Subjective memory of Eddie Jancarz

Today, November 2, which is All Souls’ Day. We decided to mention Edward Jancarz, one of the most outstanding competitors in the history of Polish speedway. The inhabitant of Gorzów was undoubtedly one of those speedway riders who had the predisposition to become a world champion.

Jancarz started his active adventure with speedway in 1965, shortly after he told his father that he was going to become a speedway rider. Jancarz Sr. was not surprised at all. At that time, almost every young boy wanted to ride speedway in Gorzów. After promotion to the first league in 1961, the popularity of black sport on the Warta River increased. So young Edward was not the first or the last boy to come to Stal in Gorzów. With his even petite figure, he did not arose much interest in the first class with Kazimierz Wiśniewski. However, when in the spring of 1965 he sat on the “FIS”, none of those present at the stadium in Gorzów had any doubts that this young Jancarz had a flair for speedway.

Jancarz started his speedway training relatively late, as it was only at the age of 19. However, he passed his license in record time – it took him a month and a half. He scored his first league points for Stal Gorzów in August 1965 during a match in Gdańsk. From 1967 to 1984 he continuously defended the colors of the Polish national team. Already in the third year of his starts, he did something that gave him a place among the best competitors for many years. Jancarz advanced to the final of the individual world championship at the track in Gothenburg, where in his debut, after the play-off run with Gennady Kurylenko, he took third place and won a bronze medal.

– I would like to take an even higher place in the next year of starts than the one won in the Swedish finals – said Jancarz when asked about his next plans. Certainly, he himself did not think that, despite many consecutive appearances in the world finals, the former would prove to be the best for him in terms of sportsmanship. Unfortunately, he did not stand again on the podium of the individual world championships Jancarz in his career. For this he won twelve medals of the world championship in various competitions for Poland, to which he added many medals in the Polish championship. He himself was on the highest step of the podium in the final of the Individual Polish Championships twice. Without a shadow of a doubt, he was a speedway rider in his profession extremely perfect.

Unlucky August 1984

He said goodbye to speedway after 21 years of competitions, in 1986. As he himself mentioned many times, he would have been driving much longer, but the end of his career was due to an accident on the Gorzów track, which took place two years earlier. On August 9, 1984, at the track in Jancarz, he participated in a dangerous crash during a test match with the Italian national team, which took place just a few days before the final of the World Team Championship.

During one of the runs, Valentino Furlanetto failed to control the motorcycle, which hit the driving Jancarz. The accident looked gruesome and cast a shadow over the course of the competition. Jancarz’s wife at the time, Halina, fainted.

– It was known that something very serious had happened. I forbade playing music later in the competition – recalled the then announcer, Krzysztof Hołyński. The injuries after the accident were serious – concussion, broken shoulder blade, broken base of the skull. The competitor himself was transported unconscious to the Medical Academy in Poznań. The doctors there did not predict any positives. There was a question whether the competitor would survive, not whether he would return to the track. While unconscious fought for his life in the capital of Greater Poland, Leszno fought for the title of the Team World Champion. Before the competition, there was a rumor of many thousands of people that … Jancarz is dead.

Contrary to rumors, the competitor survived and returned to the track, as befits a real “tough guy”. According to the doctors from Poznań, Jancarz’s recovery was due solely to his will and strong character. After returning to the speedway, the Gorzów player was no longer the same competitor. Age and perhaps subconscious fear did their job. In 1986, the farewell tournament of Edward Jancarz was organized at the track in Gorzów, in which the champion showed off in one race and definitely said goodbye to the track. Jancarz gave the symbolic plastron to the young rider, Świst.

Coach

After Ryszard Nieścieruk left Stal Gorzów, it was none other than Edward Jancarz who was the driving coach of Stal Gorzów. The players from Gorzow could use his advice and experience. After completing his adventure with speedway in Gorzów, Jancarz became the coach of the team in Krosno. He also had a brief episode as the coach of the Polish national team. To this day, many people wonder how his life would have turned out if he had stayed in the Gorzów club.

Wimbledon

Jancarz’s successes in speedway meant that he was quickly noticed by English promoters. For the first time he appeared in England instead of… the first Polish world champion, Jerzy Szczakiel

– Thanks to my journalistic work, I had a good friend in Poland, Zbigniew Puzio, who was influential in the Polish PZM at the time. During the Team World Cup at Wembley, we started talking about Zenon Plech and Jerzy Szczakiel coming to King’s Lynn. Jerzy Szczakiel, however, after winning the world title, went to Wembley so poorly that finally the Polish authorities did not agree to let him go to us and refused to leave him. Instead of him, another player from Gorzów – Edward Jancarz – was delegated. I perfectly remember when they came to us in 1973 with two Fiats, and Edward Jancarz pulled a trailer with motorbikes in his car – former promoter Martin Rogers tells us.

From 1977, Jancarz regularly raced for the Wimbledon team, where he quickly became the star of the team and a favorite of fans. He impressed with the results and the hours spent on tweaking the motorcycles. It was there that he gained a pseudonym that followed him to Poland – “Eddie”. He represented Wimbledon until 1982. It was mainly the pounds he earned in the UK that allowed him to build a house or buy a luxury, for those times in Poland, Mercedes car. Disagreements between Stal Gorzów activists and the Wimbledon club stood in the way of further starts in England. England, experiencing the financial crisis, was not able to reward Poles in a greater way than before for the possibility of using Jancarz’s services. Jancarz did not return to England, but he was there perfectly by the fans and not only remembered. Suffice it to say that the British Speedway Star honored him with a lifetime subscription for his services. Since then, a colorful cinder warehouse has been delivered to Gorzów on a regular weekly basis.

Nature

What was the character of Jancarz? Many people are still looking for an answer to this question, perhaps looking for what influenced the later tragic fate of the player.

– There were times when Jancarz could not really live freely. He was just a star. On the one hand, he was a speedway tough guy, on the other, maybe he was too soft and he could not always refuse those who wanted to drink with him, not necessarily tea – tells us one of the former Gorzów players.

– Without a doubt, Edek was in my opinion an individualist. He did not fit well with the constantly laughing Zenek. He was often serious and thoughtful. It wasn’t possible to talk to him very much before the competition, if anything, then after it. I admit that it was worse with Zenek. Zenek was unpredictable with his actions on the track. Edek drove very fairly. As I knew that I was going with Edek on the run, I did not have to worry that there would be some crazy “number” on the track. However, it was with Zenek that I was more connected as a friend. Jancarz was not as eager to play or joke as Zenek. Edek, in my opinion, was secretive and probably not entirely trusting towards other people. I saw him as a secretive individualist. The speedway rider was perfect without a doubt. It was a tragic candidate for an individual world champion – adds former German speedway rider Egon Muller.

Jumbled biographies

After the end of his career, Jancarz could not fully find himself in the new realities of life. Suddenly, he had too much free time in his life. He began to “kill” him with more and more frequent meetings with colleagues or fans. The Master did not refuse. The meetings often ended in the “Popularna” restaurant with a not very positive reputation…

Alcohol began to occupy an increasingly important place in his life. In 1988, he separated from his wife, Halina, the same one who fainted after his accident in Gorzów and who had always stayed by his side until then. However, she did not withstand her husband’s lifestyle. Patience had its limits. Katarzyna, an employee of the ZUS branch in Gorzów, took her place. Many years younger partner systematically insisted on marrying Jancarz. Many colleagues advised against Edward formally associating with Katarzyna. The woman did not have a very good opinion in Gorzów. Jancarz was reminded that he would not find a good place for his old age with her. A few years earlier, Katarzyna had an affair with another Gorzów speedway rider. Jancarz claimed that his life was his business. There were also voices that Jancarz decided to get married because he was afraid of loneliness in his old age. The wedding took place in April 1991. As it turned out, it was not the best, or even tragic, direction in life chosen by Edward Jancarz.

– You’ve heard all sorts of things about her. For me, because of respect for Jancarz, because he was my idol, it was not appropriate to pay attention. Although I do not hide, I felt like it. However, I thought: after all, they are adults – said in one of the interviews a former Gorzów player, Krzysztof Okupski.

– I drove by his house two or three days before that unfortunate wedding and entered. She was preparing sandwiches. I was going to propose to him to back off, but he said everyone was interfering with his life, so I backed out. He was a great athlete, but in life he had to be led. He advised on many things. And this wedding is probably the result of a breakdown after the ordeal with his first wife. Edek believed that the second marriage would be a happy one. His wife, however, also reached for the glass – recalled the mechanic of Stal Gorzów, Edward Pilarczyk.

Jerzy Synowiec, a well-known lawyer, had his view on the marriage of both of them.

– I was dealing with Edek’s divorce cases with his ex-wife and Katarzyna with her ex-husband. They both had a confusing biography, but they thought they could make it straight together. Jancarz, however, was already a man completely addicted to alcohol. It is not true that Katarzyna did not want to help him, that she was drinking him. She came to me several times for advice and help. She was crying, she was groaning. The fact that she had stuck a knife in his thigh after the wedding was self-defense, an expression of her helplessness. He was beating her with his fists. It cannot be said that Edek was left to himself. When there was no question of tablets or woven labels, we proposed treatment in a closed institution. He reacted with a row. We offered to train youngsters in Stal. He did not come to trainings – recalled Jerzy Synowiec.

Unlucky evening

On January 11, 1992, the Sports Champions Ball of the Gorzów voivodeship was held at the Mieszko Hotel. Despite the invitation, Edward Jancarz and his wife did not appear at the ceremony. A tragedy happened in their house after 8 p.m. As Jancarz’s second wife later testified, the former player returned home completely drunk. Jancarz was stabbed by his wife with a knife. The blows inflicted turned out to be fatal for the speedway legend. The former player’s wife was sentenced to 11 years in prison. The court of appeal in Poznań reduced the sentence to 9 years. In 1996, Jancarz’s killer left the prison prematurely. According to the opinion, the resocialization process went well.

Epilogue

– It was a very secretive, introverted man. He sacrificed everything for sport. He had acquired epilepsy as a result of falls. One of the accidents resulted in swelling of the cerebral hemispheres, and in another, he was in danger of having his right leg amputated. I remember this moment very clearly. Doctors said recovery would take at least a year. He exercised a few hours every day, grimacing with pain. He returned to the track after three months. The real tragedy began after Edek left for England. When I went to visit him in the third season of his starts, I noticed bottles standing in almost all corners of the machine park. It was the first signal. In the fourth year, I did not go to England due to the situation in the country (1981. martial law – edited). It may have been my mistake. After returning to Poland, Edek drank a lot. I’ve tried to talk to him many times. Explain that he should be treated. He always had one answer – that he is not an alcoholic. Over time, after drinking alcohol, he became more and more aggressive. There were times when I had to sleep in the car or on the terrace of our house. Still, I tried to help him. If it didn’t work for goodness, I tried with threats. I went to the club for a complaint to the Provincial Committee. The effect was that I was not allowed into the machine park. I thought that something would change for the better when he received a job offer in Krosno. Different people, different surroundings. It was possible to start over. Edek was fond of this perspective. He agreed to esperal. However, he quickly began to act as if he didn’t care about anything. He missed one training session, the other. He returned to addiction. Maybe if I had been stronger and decided to put him in a closed facility, I would have saved him. In the end, I decided to divorce because I couldn’t bear my life, which turned into a series of quarrels. I thought that with a new, younger woman, she would find happiness, she would find herself. I believed that Katarzyna could change him, give him a child that I couldn’t have had. I don’t want to express myself badly about Katarzyna. The fact is, however, that they were seen drinking together. Later, as I heard, she stopped drinking and wanted Edek away from the “glass”. However, he was already in the last stage of his illness – the first wife of Edward Jancarz recalled her husband in the press. It was no secret that the speedway rider was a frequent customer of the pawnshop adjacent to his villa. Jancarz did not manage to buy suitcases and drills…

– He was a great athlete, but also a normal person. He knew everything and everyone and could help in many matters. He did not look up like other speedway riders. You could talk to Edek and have a drink. Sure everyone was paying him. It was so, that even if someone did not want to, he was reminded that when buying six hundred he would take another one for Edek … The further he was drinking, the less people wanted to bet him – recalled one of the “companions” of the legend of Stal Gorzów.

In less than three months it will be equal to thirty years from the tragic death of Edward Jancarz. Over ten thousand people attended his funeral in 1992. There are many new candles on his grave every day. Żużlowy Gorzów still remembers about his tragic hero, despite the passage of decades.