Gus Kuhn's 1932 Season with Stamford Bridge
Page updated 08-Jan-2011
Many thanks to the Speedway Researcher for most of this information
(NL = National League : NT = National Trophy : LC = London Cup : NSA = NL NSA Trophy)

April 9th Sat: Away vs Belle Vue (NSA). A 3rd and a 4th and a fall. 1 pt.

April 23rd Sat: Home vs Southampton (NSA). A 2nd and two 3rd. 4 pts.

April 28th Thurs: Away vs Wembley (NSA). A win, a 4th and a mechanical failure. 3 pts. [Times 28/4/32]

May 7th Sat: Home vs West Ham (NSA). Two wins and a 2nd. 8 pts. Very wet track.

May 10th Tues: Away vs West Ham (NSA). Three 3rd. 3 pts.

May 16th Mon: Home vs Wembley [NL].

May 23rd Mon: Away vs Wimbledon (NSA) A win and two 2nd. 7 pts.

June 1st Weds: Away vs The Saints (Lea Bridge) (NSA) One win and two 2nd. 7pts.

Programme Cover 4 June 1932

June 4th Sat: at Stamford Bridge the First Test Match England vs Australia.

June 7th Tues: Away vs Plymouth :(NSA) A 2nd. 2 pts.

June 11th Sat: Home vs Sheffield (NSA). A 2nd and two 3rd. 4 pts.

June 11th Sat: Home vs Plymouth (NSA). Two 2nd and a non-start. 4 pts.

June 16th Thurs: Away vs Coventry (NSA). Two 3rd. 2 pts.

June 18th Sat: Home vs Coventry (NSA). One win, one 2nd and an exclusion for starting offence. 5 pts.

June 22nd Weds: Away vs Sheffield (NSA) Two 2nd. 4 pts.

June 25th Sat: Home vs Wimbledon (NSA). Three 2nd. 6 pts.

July 2nd Sat: Home vs Belle Vue (NSA). Three 2nd . 6 pts.

July 6th Weds: Home vs Wembley (NSA). Three 2nd. 6 pts. "Whether it was more accurate gearing or just an extra horse or two I don't know, but the Bridge team as a whole just had the legs of Wembley, and actually won the match with five men. This was occasioned by injuries to Chapman and the Bridge reserve, Stanley, in the first race, which had to be restarted twice. .. I blame the narrowness of the track more than anything." [Talmage in the Motor Cycle, 14 July 1932]

July 9th Sat: Home vs Crystal Palace (NSA). Two 2nd and a 3rd. 5 pts. Brilliant match with close exciting racing in almost every heat.

July 11th Mon: Away vs Wimbledon (LC). A 3rd and three 4th. 1 pt . Wet track, but improved.

July 13th Weds: Home vs Wimbledon (LC). Two wins, a 2nd and a 3rd. 9 pts.

Congratulations to Stamford Bridge on winning the National Speedway Association Trophy for the team at the top of the League ladder at the half season. It has been a hard fight all round and they thoroughly deserve their triumph.
[The Motor Cycle, 14 July 1932]

July 21st Away vs Coventry (NL). A 2nd and a 4th. 2 pts.

July 30th Home vs Clapton (NL). Two 2nd and a 3rd 5 pts.

August 4th Thurs: Away vs Wembley (NT). Two 2nd and a 4th. 4 pts.

August 9th Tues: Away vs West Ham (NL). Two 3rd and a 4th. 2 pts.

August 10th Weds: At home vs Crystal Palace (NL). Two 2nd and a 3rd 5 pts.

August 13th Sat: Home vs Wembley (NT). Gus did not ride. Steward took decisions that were unpopular. There were fights and objects thrown in the crowd.

August 17th Weds: Home vs Belle Vue (NL). Gus did not ride.

August 16th Tues: Away vs West Ham (LC) Gus did not ride.

August 20th Sat: Home vs. Coventry (NL). Gus did not ride.

The Company
(Gus Kuhn Motors Ltd.) was founded in 1932

August 27th Sat: Home vs West Ham (LC). Three 2nd and a 3rd. 7 pts.

September 1st Thurs: Away vs Wembley (NL) Gus did not race.

September 3rd Sat: Home vs Wimbledon (NL). Gus did not ride.

September 7th : Away vs Belle Vue (NL): Gus did not compete

September 10th Sat: Home vs West Ham (NL). Two 3rd. 2 pts.

September 12th Mon: Away vs Wimbledon (NL). Two 2nd and a 3rd. 5 pts.

September 17th Sat: Home vs Wembley (LC Final). Two 2nd, a 4th and a fall. 6 pts.

September 21st Away vs Clapton (NL). A 3rd and two 4ths.

Two interesting snippets from Motor Cycle in 1932 are fascinating insights into the future:

Scares: Somebody suggested the other day that, owing to the enormous number of vehicles on the road, the danger of carbon monoxide poisoning is increasing. Will somebody else suggest that there is a dangerous shortage of oxygen when these are using so very much?

Public Speedway: the new tarmac high-speed road from Bonn to Cologne, in Germany, has not a single cross-road, and is said to be safe for speeds up to 100mph. No vehicle is allowed to halt on the road itself, and all filling stations are set back in bays.

September 24th Sat: Home vs Plymouth (NL). Three 2nd 6 pts.

September 27th Tues: Away vs Plymouth (NL). Three 3rd. 3 pts.

September 29th Thurs: Away vs Wembley (LC Final). A 2nd, a 3rd and two 4th. 3 pts. This was described as the finest match since speedway started. By all accounts the racing was tough but fair. Wembley won the London Cup.

October 1st Sat: Home vs Wembley (NL). A 2nd two 3rd. 4 pts.

October 15th Sat (NL): A 2nd and a 3rd. 6 pts.

  • Stamford Bridge won the NSA (Gus was a mid range scorer).

  • Speedway ends at Stamford Bridge: Stamford Bridge's rent to Chelsea FC was £250 per meeting, a huge sum, and they needed a minimum crowd of 11,000 to break even with points money, etc. Admission was only 1/- (5p).

A new starting device, contrived by Gus Kuhn
Fox Photos 1932
"A number of attempts have been made to introduce a satisfactory starting device for speedway racing without success. Gus Kuhn, the well known Stamford Bridge rider, has now introduced a scheme which he claims is workable and this is to be officially tested."

Cyril May explained that push starts were the order at Stamford Bridge and it soon became a bone of contention as to whether the pushers pushed hard enough! Many beaten teams went home convinced that they lost because they were not pushed off with such vigour and vim as the "Bridge" riders. So, like necessity, the false start was the mother of invention. In April 1932 Kuhn evolved a starting device. A car pushed the machines by means of a roller to start the engines: they were then kept on the leash until the starting line was reached, then the car driver operated a release mechanism!