John George was a professional American "Old School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX)

BMX

Bicycle motocross or BMX refers to the sport in which the main goal is extreme racing on bicycles in motocross style on tracks with inline start and expressive obstacles, and it is also the term that refers to the bicycle itself that is designed for dirt and motocross cycling.- History :BMX started...

 racer whose prime competitive years were from (1972–1978).

Racing career milestones

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Started racing: September 1972

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

First win (local): See above.

Home sanctioning body district(s): National Bicycle Association (NBA) District "X" (Orange/Los Angeles County);

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

National Bicycle Association

The National Bicycle Association , later known as the National Bicycle Motocross Association was an United States based Bicycle Motocross sports sanctioning body originally based in Soledad, California that was created by Ernie Alexander in 1973 and ceased operations as an independent body in 1981...

 (NBA) Winternationals held in Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...

 on March 29, 1975. He won both 14 & Over Expert and the Trophy Dash, which made him the overall event Champion.

Turned professional: 1977

First professional race result:

First professional win:

Retired: The May 1976 issue of Bicycle Motocross News implies he retired around March 1976. However, George would frequently come out of "retirement" after not racing for a few months and compete in large races. He retired from active competition for good after the 1978 NBA Grandnational getting a first in Open Pro winning USD$180 and a second in Trophy Dash but even then in 1980 and a few years after that he raced once a year being employed by Mongoose as a Plant Manager and representing Mongoose at races they sponsored once a year.

Height & weight at height of his career : Ht:" Wt:lbs.

Amateur

• Canoga Cycle Center: 1974-Early 1975
• Canoga Schwinn: Early 1975-Mid 1975
• Shimano Sales Corporation: Mid 1975-Early February 1978. He would turn pro with this company. Apparently John George briefly "retired" in early 1976 but came out of it to race the NBA Western States Championship; winning with Bobby Encinas
  Bobby Encinas
  Bobby Encinas is a former professional "Old School" Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1973 to 1980. He was one of the first superstars in BMX and one of its most savvy promoters...
  
   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:

Professional

• Shimano Sales Corporation: Mid 1975-Early February 1978.
• Mongoose (BMX Products): Early February 1978-1983. His first race with Mongoose was the NBA Winternationals in Las Vegas, Nevada
  Las Vegas, Nevada
  Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
  
   on February 19, 1978. He won both 16 Expert and Open Pro/Am taking the overall event title. 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 in 1979, eventually becoming a plant manager while racing a national once a year for a couple of years.

Amateur

Non Sanction titles*:

• 1973 Solidad Sands Overall California State Champion

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
  Bobby Encinas
  Bobby Encinas is a former professional "Old School" Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1973 to 1980. He was one of the first superstars in BMX and one of its most savvy promoters...
  
  ) Grandnational Champion. This was the first ever BMX Grandnational.
• 1975 National No.1
• 1976 Western States Sidehack Champion with partner Bobby Encinas.
• 1978 Open Pro Grand National Champion (Pro/Am title)

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

Professional

National Bicycle Association

National Bicycle Association

The National Bicycle Association , later known as the National Bicycle Motocross Association was an United States based Bicycle Motocross sports sanctioning body originally based in Soledad, California that was created by Ernie Alexander in 1973 and ceased operations as an independent body in 1981...

 (NBA)

• 1977 16 Expert, Open Pro, Trophy Dash and Overall RC Cola/Two Wheelers Races of Champions Champion. (Triple)

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 event held on May 15, 1977 in Gardena, California

Gardena, California

Gardena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 58,829 at the 2010 census, up from 57,746 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Gardena is located at ....

 at Ascot Park.

• 1977 15 & Over Open South Pacific BMX Championships Champion
• 1978 Open Pro Grandnational Champion (Pro/Am title)

National Bicycle League

National Bicycle League

The National Bicycle League is a United States based Bicycle Motocross sports sanctioning body originally based in Deerfield Beach, Florida but after several moves it was based in Hilliard, Ohio...

 (NBL)

• None

National Pedal Sport Association (NPSA)

• None

American Bicycle Association

American Bicycle Association

The American Bicycle Association is a United States-based Bicycle Motocross sports governing body in Gilbert, Arizona created by Merl Mennenga and Gene Roden in 1977. It is the largest sanctioning body in the United States concerning BMX. It has tracks in Canada and Mexico as well as in the USA...

 (ABA)

• None

United States Bicycle Motocross Association

United States Bicycle Motocross Association

The United States Bicycle Association was a short lived Bicycle Motocross national sanctioning body based in Tempe, Arizona. It was founded in March 1984 by five former members of the American Bicycle Association : Rich Mann, Dave Cook, Geoff Sims, Steve Schaefer and Rod Keeling, who became the...

 (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

Pro Series Championships

Notable accolades

• He won the very first official National in BMX history, the National Bicycle Association (NBA) Winternationals held in Phoenix, Arizona
  Phoenix, Arizona
  Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
  
   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
• He was one of the founding members of the Professional Racing Organization (PRO) racers guild
  Guild
  A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
  
   in 1977.
• He is a 1985 inductee to the ABA BMX Hall of Fame.

Racing traits and habits

• 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. As Bob Osborn, owner, publisher and editor of Bicycle Motocross Action put it in the July/August 1978 issue:

Miscellaneous

• John George shares the exact birthdate of May 20, 1958 with another legendary superstar, Stu Thomsen
  Stu Thomsen
  Stuart L. Thomsen was an American bicycle motocross racer.Stu Thomsen was one of the first of the "Old School" of professional BMX racers who gained fame in the early days of the sport beginning in 1974. His prime competitive years were from 1976-1985...
  
  .
• In 1975 he was one of the first racers to covert from coaster brakes to freewheel
  Freewheel
  thumb|Freewheel mechanismIn mechanical or automotive engineering, a freewheel or overrunning clutch is a device in a transmission that disengages the driveshaft from the driven shaft when the driven shaft rotates faster than the driveshaft...
  
  s and caliper brakes. By comparison Stu Thomsen
  Stu Thomsen
  Stuart L. Thomsen was an American bicycle motocross racer.Stu Thomsen was one of the first of the "Old School" of professional BMX racers who gained fame in the early days of the sport beginning in 1974. His prime competitive years were from 1976-1985...
  
   would not covert until 1978. He also was one of the first to use light weight components in an era of 30 to 40 pound race bikes.

Post BMX career

• Soon after retiring from active competition he took a job with his last sponsor, Mongoose in 1977. 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. For a number of years he would race once a year at the Mongoose sponsored NBA Grandnationals.

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

BMX magazine covers

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Bicycle Motocross News:

• January 1975 Vol.2 No.1 with Bobby Encinas
  Bobby Encinas
  Bobby Encinas is a former professional "Old School" Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1973 to 1980. He was one of the first superstars in BMX and one of its most savvy promoters...
  
  , David Clinton
  David Clinton
  David Clinton is an "Old School" former professional Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1973 to 1979. Nicknamed "Dynamite" early in his career David Clinton could be truthfully said to be the sport's first true superstar...
  
   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

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):

External links

• The American Bicycle Association (ABA) Website.
• The National Bicycle League (NBL) Website.