Memories of Ron How and Brian Crutcher.

[Sidney the robin]

I have been compiling an  alltime top 30 of British riders and by god it has been difficult.I have compiled a list of about 50 riders and need to eliminate 20.Ron How and Brian Crutcher were two riders i never got to see ride but know there career's and both were great riders.It would be great if any of you have any input on both riders which could help me in my research.My uncle who saw them both ride said Crutcher was very stylish indeed and How could always mix it with the best would they both be hovering around a top 30 British riders of alltime.??

Edited March 27, 2019 by Sidney the robin

[wealdstone]

I saw both these riders in action but more so Brian Crutcher. Brian retired when still very young (25 I think) he lost interest in Speedway due to business demands and as he would later say the closure of Wembley. He was when focussed the match of the top riders of the day Fundin, Moore, Briggs Craven etc. I believe he has subsequently said that he suffered nerves on the big occasions  which handicapped him in top individual events. There is a fairly recent Biography of him which will give more details  I will PM the title etc when I locate the book which I have somewhere

[iris123]

Ron How made the world final in only his second season, which is quite an achievement

[Sidney the robin]

British- match- race- championship - Golden.Helmet- 1956.   Brian Crutcher beat Moore,Briggs,Moore,Hunt, Briggs.  1958. Crutcher beat Fundin mixed it with the cream of the sport.

Edited March 22, 2019 by Sidney the robin

[steve roberts]

Ron How rode for the all-conquering 'Cheetahs' of 1964 but unfortunately a bad injury in 1965 curtailed his more than worthy contributions over the years. Ran a pub in Great Missenden(?) and died  not so many years ago. Still thought of with great admiration within Oxford circles. Apparently he and Ove Fundin had some great 'ding-dongs' over the years!

Edited March 22, 2019 by steve roberts

[chunky]

12 minutes ago, steve roberts said:

Ron How rode for the all-conquering 'Cheetahs' of 1964 but unfortunately a bad injury in 1965 curtailed his more than worthy contributions over the years. Ran a pub in Great Missenden(?) and died  not so many years ago. Still thought of with great admiration within Oxford circles. Apparently he and Ove Fundin had some great 'ding-dongs' over the years!

It was The Crown in Little Missenden, Steve. We used to go there and play darts with Jim Tebby.

Ron was the manager before buying the pub, and as far as I know, it is still run by his son Trevor.

Steve

[cityrebel]

I've got Ron's 1962 World Final race jacket in my collection I've also got Briggo's from 1959. Two wimbledon legends for sure.

[norbold]

I bought a copy of Speedway World at the first meeting I ever went to. Its front page headline was "Brian Crutcher Retires", so I never got to see him ride!  I think though there is no doubt he should be in a top 30 British riders of all-time. As you say yourself, Sidney, for a while he was the equal of the likes of Fundin, Briggs and Moore and he was a well-known name in an era when speedway received a bit more publicity in the papers than it does now.

On the other hand I saw Ron How many times and thought he was always a bit underrated because he was second to Ronnie Moore but he was an essential part of the all-conquering Wimbledon team of the late 50s and early 60s. He was a world finalist eight times and between 1958 and 1964 averaged over nine points per match every season.  Between 1958 and 1965 he was ranked in the Top 20 riders in the world in the Speedway Star ranking lists, generally around mid way. Without listing the other top British riders, I think I would have him in my top 30.

[Split]

Brian Crutcher was second in the 1954 World Final. That alone should see him in any list of the top 30 British riders. There were 5 English riders in the top ten that year - those were the days! A certain Peter Craven finished 15th that year with another newcomer, Ove Fundin 16th. Craven won the title the following year and Fundin in 1956.

There is no doubt in my mind that Ron How also deserves to be there too. I saw a lot of him riding for Wimbledon back in the 60's and on his day he was a match for anyone. I see there was a typo in the first post misspelling his surname as Howe. There was actually an Eric Howe who was a contemporary of Ron’s and rode for Exeter.

 

[Celticman]

I would say that it is not an either or. Both are easily in the top 30. Take these two and add 28 !!!

[OveFundinFan]

All time British top 30, wow, that’s some call Sidney.  Would give me an headache for sure, not even going to tackle it.  Would be interesting to see your 50 that you trying to whittle down.

[Sidney the robin]

On 12/21/2019 at 4:27 AM, OveFundinFan said:

All time British top 30, wow, that’s some call Sidney.  Would give me an headache for sure, not even going to tackle it.  Would be interesting to see your 50 that you trying to whittle down.

God Ove an impossible task even for you, no in all seriousness you can't really i would be scared to offend someone if i left them out.An all time British top 5  that is  a different  matter mine would be ( I am ready to be crucified by some!!!!!) 1./ Craven, 2./ Lee 3./ Collins, 4./ Woffinden. 5:/ Williams. An all time top 5.  1./ Mauger, 2./ Fundin, 3./ Nielsen 4./ Briggs, 5./ Rickardsson ( that lot could change in an hours time.

[norbold]

9 hours ago, Sidney the robin said:

God Ove an impossible task even for you, no in all seriousness you can't really i would be scared to offend someone if i left them out.An all time British top 5  that is  a different  matter mine would be ( I am ready to be crucified by some!!!!!) 1./ Craven, 2./ Lee 3./ Collins, 4./ Woffinden. 5:/ Williams. An all time top 5.  1./ Mauger, 2./ Fundin, 3./ Nielsen 4./ Briggs, 5./ Rickardsson ( that lot could change in an hours time.

Consider yourself hereby crucified, Sidney. Just two words - Tom Farndon! 

[Sidney the robin]

15 hours ago, norbold said:

Consider yourself hereby crucified, Sidney. Just two words - Tom Farndon! 

Yes Tom in considered in the same bracket as Tommy Jansson Norbold what  IF we were all robbed imagine Jansson at his peak with a Lee, Nielsen, Gundersen, Penhall mouth watering.

Edited December 24, 2019 by Sidney the robin

[norbold]

6 minutes ago, Sidney the robin said:

Yes Tom in considered in the same bracket as Tommy Jansson Norbold what  IF we were all robbed imagine Jansson at his peak with a Lee, Nielsen, Gundersen, Penhall mouth watering.

But it wasn't just a "what if?" for Tom Farndon. He did enough in his short life to be counted amongst the greats without the need for a what might have been.

He held every National League track record simultaneously. He won the 1933 Star Riders' Championship and was favourite for the 1935 Final which, of course, he never competed in due to his fatal accident the night before. He was also unbeatable in the British Indivdual Match Race Championship and made the title his own beating off challenges from the likes of Vic Huxley, Dick Case, Max Grosskreutz and Ron Johnson. So much so that after his death the title was suspended until after the War. He also won the London Riders' Championship twice at a time when the title was second only to the Star Riders. He was also a regular for the England Test team.

[Sidney the robin]

23 minutes ago, norbold said:

But it wasn't just a "what if?" for Tom Farndon. He did enough in his short life to be counted amongst the greats without the need for a what might have been.

He held every National League track record simultaneously. He won the 1933 Star Riders' Championship and was favourite for the 1935 Final which, of course, he never competed in due to his fatal accident the night before. He was also unbeatable in the British Indivdual Match Race Championship and made the title his own beating off challenges from the likes of Vic Huxley, Dick Case, Max Grosskreutz and Ron Johnson. So much so that after his death the title was suspended until after the War. He also won the London Riders' Championship twice at a time when the title was second only to the Star Riders. He was also a regular for the England Test team.

Great post Norbold but do you think many people would put a non world champion in a all time top ten ever.?There is not a right or wrong in any answer but when doing  my all time top ten an awful lot of great riders are missed out.In my top ten riders ever Fundin,Briggs, Mauger,Rickardsson, Nielsen,Crump, Olsen, are my only certainties the three other spots are really difficult for me.

.

Edited December 24, 2019 by Sidney the robin

[steve roberts]

27 minutes ago, norbold said:

But it wasn't just a "what if?" for Tom Farndon. He did enough in his short life to be counted amongst the greats without the need for a what might have been.

He held every National League track record simultaneously. He won the 1933 Star Riders' Championship and was favourite for the 1935 Final which, of course, he never competed in due to his fatal accident the night before. He was also unbeatable in the British Indivdual Match Race Championship and made the title his own beating off challenges from the likes of Vic Huxley, Dick Case, Max Grosskreutz and Ron Johnson. So much so that after his death the title was suspended until after the War. He also won the London Riders' Championship twice at a time when the title was second only to the Star Riders. He was also a regular for the England Test team.

To have been around to watch the greats from that era would have been a real privilege.

[norbold]

9 minutes ago, Sidney the robin said:

Great post Norbold but do you think many people would put a non world champion in a all time top ten ever.?There is not a right or wrong in any answer but when doing  my all time top ten an awful lot of great riders are missed out.In my top ten riders ever Fundin,Briggs, Mauger,Rickardsson, Nielsen,Crump, Olsen, are my only certainties the three other spots are really difficult for me.

.

The thing is, Sidney, that there was no World Championship prior to 1936, so you can't just dismiss everyone who rode before then. You have to take into account what the big events were at the time and how well the riders did in them. And certainly, the Star Riders' Championship was the equivalent to the World Championship. Essentially, it's purpose was to find the best rider in the World and was run on very similar lines with qualifying rounds and a final. As a secondary "big" event, the London Riders' Championship brought together all the top riders in the world apart from those who unfortunately rode for Belle Vue (!) Also, the Golden Helmet was a very significant competition between the world's elite, which Farndon absolutely dominated.

The fact that Tom Farndon was a dominant force in all these competitions means you can't just dismiss him because he died a year before the World Championship started.

[steve roberts]

1 minute ago, norbold said:

The thing is, Sidney, that there was no World Championship prior to 1936, so you can't just dismiss everyone who rode before then. You have to take into account what the big events were at the time and how well the riders did in them. And certainly, the Star Riders' Championship was the equivalent to the World Championship. Essentially, it's purpose was to find the best rider in the World and was run on very similar lines with qualifying rounds and a final. As a secondary "big" event, the London Riders' Championship brought together all the top riders in the world apart from those who unfortunately rode for Belle Vue (!) Also, the Golden Helmet was a very significant competition between the world's elite, which Farndon absolutely dominated.

The fact that Tom Farndon was a dominant force in all these competitions means you can't just dismiss him because he died a year before the World Championship started.

Jack Parker would have been another to be taken into consideration.

[Sidney the robin]

11 minutes ago, norbold said:

The thing is, Sidney, that there was no World Championship prior to 1936, so you can't just dismiss everyone who rode before then. You have to take into account what the big events were at the time and how well the riders did in them. And certainly, the Star Riders' Championship was the equivalent to the World Championship. Essentially, it's purpose was to find the best rider in the World and was run on very similar lines with qualifying rounds and a final. As a secondary "big" event, the London Riders' Championship brought together all the top riders in the world apart from those who unfortunately rode for Belle Vue (!) Also, the Golden Helmet was a very significant competition between the world's elite, which Farndon absolutely dominated.

The fact that Tom Farndon was a dominant force in all these competitions means you can't just dismiss him because he died a year before the World Championship started.

Totally agree Norbold and you have a solid case also how many riders became World Champion  over the years when they were not recognised as the best .? Farndon,Duggan,Warren,Adams,Jessup, Sigalos, Jansson are all riders that i believe were good anough to be world champion but fate intervened.