speedway? YOU are the one who freely admits that you haven't been interested in speedway for some 60 years, yet individuals like myself have a full lifetime of following the sport.

Please John, just act like a normal person...

[Guest]

1 hour ago, chunky said:

Why the hell would you suddenly dig up and quote a post that is over a year old?

If (if...) there is a friendlier attitude on FB, it's because YOU don't treat everybody like sh!t! Still, you've been kicked out of groups on FB, and are barred from others, so what does THAT tell you? Besides, most of us are on FB too, and I have seen some of the crap you have posted there...

Why can't you act like an adult?

Why the endless self-promotion, and hijacking of threads to make it "all about gustix"?

Why can't you answer a legitimate question, which is common decency?

Why do you have to act like a little child, and just sit there for hours on end clicking on emojis?

Why do you act like you're superior to the rest of us, just because you worked for a local newspaper?

How sad is it when a "speedway journalist" - and one who supposedly concentrates on the "years gone by" - can't recognise Igor Plechanov, Ronnie Moore, and Ivan Mauger?

Why do you act like none of us know anything about speedway? YOU are the one who freely admits that you haven't been interested in speedway for some 60 years, yet individuals like myself have a full lifetime of following the sport.

Please John, just act like a normal person...

Isn't there an old saying something like 'the cuckoo has landed'? It certainly seems to have happened here. 

Regarding the riders I did not recognise in a photo. It was an awful print. I was not anyway a 'speedway journalist' but the sport was just one of several sports that  I have been interested in to a certain extent over the years. 

So far as my involvement with FB is concerned I note your remark but cannot recall any adverse comments in regard to items that are posted. There's a very basic reason why this does not happen which appears to have escaped you?

[andout]

53 minutes ago, gustix said:

Isn't there an old saying something like 'the cuckoo has landed'? It certainly seems to have happened here. 

Regarding the riders I did not recognise in a photo. It was an awful print. I was not anyway a 'speedway journalist' but the sport was just one of several sports that  I have been interested in to a certain extent over the years. 

So far as my involvement with FB is concerned I note your remark but cannot recall any adverse comments in regard to items that are posted. There's a very basic reason why this does not happen which appears to have escaped you?

But on the sites on FB that I use, you are ADMIN.....so highly unlikely you would get adverse comments, they are your sites you do what you want but just recently you have had complaints about Fundin, Fundin, Fundin .....and even then you continue to put out photo's of him......gets boring after a while.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, andout said:

But on the sites on FB that I use, you are ADMIN.....so highly unlikely you would get adverse comments, they are your sites you do what you want but just recently you have had complaints about Fundin, Fundin, Fundin .....and even then you continue to put out photo's of him......gets boring after a while.

Thanks for the Post. I note the comment re Ove Fundin. Are the actions you mentioned in Old Time Speedway on Facebook? I cannot seem to find what you mention but very much appreciate you drawing my attention to this happening.

[iris123]

2 minutes ago, gustix said:

Thanks for the Post. I note the comment re Ove Fundin. Are the actions you mentioned in Old Time Speedway on Facebook? I cannot seem to find what you mention but very much appreciate you drawing my attention to this happening.

I think there is a reason you have to start your own groups John. That way you don’t get much bother, but don’t get many comments anyway. One or two of the groups seem to have died a death or get about 3 posts a day. Mostly those that share things all over the place....

[chunky]

1 hour ago, gustix said:

Regarding the riders I did not recognise in a photo. It was an awful print.

That is a feeble excuse - particularly as there were THREE separate photos!

The Wimbledon team photo you posted wasn't the greatest quality, but it was certainly good enough for me to immediately identify the riders.

Steve Hone's photo of Ronnie and Ivan was in no way an awful print, and everybody else identified them easily enough.

Worse than that was the photo of Tommy Sweetman and Igor Plechanov. That was a large - and very clear - portrait, and you identified Tommy okay...

Edited May 26, 2020 by chunky

[andout]

1 hour ago, gustix said:

Thanks for the Post. I note the comment re Ove Fundin. Are the actions you mentioned in Old Time Speedway on Facebook? I cannot seem to find what you mention but very much appreciate you drawing my attention to this happening.

So you note the comment........AND immediately put out another Fundin photo in FB.........Sorry John but you are getting what you deserve.......

[chunky]

22 minutes ago, andout said:

So you note the comment........AND immediately put out another Fundin photo in FB.........Sorry John but you are getting what you deserve.......

That happened the other day, when we were talking about photo copyrights. Immediately after we had warned John of the dangers of posting such items, he followed by posting another on here!

[norbold]

2 hours ago, gustix said:

 "I was not anyway a 'speedway journalist' but the sport was just one of several sports that  I have been interested in to a certain extent over the years."

Thanks for clearing that up, John.

Oh, by the way, can you remind us who wrote this?
 

“Over the years I have written on a freelance basis for most speedway publications - 'Speedway Gazette,' 'Speedway Reporter,' 'Speedway News,' 'Speedway World' and many more. In 1954, when the Southern Area League started I offered to write about the competition for the 'Speedway Star' and they agreed….It was the start of a link that led to me being offered a full-time post at 'Speedway Star' in 1955… I stayed in that post until 1962.

“I was out of speedway journalism for more than 9 years, but resurfaced in 1972 when I was involved as a freelance writer and sub-editor with the 'Speedway Mail' which I ceased links with in 1984.
 

“There came another lengthy period out of speedway until Wimbledon's return as a Conference League track in 2002 when I resumed old links with 'Speedway Star' as the track reporter, also contributing items on overseas speedway.
 

“I…did edit in the early 1960s the first two editions of the annual 'Speedway Digest.' In recent years since about 1998 I have been a contributor to the 'Vintage Speedway Magazine' and more recent times to 'Classic speedway.'”

Thank you.

[chunky]

6 minutes ago, norbold said:

Thanks for clearing that up, John.

Oh, by the way, can you remind us who wrote this?
 

“Over the years I have written on a freelance basis for most speedway publications - 'Speedway Gazette,' 'Speedway Reporter,' 'Speedway News,' 'Speedway World' and many more. In 1954, when the Southern Area League started I offered to write about the competition for the 'Speedway Star' and they agreed….It was the start of a link that led to me being offered a full-time post at 'Speedway Star' in 1955… I stayed in that post until 1962.

 

“I was out of speedway journalism for more than 9 years, but resurfaced in 1972 when I was involved as a freelance writer and sub-editor with the 'Speedway Mail' which I ceased links with in 1984.
 

“There came another lengthy period out of speedway until Wimbledon's return as a Conference League track in 2002 when I resumed old links with 'Speedway Star' as the track reporter, also contributing items on overseas speedway.
 

“I…did edit in the early 1960s the first two editions of the annual 'Speedway Digest.' In recent years since about 1998 I have been a contributor to the 'Vintage Speedway Magazine' and more recent times to 'Classic speedway.'”

Thank you.

 

So, I'm not the only one who is getting confused?  

John does seem to contradict himself a lot, doesn't he? He switches from journalist to layman depending on how he thinks it will benefit his status.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, andout said:

So you note the comment........AND immediately put out another Fundin photo in FB.........Sorry John but you are getting what you deserve.......

 

2 hours ago, chunky said:

That happened the other day, when we were talking about photo copyrights. Immediately after we had warned John of the dangers of posting such items, he followed by posting another on here!

I am bewildered by both comments! Not unusual with items on the BSF. Please clarify (1) what FB group are the Ove Fundin photos appearing on -  its TITLE please. (2) And Chunky please clarify in regard to the photo Post. I have no idea what you are commenting about.