Yet Another Cycling Forum
Off Topic => The Pub => The Sporting Life => Topic started by: Wowbagger on 21 August, 2023, 02:57:06 pm
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The famous line from a Max Boyce song.
I've been looking at some videos of famous sportspeople from yesteryear, and it occurred to me that I've seen quite a few of them in real life.
The first sporting event I ever watched live was, I think, Essex v Glamorgan, 1969 at Chelmsford (I had to check this - I had it in my mind that it was 1968). Certainly, Keiths Fletcher & Boyce were playing for Essex, and both scored centuries, the latter in 103 minutes. Utterly thrilling! The Jones brother, Alan & Eifion, were playing for Glamorgan, as were Don Sheppard, Tony Lewis and Majid Khan.
The year I left school, 1972, a friend and I watched all three days of Essex v Notts, and therefore had the great privilege of watching Garfield Sobers at the end of his illustrious career, and Derek Randall at the start of his. I was dabbling with b & w photography in 1976, and have some prints I developed myself including Basil d'Oliveira and Imran Khan playing at Chalkwell Park.
I've watched very little professional football. The odd game at Blackpool; I watched Jim Holton get sent off for headbutting Malcolm McDonald, and attended a match at Goodison Park when Jimmy Hill was on the commentary box. I was at the Southend 0 - 0 Liverpool game in the 1970s.
I've watched quite a few rugby internationals including all the great Welsh players of the 1970s, and was at the Cardiff Arms Park when the Pontypool Front Row first played en masse for Wales, in a record win v Australia.
Anyone else got any fond sporting memories?
Edit: completely randomly, I saw Joe Bugner in action at a national youth event of some sort in Chelmsford in the 1960s. I think he was a shot putter* or something, and was leading his county (London?) and was holding the flag out, one-handed.
*Wikipedia suggests discus.
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The famous line from a Max Boyce song.
I don't know about Max Boyce, to me it sounds like a line from a not particularly good and completely irrelevant sort of calypso.
https://youtu.be/E_uArb9fwwA
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ro4BKLn5AJM&ab_channel=EvynNoosa
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Wiggins and Cav winning the World Champs Madison in London, 2008. Cav crashed with 11 laps to go but they still held on. Best sporting atmosphere I've ever been present at, though plenty on the telly come close.
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Archie McQuilkin clean-bowling Conrad Hunte for ~30 runs during the West Indies' match against a Norn Iron eleven in 1963. Can't remember the final score but I bet McQuilkin went weeks without having to buy his own Guinness afterwards.
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1993 European Grand Prix at Donington. Sitting in the infield stands overlooking the Craner Curves and the Old Hairpin, turning to each other after the cars came back into view after the opening lap and asking “What the fuck just happened?” Answer: a Mr A Senna da Silva of Monaco and Brazil done overtake cars driven by, to be fair, a Mr M Schumacher from the German part of Germany, a Mr K Wendlinger of Austria-on-Danube, a Mr D Hill of the London area of Hampstead and a Mr A Prost of France. In what, to be fair, the space of two and a half miles. Possibly because it done be raining*. Mr Senna da Silva then done proceed to win what, to be fair, was the race from Mr Hill and Mr Prost, who done spend almost as long in the pits as he done on the track.
* My grate frend Parry quickly regretted going to the circuit from our base in Belper on his motorbike :demon:
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At the London Olympics warm up event in the new velodrome in the not-quite-finished Olympic Park in about February 2012. Last race of the night, Women's Omnium, the elimination race. I had no idea what it was before the gun went off, and was most surprised, along with most of the crowd when an unknown English woman eventually won it, having just made it over the line in second-last place by the skin of her teeth on several occasions. The atmosphere was absolutely electric, and the noise was deafening. That English woman was called Laura Trott. No idea whatever became of her after that race...
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Day 4. Headingley. Ashes. 2019. Stokes. (And Leach.) Exciting, nail biting, heady, joyous entertainment.
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1999 Cricket World Cup semi-final, Australia v South Africa. I was at work and my good friend 'Gubby' Allen (no, not the real one.) phoned me up at work to offer me a ticket, plus a spot in hospitality with greedy bastard portions of both food and drink. I quickly got a colleague to cover my classes and hopped into a taxi to Edgbaston. The game ended on a knife edge and when the final ball was bowled, nobody knew who'd won - even the players - for a few moments. Epic.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Cricket_World_Cup_2nd_semi-final (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Cricket_World_Cup_2nd_semi-final)
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I recall a cliff-hanger in Chelmsford in (I think - I know I bunked off school to watch it) 1971: Essex v Lancs in the Gilette Cup. They were pretty much the two best limited over sides then, and Lancs definitely had the edge. Clive Lloyd scored a century, after having been caught behind on 37. Lancs recovered from 59 - 6 (or so) to win the game by not many runs. I think it was the same year's final in which David Hughes knocked huge numbers of runs as the sun was setting.
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Jens "shut up legs " Voigt on a solo break up the Col de Grinton on day1 of the TdF.
Massive crowds and atmosphere.
Annamieke van Vleuten on her solo break to win the Worlds Champs in Yorkshire.
At West Tanfield with an enthusiastic crowd including the T.rex and baked potatoes from the WI.
Riders who had done their teamwork for the day pootling up Hartside chatting away as if it was a club run when the TofB finished at the top.
Edvald Boasson Hagen won that stage.
Beryl on her way to winning one of her many National Champs Road Races, viewed from somewhere off the back of the bunch.
It was so long ago it wasn't called a peloton....
Eileen Sheridan getting scratched by our cat just where it would show in her low-cut ballgown.
Ray Booty standing dripping in our kitchen having arrived by trike. He was very tall, and I was very small.
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The famous line from a Max Boyce song.
Edit: completely randomly, I saw Joe Bugner in action at a national youth event of some sort in Chelmsford in the 1960s. I think he was a shot putter* or something, and was leading his county (London?) and was holding the flag out, one-handed.
*Wikipedia suggests discus.
Joe Bugner was a boxer.
"[He won] 18 consecutive fights in under two years during 1968 and 1969." Went on to be British, Commonwealth and European heavyweight champion, after beating Henry Cooper. Was probably one of the top 5 heavyweights in the mid-70s, though beaten by Ali, Frazier and Foreman.
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Yes, he later became a boxer. He was about 14 or 15 when I saw him in an athletics event. Wikipedia says discus.
Bugner excelled in sports at school and was the national junior discus champion in 1964.
I think it was in Chelmsford that he won that title. Essex hosted the games (Junior National Athletics Championships or some such) and my dad was somehow involved in part of the organisation, as a teacher locally. We put up 4 kids in our house, I think, two girls, who were sprinters IIRC, and a couple of lads, all from Lancs.
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1993 European Grand Prix at Donington. Sitting in the infield stands overlooking the Craner Curves and the Old Hairpin, turning to each other after the cars came back into view after the opening lap and asking “What the fuck just happened?” Answer: a Mr A Senna da Silva of Monaco and Brazil done overtake cars driven by, to be fair, a Mr M Schumacher from the German part of Germany, a Mr K Wendlinger of Austria-on-Danube, a Mr D Hill of the London area of Hampstead and a Mr A Prost of France. In what, to be fair, the space of two and a half miles. Possibly because it done be raining*. Mr Senna da Silva then done proceed to win what, to be fair, was the race from Mr Hill and Mr Prost, who done spend almost as long in the pits as he done on the track.
* My grate frend Parry quickly regretted going to the circuit from our base in Belper on his motorbike :demon:
I was at the British GP at Silverstone in 1991, sitting at Stowe to see Mr Senna da Silva being overtaken by Mr Mansell midway through the race, then running out of fuel on the last last, and jumping onto Our Nige's sidepod for a ride back to the paddock.
(https://www.topgear.com/sites/default/files/images/news-article/carousel/2020/03/6a9a9b4ce9ec2780925299884f709c89/mansellsenna.jpg?w=976&h=549)
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IIRC we were at the qualifying for the 1991 GP. Took us three hours to get out of the circuit :o
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I remember going to watch a rugby match, Southend v Gloucester. Phil Blakeway (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Blakeway) was playing for Gloucester, and it was a much closer match that the two sides' status would suggest. The game was shown on Rugby Special, and Nigel Starmer-Smith, who famously had a number of craps for England (Jimmy Hill slip-of-the-tongue) was providing commentary. The highlight for me was seeing my bike on the television the following day, and also one of my teaching colleagues, whose husband had been (I think) president of Southend Rugby Club.
And here's the programme (https://southendrfc.rfu.club/Media/SouthendRFC/HERITAGE/Southend%20RFC%20vs%20Gloucester%20RFC%201981%20-%20programme.pdf).
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I was there at the Cottage in 1959 when the aforementioned Jimmy Hill scored three with his head in the classic 6-2 win over Sheffield Wednesday to effectively guarantee Fulham's promotion to the First Division as it was quaintly named back in those days.
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Day 4. Headingley. Ashes. 2019. Stokes. (And Leach.) Exciting, nail biting, heady, joyous entertainment.
^ Win
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Cardiff. Ashes. 2009. Last day.
If you cannot bowl Panesar out twice, you shouldn't win...
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Grand Slam. 5 Nations. Calcutta Cup. 1980.
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Ryder Cup 2002. Belfry
Ryder Cup 2010. Celtic Manor. Mud and glory.
Ryder Cup 2014. Gleneagles.
Solheim Cup 2019. Gleneagles. Last putt win.
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Too many favourites, the best posted above, but as a sporting memory - this.
Not often you give a standing ovation to a member of the opposing team. ;D
https://metro.co.uk/2015/07/09/the-ashes-2015-england-fans-troll-mitchell-johnson-with-standing-ovation-after-posting-0-100-5287808/
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I remember going to watch a rugby match, Southend v Gloucester. Phil Blakeway (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Blakeway) was playing for Gloucester, and it was a much closer match that the two sides' status would suggest. The game was shown on Rugby Special, and Nigel Starmer-Smith, who famously had a number of craps for England (Jimmy Hill slip-of-the-tongue) was providing commentary. The highlight for me was seeing my bike on the television the following day, and also one of my teaching colleagues, whose husband had been (I think) president of Southend Rugby Club.
And here's the programme (https://southendrfc.rfu.club/Media/SouthendRFC/HERITAGE/Southend%20RFC%20vs%20Gloucester%20RFC%201981%20-%20programme.pdf).
I know a few of the Southend players in your programme, having played with or against a few of them. Dave Gregory [ex Saracens], Dave Wookey, John Stokoe and Kevin Gregory [all ex Blackheath], Phill Brennan, Graham Spittle and Nigel Branch on the bench [he went on to play for Saracens]. Also Dave Robinson, the touch judge.
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Worrying lack of memories of famous cycling people on here.
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Well, the significant cycling events are held abroad. If it helps, I and 10,000 others watched The Tour go by Rochdale in 2014. I was also once in the same room as Brian Robinson. I think somebody's mentioned Cavendish and Wiggins and Jens Voigt.
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1993 European Grand Prix at Donington. Sitting in the infield stands overlooking the Craner Curves and the Old Hairpin, turning to each other after the cars came back into view after the opening lap and asking “What the fuck just happened?” Answer: a Mr A Senna da Silva of Monaco and Brazil done overtake cars driven by, to be fair, a Mr M Schumacher from the German part of Germany, a Mr K Wendlinger of Austria-on-Danube, a Mr D Hill of the London area of Hampstead and a Mr A Prost of France. In what, to be fair, the space of two and a half miles. Possibly because it done be raining*. Mr Senna da Silva then done proceed to win what, to be fair, was the race from Mr Hill and Mr Prost, who done spend almost as long in the pits as he done on the track.
* My grate frend Parry quickly regretted going to the circuit from our base in Belper on his motorbike :demon:
I was sat on the grass at the bottom of Craner Curves fo that one. Stunned. I think that one was where, when asked bout his overtakes afterwards and how he avoided accidenst, Senna said that he decided where he as going to go and it was up to the other to avoid accidents....
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Worrying lack of memories of famous cycling people on here.
My joke about beating Mark Cavendish once is wearing a bit thin. (I arrived at a lunch stop about 10 minutes before he did...)
Cycling's quite hard to watch: they flash by and in an instant they are gone. I've never been sufficiently interested in cycle racing to go to a velodrome. I did see David Millar in the TdF when it started in Kent in ... 2010? at the Col de Teston. I think it was a points venue.
The most memorable part was after the cyclists had raced through and one of the crowd decided he wanted a large TdF road sign as a souvenir, stood on the temporary fencing and slipped, landing on the top of the fence, one leg either side...
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I was at the Oval for day four of the test against India in 2018 to watch Cook score his last test runs (and a century at that) as well as Root score a century. There were a lot of standing ovations that day, including probably the biggest cheers for Buzzers I have heard as Cook got his century on the over throws.
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London 2012 Olympics, men's time trial. We were making a noise for everyone as they came through, of course, but the noise for Bradley Wiggins was something else.
We also saw Michael Phelps win a race.
Commonwealth Games Men's road race, Glasgow. We were stood near a big screen on Montrose Street, in the rain, to watch Geraint Thomas win.
World Championships Road Race, Innsbruck. We were out on the course but found a big screen to watch the finish on.
I think the sense of "I was there" is probably more vivid if you've been sat in a stadium with thousands of others cheering your team on.
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I did stand by the side of the Woodford New Road when the TdF came through in 2014. Jean-Marc Bideau and Jan Bárta as the day’s statutory hopeless break, followed by a fast-moving pelican. M Kitteh pwned the stage.
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One rugby match I forgot to mention: England v Wales, 1986. Rob Andrew's debut. He broke the world record, previously held by Keith Jarrett, for the most points on debut, kicking 7 penalties to beat Wales 21-19. What made it particularly special for me was that I had, courtesy of a friend, a ticket for the press box. I found myself sitting between reporters for the Western Mail and Thames Valley Radio, neither of whom knew a bugger about rugby and needed me to explain all the refereeing decisions.
This was made all the more difficult because Gerald Davies and John Taylor were a couple of rows behind me and I really wanted to engage them in conversation, but had nothing whatever to talk to them about.
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I was there for Chris Boardman's superman hour.
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I was there for every HPV Flying 200m World Record since 2002 ;D
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Ah, Records.
I was there when Allan Wells got the Scottish 100m record at Meadowbank in 1978.
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London 2012 Olympics, men's time trial. We were make noise for everyone as they came through, of course, but the noise for Bradley Wiggins was something else.
I was just along the road from Sigma Sports in Hampton Wick. They called it the Hampton Roar. When we first heard it he must have been about halfway across the bridge.
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When Stuart Pearce shouts 'come on' at the crowd after his penalty, he's shouting right at me and my mate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFCvTZvH4cI
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Maidstone United beating Telford United 6-0 on the final day of the 1983-84 Alliance Premier League season to seal promotion to the Football League... except that they were denied by the election system that was in place at the time, chiz.
The 11yo me was one of the first to run onto the pitch to mob the team at the end.
They didn't get promoted until 1989, by which time it had been made automatic. But looking back on it, they would probably have been better off staying in non-league football (and not selling their ground without having a new home to go to!)
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Cycling's quite hard to watch: they flash by and in an instant they are gone.
I was in Canterbury about 200m from the finish line to see Cav's Tour de France debut in 2007.
The main peloton did indeed flash by in an instant, but poor Cav, hotly tipped as a stage winner before the start, had a fall a few km before the finish, and limped home very slowly several minutes later, tears streaming down his face. Frankly, I'd rather not have had such a good view of him. :(
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That must have been the same stage that I was watching I think. Not 2010. Crikey. Long time ago...
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I was there for Chris Boardman's superman hour.
I was there (Manchester) a week earlier to see his gold medal 4:11.114 in the pursuit.
A year earlier I'd seen in tiny announcement in Cycling Weekly saying that tickets were now on sale for the world championships. I rang the number given.
Me: I'd like tickets for next year's world championships, all sessions, please.
BC person: Certainly, which seat?
Me: What's available?
BC person: All of them. You're the first person to ring.
Me: Front row, finish line, please.
BC person: Right-oh.
A few months later they contacted me to say the UCI wanted that block of seats for VIPs. [Don't they know who I am!], and I was moved along a little, still front row, but between the sprint finish line and the pursuit start/finish line. Right behind the 'O' of TISSOT.
A very tense first 3km https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86w6Rw9FJ4c
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I was there when I scored an elegant Gower-esque (though Gower hadn't been invented at the time) square-cut for 4 against the MCC, if that counts!
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I was there when I scored an elegant Gower-esque (though Gower hadn't been invented at the time) square-cut for 4 against the MCC, if that counts!
I'm sure you were dazzling elegance personified!
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I was there:
To see Pele - Villa vs Santos 1972
Watch Wolves stop Leeds getting FA Cup/League double 1972 - Wolves 2 Leeds 1
and to see Trevor Gadd ride the first UK sub 70 second kilo (1978 national champs, Leicester)
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I was there when I scored an elegant Gower-esque (though Gower hadn't been invented at the time) square-cut for 4 against the MCC, if that counts!
I'm sure you were dazzling elegance personified!
I was - but not for long; that was the only scoring stroke I managed that day!
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For whom were you playing?
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My school team! The Royal Masonic - a charity school for sons of dead masons. I don't expect it was the best team that MCC could have called upon but I'm still proud to be able to say it. It was in the mid-60s. I don't think we produced any famous cricketers ourselves (apart from me, now!) but we did have at least 3 England hockey internationals.
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I was there when IanDG won the (RTTC) GHS 10 championship in 1976 ;D
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Only two serious claims -
1. I was at Old Trafford for Shane Warnes "ball of the century". Slightly hungover but a hotel check in fiasco had seen the duty manager offset our lack of room chagrin by offering a free bar the night before which did the trick. Duty Manager even joined us in the bar after her shift finished (it had been a bad one for her) so it was yon time by the time we turned in - iirc we were rehoused in the Midland Hotel, which was nice. :o
2. I was at Murrayfield for Scotland's 1990 Grand Slam victory over England (£4 a ticket having queued up at 4am to get tickets from Inter Sport in Hanover Street a few weeks earlier). A most enjoyable night in Auld Reekie.
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I went to Murrayfield once. 60p at the turnstile to get in. We travelled up and back on consecutive nights from Blackpool, and had a game of rugby at Carlisle bus station at about 3am with a couple of Welsh lads heading to the same match, using a beer can instead of a ball. Scotland won 10 - 9. I went with my pal John - same guy who later sent me the ticket for the press box in Twickenham 1986. This must have been 1973. Two years later, John went back for the repeat fixture and was part of one of the largest rugby crowds ever, estimated to be 104,000. I was quite pleased to give that one a miss.
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When I was a SERIOUS sprinter, many years ago. Sitting infield near the finish line at Gateshead stadium as a 100m took place. My great idol Don Quarrie and others were running, along with some Scots bloke I wasn't really aware of. Don launched from the blocks, into that amazingly high knee-lift of his, and was beaten by said Scotsman, a Mr Wells.
That was a hell of a day, infield and on the track among people like Capes, Pascoe, Cram, McLeod, Moorcroft...
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Devon Malcolm 9/57 against South Africa - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NncjEUUESU
What people also forget is that Alan Donald saw this spell of bowling and marked up his run up with all the glee of Will E Coyote being served up Roadrunner on a plate. A certain Mr G Gooch worked on the principle if you are going to slash, slash hard, and ended up with 33 of 20 balls, one A Donald's spell 2-0-23-0 and England 107-1 at the close.
The other great Oval memory is Phil Tufnell's bamboozling spell of 6 wickets for 4 runs either side of lunch against the West Indies where, on a fast wicket, he bowled slow loopy turning deliveries which gave the batters time to outwit themselves. The West Indies had to follow against England for the first time in 22 years. Desmond Haynes carried his bat for 75 and there were ironic cheers in the second innings when he reached 25 and brought up a 100. I've always wondered what he thought standing at the other end.
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which gave the batters time to outwit themselves
Excellent!
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I was at Old Trafford when Ferguson (remember him?) presided over his first home game. The atmosphere was subdued. Little did anyone know.
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I was at Old Trafford when Ferguson (remember him?) presided over his first home game. The atmosphere was subdued. Little did anyone know.
Saw him play for Falkirk FC in the early 70s. Tail end of his playing career mind but he had sharp elbows.