Pat Flanagan

[AndyO]

Just wanted to note the recent passing of Pat. Whilst never a star he was riding for Canterbury when I attended my first ever meeting as a 10 year old in 1968 and even then to me he looked like someone from the past with his WW2 goggles and his long scarf over his face, pretty sure he had white boots at the time also. Always had time for the kids and was usually smiling broadly..

Its riders like Pat that make speedway and he left a lasting impression on me at the time. R.I.P.

[Tsunami]

4 hours ago, AndyO said:

Just wanted to note the recent passing of Pat. Whilst never a star he was riding for Canterbury when I attended my first ever meeting as a 10 year old in 1968 and even then to me he looked like someone from the past with his WW2 goggles and his long scarf over his face, pretty sure he had white boots at the time also. Always had time for the kids and was usually smiling broadly..

Its riders like Pat that make speedway and he left a lasting impression on me at the time. R.I.P.

Pat came up to Newcastle with my favourite Gil Goldfinch in 1961 to strengthen us and gave us a much better team.

I think that used to come up on the train, and we had to take vehicles to get them and their gear to the track. They stayed overnight and did the return the following morning.  

RIP Pat

Edited April 10, 2021 by Tsunami

[steve roberts]

Yes supporters often get somewhat engrossed with the 'star' riders but it's often the bread and butter riders who made the sport what it was/is.

RIP

[Tsunami]

3 hours ago, steve roberts said:

Yes supporters often get somewhat engrossed with the 'star' riders but it's often the bread and butter riders who made the sport what it was/is.

RIP

Yes. Gil was about a 5 at our level but had flitted between Wimbledon and the Southern League. Pat was probably a 2 and held his own riding in Southern teams/leagues. 

Edited April 10, 2021 by Tsunami

[chunky]

16 minutes ago, Tsunami said:

Pat was probably a 2 and held his own riding in Southern teams/leagues. 

And an important member of the Speedway Riders XI football team...

[E I Addio]

5 hours ago, AndyO said:

Just wanted to note the recent passing of Pat. Whilst never a star he was riding for Canterbury when I attended my first ever meeting as a 10 year old in 1968 and even then to me he looked like someone from the past with his WW2 goggles and his long scarf over his face, pretty sure he had white boots at the time also. Always had time for the kids and was usually smiling broadly..

Its riders like Pat that make speedway and he left a lasting impression on me at the time. R.I.P.

If my information and my arithmetic is correct he must have been about 97 or 98 years old. I hope he was in good health to the dead. I never saw Len Silver ride but from photographs I think Len started the white boot craze, and Pat was, of course at Exeter with him. I think Alan Cowland may also have been a white booter and Norman Hunter certainly was for a while.

Sad to hear of his passing . Riders like him were the backbone of the sport.

[chunky]

27 minutes ago, E I Addio said:

If my information and my arithmetic is correct he must have been about 97 or 98 years old.

Yep; born 13th September, 1923. 

[BOBBATH]

R.I.P Pat-I recall him riding for Exeter in the early sixties. As others have said, riders like Pat were (are) the backbone of the sport.

[iris123]

Would this be the same Pat Flanagan that made an appearance for Ireland in 1948 ?

http://www.internationalspeedway.co.uk/ireveng.htm

[AndyO]

16 minutes ago, iris123 said:

Would this be the same Pat Flanagan that made an appearance for Ireland in 1948 ?

http://www.internationalspeedway.co.uk/ireveng.htm

Classic Speedway magazine had him down as starting his riding career with Aldershot in 1950 however he would have been 24/25 in 1948 so I guess it's possible?

[iris123]

Seems quite possible it is the same rider

Looking at the link with Hastings, I can find a 'Bud' Flanagan riding on 17th May 1948 at Hastings. Then a Pat Flanagan is riding for Hastings in Ireland on 11th July that year

https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/hastings1948.pdf

[chunky]

4 hours ago, AndyO said:

Classic Speedway magazine had him down as starting his riding career with Aldershot in 1950 however he would have been 24/25 in 1948 so I guess it's possible?

The Speedway proboards site also has him starting in 1950.

[iris123]

Is this 1950 thing the work of speedway historian John Hyam by any chance ?

[chunky]

1 hour ago, iris123 said:

Is this 1950 thing the work of speedway historian John Hyam by any chance ?

Well, I did find a couple of items online that were attributed to the poster from Penge...

I did have a look to see if I could find any other info, but I have mislaid my copy of "British Speedway Leagues 1946-1964". If anyone has a copy to hand, there might be something in there.

[iris123]

On ‎4‎/‎11‎/‎2021 at 5:55 PM, AndyO said:

Classic Speedway magazine had him down as starting his riding career with Aldershot in 1950 however he would have been 24/25 in 1948 so I guess it's possible?

I'd now go so far as to say a lot of these pieces on Pat Flanagan are wrong

Fairly sure it is the same rider who rode at Hastings in 1948 and then the next year turns up at Harringay

https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/harringay1949.pdf

 

[norbold]

Pat Flanagan is not shown as a Hastings rider in 1948 in either Peter Morrish's "British Speedway Leagues 1946 -  1964" or in the 1949 Stenner's Review of Hastings, 1948.

There is an entry for him In the 1949 "Who's Who in Speedway", which says, "Born London 1927. A 1949 Harringay junior."

Edited April 13, 2021 by norbold

[Guest compost]

I think you'll find that Pat (RiP Pat) had his first League match for the Shots in 1950 (so his career would start with the Shots in 1950).  It was just second half/Junior appearances earlier (a bit like Ken Middleditch appearing in Hastings' 'Future Stars' races before graduating into a team place).

An alternative would be 'Bud Flanagan' being 'Buddy Fuller' (also of Hastings in 1948) and just a typo (doesn't explain Harringay though admittedly).

Cheers

[Guest compost]

1 minute ago, norbold said:

Pat Flanagan is not shown as a Hastings rider in 1948 in either Peter Morrish's "British Speedway Leagues 1946 -  1964" or in the 1949 Stenner's Review of Hastings, 1948.

He did ride in at least 1 second half at Hastings in 1948 though (see the date Iris mentions).

[iris123]

4 minutes ago, compost said:

I think you'll find that Pat (RiP Pat) had his first League match for the Shots in 1950 (so his career would start with the Shots in 1950).  It was just second half/Junior appearances earlier (a bit like Ken Middleditch appearing in Hastings' 'Future Stars' races before graduating into a team place).

An alternative would be 'Bud Flanagan' being 'Buddy Fuller' (also of Hastings in 1948) and just a typo (doesn't explain Harringay though admittedly).

Cheers

But he did ride for Hasting v Santry in a challenge meeting. Not just second half stuff and also represented Ireland !!

[Guest compost]

57 minutes ago, iris123 said:

But he did ride for Hasting v Santry in a challenge meeting. Not just second half stuff and also represented Ireland !!

The ireland appearance was not a full international but more 'select' and not recognised in Britain for a Test cap.  The challenge match vs Hastings was in ireland so wouldn't affect how his British career is shown. The researcher file has a note saying 'needs verification' but it looks to me that Pat was either riding for Hastings as a guest and Ron Clarke (normally of Hastings) guesting for Santry (maybe to equalise team strengths from available riders) or the pair of them are listed in the wrong team on the score card.  In either case it wouldn't be classed as a full appearance for the British club so his first British team appearance would be for Aldershot in 1950.

You wouldn't normally include say Ronnie Moore's Australian/New Zealand appearances (if any in Team meetings) on his British club career listing similar thing.