ABA BMX Hall of Fame Awards September 16, 2010

Sep 25, 2010
Leigh Roche

ABABMX Hall of Fame - Fabrizio Tarizzo/WikimediaCommons

Each year, the American Bicycle Association inducts BMX racers, one Freestyle rider, and one influential Industry person into the Hall of Fame.

The ABA (American Bicycle Association) added six people to their annual BMX Hall Of Fame on September 16, 2010. Votes were tallied for legendary racers, one legendary freestyler, one influential industry person, and a special recognition award. There were many previous inductees as well as other industry luminaries in attendance at the San Diego Hall Of Champions in San Diego, CA.

The official home of The ABA/ BMX Hall of Fame is located at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA. and was founded in 1985. The awards have been voted on by the public, but now the ABA/BMX awards are voted on by people in the industry.

The host for the evening was Cash Matthews and in his welcome speech, he acknowledged that BMX has been an organized sport for 40 years – a short time in relation to other sports, yet still longer than many people may have imagined in the days of On Any Given Sunday..

The Awardees for Induction into BMX Hall of Fame 2010

Al Fritz, Schwinn Sting-Ray

Dennis Dain, The Red Baron and BMX Hall of Famer, inducted Al Fritz, father of the Schwinn Sting-Ray. On hand to accept the award on behalf of his father, Mike Fritz expressed his gratitude. With the Sting-Ray, BMX was able to come into existence. Kids could ride the Sting-Ray like they were riding motocross and it opened up many possibilities for racing and the creation of freestyle because of its maneuverability.

Al Fritz was an employee at the Schwinn plant in Chicago, Illinois, since 1945, and in 1963 he heard that kids on the West Coast were outfitting used 20" bikes with "Texas Longhorn Handlebars." Upon learning that, Fritz designed the Schwinn Sting-Ray in the winter of that same year.

Craig gOrk Barrette

Eric Rupe, a BMX living legend and Hall of Famer, was the presenter for gOrk's induction into the BMX Hall of Fame. Barrette/gOrk is first and foremost a huge fan of BMX and has worked in all areas of BMX: racing, writing and equipment. He raced at a national level, winning three UBR events; he also rode in and promoted freestyle shows,

Barrette worked as an editor and sometimes photographer for the magazines BMX Action and the ABA’s BMXer. Most recently, he has been the Director of Marketing for Redline, a position he still holds. Upon receiving his induction and award, he acknowledged that he felt that the Hall of Fame is for "superstars" and that he was humbled that his peers believed he belonged in the Hall.

Linda Dorsey, BMX Announcer Special Recognition

Roger Plaskett, track owner and racing announcer, was a colleague of Linda Dorsey who had the honor of presenting Dorsey into the BMX Hall of Fame. Linda was a mainstay at BMX events for 29 years and was going strong up to a few months before she lost her battle with cancer in 2008.

Plaskett had many anecdotes to share about how he came to know and eventually work side-by-side with the BMX pioneer; Dorsey was the first woman in BMX at such an influential level. Often when people at events asked who was announcing the race, the answer was "Linda and That Other Guy," so he accepted that he was That Other Guy and even had it on his nametag.

Linda's son Bryan, understandably emotional, accepted her award and told stories that were both touching and hilarious about her as a BMX mom. Linda Dorsey announced BMX races for three decades, travelling around the world, and serving on the NBL Board of Directors.

Steve Veltman

Jesse Guymon of Boss was the presenter for inductee, Steve Veltman. Veltman began riding at age 10 and in his career, he rode for 16 different teams. He holds numerous race titles, including ABA National Number One Amateur and Cruiser titles in 1982, two Jag World Championship titles, two IBMXF (International Bicycle Motocross Federation) world age group titles in his amateur career. He was an Elite Cruiser Bronze Medalist at the 1989 World Championships, and once he turned Pro he won both the NBL and ABA Grand Nationals.

Veltman was also an inventor; he manufactured and marketed the Rad Kaps dice cube valve caps, and he also invented the Pozi-Stop, a brake cable guide to work with the Odyssey Pit Bull brakes. Aside from his racing titles, his other accomplishments include being the only BMX racer to be featured on a Wheaties box and doing stunt work for Paramount Pictures.

Tim Judge

Toby Henderson, of Intense Bicycles and legend with over 20 years in BMX, inducted Tim Judge into the BMX Hall of Fame. Tim "Da Judge" expressed his gratitude for the family he found in the BMX community. Judge began racing in 1975 when he was only 11 years old. He rode for Hutch from 1981-85, turning Pro for them in ’83. His many racing accomplishments include IBMXF Champ, numerous NBL (National Bicycle League) and ABA Champion titles. He was known for his impressive and innovative jumping ability and is credited for being the first rider to do one-footers, which eventually evolved to the tabletop.

Woody Itson

Mike Redman was the presenter for Woody Itson's induction to the Hall of Fame, frequently invoking the term "visionary" to describe Itson. Itson is only the second BMX freestyler to be inducted into the Hall of Fame and was truly a BMX pioneer. One of Woody Itson’s most notable achievements is designing the Hutch Trick Star, one of the most popular BMX bikes. Itson also won both an AFA and an NFA National Title for Flatland in 1985 and 1986.

Later in his career, he left Hutch joining Mike Dominguez on the Diamond Back Freestyle Team. In his post-freestyle years, he was Freestyle Program Director for the GT Freestyle team, until 2001. He subsequently started Satellite Sports Group, a group of show riders he manages. Itson was grateful and overwhelmed to receive the award; he expressed his belief that great things can only happen when you surround yourself with great people.