IainB Posted March 3, 2020 Report Share Posted March 3, 2020 Good news: apparently some lovely human has offered Ronnie £30,000 so he can keep his medal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobMcCaffery Posted March 3, 2020 Report Share Posted March 3, 2020 I had BBC Points West on in the background last night, looked up and thought, "Doesn't he look like Ron?" Then I saw the medal. What hurt was to see him talking about using the money to pay for his funeral, talking about illness and suggesting he hasn't got long to go. Working for Ron, despite the stresses of keeping Rye House going, was one of the highlights of my time in speedway. Maybe I didn't see the full story but he was always a decent, warm guy to work for. I remember him telling me that money I was owed for running the phone line was lost in the collapse of the business. He was genuinely apologetic but all I could think was "Ron, just how much have YOU lost?" I do hope someone can help. It was distressing to watch last night. He's arguably the biggest sponsor that Rye House ever had, with all due respect to the Atkinsons' Infradex business. "Rob, you see this money? It's today's takings. When I take them to the bank tomorrow I've got to add a grand of my own money" Speedway can be a cruel sport. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodenspoon Posted March 4, 2020 Report Share Posted March 4, 2020 Ronnie Russell's George Medal sold today for £50,000. BBC news. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobMcCaffery Posted March 4, 2020 Report Share Posted March 4, 2020 1 minute ago, woodenspoon said: Ronnie Russell's George Medal sold today for £50,000. BBC news. Full story here. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-51736380 Funny, I thought I'd heard rumours (silly obviously) that someone was helping him out to avoid the sale. Still, some people believe rumours....... I do hope his health's not as bad as suggested. Ironically he's just turned up on BBC Points West's lunchtime news as I type this. Spooky! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debbs Posted March 4, 2020 Report Share Posted March 4, 2020 On 2/10/2020 at 1:49 AM, RobMcCaffery said: Many thanks for the guidance HA. You bring out some very valid points. If it was so bad to hire Schroeck why was nobody complaining? Despite the views held by some supporters not all in speedway officialdom are fools. Regarding Commonwealth v EEC riders I'd suggest that the perception was still that the Auissies and Kiwis were 'us' while the Europeans were 'foreigners'. As you say, those with direct British links had patriality, the remainder without rights. I'd say the language and cultural links with the Aussies and Kiwis helped strengthen that view, despite the law. The observation of the slump in BL numbers in the mid-80s is very valid with lot of mediocre Europeans suddenly finding places at a premium. At this point I have a confession to make. I might be to blame, not my erstwhile boss, Ron. I suppose I do have to take some of the blame. When Screen Sport approached KM Video to cover speedway on their new service in 1984 we naturally went for British League racing. However the BSPA believed that doing a deal with us for league racing would conflict with their deal with ITV for World of Sport. Faced with a golden opportunity to put league racing on TV for the first time I argued for coverage of the National League instead. My determined lobbying for my beloved NL won the argument. The NL was semi-detached from the BSPA then and they grabbed at the chance arguing that cable and satellite TV was narrowcasting rather than broadcasting! Suddenly I was in the position to put my decade and a half experience as a fan of an NL team to good use! After the first year of coverage in 1984 several BL tracks started looking at an NL, with a TV contract, that might be a better offer than the BL and we had the first mass switch. I remember Wimbledon manager Cyril Maidment telling me in an interview "We are moving ACROSS, not down". After 1985 the NL was a completely different 'beast' and now a long way from its training origins. It was only later with Rasmussen and Schroeck's signings that the gates opened but by then the places once available for up and coming EEC riders in BL tracks were much reduced and with a pool of talent looking for places the NL was under incredible pressure and temptation to hire them. The NL was changed by the influx of tracks like Wimbledon and Hackneyand the return of Eastbourne and Exeter Okay IT WAS MY FAULT I won't come quietly...... It's all about u.do u ever stop talking about yourself and screen sport 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waytogo28 Posted March 4, 2020 Report Share Posted March 4, 2020 1 hour ago, woodenspoon said: Ronnie Russell's George Medal sold today for £50,000. BBC news. Please don't "invest" it in speedway Ronnie! The only person to have made money out of it in the last 25 years is his brother. Withour title sponsors it would have long gone bust. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bunce Posted March 4, 2020 Report Share Posted March 4, 2020 1 hour ago, woodenspoon said: Ronnie Russell's George Medal sold today for £50,000. BBC news. Whilst I'm pleased for Ronnie, I find it very sad that he had to raise money in this way. He risked his life to earn that medal, how many of us would have been brave enough to tackle a gunman who turned out to be a nutter? The gunman had already shown he wasn't afraid to use the gun, and yet Ronnie waded in with nothing but his fists to stop him. He will always have the greatest respect from me for that action. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a4poster Posted March 4, 2020 Report Share Posted March 4, 2020 FiveLive are running this story in its news bulletins today. At this rate the ‘big man’ will be trending on Twitter, lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IainB Posted March 4, 2020 Report Share Posted March 4, 2020 2 hours ago, RobMcCaffery said: Full story here. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-51736380 Funny, I thought I'd heard rumours (silly obviously) that someone was helping him out to avoid the sale. Still, some people believe rumours....... I do hope his health's not as bad as suggested. Ironically he's just turned up on BBC Points West's lunchtime news as I type this. Spooky! If this is the rumour you are referring to: Perhaps he didn't accept the £30,000 + keep his medal... because he knew he could get £50,000 Who knows? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a4poster Posted March 5, 2020 Report Share Posted March 5, 2020 He has just been on FiveLive again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilWatson Posted April 13, 2020 Report Share Posted April 13, 2020 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000h8g3 On Radio 4 now, The Untold tells the story of Ronnie Russell's heroic act and what has happened since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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