Despite riding in only about twenty league and cup meetings in a career spanning over fifteen years, Jack “Red” Monteith has his place in Scottish speedway history

Jack, front row right, pictured in the 1964 Tigers team at The White City

A Colourful Character

Jack Monteith, known as “Red” due to his hair colour – in the days when he had hair, was one of the group teenagers who started the cycle speedway league in Glasgow in 1948. He was the winner of that years Olympique Trophy, a three day event , featuring all the leagues top riders. This was something of which he was really proud and he donated a trophy on the 60^th anniversary for a similar though one off event.

He subsequently graduated to speedway and got second half rides at Glasgow’s White City where he was quite a character. He asked senior riders when to shut off when coming down the long straights to the bends. One told him to count to three after you became scared then to shut off. He went out with this advice in mind and went straight into the fence. On returning to the pits, he was asked why he hadn’t shut off and replied that he hadn’t been scared!

Fellow junior rider Gordon Mitchell remembered him as being fair but very forceful, though not everyone agreed with this assessment. Some supporters called for him to be banned for his “bull at the gate” tactics, though possibly this was promoter Hoskins dreaming up a story for publicity purposes. He is certainly remembered for being very determined, being dragged almost the length of the White City home straight, hanging off the side of the bike but determined not to let go of the handlebars and to finish the race.

With injuries hitting the Tigers in 1952, he was in the team for challenge meetings at Wigan, where he scored 1 from three rides and at home against Motherwell in the Lanarkshire Cup when he took a paid win from his only start, but it would be more than a month before another opportunity arose – at Liverpool where his point played a part in Tigers narrow 43-41 victory at the Stanley Stadium. He continued in the second half into 1953 when he got a solitary outing as the sport began to wind down in Scotland, with Motherwell being the last to close at the end of the 1954 season.

While the brief revival at the White City in 1956 saw him have a couple of second half outings, he played a more prominent role in the short season at Motherwell two years later, when he raced in all five meetings scoring 25+5 from 20 rides giving him a healthy 6.00 average. The Lanarkshire venue didn’t reopen the following year and Jack drifted from the scene, later to reappear at Edinburgh in 1963, when he took his bike through to Old Meadiowbank in a sidecar, with his mechanic on the pillion. He was reserve for the World Championship Qualifying Round and scored 2 from his only ride and got his chance in the Monarchs side after beating Shorty Schirmer in a premeeting Vultures Race for the reserve slot ahead of the meeting against Newcastle at the end of June. His 6+2 was pivotal in the home side’s narrow 43-35 win. He retained his place for the away meeting at Poole a few days later but wasn’t included in the Exeter / St Austell trip the following week, possibly due to work commitments.  Scoreless meetings at home to Sheffield and away to Poole ended his slot in the team though he did feature as reserve for Scotland meetings against The Kiwis and The Rest towards the end of the season.

When Trevor Redmond reopened Glasgow in 1964 he rejoined the Tigers and rode in most their Northern League meetings, missing the meeting at Edinburgh due to a gashed head sustained in the match against the Monarchs at The White City. He rode in the early Provincial League fixtures, though missed the Exeter /Long Eaton trip with promoter Redmond talking his place, but was carried off after crashing in the home defeat to Wolves in early June and, after a couple of weeks out, never regained his team place. However, he continued with second half races into 1965 and 1966.

He had a couple of outings at Cowdenbeath in their ill-fated and limited open licence season in 1965, scoring 4 and 3 for the Fife Lions in their meetings against Colonial Tigers and the Charlie Monk Select respectively, getting two rides in both meetings.  contested the final of the Scottish Junior Championship, finishing runner up to Bill McMillan.

He was called into the Tigers team for the KO Cup quarter final against Swindon at The White City when Willie Templeton was ruled out with whooping cough and Bruce Ovenden broke down en route and didn’t let the side down, scoring 4 points and twice beating opposite number Frank Shuter as Tigers progressed 49-46. His third race saw him line up against Barry Briggs when he was the only other finisher, some way behind the former World Champion and one which he would later recall that thankfully he didn’t get lapped. While he wasn’t required for away meetings at West Ham and Poole when Manchester based Bernie Lagrosse was preferred – promoter Redmond knew how to keep his travel bill down! – he turned out for the Tigers against Newport in Glasgow and again outpaced his opposite reserve, Ray Harris. This would be his last team outing of the year.

He got called up again in late April 1966 to ride against Edinburgh at Old Meadowbank when both sides were without their Swedish riders, Monarchs missing Runo Wedin and Tigers Bengt Brannefors was still awaiting clearance (which never was received) and both sides promoted their number eights. Monarchs Jimmy Tannock proved an inspired choice, scoring eight as they triumphed 46-31 in the local derby. Red also rode at Old Meadowbank and the White City in the Superbike Event, an individual for Scottish based riders staged at both tracks. With an emerging Jim McMcMillan displacing him as the teams number eight, this would be his last hurrah and he retired towards the end of the season.

However that wasn’t the last we saw of Red! Being a Paisley man, the opening of the Lions at Love Street in 1975 reawakened his interest and he bought a bike that he subsequently rode many times in the Men in Black demonstration races some years later. But perhaps his finest achievement was the prominent role he played in finding a new owner for the Tigers when they looked like folding in 1997. He enjoyed attending  many Scottish veteran functions until he passed away in 2010 at the age of 78.

A colourful character by name and by nature!