Gus Kuhn 1930
Page updated 08-Jan-2011

April 26th (Sat) at Stamford Bridge: Frank Arthur was in difficulty as he had had a very nasty tumble at High Beech earlier in the day. Despite this Arthur and Syd Jackson put up the best time of the evening at 44.33mph. Blakebrough's lap speed of 44mph was really brilliant as the track was on the lumpy side.

  See below for quotes from the Sprouts Elder book
 
A very rare shot of Gus Kuhn in action, taken from 'The Romance of the Speedway' by Sprouts Elder.

May 3rd(Sat): Crystal Palace Dirt Track Racing. Crystal Palace vs Stamford Bridge. [Ad Times 2/5/30]

May 7th at Stamford Bridge: First Wednesday meeting at 8.15. Special Star programme Billy Lamont, Frank Arthur, Jim Kempster, Vic Huxley and Colin Watson.

May 8th: "Nottingham play host to Stamford Bridge, but the hopes of a home win are not so rosy. Bearing in mind the sorry displays given so far in their League matches, I cannot do other than prophesy that Frank Arthur, Wal Phillips and the rest of the Londoners will take the points home with them." [Speedway News, May 2nd, 1930]

May 10th (Sat) at Stamford Bridge: Scratch, handicap and match races. Admission 1/2 Covered seats 2/4 or 5/-. Season tickets 25/- and £3 10s.

June 2nd (Mon): Wimbledon Stadium at 8pm: Big Six Match Race, Wandle Cup featuring Gus Kuhn.

June 30th (Mon): 30,000 eager fans bustled through the turnstiles at Wimbledon Stadium to see an English side including Frank Varey, Jack Parker and Gus Kuhn take on the "Kangaroos" in the very first official speedway test match. Outside, the traffic was chaotic and the start was delayed for 45 minutes in order to get everyone inside [Steve Magro's History of Speedway]

Third Test Match, England vs Australia at Stamford Bridge.

August 20th (Wed): Third Test Match, England vs Australia at Stamford Bridge.

August 27th (Wed): (Southern League Match at Stamford Bridge) Stamford Bridge 36, Harringay 18: Arthur Warwick scored a 9pt maximum for the home side, while Vic Huxley (8pts) offered the only resistance from the visitors - Gus Kuhn won the second half Senior Scratch Race final. [http://speedwaymemories.fotopic.net/p46343097.html]

Sept 4th (Thurs): Stamford Bridge are away vs Wembley.

Sept 13th (Sat): Open Championship Final at Stamford Bridge. The Australian Jack Chapman (Sheffield) was fortunate to win the second semi-final, as Gus Kuhn and Ron Johnson both experienced engine trouble when fighting out the lead. Huxley won the final. [Times 15/9/30]

Sept 20th (Sat): Stamford Bridge at home vs Crystal Palace. Gus stood in for Frank Arthur as Capt. (and Bill White stood in for Gus). Gus won the Fulham Handicap.

THE FINAL TEST MATCH: Test Match between England and Australia at Wembley. The teams will be:
England
: Colin Watson (captain), Gus Kuhn, Jack Ormston, Frank Varey, Roger Frogley, Squib Burton, Jack Parker and Frank Charles. Reserves: Arthur Jervis and Syd Jackson.
Australia
: Vic Huxley (captain), Dicky Case, Ron Johnson, Bluey Wilkinson, Billy Lamont, Jack Chapman, Max Grosskreutz and Charlie Spinks. Reserves: Billy Galloway and Dick Sulway.

Sept 26th (Fri): THE FINAL TEST MATCH: "The last speedway racing Test Match between England and Australia will be held at Wembley tonight. Of the four matches which have taken place England have won three, and they have a lead on only eight points. Australia will be without Frank Arthur, their captain, but Ron Johnson, who fills the vacancy, is a brilliant rider. Immediately after the match the three fastest riders from each team will take part in a race. The best Englishman and the best Australian together with the fastest second man, will then contest the final." [Times 26/09/30] At Wembley it rained all day and all evening, but another close match ensued, and close racing too, with Squib Burton beating Billy Lamont by a whisker after a superb 4-lap race. England did just enough to win the match, but the star of the series had been Vic Huxley, who dropped just 6 points in the five matches.

Return Match between Stamford Bridge and Harringay

The return match in the Evening News Speedway Cup semi-final between Stamford Bridge and Harringay takes place at Stamford Bridge. Harringay won the first match by 50 points to 46, after the most exciting tussle that the competition has produced. If that form is maintained, Harringay have an excellent chance of winning through to the final.

White is dropped from the Stamford Bridge team, Fred Ralph, first reserve in the Harringay match, taking his place. There has been a re-shuffle of places, too, and this should make for greater efficiency.

Arthur is still a non-starter, and at the earliest we cannot expect to see him in the saddle for a fortnight, as the doctor has ordered complete rest. Gus Kuhn, the captain, has a new partner in Nick Nicol. Kuhn is one of England 's best riders and there are distinct possibilities about Nicol, who, by the way, took part in the historic Zeebruge Mole landing.

Wal Phillips pairs up with Ford, and if the latter strikes his best form we can look out for fireworks. Blakebrough, one of the successes of Tuesday's match, has Fred Ralph as his team mate. I have seen Ralph return 45 mph at Stamford Bridge, and there is no earthly reason why he should not do so again. [Evening News, by J. Stenner, Sept 26th, 1930]

Sept 27th (Sat): At Stamford Bridge THE 'EVENING NEWS' SPEEDWAY FINAL. Return Match between Stamford Bridge and Harringay. See Right.

Oct 4th (Sat): At Lea Bridge, unofficial England vs Rest of the World. Scores: Eng Team: Arthur Warwick 12, Phil Bishop 11, Wal Phillips 10, Frank Charles 9, Jack Parker 7, Jack Ormston 6, Gus Kuhn 5 and Harry Whitfield 2, Total 62. The Rest: Billy Lamont 6, Max Grosskreutz 5, Dick Case 5, Charlie Spinks 4, Ron Johnson 4, Bluey Wilkinson 3, Clem Mitchell 2 and Harold Hastings 2, Total 32.

Oct 9th (Thurs): At Wembley "Messrs. Gus Kuhn & Co Lose Their Case vs. Messrs Colin Watson Ltd." Read More>>>

October 18th: Grand Final night at Stamford Bridge.

Oct 30th (Thurs): At Wembley. A great Victory meeting. "Gus Kuhn and Jack Ormston went like a couple of scalded cats in heat 6 but Gus seized up at end of 1st lap and a few yards further on Jack Ormston also froze up." [The Auto 7/1/30]

  • "The official dance of the Stamford Bridge Speedway Supporters Club will be held at the Fulham Town Hall on Wednesday, November 26th." Read More>>>
  • Stamford Bridge finish 3rd in the 1930 Southern League, which is won by Wembley with Southampton 2nd.
Sprouts Elder said this in his book, 'The Romance of the Speedway' published in 1930:

Gus Kuhn, one of the pioneers of Speedway Racing in England, is a fine and steady rider, who stands in the front rank among English Speedway stars. He gained his reputation at Stamford Bridge by his clever work on the track. Gus captained 'The Bridge' team until recently, when he resigned in favour of Frank Arthur, who is a younger rider. Kuhn was also a well-known trials rider.

Have you ever noticed Gus Kuhn's left foot, with its steel sole? If so, you have probably enjoyed watching the sparks flying from it as he skids around the bends. With this exception I should consider him a very cool rider. It is not a mannerism, this putting of the leg forward instead of trailing it, but a peculiarity due probably to the fact that he has taken part in a great many road trials, which necessitate a considerable amount of 'paddling' when going over the rough patches. You may also have noticed the same peculiarity in Jim Kempster's riding, particularly in the earlier part of his career on the cinders, for he also was originally a trials rider.

The man of medium and even light weight is to my mind more likely to conform to the ideal, but he must be of the wiry type, and as flexible as any other fine piece of mechanism. Lest these observations should give rise to a misunderstanding, let me hasten to assure the reader that there is no personal feeling, for as a notable exception there comes to my mind the solid and well-knit figure of that redoubtable ex-captain of the Stamford Bridge team, Gus Kuhn, of the smaller heavy-weight class, who is every inch a champion. Gus bestrides his steed with all the weight and dignity of a Roman Emperor, and there is little hope for his opponents when once he has secured a commanding lead. I certainly shouldn't care to indulge in the diversion of 'pulling his leg', especially the left one.

"What is going to be the engine for next year's Dirt Track models? We have seen a Douglas season and also a Rudge season, but the strides that the JAP has made this last couple of months leads one to think that JAPs will lead the way in 1931" [The Auto 7/11/30]