| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | William Luther Griggs |
| Nickname | "Mr. Bill" |
| Born | September 16, 1968 Anaheim, California, United States of America |
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) |
| Weight | 79.4 kg (175 lb) |
| Team information | |
| Current team | Retired |
| Discipline | Bicycle Motocross (BMX) |
| Role | Racer |
| Rider type | Off Road |
| Amateur teams | |
| 1981-1982 | BS Bikes |
| 1983 | CW Racing |
| 1984 | Schwinn Bicycle Company |
| 1984-1985 | Mongoose |
| 1985-1987 | Redline Engineering |
| Professional teams | |
| 1987-1990 | Redline Engineering |
| 1990-1992 | Haro Designs/Cycles |
| 1992-1993 | Iron Horse |
| 1994 | Haro Bicycles |
| 1997-1998 | Shimano |
| 1998-2001 | GT Bicycles |
Luther William Grigs (b. September 16, 1968 from Anaheim, California U.S.) is an American "Old School/Mid School" former professional Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from 1985 to 1996.
His nickname was "Mr. Bill" which was a play on his name and an allusion to a late 1970s Saturday Night Live skit called "The Mr. Bill Show." Billy Griggs had a more successful career than most, winning two World Championships during his amateur days, but did not quite make it to the top in pro although he would consistently make the mains.
Note: Professional first are at the national level unless otherwise indicated.
| Milestone | Event Details |
|---|---|
| Started racing: | January 21, 1981 [1] at 12 years old. |
| Sanctioning body: | American Bicycle Association (ABA) |
| Home sanctioning body districts): | ABA California 14 (CA-14) 1982-1985 |
| First race bike: | |
| First race result: | Third in 12 Beginner class. |
| First win (local): | |
| First sponsor: | BS Bikes in Santa Ana, California. |
| First national win: | |
| Turned Professional: | February 1987 at 18 years old. |
| First Professional race result: | Fourth place in "A" pro on Saturday, February 14 at the 1987 American Bicycle Association (ABA) Winter Nationals in Scottsdale, Arizona. He won USD$135. [2] |
| First Professional win: | At the 1987 ABA Winter Nationals in "A" pro on Sunday, February 15. He won US$640. [2] |
| First Junior Men/Pro* race result: | See "First professional race result". |
| First Junior Men/Pro win: | See "First Professional win". |
| First Senior Pro** race result: | Third Place in "AA" pro at the ABA Silver Dollar Nationals in Reno, Nevada on May 24, 1987. [3] He won US$140. [4] |
| First Senior Pro win: | In "AA" pro at the ABA Lumberjack Nationals in Eugene, Oregon On July 25, 1987. He also won Pro Open, doubling and he doubled again the next day. No purse break down given. [5] |
| Height and weight at height of his career: (1991) | Ht:5'10" Wt:175 lbs. |
| Retired: | Griggs retired from full-time AA pro racing in July 1995 after he took a Research and Development position at GT Bicycles. He would race occasionally in "AA" pro until his last "AA" equivalent pro race at the UCI World Championships in Cordoba, Argentina on the weekend of July 29, 2000. [6] |
*In the NBL it is "B" Pro/Superclass/"AA" pro depending on the era; In the ABA it is "AA" pro.
**In the NBL "A" Pro/Elite Men; in the ABA it is "AA" pro.
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.
He opted to leave the team in part because it would have taken too long to adjust to a bike with a Schwinn manufactured frame. [9]SBMX:So you're saying you had no bicycle to race?
Billy Griggs:"I had a bike to race but it wasn't what I would consider a race bike. It would be fine for a novice or a beginner. I was riding a fully short stock frame. I tried to ride a Sting for a while but I just didn't like it. They understood that and they let me try a different frame they made. But you know I prefer Flight cranks any day over one-piece cranks, and the other frame they made was too wide in the rear section for Flights, they just hit the frame, and so I didn't want to ride that bike. It was also too short in the front end by three inches easy, it was really a small bike."
SBMX:Yet you won quite a few races on Schwinn bicycles.
B.G.:No I didn't, the bike I had was made by Voris Dixon.
SBMX:It said Schwinn.
B.G.:That's just it, it said Schwinn, but that's as far as it went. I had to put Schwinn stickers on it because I had to fool everyone with it.
SBMX:Were you fooling the people at Schwinn?
B.G.:For a while. At first they didn't mind it but then when the Schwinn dealers started asking for that bike and they couldn't supply it, then the problem started."
SBMX:So did Schwinn leave you or did you leave Schwinn?
B.G.:They called me up and gave me a choice: Either put a Sting together or a bike we make and stay on the team, or don't do it and I wouldn't be on the team anymore. [9]
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.
National Bicycle Association (NBA)
National Bicycle League (NBL)
American Bicycle Association (ABA)
*Beginning with the 1983 season the ABA instituted age class rankings, much like NBL practice. However, the overall National No.1 Amateur title was retained. Doug Davis was overall National No. 1 Amateur for 1983.
United States Bicycle Motocross Association (USBA)
**The 7-UP World Championship race was the direct descendant of the Jag BMX World Championship races held from 1978-1983. Renny Roker, the promoter of the JAG BMX World Championship gave the rights to the WC to the USBA in 1984 in return for the cable television rights.
International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)
Other titles
National Bicycle Association (NBA)
National Bicycle League (NBL)
American Bicycle Association (ABA)
United States Bicycle Motocross Association (USBA)
International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)
Pro Series Championships
"My ticker is awesome,thanks for asking....I wish the valve repair I had was available 20 years ago....who knows what a difference it could havemade in my career having my heart actually pump the full amount of blood with every beat!" [19]
In 2013 Griggs was inducted into the prestigious National BMX Hall of Fame. [21]
Griggs was responsible for developing the Ultra Box Series frame design, alongside Gary Turner, and has welded up plenty of custom frames for top Pros - including the GT frames ridden by Mike Day and Jill Kintner in the 2008 Olympics. [22]
Bicycle Motocross News:
Minicycle/BMX Action & Super BMX:
Bicycle Motocross Action & Go:
BMX Plus!:
*Due to a change in ownership BMX Plus! did not publish a May issue in 1983.
Total BMX:
Bicycles and Dirt:
BMX World (1990 Version)
Snap BMX Magazine & Transworld BMX:
Moto Mag
BMX World (2005 version):
NBA World & NBmxA World (The official NBA/NBmxA membership publication):
Bicycles Today & BMX Today (The official NBL membership publication under two names):
ABA Action, American BMXer, BMXer (The official ABA membership publication under three names):
USBA Racer (The official USBA membership publication):
*After the ABA acquired the USBA the ABA printed the USBA paper within American BMXer beginning with the May 1986 issue.