1930-40

Vic Duggan
THE BEGINNING
Introduction Vic Duggan was born at West Maitland on October 16, 1915. His accomplishments in the sport of motorcycle speedway are legendary. He is remembered for his on-track performances in both Australia and Great Britain. Several years ago I wrote a story outlining Vic's early racing in Australia prior to his venturing to England for the first time in 1937. The main reason I wrote the account was to correct some of the mis-information which has appeared in print for many years relating to that period in his career. This updated version of that original story contains additional information I have found during the past few years.
There are some wonderful stories about Australians who have taken up speedway motorcycle racing and made outstanding progress in their chosen sport in a short period of time. The Vic Duggan story is one of these. He commenced racing in early 1936, having learnt to broadside on a mud flat at Botany. The feature attraction of the Sydney Showground speedway meeting held on February 15, 1936 was the staging of the Fifth Test of the 1935/1936 series against the English tourists. Representing Australia that evening were riders who were well known on the international speedway scene such as Vic Huxley, Frank Pearce, Max Grosskreutz, Billy Lamont and Bluey Wilkinson. The Australians had won the first four Tests of the series, but on this evening the Englishmen fought back to win the final encounter. There would have been very few present at the Showground that evening who had heard of one of the riders taking part in the supporting programme. He contested the Three Lap Clutch Start Novice Handicap and, starting off scratch, he finished third. This rider's name was Vic Duggan. The following week, Duggan finished in second place behind George Morris in the Novice Scratch Race. On March 7th at the Showground, he was involved in a spectacular crash in front of the Coronation Stand. Duggan was thrown heavily from his machine and was sent somersaulting down the track. He was dazed, but had escaped injury. The first meeting of the 1936/1937 Granville Showground season took place on the afternoon of Saturday October 10, 1936. The Granville track was quite large, measuring half a mile in circumference. Vic Duggan and his brother Ray appeared at this meeting. Vic finished third in his heat of the scratch race and won his semi-final of the handicap event. The Final of the Solo Handicap wasn't staged as the meeting was abandoned following a serious accident in the Sidecar Handicap Final. One of the machines smashed through the safety fence and into the crowd. At the Granville meeting staged the following Saturday afternoon, Vic Duggan finished third in the two lap flying start Championship Scratch Race won by George McLean. Vic also took part in the Best Pairs Championship which was staged that day. The opening meeting of the 1936/1937 Sydney Showground speedway season took place on the Saturday evening of October 31. On Wednesday October 28th, a practice session had been held at the track to provide the riders with the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the changes to the circuit which had been made during the off-season. One of the locals to catch the eye on that occasion was Vic Duggan. Three visiting American riders appeared on the programme on opening night - Wilbur Lamoreaux, Byrd McKinney and Earl Farrand. Both Duggan brothers were also on the programme. Vic took his place in the field to contest the Three Lap Handicap event. I've mentioned that when he had appeared at this venue eight months previously (towards the end of the 1935/1936 season) in a Novice Handicap race, Vic had started from the scratch mark. He had improved so much since then that his starting handicap in this Open Handicap event at the Showground on October 31 was 50 yards behind scratch. The riders taking part in this event included the three visiting Americans and a visiting Englishman, Les Gregory. Vic contested the first heat and recorded a victory over Gregory. Brother Ray (off scratch) finished second in his heat. In the Handicap Final, victory went to Vic Duggan from Queenslander Steve Langton, with Byrd McKinney third. Vic had won both his heat and the final.

Vic and Ray Duggan. Photo courtesy of Steve Magro.
The visiting American riders returned to the Sydney Showground the following week, as did the Duggan brothers. Following his excellent results in the handicap races the previous week, Vic found himself re-handicapped for this meeting. Whereas he had given the front markers 50 yards start the previous week, he now found himself on the 100 yard mark. This didn't deter Vic at all as he again won his heat. Brother Ray (off scratch) won his handicap heat also, and both lined up for the final. Family celebrations were in order as Vic won the final with Ray finishing in second place. Two of the other riders appearing in the final were the Americans, Lamoreaux and McKinney. There was also a teams' event staged that night in which Vic Duggan, partnering Lamoreaux in his three heats, recorded a second and a third placing for the winning team. The following appeared in a press report of this meeting: - "Vic Duggan was again prominent and looks like developing into a first class rider." Vic Duggan continued to improve at the Showground throughout the month of November. He was selected in two Sydney representative teams, and then, on Saturday November 28th, he and Vic Huxley finished in second place behind the English duo of Norman Parker and Cliff Parkinson in an International Pairs' event. On December 5th, Duggan was a member of the New South Wales side which took on England at the Showground. The following appeared in the press when the teams were announced: - "V. Duggan, the young Sydney rider, has his first State selection. He has had a remarkable elevation from the obscurity of the junior ranks within a little more than a month by spectacular riding." By the December 19th meeting at the Showground, Vic Duggan's handicap had increased to 150 yards behind scratch. That evening he won his heat and finished third in the final. The First Test between Australia and the U.S.A. in Melbourne was won by Australia. The Second Test was held on December 28 at the Sydney Showground, and what a talented line-up of riders entertained the spectators that night. Jack Milne and his brother Cordy, Wilbur Lamoreaux, Byrd McKinney, Vic Huxley, and "Bluey" Wilkinson were the main attractions. Young New South Welshman Vic Duggan made his Test debut for Australia that evening as riding partner to Vic Huxley. Here is an extract which appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald two days prior to the staging of the International :- "The veteran V.Huxley will greatly assist V. Duggan, the youthful Sydney rider in his initial appearance in a test team. Duggan has ridden with exceptional merit and his elevation has been deserved." 18,000 spectators witnessed the 9 heat encounter in which each competitor was permitted a maximum of three rides. Huxley and Duggan's first appearance was in the second heat. The score following the completion of Heat 1 was 3-3. Huxley won Heat 2 from Lamoreaux and Duggan. The score was now 7-5 in Australia's favour. The pair next took to the track in Heat 4, with the score being 9-9. Jack Milne took the victory from Huxley and Duggan. The score was still tied, 12-12. At the completion of the penultimate heat, Australia led by three points, 25-22. Australia's riders in the final heat were Huxley and Duggan. The Australians were aware that a 5-1 heat result in this race in the U.S.A.'s favour would see the visitors hit the front and win the Test. The riders representing the U.S.A. in this heat were Cordy Milne and Byrd McKinney. This pair had performed well in their previous two heats returning scores of 4-2 and 3-3. Australia wrapped up the Test when their riders finished first and third to record a 4-2 result and win the match 29-24. The interesting point here is that it was not Huxley who won the race but Duggan, he had relegated Cordy Milne to second place. From his three rides in his debut Test Match for Australia, Duggan recorded five race points and a bonus point. Jack Milne registered a 9 point maximum, while "Bluey" Wilkinson was Australia's top scorer with 8 points. He was beaten by Jack Milne in the opening heat. A class field of Australian and American riders contested the 1937 New South Wales Championship staged at the Sydney Showground on January 2nd in front of a crowd estimated at 30,000. Americans in the field were the Milne brothers (Jack and Cordy), Earl Farrand, Wilbur Lamoreaux and Byrd McKinney. Australians in the line-up included "Bluey" Wilkinson, Dick Case, Billy Lamont, Dick Sulway, Steve Langton, Art Fenn and Vic Duggan. As can be seen, when it came to speedway experience, Duggan was at a distinct disadvantage in this field. The Championship was decided over five heats, three semi-finals and a final. Duggan was in the first heat and he knew he was in for a tough race competing against Wilbur Lamoreaux and Billy Lamont. What a marvellous race this was. Duggan led until the final bend where he was passed by Lamont who recorded a narrow victory. What made Duggan's close second to Lamont in this race so impressive is the fact that, in winning, Lamont had lowered the track record by a whole second !!!! Duggan took his place in the first semi-final opposed to Cordy Milne and the flying Billy Lamont. Milne won the race with Duggan finishing in second place. As only the three semi-final winners would contest the championship-deciding final, Duggan was out of contention. For the record, Jack Milne won the final from "Bluey" Wilkinson and Cordy Milne. The following appeared in the Sydney press on Saturday January 16: - "One of the leading London motor cycle speedway promoters has offered the young Sydney rider, V. Duggan, 200 pounds as a retaining fee for him to appear with a London team in next season's League competition. This contract embraces steamer fares to England, with the usual bonuses for winning rides". What a feast of motorcycle speedway the Sydney Showground patrons were treated to during this 1936/1937 season. As well as the touring American Test Team, an English side also appeared at the venue.This group rode in five Tests against Australia during that season. Australia won the first Test in Sydney and the second in Melbourne. The Sydney Showground was the venue for the remaining three Tests. An Ashes Test debutant was named in Australia's line-up to partner Vic Huxley in the Third Test. He was Vic Duggan. The following appeared in the press: - "The veteran V. Huxley will pilot the youthful V. Duggan. Duggan, who has been one of the 'finds' of the season, is an aggressive and determined rider." On January 18, the Showground was packed for the Third Test. England won the match 28-25. Duggan certainly wasn't disgraced in his first Ashes Test, scoring 2 race points and 2 bonus points from his three rides. Prior to the staging of the next match in the series, a cablegram from England arrived in Australia stating that Vic Duggan has signed a contract to ride for Hackney Wick. However, Frank Arthur (managing director of Empire Speedways, Sydney) refuted this assertion. Arthur was advising Duggan during his negotiations with interested parties in England, and he stated categorically that the young rider had not as yet signed any contract. Arthur added that it was true that an offer had been received from the Hackney promotion, but a more lucrative one had since come from the Bristol club. Duggan himself commented that he would not accept any overseas offer unless it had the approval of Frank Arthur. On January 30, England won the Fourth Test at the Showground in front of around 30,000 people. The score was 28-26. In this Test, Duggan partnered Clem Mitchell. On this occasion, Duggan's total was 5 points from his three rides, which included a win over England's Jack Parker. Prior to the staging of the final Test of the series, an Australia v England encounter, staged over 6 heats, took place at Bathurst in country New South Wales. Duggan scored 6 points (plus 1 bonus point) for Australia from his three rides. He recorded a race win over Norman Parker. There was great interest in the final and deciding Ashes Test at the Showground on February 6. An estimated crowd of 40,000 packed the venue. Australia recorded a 31-22 victory to take out the series. In this match, the Huxley-Duggan partnership was reformed. Third placings in his first and final heats gave Duggan 2 points for the match from his three races. During an interview in Adelaide in mid February, Australian international rider Dick Case made an interesting comment on Vic Duggan. Case said, "He's the first young Australian I've seen master the foot-forward style of riding so necessary on the English tracks." It had been Case who strongly recommended to Hackney Wick that the club sign the promising Duggan. The Sydney Showground promoters provided another feast of entertainment for the 30,000 speedway motorcycle fans present on the evening of February 20th. The Australian 3 Lap Championship was the main event on the programme, but was preceded by a match between an Australian side and a World side which consisted of visiting English and American riders. Australia was defeated 21-33 in this match. Vic Duggan rode in the Australian line-up partnering Wally Little. He scored a total of 5 points from his three rides, finishing second in each of his first two races (both resulted in 4-2 scores for the opposition) and third in his final heat in which he and Wally Little recorded a 4-2 result for Australia. Although this was an exciting match, it did rob the Championship of the rider who was most peoples' favourite to lift the title. Bluey Wilkinson had won his first race for the Australian team and was leading comfortably in his second when the connecting rod of his engine snapped, resulting in him being thrown into the safety fence. Thankfully he was able to walk back to the pits, but he withdrew from the remainder of the meeting. I'll detail the format used to decide the Australian Championship as it differs markedly from that used today. A series of six heats was staged in which each rider started on only one occasion. The heat winners and the three fastest second placed riders progressed to the semi-finals. The winners of these three semi-finals would contest the final. Vic Duggan had been competing in speedway meetings for just over twelve months when he took his place in the International field to contest this championship. Present in the line-up were American riders Earl Farrand, Wilbur Lamoreaux, Byrd McKinney and Jack Milne. Englishmen Eric Gregory and Cliff Parkinson were starters, as were Australians Wally Little, Dick Sulway, Clem Mitchell, Art Fenn, Billy Lamont and the Duggan brothers. Vic Duggan appeared in Heat 1 and rode to victory....he was into the semi-finals. His opponents in the first semi-final were the American pair Earl Farrand and Byrd McKinney. Duggan won again and was through to the final. The winners of the other two semi-finals were both Americans, Lamoreaux and Jack Milne. They would join Duggan in the final. Duggan had ridden well all night, but found the American pair too good in the all important race. Jack Milne won from Lamoreaux, with Duggan in third place. To finish third in the 1937 Australian 3 Lap Championship in such a quality field was a fine achievement. It should be remembered that some six and a half months after the staging of this Australian Championship meeting, the two riders who had beaten Duggan in the final, Jack Milne and Wilbur Lamoreaux, finished first and second in the 1937 World Final at Wembley. Here is an extract from the Sydney Morning Herald of February 22, 1937, reporting on the Championship, "One of the surprises was the brilliance of Duggan who survived the gruelling conditions to reach the final." Vic Duggan had purchased his first speedway bike in early 1936 to try his hand at speedway racing. In the period of just over a year from the date of his first meeting, he had progressed from an unknown novice rider to become an Australian Test representative and a placegetter in an Australian Championship. Having decided which English club to ride for in his 1937 debut British season, Duggan signed with Division One team Hackney Wick.....and what a struggle that season was for him. That is, however, another story.


Young Vic Duggan (top) and three who assisted him during the 1936-37 Australian season - Frank Arthur, Vic Huxley, and Dick Case.
Acknowledgement: - Sincere thanks to my friends Barry Forsyth and Jan Grainger for their support with this project.
Thanks to Ross Garrigan. Brisbane.