Death of a Showman

Probably the most famous motorcyclist ever, Evel Knievel, died this past Friday at the age of 69. A good age considering the line of work he was in. My dad took me to see the movie about him when I was a kid. It made a big impression on me. The following day I built a ramp and rode my sister’s bike off it and smashed the rear wheel (dad fixed it).

There are a lot of stories told about Evel, these are my favorite two:

His most famous jump was over the fountains at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas New Years Day 1967. In order to get hired for the job, he called the President of the MGM Grand six times using a different voice each time and pretending to be a different person. He would ask “I hear Evel Knievel is going to jump the fountains; when is it going to happen?”

The other story has to do with how he got his name. There are several stories about how he got his name and this is not one of the more popular ones, but perhaps the most credible. I heard it in an internet motorcycle racing forum I frequent. There was an old guy from Montana named Steve who used to have a lot of good stories about the old days and some very interesting historic photos. He is presently incarcerated for gut shooting a pizza shop owner in Billings (bizarre story, Montana is a rough place, everyone carrys a sidearm). Steve knew Bob Knievel before he started doing stunts. He said Bob moved to California and got a job at a Honda dealer. One day he calls a friend back in Butte and says that they got two very rare Honda racing motors from Japan and they would be willing to sell one, you interested? The guy likes the price and says “send it”. The motor arrives in a crate C.O.D.. He pays the driver, the truck drives off, they lug the crate into the shop and pop the lid off it. The crate is full of rocks! Knievel’s “friend” exclaims: “That evil S.O.B.” and the name stuck. Evel changed the spelling because he didn’t want to be “evil”.

His moral compass was broken for most of his life but on Palm Sunday ’07 he made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ and was baptized at the Crystal Cathedral in Orange County California.

His life left an indelible mark on my life and was among the thousands of influences who shaped me into what I am today; I felt it appropriate to comment on his passing.

He was what he was.