Bill Elliot writes 

Last month’s edition of the magazine very kindly did a spread on the Paisley Lions, not bad going for a club who, in fact only raced for two seasons in the New National League, although they did manage a short stint in the newly formed Scottish Junior League featuring mainly Kenny Jarvie, Mick McCoy, and the late Bill Logan.

I felt that in the light of it being their 50th Anniversary on 5 April 1975, it was appropriate to remember them in some way, so I invited former “Love St Lovers” to join with me in raising a glass, or even a coffee cup, to them, wherever in the world they happened to be at the time in a sort of virtual exercise. I must admit, I was happily surprised by the response, considering the Lions’ time was comparatively brief. Perhaps the most unusual response coming in was one from Stu Mountford, who you might remember, if you were of that era, rode for the Lions in 75/76 before going on to ride in the colours of Stoke Potters for a bit, having gone from reserve in 1975 to heat leader with the Midlands outfit by the time he had “flitted” to Loomer Rd. He was actually in Katmandu when he responded to me, commenting that it was mind bending to think of the Lions being 50 years old (he wasn’t wrong) and that he remembered a lot of good times at Paisley and some of the people around then. It also made me think it was the first time I had seen “speedway” and “Katmandu” in the same sentence over many years of buying the speedway magazine of the time, of which there were many!

I also got a lovely phone call from Sydneysider Bob Baker, who had started the season as a signed Paisley Lions, on loan from Birmingham who were promoted by Neil Macfarlane’s co-promoter the late Joe Thurley, a common enough link of the time. Bob had unfortunately broken his arm on Brummie duty before he made his debut for the Lions, and had subsequently returned to his parent club, but he commented also on the special atmosphere generated at Paisley which he still remembered, and how friendly the fans were at that time, when everything about the place was very new and still shiny.

Mike Fullerton sent a Facebook message, which he has continued to do at regular intervals over the last 40+ years, indeed, he’s been over a couple of times to catch up with his many friends from that era, while Mick Sheldrick, another of the original Lions and the winner of the Championship of Strathclyde in 1975, sent a message of support. Original Paisley fans sent messages and wrote of their many memories from the short two years the Lions race around Love St on a Saturday night. The Lions also made the news section in the local paper, with pictures and stories about the guys who brought so much pleasure to so many people.

To many, I suppose the Lions were no more than a short interlude during a time when Glasgow had been the only Scottish team riding competitively, but I would venture to suggest that the exercise goes to show that it’s not necessarily the length of time you ride in speedway, whether it’s one year or fifty, it’s what you pack into that time, and the Paisley Lions certainly evoked more than their share of happy memories to literally thousand of people all over the world in that time. Not a bad epitaph to be remembered by………