hall of fame---------------goldie restall

 

Goldie Restall also know as Goldy Restall, was a Canadian speedway rider who rode in the UK in 1938-1939.

He was one of 7 children, and had three sisters and three brothers.

His parents separated when he was young, due to his Father's drinking, and he moved back to Canada following a stint in New York.

His Mother and children remained in Yonkers, New York. The boys Bob, Goldy and Bill all took up motorcycle dirt track racing and immediately became local stars of the track!

Following their success, they changed their last name to Lee. Bill decided to withdraw after loosing interest in motorcycling, and Bob and Goldy began to expand their skillset and rode in a drome (wall) They created stage names "Speedy Bob Lee" and Goldy took "Goldy Lee or Curly Lee". The success of this 'wall' riding took the show the the UK and after a few years, the act led to the brothers separating as Bob wanted to take it to Europe, Goldy decided to return to the USA, where he went back to dirt track racing, and in 1932 he became Motorcycle Speed Racing Champion of the Eastern United States.

When Goldy arrived in the UK at the start of 1938 to begin his speedway campaign, he was noted for saying: "It will be difficult to adapt. Tracks on the USA East Coast are mainly clay rather than cinder surfaced, while many races are rolling rather than clutch starts."

By August 1938, Restall was down to second-half rides at New Cross and made an unsuccessful bid to go on loan to Second Division side Bristol. At the end of the season, he was not retained by New Cross, but appealed for another try with the club for 1939 and was brought back. He showed marked improvement and had scored 54 points when the sport ground to a halt because of the outbreak of war on September 3.


           

Friday May 31st 1935

The Herald Statesman Article

         

 

canadian speedway history

This section of our site is forever growing. Despite its size, Canadian Speedway has been blessed to have some iconic names associated with it, and we are proud to bring this information to you.

Thanks is offered to many contributors including Duncan Luke, Tom Marriott, Roger Stevens and David Hensby for the the information used on this site.