On Saturday night, October 10th in Chula Vista, California, the BMX National Hall of Fame will induct six new members in to the hallowed Hall.
The National BMX Hall of Fame is proud to announce the "Class of 2015" - legends from all aspects of BMX.
Please join us in welcoming the Class of 2015:
PIONEER RACER: Frank Post: He was the original "Wildman." Northern California's Frank Post became one of the most popular Pros on the late-70's/early 80's national circuit, due to his super sonic speeds, aggro racing style and outrageously outspoken personality. Racing for Wes' BMX and then Team Panda, he quickly made a name for himself on the UBR and ABA circuits. Most impressively, Frank's first ABA victory was the 1980 Grands, and then following year - he won the Grands again; making him the first back-to-back Grands winner in BMX history. When it came to the big races, where the pressure is most intense and riders are prone to choking, Frank Post excelled like no other. Winner of Pro Trophy at the Jag World Championships, Mongoose/GNC International champion and UBR No.1 Pro in 1979, the Wildman knew when to step things and came out on top more often than not. Finishing up his career with Kuwahara and Boss, Frank left some mighty big footprints all around the country, and set the tone for all Northern California racers to follow.
RACER: Christophe Leveque: Throughout the history of BMX, you might be able to count on one hand, those Pro racers who took the sport to a whole new level. France's Christophe Leveque is one of those riders. When the Sunn-Chipie racer first landed on U.S. shores, he had already won nearly every available title in Europe. As everybody knows, the ultimate quest for BMXers around the World is to conquer America, and Leveque learned the ropes quickly and led what is known as the "Euro Invasion." Thanks to full support from French bike manufacturer Sunn, he was not only able to survive in the U.S., but his riding style, skills and training techniques soon forced the entire double-A pro class to step things up or fall behind. Thanks to Leveque, the mid-90's was a turning point for the sport and put an end to the so-called body-builder training that was predominant in the late 80's. Christophe would go on to win the World Championship in 1995, and then won back-to-back No.1 Pro titles in both the NBL and ABA. He is one of only 5 riders to have ever held all three of the major Championships. When Specialized entered the sport of BMX, Leveque is rumored to have signed the richest contract in BMX history. Now, as the owner of Chase Bicycles - sponsoring a few of the top title contenders of 2015, Christophe Leveque continues to make an impact on our beloved sport.
INDUSTRY: Bob Tedesco: When Bob Tedesco officially retired from the NBL, it's safe to say that the National Bicycle League was never the same. Bob's love for BMX began in the Pittsburgh area, in 1976, at the North Park BMX venue. Two years later, he'd play a big role in getting the South Park BMX track off the ground - a facility that still hosts the Stars 'n Stripes National to this day. During Bob's tenure at the NBL - starting with his hiring in 1977, and including him being publisher of Total BMX magazine, forming the President's Cup in 1985 and bringing BMX Racing to the masses thru ESPN TV coverage, Tedesco served as Managing Director for decades and helped guide the NBL sanction to many successes. Bob's contributions to BMX were not just stateside - his work with International sanctions and the early formation of the IBMXF, as well as the UCi, Bob's years of dedication, International connections and vision for the sport, helped bring BMX racing to finally get the nod from the International Olympic Committee in 2003 - as a medal sport for 2008's Beijing Olympic games.
With four decades of NBL leadership under his belt, we are pleased to announce Bob Tedesco's long awaited induction in to the National BMX Hall of Fame.
FREESTYLER: Brian Blyther: There are three words that sum up Brian Blyther: Smooth, Big Air. Whether he was riding skateparks or halfpipes, Blyther was famous for his flowing, almost effortless style. In the late 80's, if you looked up "smooth" in the disctionary, there was a photo of Blyther and his Haro going big at Pipeline. It was that trait that made him one of the most dominant riders on the AFA King of the Skatepark series, the AFA Masters and earned him the 2-Hip King of Vert champion in 1987 and 1988. Although best known for his aerial antics, Blyther is credited for inventing the standard foot 'n fork jabbed tailwhip, which is a key element of riding still to this day. His years of constantly touring the World - being the more quiet Haro member to the wilder Wilkerson ways, Brian put in enough airtime to qualify for a pilot's license. Hitting the road on tours for Vans, Huffy, Haro, Life's A Beach, Swatch, Rad the Movie, 2-Hip, GT, Giant, Bercy Stadium Tour with Tony Hawk and Mat Hoffman, Haro 25th Reunion Tour in Cologne Germany and most recently - the 30th Reunion Tour of the Haro Freestyler in Cologne, Germany, Blyther has racked up plenty of frequent flier miles, in more ways than one. To this day, Blyther is still idolized by vert riders and the freestyle community.
WOMAN: Kathy Schachel: Back in a time when the girls division was still referred to as "Powder Puffs," there was one particular girl whose speed and style set the standard for the future of the Pro Womens class. Her name was Kathy Schachel and under the guidance of her New Jersey mentor - the late, great Hall of Famer Charlie Litsky, she became a partof the Shimano factory team and went on to tally up an impressive 55 career wins. Amongst all of those victories came 3 NBL National No.1 titles, two World Championships and even a European Championship. Upon her urging, she lead the formation of the World's first Womens Pro class in 1985 - and then proceeded to earn the NBL No.1 Woman Pro title in its first two years. The fact that Kathy was rad enough to roost all over the November 1979 issue of BMX Plus stands alone - as she set the tone for future generations of girl racers, showing them that girls can not only jump and get rad like the boys, but sometimes ... you can even beat 'em!
SPECIAL RECOGNITION: Ron Mackler: July 10th of 1969, at Palms Park in Santa Monica is a day that lives in BMX infamy. As the park superintendent, working for the Los Angeles Parks & Rec Department, Ron Mackler was the man in charge of running the local Rec center, and took notice of the local kids racing around the park. Suddenly, he heard a loud knock called opportunity. Whether it was coaching boxing, putting on youth functions or creating off-road bike races around the trees, trails and pathways of Palms Park, Mackler was all about helping out the local kids, giving them something positive to do and keeping them out of trouble.
It wasn't long before kids were showing up from all over the valley to compete in Ron's races. Charging only a quarter for entry fees, attendance began to grow - attracting many of the early BMX Hall of Fame pioneers, such as Thom Lund, John Palfreyman, Perry Kramer and the legendary Rick's Bike Shop team. For Ron Mackler, he was just humbly doing his job - which was to give Santa Monica teens something positive to do. LIttle did he realize that he was helping form what would become, four decades later, an Olympic sport.
2015 BMX HALL OF FAME SCHOLARSHIP GOES TO ALEC BOB: The Hall of Fame Board of Directors have chosen 18-year-old Alec Bob - from Plano, Texas, as the 2015 recipient of the National BMX Hall of Fame Scholarship. Sponsored by Free Agent Bicycles, Alec will be attending Marian University in September, where his sister also attends with a cycling scholarship.
The National BMX Hall of Fame Scholarship committee annually awards funds to a collegiate BMX rider who exemplifies true professionalism, possesses solid potential for a future National No.1 Championship and possible Olympic qualification and medal potential.
TICKETS ON SALE NOW: The 31st Annual Induction Ceremony of the National BMX Hall of Fame will be held on Saturday, October 10, 2015 on site at the Olympic Training Center, 2800 Olympic Parkway, Chula Vista, CA 91915. The event will take place near the US Olympic "Eternal Flame", site of the National BMX Hall of Fame Museum. The museum will be open during the evening.
HOF Induction Ceremony and Dinner Ticket: Your ticket includes reception and cocktails, dinner, silent auction, and the opportunity to meet and greet Hall of Fame members, past, present and future.Registration and Cocktail Reception will be held from 6:00 pm until 7:30 pm. Dinner will be served and the Induction Ceremony will begin at 7:30 pm. This year's silent auction will begin at 6:00 pm and will end 15 minutes after the ceremony ends. Auction items can be paid for 15 minutes after the auction closes.A plated dinner will be served featuring salad, entree and a dessert. Vegetarian entrees can be arranged by sending requests to bmxhof@usabmx.com no later than September 30th. Please include the names of all those in your party who are requesting vegetarian entrees.
CLICK HERE TO RESERVE HALL of FAME TICKETS
There are no comments
Please login to post comments