"This story appeared in the Dagenham Echo. The trophy was presented to Herbert after the final meeting of the 1936 season on 15/11/1936. I typed up the story with a photo of Les Thornton I found in the Daily Mirror, to go into a little project I am working on. I hope it answered his Grand daughter's question"
"I remember Olle from my days supporting West Ham during their brief appearance during the 1970s. Far and away my favourite rider, a proper number one who could beat anybody around Custom House and usually did. You could not mistake him in his bright red leathers and I still have a little speedway model that I painted up to look just like him during my airfix model years. What a career, what a rider. Happy memories"
"I am 62 and thought it was an excellent read. passed it to my daughter 22 years younger and she thoroughly enjoyed it. One annoying thing!! the cover! Should have showed a proper 40s broadslider."
There was very sad news yesterday with the passing of legendary Swedish rider Olle Nygren. It was actually ten years ago this week that we published this article by
Dudley Jones on the great man. It seems appropriate to bring it back to the top of the site today.
"We were really excited about seeing Joe in his first match. We'd seen him without actually knowing who he was doing laps after matches at the end of the previous season. He was very impressive, very controlled, and looked very quick. It was some time before we knew he was only fifteen then. He made his debut for Belle Vue the following year just a few days after his sixteenth birthday, and just a few days after that was entered in the British quarter-final at Middlesbrough. There was no excuse not to go, so in the car straight after work and across the M62 and up the A1 we went. I don't have the programme anymore but memory tells me Joe missed qualifying by just a point. Afterwards he said he thought it would be easier because it was National League. He'd only been a professional speedway rider for a week!!"
"Mariusz Dubielewicz on The World Final That Never Was: Said that Van Praag could be not be in heat 10 and 11. The World Finals in those years were NOT set up as we know them today, For instance Jack Milne in 1938 rode in heats 3,8,10,11 and 19. Van Praag rode is heats 1,5,9,11 and 17."
"Re The Final That Never Was I assume the 1939 final would have used same format as 1938 - see Wembley 1938 file on Speedway Researcher web site - and some of the riders did have 2 races in a row in that event."
