Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125859
J lesBorky A lifetime • In motorcycling By Rick Kocks "For 28 Years, I've been t ellin' it like it is!' And now, I'm going to miss it. Mo t o rcycling has been my wh ole life..." Wit h th at, Jules Horky, o ne o f moto rcycling's unfo rge ttable cha rac te rs, is re ti ring fr om his post at th e AMA . Du ring his years at t he AMA , Horky has ca r rie d a vari e ty of t it le s ·- field r e pr e s e n t ative , dire ct or of referees . c o mp e t i t i o n d ire cto r a n d chi ef co ordinator. But titles are useless here and reveal little ab out the man or his total devotion to the sport. If t itles provide little ins ight , then what sort of man is Jules Ho rky ? At best, an evening with Horky will provide only a cursory view o f the man . At 65 , Horky is just beyond description. With a cigar puffing stead ily , he can best b e described as spirited, d isarmingly frank , full of insights and concerned . As an official, Horky was known as a "by-the-rules" administrator and, in earlier days, carried the title of 'The H a t c h e t m a n ' . But the years have mellowed the Hatchetrnan. Today , with a bit of prodding, Horky will unleash a fusillade o f stories lasting through an entire roast beef dinner and a six -pa ck of yer favorite , Stories of a life time of motorcycle involvement: of mo onligh t rides and co m wh isk ey ; of the early d ays and motorcycle personalities ; of moto r c y cle pol it i c s a n d disappoin trn en ts. Lik e man y p eople in th e sport today , Horky 's involvem ent in mo t o rcy cling began as hobby . A 19 2 5 fo ur-c ylind er Ace led to a "greaseb all" job (" I cleaned p ar t s an d s ta rt e d l e arnin g abo u t motors." ) in a Ph ilad elphia Ha rley shop. Aro und th is time, Ho rk y also be came act ively invo lved in t he-p o p ula r sp ort o f mo torcycle p o lo. Class C racin g ca me in to bein g in 19 29 and Horky w as th ere. " In th ose d ay s, y o u just t oo k o ff th e head light and fender s and raced . Most of t he tim e I wa s ju st a me c hani c, but I raced so me, too . I w asn't too good , th ough ." Horky became the store man ager of th e Indian fact o ry in 1939. His caree r, however, w as c ut short by a stin t in the Marin e Corps. But even in the service , H or k y co n tin ued in cycling as a motorcycle ins t ructor in the Motor Transport Divisio n. Upon his di scharge ( 194 6 ) , Ho rky becam e the AMAs field rep resen tat ive to set up a co mpetition department, arrange s chedules and work with referees. " Th ere were three. of us then . . .E.C . Smith , a secret ar y and me . I t oo k a $50 pay cut and gave up riding. In those days, if yo u rode a mach ine, y o u'd be sho wi ng partisanship . . .so 1 gave 'e m up . Why ? ll iked mo t o rcycling!" Un der Hor ky's dire ctio n ,the co mpeti tion d epar tmen t began shaping up. Horky es tablished a permanent numb erin g system: set up refere e clinics s o th at rules w ould b e uniformly enfo rced; an d began su p plying refer ees with valuabl e, up -to -dat e informat ion in th e fo rm of a mon th ly bulleti n . Horky's early reali zat ion s co nce rn ing motorcycling's publi c image laid th e gr oundw ork fo r t od ay's co lo red leathers, un iform number plates an d me chanic whites. As ea rly as 1950, Horky str essed th e need for ne atnes s and showmanship. Rep rinted here is an excerp t from Hork y's J an ua ry 19 5 0 bull et in . "In 19 49, referees and thei r assi stants set an exa mp le o f clean liness at a ll even ts . Fo r 19 50, t his p ro gram m ust be se t up a mo ng the compe titio n riders . Rid ers and t heir equip ment must be c l e a n , 0 th erw ise th ev will no t b e permitt ed o n t he track: Above all, th e eq uip ment m ust be cle an an d p ainted . Numbers on t he plates m ust be painted - a Left: Mid 30's - Jules and his Harley during a 24 hr. endurance run. Right: Flagging the Peoria TT in 1947. by a pro fessional p ainter and n ot w it h a white wa sh b ru sh. Penal izing and setting an exam ple is stro ngly urged by all refer ees . Sh ow t he rid er you .mean bu sin ess and ar e n ot j us t kid d ing o r t a l k i ng f or your h e alth . M ak e show mansh ip o ur mott o for 19 50. We have o ne o f th e best shows , b ut fail t o tak e ad vantage of it." H o r k y h as h a d t he rath er ra re distinctio n o f serving unde r five o f the AMA's execut ive heads . . .from E.C . Sm it h to Ed Yo ungb lood . And , being q uit e out -spo ken. Horky capsuliz ed his feelingsje xperi ence with ea ch. "S mi th 's job was to organize the wowing n umb ers of pleasure rid ers. lie was like an old tim e sales man go ing into count ry stores selling ke rosene . lI e had a product to sell . " Lin Kuchle r? He was a politician . li e wa nt ed e ve ryone to know th at he was the Execu tive Se cret ary. IIe'd break hi s neck t o get his p ict ure ta ken . " I lik ed Bill Berry, T he fi rst yea r he was here, he listened to all ide as . But whe n he fo und o ut his powe rs , he wouldn't listen to anyo ne . He almos t fired me ori ce , " T hey all wanted t o run the show. But Rus s Mar ch . ..he had radi o s with him all th e tim e a t th e t rac k an d every o ne had to we ar a ce rta in uniform . He almost p ut it all d own t he t ube before o le Ho rk co uld retire . .. "I've always liked Youngb lood .. .he's a real co ncien t o us guy. I hop e t ha t h e gets a job he reall y likes so metime ." In t he days preceedi ng Daytona '74, H orky co nt en ted h imse lf with long lunch breaks , crossword p uzzles and reflect ing o n his position in th e world of mo torcycl in g. " \I'ell , if you t hin k of a build in g, I'd probab ly be a pillar or cornerstone. I like to thin k that in m y own little w ay, I' ve kept things going." And t he futu re? "I'm goi ng t o keep o ut o f th e way of m y wife wh o probably has a bunch of ideas t o keep me busy . And , if it weren't for the gas sho rtage, I co uld spend a lifteirne dri vin g around ' and visiting folks who have invited m e to 'Drop in so me time , H ark '. " Fe w men would have m ade th e sac rifices . L o n g h ou r s and little re c ogn i ti on h av e bee n co n s t a nt companions w ith Ho rky . But th ere have bee n rew ard s seeing the sport grow and flo urish ; inn um erab le frie n ds ac ro ss th e country; an d th e sa tisfac tio n of a j ob we ll do ne. Yo u can 't buy a cup of coffee wi t h any o f them, but few peop le can clai m as m uch rew ard o r satisfaction fro m a lifet im e of hard wo rk and devo t ion. • 31 ~