| Eddie Hasha | |
|---|---|
 Hasha racing at Newark Motordrome in 1912 | |
| Nationality |  American |
| Born | 1890, Waco, Texas [ citation needed ] |
| Died | (aged 21-22) [1] Newark Motordrome, Newark, New Jersey |
| Years active | 1911–1912 |
Eddie Hasha (died September 8, 1912) was an American motorcycle racer on board tracks early in the twentieth century. His death contributed to the demise of the board tracks. He was nicknamed the "Texas Cyclone" since he was from Waco, Texas, United States.
Hasha began racing on board tracks in 1911 at Denver. [1] He rode an 8-valve Indian motorcycle. In May 1911, Hasha attained a speed of 95 miles per hour (153 kilometres per hour) at the Playa del Rey, California, motordrome, setting a record for the mile. [2] In 1912, Hasha beat all of the established stars at the Los Angeles Motordrome, and set professional records in the process. He then headed from the western United States to the east. [2]
At one point Hasha went into a brief hiatus when he worked at a Harley-Davidson dealership in Dallas, having known Arthur Davidson as a close friend and business partner, who at one time loaned a racing motorcycle to Hasha in a 1910 race, defeating Bob Stubbs at Waco, Texas; he went back into motorcycle racing soon afterwards. [3]
Hasha competed at the Newark Motordrome in Newark, New Jersey, on September 8, 1912, in front of 5000 spectators. [1] After the feature event was completed, he competed in a five-mile handicap race against five other riders. Among them was Ray Seymour, who held the world record. [1] Hasha and Seymour were the only two riders to race without a handicap; the other four were given a one-lap handicap. [1] Hasha held a slight lead at the end of the first lap. While leading on the third lap, Hasha's motorcycle began to misfire. He reached his hand down to make an adjustment, and was overtaken by Seymour. Hasha accelerated, picking up enough speed to close on Seymour. Traveling at 92 miles per hour (148 km/h), Hasha's motorcycle suddenly turned sharply into the rail surrounding the track. [1] The bike rode the rail for around 100 feet (30 m), killing a boy who had put his head over the rail to watch the race. [2] The machine then struck a large post. Hasha flew out of the racing area into the grandstands, and was killed instantly. [2] Three other boys and a young man were also killed. [4] The now-riderless machine dropped back onto the racing surface into the path of last-place rider Johnny Albright. The motorcycle hit the Denver rider in the shoulder and he slid down the track between the two machines. [2] Albright died four hours later without regaining consciousness. [1] Spectators panicked at the sight of a spinning motorcycle heading their way. Several people had broken bones and flesh wounds as they fought and trampled each other in the rush to get out of the way. [1] It took over an hour to clear the grandstands. [1] Medics came from all parts of the city to attend to the injured and those who had fainted. [1]
Hasha's death made the front page of The New York Times . Having opened earlier that year on July 4, the board track was shut down and never reopened. [1] [2] The deaths brought comparisons between board track racing and Roman gladiatorial contests. [2] [3] Short ¼ – ⅓ mile board tracks began to close after they were labeled "murderdromes" by the media. [2]
Kenneth Leroy Roberts is an American former professional motorcycle racer and racing team owner. In 1978, he became the first American to win a Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championship. He was also a two-time winner of the A.M.A. Grand National Championship. Roberts is one of only four riders in American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) racing history to win the AMA Grand Slam, representing Grand National wins at a mile, half-mile, short-track, TT Steeplechase and road race events.
Ralph Rodolphus Hepburn was a pioneer American motorcycle racing champion and an Indianapolis 500 racecar driver.
Lawrence Ray Weishaar was a Class A Racing Champion in the 1910s and 1920s. He rode for the Harley-Davidson 'Wrecking Crew,' and helped to popularize the nickname 'hog' in reference to Harley-Davidson by carrying the team's mascot, a small pig, around on victory laps.
Board track racing was a type of motorsport popular in the United States during the 1910s and 1920s. Competition was conducted on circular or oval race courses with surfaces composed of wooden planks. This type of track was first used for motorcycle competition, wherein they were called motordromes, before being adapted for use by various different types of racing cars. The majority of the American national championship races were contested at such venues during the 1920s.
Stanley Woods was an Irish motorcycle racer famous for 29 motorcycle Grand Prix wins in the 1920s and 1930s, winning the Isle of Man TT races ten times in his career, plus wins at Assen and elsewhere. He was also a skilled trials rider, competing in the 1940s.
The motorcycle sport of racing includes motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing. Other categories include hill climbs, drag racing and land speed record trials.
James Guthrie was a Scottish motorcycle racer.
John Douglas Chandler is an American former professional motorcycle racer. He earned a reputation as one of the most versatile racers of the 1980s and 1990s. Chandler is one of only four riders in AMA racing history to win the AMA Grand Slam, representing national wins at a mile, half-mile, short track, TT and road race. He was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2006.
Travis McGowan is a former Australian motorcycle speedway rider.
Buzz Kanter is the editor-in-chief and publisher of American Iron Magazine, American Iron Garage and American Iron Salute magazine, and was inducted into the American Motorcyclist Association Hall of Fame in 2002. Buzz was also inducted into the National Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame and the Sturgis Motorcycle Hall of Fame.
American Flat Track is an American motorcycle racing series. The racing series, founded and sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) in 1954, originally encompassed five distinct forms of competitions including mile dirt track races, half-mile, short-track, TT steeplechase and road races. The championship was the premier motorcycle racing series in the United States from the 1950s up until the late 1970s.
George Enoch Stanley (1884-1949) was a British motorcyclist who was a member of ‘The British Motorcycle Racing Club’.
Motorcyclepedia is a motorcycle museum containing over 600 mostly American motorcycles, mainly from the first half of the 20th century, with a special emphasis on Indian motorcycles, including a model from every year of the original Indian brand on display, covering 1901 to 1953.
Roland Stobbart, was an English speedway rider and promoter.
Edward Carroll was one of the original factory test riders for the Indian Motocycle company and a member of the first generation of men who raced motorized bicycles. Born in Springfield, Massachusetts, Carroll was practically raised in the backyard of the giant Hendee Mfg. Co. factory. At twelve, Carroll rode his first "gasoline-fired" two-wheeler and mastered the "run, push, and jump-on style" necessary to get the clutchless cycles underway.
Albert William "Shrimp" Burns was an American dirt and board track motorcycle racer in the early 20th century. Riding for Harley-Davidson and later Indian, he won multiple races in California and later the east coast and the midwest. He won the national championship in 1919, and was inducted in the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.
The Harley-Davidson KR or KR750 was a 45.125 cu in (739.47 cc) displacement V-twin engine racing motorcycle made by Harley-Davidson from 1953 through 1969 for flat track racing. It was also used in road racing in the KRTT faired version. When the KR was first introduced, it dominated motorcycle racing in the United States. In 1970 it was replaced by the long-lived and US race-winning Harley-Davidson XR-750.
Harley and the Davidsons is a 2016 American television miniseries directed by Ciarán Donnelly and Stephen Kay, and co-written by Nick Schenk, Evan Wright and Seth Fisher which dramatizes the origins of motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson, and how Arthur Davidson founded the company together with his brothers Walter Davidson, Sr. and William A. Davidson, along with their childhood friend William S. Harley.