Dave Mills took Hull by storm, joining them in their second year in 1972, replacing the departed Reg Wilson and vying with Tony Childs for the number one spot. By the following year he had made the top spot his own and, with a place in the top ten of the second division averages, a career in BL beckoned, as a couple of promising outings for Kings Lynn showed. With the Vikings buying the Coatbridge first division licence in the winter he would have been a valuable second string in their debut campaign in the top sphere. But it was not to be, as he returned to Australia just days after his 25thbirthday, never to return.

Gary Flood was speedway’s loss and motocross’s gain. He had been hugely impressive in his debut season for Crewe in 1972, backing up the incomparable Phil Crump and forming a potent spearhead along with the Aussie and John Jackson which carried the Kings to a BL2 league and cup double. Just twenty, he looked a good bet to go all the way to the top. He turned out for the Kings in their season opener the following April but fell in his first ride, pulled out of the meeting …and never rode again. He returned to Australia where he won the national motocross championship in both the 250cc and 500cc categories, going on to win no fewer than eight national titles, a feat that would lead to him being inducted into the Australian Motor Sport Hall of Fame, but you can but feel that speedway missed out on an Aussie superstar. Unconfirmed reports have him turning up very briefly at Exeter in 1980.

Ron Henderson seemed to have the World at his feet as the 1977 season began. Just turned twenty, he had had two impressive seasons in the National League with Newcastle but in mid season he suddenly he decided that speedway was no longer for him. In Backtrack 100 he recalled “I don’t know why but I remember coming back from an away meeting and just feeling that I didn’t want to (race) anymore”. He added that he “developed a feeling that he wanted to work helping other people” and subsequently went on to become a top paramedic, winning Australia’s Top Paramedic of the Year in 1988 and still works as a part time pastoral carer in a local hospital.

Les Sharpe was another Aussie who quit mid season, going home in July 1970, shortly after being capped for GB in test v Sweden at both Glasgow and Hampden.  At the time it was believed he suffered badly from hay fever, an energy sapping condition, while getting married in early summer may have caused him to review his priorities.  

 

Both Mick McKeon and Merv Janke rode for Coatbridge before “graduating” to Halifax in the BL. Mick was the first to leave the Tigers joining the Dukes for the 1978 year with Merv following two years later. Both showed some promise, though they were never able to reach heat leader status in the solid Dukes sides of the time. Mick is remembered for a horrific crash with former team mate Mike Lohman, who was then riding for Belle Vue in 1980, when the red mist seemed to come down after a clash on the previous bend. It is not known if this incident had any bearing on his decision to turn his back on UK speedway and settle back in his native Australia.

Merv followed a similar path, a few years behind his team mate, progressing to the top second string slot, but took a year out, remaining in Australia in 1981, where he celebrated his 25^th birthday, before returning for his swansong season at The Shay in 1982. He suffered two broken wrists that year, having turned out with one in plaster only to crash again and injure the other one. He later told fans “Injuries never played a part in my decision not to return to Britain, however I did consider returning and coming back a few years later. I continued to ride in Australia for many years and my worst injury occurred here in 1988 when I spent nearly three months in hospital”.

Not many riders qualify for a testimonial before their 25^th birthday but, possibly uniquely, Martin McKinna did. The youngest of the three McKinna brothers, he had underage demonstration rides at Blantyre1 and, by the time he was "sweet sixteen", the Tigers had moved into Craighead Park, where he made his debut in mid May in a home meeting against Exeter.

The following years saw him make steady progress - although it's doubtful that the word "steady" was ever true of his style! He was a real racer, frequently going where the angels fear to tread and often taking a real purler. However, he was always undaunted and came back for more, usually smiling, although the road trip to the south coast can't have been much fun, when he broke his collarbone and had to stay on the team bus taking painkillers until the tour was over.

He was of heat leader standard by the time the Tigers left Blantyre and traumas of their ill fated move to Workington did him no favours. Sadly, Shawfield wasn't the happiest of hunting grounds for him, and, although the three brothers were reunited in the second season there, by the end of 1990 they were all gone. Kenny to Edinburgh via Middlesborough, Charlie and Martin to retirement, but not before having a well deserved and well run testimonial meeting organised by John and Margaret Houston. 

Ian Hoskins signed Dag Lovaas in 1970 for his new charges, Newcastle, for whom he had been appointed track manager by Allied Promotions. After a shaky debut season, Lovaas blossomed with Reading who had taken over the Diamonds first division licence, taking his average to over 10.00 in 1973, when the Racers won the BL in their last season at Tilehurst. With the Racers licence “on ice” he joined Hackney and qualified for the World Final, scoring five points before going to Oxford for 1975. He seemed settled at Cowley but was disappointed when the Rebels switched to the White City. He admitted “at Oxford, I had my whole heart in it” and things were never quite the same at the London track. In an interview in Backtrack 90 he revealed he had “great success using a JAP which worked a treat at Oxford. But the new silencers which became compulsory the following year killed all its power.” He had an accident at the White City which made him realise that “I could die and I started to get a bit scared. The focus had gone and I always intended to start a motorcycle business. So I went home and started it in Norway”. Another lost to the sport at just 25 and one who still had much to offer

.I saw  Tommy Johansson'first rides in Britain when he came over with the Young Sweden team who raced Young England in a five match test series on second division tracks in 1970. His 18 point maximums at Berwick and Reading marked him down as one to watch and it was no surprise that the teenager had caught the attention of BL promoters. He was signed by Newport in 1971 and finished second in their averages behind Sandor Levai. He subsequently joined Ipswich the following year, but that was to prove to be his last full season in the UK. He rode in a couple of meetings for the Witches in 1973 and, like most Swedes, missed out on 1974, before being allocated to ride at Hull in 1975. While he started the season with the Vikings, he managed only about a dozen early season meetings in their colours before returning home for good. John Berry noted that he suffered from a blood disorder which caused him to tire quite quickly and felt that he couldn’t cope with the rigours of commuting between Sweden and the UK on a weekly basis. A real pity because in 1973, riding solely in Sweden, he seemed just about unbeatable, winning both the Swedish Championship and Best Pairs.

Keith Millard broke into the Exeter team while still just sixteen and by the following year was in contention for a heat leader role along with John Barker, Les Sawyer and Andy Campbell. By 1983 he had made the number one spot his own, and, still in his teens, he was the youngest rider to score 400 league points in their colours, suggesting a promising career was in prospect. The Falcons decided to go up to the first division in 1984 but he found the going far tougher in the top sphere, and, after a dozen meetings, opted to join second division Peterborough. Rather strangely he signed for Rye House the following year by which time Exeter were back in National League. He had a pretty miserable time at Hoddesdon before retiring, which begs the question why he didn’t return to The County Ground, the scene of his earlier triumphs?

Dave Tyler seemed to have the makings of a star, having achieved a seven plus average in his first full season with Long Eaton in 1984, no easy achievement as they won the league for the first time and, having a strong septet with no easy points to be gained by riding with weak partners.  Things were looking good the following year with him being handed the number one racejacket. However he injured his ankle in a track crash at Long Eaton in early June and decided that night that he would never ride again, a decision he stuck to. Promoter Vic White hoped he would change his mind but it was not to be. Recently he was quoted as saying he was disillusioned about rider safety blaming amongst other things dim lighting at Glasgow, a strange view given that, of his two appearances at Blantyre, one was a Sunday afternoon, albeit an overcast day in October, and the other a sunny night in July. May be he was just not cut out for the sport.