Toby Henderson
Encyclopedia
Toby S. Henderson was a professional American "Old School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX)
racer whose prime competitive years were from (1979–1985) He was given the nickname
"Coca Cola Cowboy" by Bob Osborn, publisher of BMX Action magazine but the reason for it was unknown even by Henderson. He himself regard it as "lame".
Started racing: In 1973 at 12 years old. at Hollyfield Park in Norwalk, California
In a September 1982 BMX Action his first race was at Scot Briethaupt's B.U.M.S track.
First race bicycle: Schwinn Stingray.
Sanctioning body: Independent.
First race result:
First win (local):
Home sanctioning body district(s): National Bicycle Association (NBA) District "X" (Orange/Los Angeles County);
First sponsor:
First national win:
Turned Professional: December 1978
First Professional race result: In Third place in Pro Class at the National Bicycle Association
(NBA) Supernationals in Saddleback Park in Irvine, California
on April 8, 1979.
First Professional win:
Retired: 1987 at 26 years old. His last national race as a serious competitor appears to have been the United States Bicycle Motocross Association
(USBA) Grandnational in Dallas, Texas
on November 11, 1986. He came in seventh in "A" pro, the senior pro level. It was the last USBA sanctioned raced before it merged with the American Bicycle Association
(ABA) in 1987. Henderson then pursued a Mountain Bike racing career. He would later race at least one BMX race in 1987 at the Vision World Cup in Irvine, California
on June 21, 1987 He didn't make any mains.)
Height & weight at height of her career (1981–1984): Ht:6'0" Wt:172 lbs.
National Bicycle League (NBL)
American Bicycle Association (ABA)
Fédération Internationale Amateur de Cyclisme (FIAC)*
International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)*
(NBA)
National Bicycle League
(NBL)
American Bicycle Association
(ABA)
United States Bicycle Motocross Association
(USBA)
International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)*
Fédération Internationale Amateur de Cyclisme (FIAC)*
Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)*
Pro Series Championships
Bicycle Motocross News:
Minicycle/BMX Action & Super BMX:
Bicycle Motocross Action & Go:
BMX Plus!:
Total BMX
Bicycles and Dirt:
Bicross Magazine: (French Publication)
NBA World & NBmxA World The official membership publication of the NBA:
ABA Action, American BMXer, BMXer (the official membership publication of the ABA under three different names):
Mountain Bike Action:
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 (1979–1985) He was given the nickname
"Coca Cola Cowboy" by Bob Osborn, publisher of BMX Action magazine but the reason for it was unknown even by Henderson. He himself regard it as "lame".
Racing career milestones
----Started racing: In 1973 at 12 years old. at Hollyfield Park in Norwalk, California
Norwalk, California
Norwalk is a suburban city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 105,549 at the 2010 census, up from 103,298 at the 2000 census, making it the 58th most populous city in California and the 255th nationally....
In a September 1982 BMX Action his first race was at Scot Briethaupt's B.U.M.S track.
First race bicycle: Schwinn Stingray.
Sanctioning body: Independent.
First race result:
First win (local):
Home sanctioning body district(s): National Bicycle Association (NBA) District "X" (Orange/Los Angeles County);
First sponsor:
First national win:
Turned Professional: December 1978
First Professional race result: In Third place in Pro Class at 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) Supernationals in Saddleback Park in Irvine, California
Irvine, California
Irvine is a suburban incorporated city in Orange County, California, United States. It is a planned city, mainly developed by the Irvine Company since the 1960s. Formally incorporated on December 28, 1971, the city has a population of 212,375 as of the 2010 census. However, the California...
on April 8, 1979.
First Professional win:
Retired: 1987 at 26 years old. His last national race as a serious competitor appears to have been the 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) Grandnational in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
on November 11, 1986. He came in seventh in "A" pro, the senior pro level. It was the last USBA sanctioned raced before it merged with the 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) in 1987. Henderson then pursued a Mountain Bike racing career. He would later race at least one BMX race in 1987 at the Vision World Cup in Irvine, California
Irvine, California
Irvine is a suburban incorporated city in Orange County, California, United States. It is a planned city, mainly developed by the Irvine Company since the 1960s. Formally incorporated on December 28, 1971, the city has a population of 212,375 as of the 2010 census. However, the California...
on June 21, 1987 He didn't make any mains.)
Height & weight at height of her career (1981–1984): Ht:6'0" Wt:172 lbs.
Amateur
- Bottema: 1974-1976 The first sponsor Henderson ever had was Jeff BottemaJeff BottemaJeffery Bottema was an American professional "Old School" Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1976 to 1981. He had the nickname of "Battling".-Racing career milestones:----...
's uncle. - Cerritos Bike Shop: 1976
- Ralph's Bicycles: 1976-Mid 1977
- Left BMX to race motorcycles for a year and a half Mid 1977-Late 1978
- D.G. Performance Specialist (The initials stood for Dan Hangsleben, Gary Harlow): Late 1978-June 1979. He turned pro with this sponsor.
Professional
- D.G. Performance Specialist: Late 1978-June 1979.
- Raleigh Cycle Company of America: July 1979-Mid January 1981. The ABA Summernationals in Amarillo, TexasAmarillo, TexasAmarillo is the 14th-largest city, by population, in the state of Texas, the largest in the Texas Panhandle, and the seat of Potter County. A portion of the city extends into Randall County. The population was 190,695 at the 2010 census...
was very likely his first race for Raliegh since it was for Jeff BottemaJeff BottemaJeffery Bottema was an American professional "Old School" Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1976 to 1981. He had the nickname of "Battling".-Racing career milestones:----...
. They had joined the team together leaving DG. Raleigh dropped its racing team in January 1981. According to Henderson Raleigh allegedly strung himself and Jeff BottemaJeff BottemaJeffery Bottema was an American professional "Old School" Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1976 to 1981. He had the nickname of "Battling".-Racing career milestones:----...
along with false promises of a new contract for the 1982 season only to abruptly dropped by Raleigh:
Toby Henderson: "...I was getting a couple of good contracts coming up, and I turned them all down, because I kept calling Raleigh, and saying, "Well, are we going to do something next year?" "Oh yeah, oh yeah, we're really going to be full force next year." [Raleigh's alleged response-ed.] So I turned some good contracts down, and I let it all slide, until the middle of January, when I called them up and said, "Well, where's the contracts? Let's get some contracts going," and they said, Well, we decided we're going to go TV advertisement," and that's all they said, like "Click." [imitating a phone hang up-ed.] And we [Henderson and Bottema-ed.] said, "Huh?" Here we turned down like three or four good contracts in October, when all the other teams were setting their budgets up and looking for their riders for the next year." ---BMX Plus! October 1982
- Ironically, Raleigh would restart its BMX sponsoring program a year later. Toby rode sponsorless for six months util June 1981
- Hutch Hi-Performance BMX/Products: Early June 1981-January 29, 1984. Henderson's last race for Hutch was the ABA Supernationals in Burbank, CaliforniaBurbank, CaliforniaBurbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
on January 29, 1984. Henderson left Hutch for SE Racing because they offered to pay him three times the money Hutch was offering but ultimately he decided it was a bad move:
- Hutch Hi-Performance BMX/Products: Early June 1981-January 29, 1984. Henderson's last race for Hutch was the ABA Supernationals in Burbank, California
- SE (formerly Scot Enterprises, now called Sports Engineering, Inc.) Racing: Late January 1984-December 1985. It appears that the ABA Winternationals on February 26, 1984 was the first event Henderson raced in SE Racing colors.
- "DAD": January 1986-February 1986. After Henderson was either dropped by SE Racing or as Henderson himself put it "deleted himself", his father supported him on the race circuit for a couple of months. On his uniform he had "Thanks Dad" sewn on in appreciation.
- BMX Action Magazine: February 1986-March 1987. After his father financed him to get to a few nationals after he quit SE Racing, the became the test rider for the BMX periodical BMX Action and was also sponsored by them. He would retire from active competition after leaving BMX Action .
- GT (Gary Turner) Bicycles: April 1988-1991. This was primarily his Mountain Bike racing sponsor but he did race BMX on occasion, including the NBL Snipes National in Norco, CaliforniaNorco, CaliforniaNorco is a city in Riverside County, California, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,063, up from 24,157 at the 2000 census...
on June 19, 1988, the first BMX race since his last one at the Vision World Cup in Irvine, CaliforniaIrvine, CaliforniaIrvine is a suburban incorporated city in Orange County, California, United States. It is a planned city, mainly developed by the Irvine Company since the 1960s. Formally incorporated on December 28, 1971, the city has a population of 212,375 as of the 2010 census. However, the California...
on June 21, 1987 (he didn't make any main at that time). He came in eighth place last in "A" pro and seventh place in Pro Cruiser at Snipes. - Balance: 1993
- Iron Horse: 1994-
Amateur
National Bicycle Association (NBA)- 1978 16 Novice Grandnational Champion
National Bicycle League (NBL)
American Bicycle Association (ABA)
- None
Fédération Internationale Amateur de Cyclisme (FIAC)*
- None
International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)*
- None
Professional
National Bicycle AssociationNational 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)
- None
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)
- 1980 National No.3 Pro
- 1981 Pro Cruiser Knott's Berry Farm Grand National Champion (NBL, United Bicycle Racers (UBR) & World Wide Bicycle Motocross Association (WWBMXA) sanctioned.)
- 1982 National No.2 Pro Cruiser
- 1983 "A" Pro Grandnational Champion
- 1984 Pro Cruiser Grandnational Champion
- 1984 Pro Cruiser National No.1
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)
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)
- 1985 National No.2 Pro and National Pro Cruiser No.2
- 1986 National No.3 Pro
International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)*
Fédération Internationale Amateur de Cyclisme (FIAC)*
- None (FIAC did not have a strictly professional division during its existence) (defunct).
Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)*
Pro Series Championships
- 1981 Pro Cruiser International Grand Championship Champion
Notable accolades
- Henderson is a 1994 ABA BMX Hall of Fame Inductee.
- Henderson is also a 2000 Inductee of the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame.
BMX product lines
- 1985 SE Racing SE Hauler Toby Henderson Signature Model aka "Henderson Hauler"
- Product Evaluation:
- American BMXer January/February 1985 Vol.7 No.12 pg.10
- BMX Plus! February 1985 Vol.8 No.2 pg.56
Significant injuries
- Broke Collarbone at the NBL North Park National in Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
on August 9, 1981. He crashed in his first Pro Trophy qualifying moto when his front wheel did not clear adequately and struck the second of double moguls, breaking the front end of the Thruster frame he was racing and catapulting him at high speed into the ground head first, injuring him. He was laid up for approximately six weeks until the 1981 NBL Grandnational in St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
held on September 26, 1981. He didn't make it out of his Senior "A" pro quarter semi finals, but he did come in third in, ironically, Pro Trophy.
BMX press magazine interviews and articles
- "Henderson & Hutch" BMX Action September 1982 Vol.7 No.9 pg.35 Combined article about Henderson and product evaluation of the Hutch XL24 Cruiser.
- "Toby: Confessions from the 'California Kid'" BMX Plus! October 1982 Vol.5 No.10 pg.52
- "Toby Henderson" BMX Action August 1983 Vol.8 No.8 pg.44
- "Toby Henderson" American BMXer January/February 1985 Vol.7 No.12 pg.12
- "Back in the Day: Toby Henderson" BMX World December 2005/January 2006 Vol.1 No.1 pg.8 (Premier Issue)
BMX magazine covers
----Bicycle Motocross News:
- None
Minicycle/BMX Action & Super BMX:
- July 1983 Vol.10 No.7 (SBMX) in centerfold poster Henderson poses with actress and Miss Ohio 1969 Katherine Baumann.
Bicycle Motocross Action & Go:
- November 1979 Vol.4 No.9 (300) with teammate Jeff BottemaJeff BottemaJeffery Bottema was an American professional "Old School" Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1976 to 1981. He had the nickname of "Battling".-Racing career milestones:----...
(195) (BMXA) - September 1982 Vol.7 No.9 (BMXA)
- April 198 Vol.8 No.4 behind Brent PattersonBrent Patterson (BMX rider)Brent Hathaway Patterson is a former American "Old School" bicycle motocross racer....
(2). (BMXA) - July 1983 Vol.8 No.7 (2) in the lead ahead of Dave Marietti (Torker) racer in second, Brent Patterson in third; Jeff Bottema in fourth. (BMXA)
- September 1986 Vol.11 No.9 (BMXA)
BMX Plus!:
- March 1982 Vol.5 No.3
- June 1983 Vol.6 No.6 ahead of Harry LearyHarry LearyHarry Clarence Leary Jr. was a "Old School" professional bicycle motocross racer....
. - December 1983 Vol.8 No.12 (BMXA) This is the famous cover of Henderson jumping his bike into a lake.
- BMX Racer December 1983 (7) in upper left insert doing one footer. In upper right insert Freestyler Mike Dominguez; in lower right insert Brian PattersonBrian PattersonBrian Patterson is a former American "Old School" bicycle motocross racer.Brian Patterson is the younger of the most potent sibling combinations BMX has ever seen. With Brent the Brothers Patterson are the only brothers to both hold the National No.1 Pro title in any major BMX sanctioning body...
(1) leading Brent Patterson (2); in lower left insert Eric RupeEric RupeEric Fitzgerald Rupe is an "Old School" American professional bicycle motocross racer. His prime competitive years were from 1978 to 1990....
(9) leading Stu ThomsenStu ThomsenStuart 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...
(1); in center insert Greg HillGreg A. HillGregory Alan Hill is a former "Old School" professional bicycle motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1977 to 1989...
(3). This magazine was a special edition printed by Daisy Hi-Touque, the publishers of BMX Plus!. - February 1984 Vol.7 No.2 in lower right insert. Main image freestyler Mike Dominquez.
- August 1984 Vol.7 No.8. In lower left insert. In upper left insert racer Clint MillerClint MillerClint Miller 1 is a former American "Old School" professional Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1976-1984....
. In upper right insert Freestyler Woody Itson. In lower right inser racer Mike MirandaMike Miranda (BMX rider)Michael Felty formerly Miguel Juan Miranda is a former American "Old School" professional Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1981-1986. His previous surname which he is still widely and most familiarly known by, "Miranda", was his stepfather's name...
. - February 1985 Vol.8 No.2 in main image. In insert Eric RupeEric RupeEric Fitzgerald Rupe is an "Old School" American professional bicycle motocross racer. His prime competitive years were from 1978 to 1990....
.
Total BMX
Bicycles and Dirt:
Bicross Magazine: (French Publication)
- Juillet (July) 1985 Vol. No.34
NBA World & NBmxA World The official membership publication of the NBA:
ABA Action, American BMXer, BMXer (the official membership publication of the ABA under three different names):
Mountain Bike Action:
- 1991 Buyer's Guide with female model