John Berry - First extract from his book 'Confessions of a Speedway Promoter'
In 1969 Joe Thurley, Ron Bagley and Howdy Byford issued a general invitation to all local moto-cross and grass track riders to come and have a try at speedway. Several lads turned up but not John Louis. He needed persuading and Ron Bagley did that. Actually he persuaded John to go straight out into a second half junior race, wearing decidedly tatty brown two-piece leathers covered by a rugby jersey, mounted on Ron's bike. It has to be said, he didn't look too much like a superstar at that stage. What he demonstrated on the track though was a good starting technique, great determination and a very good moto-cross technique!
Just from that ride, however, it was clear the potential was there and Howdy Byford bestowed the 'Tiger' tag by virtue of John's aggressive, all action style. He was that little bit of local talent that we had been searching for and he had some character about him to boot. Within a few weeks Tiger had made it to a team place but almost immediately the end of season arrived.
I recall us having several conversations early on in the winter of 1969-1970, where John made the point that if he decided to to become a professional speedway rider, he would give it 100% effort. Finally, when he committed himself, that's just what he did.
A brand new bike - a rarity in those days - and several winter training schools and practice sessions showed that he was serious. Not only that, but he went along to just about every early season meeting he could, studying carefully the riding style and technique of as many top stars as he could.
I tried to get him to have his new leathers made in a tiger design but the furthest he would go was to have black and orange stripes on the sleeves.
To be continued...
Kevin Hammond - submitted 11th May, 2009
John's averages 1970 - 1984
| Year | Team | Division | MT | RD | PT | BP | TP | AVE | FM | PM | TM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Ipswich | Two | 35 | 156 | 325 | 16 | 341 | 8.74 | 7 | 1 | 8 |
| 1970 | Newport | One | 6 | 30 | 57 | 3 | 60 | 8.00 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1970 | West Ham | One | 1 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 8.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1971 | Ipswich | Two | 38 | 162 | 452 | 6 | 458 | 11.31 | 21 | 4 | 25 |
| 1971 | Oxford | One | 1 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 5.60 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1971 | Wembley | One | 1 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 6.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1972 | Ipswich | One | 36 | 158 | 358 | 13 | 371 | 9.39 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| 1973 | Ipswich | One | 36 | 155 | 373 | 17 | 390 | 10.06 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| 1974 | Ipswich | One | 40 | 172 | 448 | 16 | 464 | 10.79 | 10 | 3 | 13 |
| 1975 | Ipswich | One | 36 | 152 | 398 | 4 | 402 | 10.58 | 16 | 1 | 17 |
| 1976 | Ipswich | One | 35 | 144 | 389 | 10 | 399 | 11.08 | 12 | 6 | 18 |
| 1977 | Ipswich | One | 37 | 157 | 361 | 12 | 373 | 9.50 | 6 | 1 | 7 |
| 1978 | Ipswich | One | 44 | 183 | 389 | 24 | 413 | 9.03 | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| 1979 | Ipswich | One | 36 | 169 | 383 | 11 | 394 | 9.33 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 1980 | Ipswich | One | 35 | 160 | 335 | 17 | 352 | 8.80 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| 1981 | Halifax | One | 45 | 222 | 418 | 16 | 434 | 7.82 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 1982 | Halifax | One | 42 | 176 | 315 | 16 | 331 | 7.52 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1983 | Kings Lynn | One | 45 | 187 | 371 | 24 | 395 | 8.45 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| 1984 | Kings Lynn | One | 52 | 222 | 433 | 27 | 460 | 8.29 | 5 | 2 | 7 |
Headings key:
MT = Meetings, RD = Rides, PT = Points, BP = Bonus points, TP = Total points, AVE = Average, FM = Full maximums, PM = Paid maximums, TM = Total maximums
