Billy Griggs
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | William Luther Griggs |
| Nickname | "Mr. Bill" |
| Date of birth | September 16, 1968 (age 38) |
| Country |  United States |
| Height | 1.78 m (5'10" Imperial) |
| Weight | ~79.38 kg (~175lbs. Imperial) |
| Team information | |
| Current team | Retired |
| Discipline | Bicycle Motocross (BMX) |
| Role | Racer |
| Rider type | Off Road |
| Amateur team(s) | |
| 1981-1982 1983 1984 1984-1985 1985-1987 |
BS Bikes CW Racing Schwinn Bicycle Company Mongoose Redline Engineering |
| Professional team(s) | |
| 1987-1990 1990-1992 1992 1993 1997-2001 |
Redline Engineering Haro Designs/Cycles Iron Horse ODI GT Bicycles |
| Infobox last updated on: | |
| April 7, 2007 | |
William Luther Griggs (b. September 16, 1968 from Anaheim, California USA) is an American "Old School/Mid School" former professional Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from 1985 to 1996.
His nickname was "Mr. Bill" which was a play on his name and an allusion to the popular 1970's late night television program Saturday Night Live which often had a skit called "The Mr. Bill Show" which a stared clay puppet of the Gumby type named "Mr. Bill". It was a parody of children television shows of the 1960's. Billy Griggs had a more successful career than most, winning two World Championships during his amateur days, but did not quite make it to the top in pro although he would consistently make the mains.
Contents |
[edit] Racing career
Note: Professional first are at the national level unless otherwise indicated.
Started Racing: January 21st 1981. [1]
Sanctioning Body: American Bicycle Association (ABA)
First race result: 3rd in 12 year old Beginner.
First win (local):
First sponsor: BS Bikes in Santa Ana, California.
First national win:
Turned professional: February 1987 at 18 years old.
First professional race result: Fourth place in "A" pro on Saturday, February 14 at the 1987 American Bicycle Association (ABA) Winter Nationals in Scottsdale, Arizona. He won US$135.[2]
First Professional win: At the 1987 ABA Winter Nationals in "A" pro on Sunday, February 15. He won US$640.[2]
First Junior Pro* race result: See "First professional race result".
First Junior Pro win: See "First Professional win".
First Senior Pro** race result: Third Place in "AA" pro at the ABA Silver Dollar Nationals in Reno, Nevada on May 24, 1987.[3] He won US$140.[4]
First Senior Pro win: In "AA" pro at the ABA Lumberjack Nationals in Eugene, Oregon On July 25, 1987. He also won Pro Open, doubling and he doubled again the next day. No purse break down given.[5]
Height & weight at the height of his career (1991): Ht:5'10" Wt:175lbs.
Retired: July 1995
*In the NBL it is "B" Pro/Superclass/"AA" pro depending on the era; In the ABA it is "AA" pro.
**In the NBL "A" Pro/Elite Men; in the ABA it is "AA" pro.
[edit] Career factory and major bicycle shop sponsors
Note: This listing only denotes the racer's primary sponsors. At any given time a racer could have numerous co-sponsors. Primary sponsorships can be verified by BMX press coverage at the time in question.
[edit] Amateur
- BS (Brian Scura) Bikes: 1981-1982.
- CW (Custom Works) Racing: January 1983-December 1983.
- Side Note: "CW" never stood for "Coast Wheels" as it is widely thought. Coast Wheels was a bike shop that Roger Worsham owned. Custom Works was a completely different and independent company.[6] This is in contrast with JMC (Jim Melton Cyclery) which did start out as a bicycle shop and then began manufacturing its own BMX components including entire bicycles.
- Schwinn Bicycle Company: January 1984-Mid June 1984. Schwinn dropped Billy Griggs because Griggs was allegedly not using Schwinn equipment.[7]
- Mongoose (BMX Products): June 24, 1984-September 1, 1985
- Redline Engineering: September 2, 1985-December 31, 1990 Billy would turn pro with this sponsor.
- Billy Griggs was also employed as a BMX Plus! test rider from July 1984-June 1992.
[edit] Professional
- Redline Engineering: September 1985-December 20, 1990. Left under very good circumstances, even praise by Billy Griggs.[8]
- Haro Designs/Cycles: December 21, 1990.[8]
- Named one of the new BMX Action's "Terrible Ten" top amateurs and future professionals for 1986.[9]
[edit] Significant injuries
- Suffered a separated shoulder during a practice run before the pre-race at the 1985 ABA Land of Lincoln Nationals in Springfield, Illinois on April 27, 1985.[10][11] Laid up for approximately seven weeks until the NBL/IBMXF Murry World Cup race in Nashville, Tennessee in mid June.[12]
[edit] Peccadilloes
[edit] Post BMX career
[edit] BMX and MTB magazine covers
Bicycle Motocross News:
- None
Minicycle/BMX Action & Super BMX:
- November 1983 Vol.10 No.11 In inset celebritiy actor David Hasselhoff. Griggs also appears in a centerfold poster with celebrity actress Missy Gold. (SBMX)
Bicycle Motocross Action & Go:
- February 1986 Vol.11 No.2 (BMXA)
- August 1987 Vol.12 No.8 with Eddy King and Charles Townsend. (BMXA)
- March 1988 Vol.13 No.3 (BMXA)
- August 1990 Vol.1 No.10 (Go).
- November 1990 Vol.2 Iss.1 behind Steve Veltman, and ahead Traves Chipres and Mike King In insert John Paul Rogers (Go).
- May 1991 Vol.2 No.7 with Mike King (Go).
BMX Plus!:
- July 1983 Vol.6 No.6* Insert. Maine Image Dave Gianunzio.
- January 1985 Vol.8 No.1 in circle insert ahead of Eddy King testing bikes. Mian image: freestyler Marc McGlynn.
- August 1985 Vol.8 No.8 with Mike Miranda, Harry Leary, Pete Loncarevich, Robert Fehd and Scott Clark in separate inserts and together on a starting line in the top insert.
- January 1986 Vol.9 No.1 in bottom insert wearing Redline uniform. In seperate inserts Shawn Carmody (top) (53); Tony Adams (BMX Plus! Tester); freestylers Mike Buff (CW), Mike Dominguez (Hutch) and Ron Wilkerson (Haro).
- October 1986 Vol.9 No.10 in upper insert in center. to his left is Robby Rupe & Scott Towne. To his right Dave Cullinan & Tim Ebbett. In bottom insert Pete Loncarevich (3) ahead of Eric Rupe (2), Eddy King (6.) Main image Todd Anderson.
- May 1988 Vol.11 No.5 In circular insert at bottom. Main image freestyler Dino Deluca plus unidentified spectator.
- October 1988 Vol.11 No.10 In circular insert (8). Main image: Dirt Jumper Tim "Fuzzy" Hall.
- July 1989 Vol.12 No.7 main image. Freestyler Dave Voelker, Mike Miranda in top insert Lake Jumping with spectators. in middle insert freestyler Woody Itson with models Liz Corey (sitting on ground) and Danielle Sheilds.
- August 1989 Vol.12 No.8 in main image third from foreground in the lead. In foreground Eric Carter (Schwinn) with Travis Chipres (Mongoose), Matt Hadan (obscured silver black/blue helmet), Mike King (obscured in silver/black helmet with "1") behind and to Grigg's immediate right) and GT's Mike Ellis. Also in top insert with aforementioned.
- October 1989 Vol.12 No.10 in insert with Brandon Allen (left Diamondback) and Todd Blaser (right Dyno). Mian image freestyler Jay Miron.
- May 1993 Vol.16 No.5 with Pete Loncarevich and Matt Hoffman (Inset).
- February 1994 Vol.17 No.2 with Gary Ellis.
- September 1994 Vol.17 No.9 with Justin Green.
- February 1998 Vol.21 No.2 with Robert MacPherson and T.J. Lavin in insert.
*Due to a change in ownership BMX Plus! did not publish a May issue in 1983.
Bicycles and Dirt:
- None
Snap:
Mountain Bike Action:
[edit] BMX press magazine interviews and articles
- "Griggs & CW" BMX Action December 1983 Vol.8 No.12 pg.68
- "Mr. Bill" Super BMX & Freestyle February 1985 Vol.12 No.2
- "Charlie & Billy" BMX Action August 1987 Vol.12 No.8 pg.58 A joint interview with Charles Townsend.
- "On the Cover...Billy Griggs" BMX Action March 1988 Vol.13 No.3 pg.59
- "Billy's Birthday Bash: The Coming of Age" Freestylin'/BMX Action January 1990 Vol.1 Iss.3 pg.41
- "Trading Places: Mikey King and Billy Griggs tell all!"BMX Plus! June 1991 Vol.14 No.6 pg.62 A joint interview with Mike King.
[edit] Miscellaneous
[edit] End Notes
- ^ BMX Action December 1983 Vol.8 No.12 pg.68
- ^ a b BMX Plus! June 1987 Vol.10 No.6 pg.38 (race results)
- ^ Super BMX & Freestyle September 1987 Vol.14 No.9 pg.55
- ^ BMX Plus! October 1987 Vol.10 No.10 pg.76
- ^ BMX Plus! December 1987 Vol.10 No.12 pg.96
- ^ History of CW page
- ^ Bicycles and Dirt September 1984 Vol.2 No.10 pg.8
- ^ a b BMX Plus! June 1991 Vol.14 No.6 pg.62
- ^ BMX Action May 1986 Vol.11 No.5 pg.72
- ^ BMX Plus! August 1985 Vol.8 No.8 pg.12
- ^ BMX Action August 1985 Vol.10 No.8 pg.44
- ^ BMX Action October 1985 Vol.10 No.8 pg.10 "Out of Commission" sidebar
