John George (BMX racer)
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | John George |
| Nickname | "Jumpin' John" |
| Date of birth | May 20, 1958 |
| Country |  United States |
| Team information | |
| Current team | Retired |
| Discipline | Bicycle Motocross (BMX) |
| Role | Racer |
| Rider type | Off Road |
| Amateur team(s) | |
| 1974-1975 1975 1975-1978 1978-1983 |
Canoga Cycle Center Canoga Schwinn Shimano Mongoose |
| Professional team(s) | |
| 1978-1983 | Mongoose |
| Infobox last updated on: | |
| May 26, 2008 | |
John George (b. May 20, 1958 in Canoga Park, California USA) was a professional American "Old School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from (1972-1978). Nicknamed "Jumpin John"[1][2]
Contents |
[edit] Racing career
Note: Professional first are on the national level unless otherwise indicated.
Started Racing: September 1972[3]
Sanctioning Body: None. This was the era before official sanctioning bodies and individual tracks had their own race series and championships.
First race result: Unknown, but over the first two years of his career he won 40 trophies of which 36 were for first place[4]
First win (local): See above.
First sponsor:
First national win: He won the very first official National in BMX history in both his class and overall, the National Bicycle Association (NBA) Winternationals held in Phoenix, Arizona on March 29, 1975. He won both 14 & Over Expert and the Trophy Dash, which made him the overall event Champion.[5]
Turned Professional: 1977
First Professional race result:
First Professional Win:
Retired: In 1979 from active competition. From 1980 on he raced once a year being employed by and representing Mongoose.
Height & weight at height of his career (): Ht:" Wt:lbs.
[edit] Career factory and major bike shop sponsors
Note: This listing only denotes the racer's primary sponsors. At any given time a racer could have numerous ever changing co-sponsors. Primary sponsorships can be verified by BMX press coverage and sponsor's advertisements at the time in question. When possible exact dates are used.
[edit] Amateur
- Canoga Cycle Center: 1974-Early 1975
- Canoga Schwinn: Early 1975-Mid 1975
- Shimano Sales Corporation: Mid 1975-Early February 1978. Apparently John George briefly "retired" in early 1976 but came out of it to race the NBA Western States Championship; winning with Bobby Encinas in Sidehack and taking second in 16 & Over Expert. BMX News test rider and racer 12 year old R. L. Osborn who wrote the article (and is the son of contributor BMX News Bob Osborn and future owner/publisher/editor of BMX Action) in BMX News about the event was skeptical about Georges retirement:
"Yes, John George came out of (Huh!) retirement to race the Western States Championship with Bobby."[6]
[edit] Professional
- Mongoose (BMX Products): Early February 1978-1983 This was the sponsor he would stay with for the rest of his career. He would eventually go to work with them after he retired from serious competition, eventually becoming a plant manager.
[edit] Career bicycle motocross titles
Note: Listed are District, State/Provincial/Department, Regional, National, and International titles in italics. "Defunct" refers to the fact of that sanctioning body in question no longer existing at the start of the racer's career or at that stage of his/her career. Depending on point totals of individual racers, winners of Grand Nationals do not necessarily win National titles. Series and one off Championships are also listed in block.
[edit] Amateur
Non Sanction titles*:
- 1973 Solidad Sands Overall California State Champion[7]
*In the days before the creation of official sanctioning bodies for BMX individual tracks had their own Championship titles.
National Bicycle Association (NBA)
- 1974, 1975 Overall Western States Champion.
- 1975 14 & Over Expert and Overall Winternational Champion.
- 1975 14 & Over Expert and Overall First California Skateboard and BMX Championships* Champion.
- 1975 District X (Los Angeles) Champion
- 1975 Open Class and Sidehack Class (with Bobby Encinas) Grandnational Champion. This was the first ever BMX Grandnational.
- 1975 National No.1
*This was a combined event of the two sports Held at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, California between August 2nd and 5th 1975. The BMX event was held on the 2nd and 3rd. Paticipants in either discipline were not and did not compete in both events.
National Bicycle League (NBL)
- None
National Pedal Sport Association (NPSA)
American Bicycle Association (ABA)
- None
Fédération Internationale Amateur de Cyclisme (FIAC)*
- None
International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)*
- None
Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)*
- None
*See note in professional section
**Even though she was a professional racer in the ABA by the time the 2002 UCI World Championships were held on July 27th-29th, she was still only 16 years old at that time and per UCI rules had to race in the youth and/or amateur division of the cruiser classes as part of the Challenge Championships the championship races that were held the day before the Adult and/or Professional classes in the UCI World Championships.
[edit] Professional
National Bicycle Association (NBA)
- 1977 16 Expert, Open Pro and Overall RC Cola/Two Wheelers Races of Champions Champion.
- The RC Cola/Two Wheelers Race of Champions was a seven race NBA series sponsored by RC Cola and Two Wheelers. Racers raced six regional qualifying races in California and Arizona. Only racers who made at least the semi finals or mains (if the class was too small for a semi final) were invited to race the Championship even held on May 15, 1977 in Gardena, California at Ascot Park.[8]
- 1977 15 & Over Open South Pacific BMX Championships Champion
- 1978 Open Pro Grandnational Champion
National Bicycle League (NBL)
- None
National Pedal Sport Association (NPSA)
- None
American Bicycle Association (ABA)
- None
United States Bicycle Motocross Association (USBA)
- None
International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)*
- None
Fédération Internationale Amateur de Cyclisme (FIAC)*
- None (FIAC did not have a strictly professional division during its existence) (defunct).
Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)*
- None
*Note: Beginning in 1991 the IBMXF and FIAC had been holding joint World Championship events as a transitional phase in merging which began in earnest in 1993. Beginning with the 1996 season the IBMXF and FIAC completed the merger and both ceased to exist as independent entities being integrated into the UCI. Beginning with the 1997 World Championships held in Brighton, England the UCI would officially hold and sanction BMX World Championships and with it inherited all precedents, records, streaks, etc. from both the IBMXF and FIAC.
Pro Series Championships
[edit] Notable accolades
- He won the very first official National in BMX history, the National Bicycle Association (NBA) Winternationals held in Phoenix, Arizona on March 29, 1975. This was the very first event in which National points, as opposed to just district/regional points, were rewarded. He won both 14 & Over Expert and Trophy Dash which made him the overall event Champion[9]
- He was one of the founding members of the Professional Racing Organization (PRO) racers guild in 1977.[10]
- He is a 1985 inductee to the ABA BMX Hall of Fame.
[edit] BMX Product Lines
[edit] Significant injuries
[edit] Peccadilloes
- In the last few years of his career he would race infrequently, taking months off come back and win a few important races and then disappear for months again.[11][12] As Bob Osborn, owner, publisher and editor of Bicycle Motocross Action put it in the July/August 1978 issue:
"...he has been an 'inner and outer' He'll disappear for awhile, then pop back in and wind a major race. How he maintain his peak racing condition is a mystery to everybody."[13]
[edit] Post BMX career
- Soon after retiring from active competition he took a job with his last sponsor, Mongoose in 1977.[14] At first it was a 10 hour job mounting tires on Bicycle wheels. Later it was placing parts in boxes. Within the year he was the Warehouse Manager. A few years later he was Plant Manager.[15] For a number of years he would race once a year at the Mongoose sponsored NBA Grandnationals.[16]
[edit] BMX magazine covers
Note: (defunct) denotes that the magazine was out of business before the career of the racer started.
Bicycle Motocross News:
- January 1975 Vol.2 No.1 with Bobby Encinas, David Clinton and Jack Shannon.
- May 1975 Vol.2 No.4
- September 1977 Vol.3 No.8 behind an unidentified racer. In insert Rory Ingano.
- March 1978 Vol.4 No.3 (166) ahead of Bobby Encinas (3). This was the last issue of Bicycle Motocross News ever published.
Minicycle/BMX Action & Super BMX:
Bicycle Motocross Action & Go:
- None
BMX Plus!:
- None
Total BMX
- None
Bicycles and Dirt:
- None
Ride BMX Magazine:
- None
Snap BMX Magazine & Transworld BMX:
- None
BMX World
NBA World & NBmxA World (the official NBA/NBmxA membership publication under two names):
Bicycles Today & BMX Today (The official NBL membership publication under two names
ABA Action, American BMXer, BMXer (the official ABA membership publication under three different names):
[edit] BMX press magazine interviews and articles
- "John George-Quite Terror" Bicycle Motocross News December 1974 Vol.1 No.7 pg.17
- "Expert John George Talks About Being Race-Ready" Bicycle Motocross News April 1976 Vol.3 No.4 pg.9
- "Old BMX'ers Never Die...." Bicycle Motocross Action March 1982 Vol.7 No.3 pg.40
- "John George!" BMX Plus! March 1982 Vol.5 No.3 pg.27
[edit] Miscellaneous and Trivia
- John George shares the exact birthdate of May 20, 1958 with another legendary superstar, Stu Thomsen.
- In 1975 he was one of the first racers to covert from coaster brakes to freewheels and caliper brakes. By comparison Stu Thomsen would not covert until 1978. He also was one of the first to use light weight components[17] in an era of 30 to 40 pound race bikes.
[edit] End Notes
- ^ Bicycle Motocross News December 1974 Vol.1 No.7 pg.17
- ^ Bicycle Motocross News January/February 1975 Vol.2 No.1 pg.15
- ^ Bicycle Motocross News December 1974 Vol.1 No.7 pg.17
- ^ Bicycle Motocross News December 1974 Vol.1 No.7 pg.17
- ^ Bicycle Motocros News May 1975 Vol.2 No.4 pg.16
- ^ Bicycle Motocross News July 1976 Vol.3 No.7 pg.17
- ^ Bicycle Motocross News December 1974 Vol.1 No.7 pg.17
- ^ Bicycle Motocross News June 1977 Vol.3 No.6 pg.10
- ^ Bicycle Motocros News May 1975 Vol.2 No.4 pg.16
- ^ Bicycle Motocross Action August 1977 Vol.2 No.3 pg.25
- ^ BMX Action December 1986 Vol.11 No.12 pg.30 (photo caption)
- ^ BMX Action December 1986 Vol.11 No.12 pg.30 (photo caption)
- ^ Bicycle Motocross Action July/August 1978 Vol.3 No.4 pg.43
- ^ BMX Action August 1982 Vol.7 No.8 pg.14
- ^ Bicycle Motocross Action March 1982 Vol.7 No.3 pg.40
- ^ Bicycle Motocross Action March 1982 Vol.7 No.3 pg.40
- ^ BMX Plus! March 1982 Vol.5 No.3 pg.27
