Associated learning page: https://sites.google.com/view/lititzbmxinventorylist/learning-resources/quizzes/1981-bmx-history-quiz
Source: BMX Action, December 1986 retrospective sequence
Likely page position: Approximately pp. 38–39, based on the immediately preceding 1980 spread; the supplied image crops or obscures the printed page numbers
Transcription basis: Supplied two-page magazine spread
Archive package version: 1.0
Prepared: July 19, 2026
Original headings, quotations, names, colloquial wording, capitalization, and visible punctuation are preserved as closely as the supplied image permits.
Source limitation: The top of the supplied right-hand page is cropped. Missing opening lines and captions are marked as source gaps and are not reconstructed.
At this time, Greg Hill had just ended his one-man boycott of the ABA and was fresh off of Red Line. Even at 16, Greg was pretty unbeatable. (Heck, he was unbeatable at 14!) Note the Haro lower finger brake levers on Denny’s bike. Photo by Oz.
His year. His BEST year.
For some time now, Brent Patterson had been near the top, but not standing on the peak—maybe one step below. In 1980, he was looking strong. In 1981, he stood alone.
The elder Patterson bro went into ’81 with the ABA No. 1 pro title, plus a Trans Am. Brent continued his domination by not really winning every major biggie, but most of the ones in between. Brent also scarfed
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Brent Patterson, ruler of 1981.
The 1981 Team Torker. The main three somewhere in here are Jason Jenson, Mike King, and Clint Miller. That’s Steve Johnson, Torker’s owner, without a jersey.
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… what he called a “Young.” JMC always did have the stylish riders, didn’t they?
And, from the upper-right column:
… but he got to check out BMX on the big screen—the first time since “ON ANY SUNDAY.”
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arrived and delivered. It didn’t take too long before GT picked him up.
Clarence Perry, CW’s walking earthquake, had shown up here and there, and with the Pro Cruiser class, he finally found a home.
Showing up in a lot of B-pro mains was some squid called “Gibey.” His mama called him Steve. His competition called him tough. Oz called him “a warehouse boy done good.” Len Weed, BMXA’s mad editor at the time called him an Assistant Editor (for now).
Darrell Young became known as one of the smoothest guys to ever grace a BMX track. The guy was silk!
Stu, wowing the very excitable crowd in Nagoya, Japan. Stu had just gotten his second NORA Cup and Red Line got No. 1 team, so you could say that Stu was jumping for joy here.
Friends, Bob Medrano whippin’ into a Crews, and Frank “Wild Man” Post gettin’ tabled during halftime. At one time or another, these two guys held their own.
And one of the biggest locals-on-the-verge was Greg Grubbs. From outta nowhere (Nowhere, Nebraska), he showed up in a pro main. At first, people questioned if he was in the wrong moto. He wasn’t. And once the gate dropped, they never asked again. He twisted himself into weird positions off the track and got some good positions ON the track. Instant super star. Red Line jumped on him—figuratively speaking, of course.
I don’t think that any of us expected to see what we saw. All the BMX’er/movie goer knew from what Oz warned them, was that it was about a gang of kids jammin’ around on BMX bikes with some weird alien creature.
If you are anything like I am, then I know for a fact that when you walked out of the sticky-floored theatre, you were STOKED. Not only was E.T. an
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First off, let me mention that at this very instant in time, 26 inchers instantly became history. The 24 Wars had begun. Mongoose was the first
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“If you want to be the very best, then you have to get up Monday morning and put as much effort into it as you can. You have to want to win all week long.”
Greg Hill
BMX ACTION, July 1982.
to jump on it. Everyone else followed, which brings the cruiser controversy up to its present status.
GT Pro bars were a hot item, FUR sure. GT is said to have sold “close to a million.” (Slight exaggeration, maybe.) Red Line Flight cranks were also selling hotter than tanning-lamps in Alaska—the long awaited Flights became the ultimate crank to have if you had the ultimate cash flow.
Pedalin’ Lee Medlin. Him and Dennis Dain were the original factory GT riders. He jammed, up until ’85.
Pit bikes gained in popularity. Skyway came out with 16 inch Tuff’s, and it was the full-blown factory look to have your very own 16 incher to cruise around the pits between motos. And every once in awhile, if you could talk the track operator into it, you might get a pit bike race goin’!
And last but surely not least, the Premier helmets were laid down to rest when Bell came out with their tough and durable looking Moto III. It was mean. It was used by the best. It was the hot prod.