Although living in Glasgow, Doug Nicolson managed to see a lot of John Louis’ major landmarks of his career.and recalls them in

John Louis – a Scottish tribute

This rather grainy photo shows Ian Paterson of Berwick leading John Louis and Maury Robinson in heat 7 of the Berwick v Ipswich meeting in April 1970

With no cycle speedway that Saturday afternoon in late April 1970, my team mates persuaded me to take them down to Berwick speedway that night to see the local Bandits race Ipswich, and, on an overcast, misty evening, we saw a small rider bedecked in eye catching tiger striped sleeves and a white with black stripes helmet take to the track. He looped at the gate in his first ride, possibly due to the slope up the track on the home straight but didn’t make the same mistake in his next ride, taking a second place, keeping Bandits top rider Maury Robinson in third place; a win in this third outing for  a 5-1 with partner Ron Bagley put the unfancied Witches back in contention but it was not to be – a fall in his last ride ending the visitors hopes.- but not a bad night for him with five from two completed rides.

Just three months later, he was back to ride in the Young England v Young Sweden test match, quite a meteoric rise but more was to come when at the end of September he returned with the Witches, who, thanks to his efforts, had now shed their unfashionable tag, to score 15 points to secure the KO Cup on a 82-74 aggregate. Oh, and he retained his Silver Helmet against Maury Robinson. Not bad going for a first season rider!

The following year I went down to the Second Division Riders Championship at Hackney with some Berwick friends who were a bit put out that I bought a John Louis rosette rather than one of Doug Wyer, the Berwick favourite. The Tiger was crowned champion with 14 points ahead of mal Shakespear (Long Eaton) and Hughie Saunders (Rayleigh). That winter brought the news that Ipswich had bought the West Ham licence and my joy at the prospect of seeing John racing in Glasgow was tempered by the loss of the iconic Custom House track, one of my favourite venues.

At the beginning of September Ipswich , again a bit under rated, appeared at Hampden and Johns 8 points were part of a solid showing by the new to BL Witches who lost by a respectable 43-35. May be not a memorable performance  but a fortnight later certainly was! The World Final at Wembley, fondly remembered by Glasgow folk for Tigers hero getting two rides as a reserve, saw him make a highly impressive debut, finishing joint fourth with 11 points – just two years after his rides at Berwick! Amazing!

Another trip for me to Wembley and I just had time to see him beat Ivan Mauger in a runoff for third before dashing up the road to get the tube to ensure we got to Euston in time to catch the night train back to Glasgow.

With my Tigers now in the National League but thankfully back in Glasgow, albeit at Blantyre, there was no chance of seeing John in league meetings in Scotland but our annual trip to Belle Vue for the BLRC in 1979 gave me my last look at the Tiger when he took the title, clinching it in a pulsating final ride out pacing Bruce Penhall, local favourite Peter Collins and Phil Crump. He had a epic battle with the American and I had a great view of it up in the stands at bend three. I don’t think Ive ever seen two riders hit the bend at such speed as their final laps. That was the last time I saw him ride and a great end for me, though I still kept tabs on his scores in the Speedway STAR.

It was by no means the end for John though he was soon on the move.The late John Berry would say that, looking back, he very much regretted releasing John in 1981. The Tiger went on to have two good years with Halifax, who Berry somewhat ruefully remarked “got the use of a World quality rider for two years at cut price rates”. Thereafter he joined Kings Lynn, a track to whom Berry had refused to consider selling him.  Again he had another brace of successful seasons, with Lynn promoter Martin Rogers, too, saying he was a bargain signing who scored a stack of points and brought enthusiastic leadership. Obviously there had been a lot of life left in that particular old dog! He did finally return to Foxhall Heath - but as co-promoter, a role he fulfilled with distinction for many years before passing the baton on to son Chris.

A great guy and a wonderful career.