Cycle News

VOL. 50 ISSUE 23 JUNE 11, 2013 on the leader Emde as the fans came to their feet in the closing laps. Rarely did they ever get to see riders battling so closely for the lead in the closing stages of the 200, but Emde held off the late charge by Mathews, who had to settle for second, but not without argument. The '48 race was one that was embroiled in controversy and it was hours after the event before the winner was finally announced. Records show Mathews finishing second to Floyd Emde. Yet, on completing the race, Bill had been congratulated on his win by an AMA checker. However, the racers were told that Emde had won by 18 seconds. Shortly after, Bill was informed that he had lost by a margin of 12 seconds. After almost seven hours of embroiled discussion and indecision, officials asked Bill "if he would accept second place." He did so, reluctantly, and unconvinced of his actual loss, merely to end the unpleasant situation. Bill had stated that, "Not a single rider had passed him while he was in motion." He deplored the fact that he had "lost" the race, not to another rider, but to a woefully inadequate scoring system. Mathews was then part of the Norton sweep of Daytona in 1949, finishing second to rookie Dick Klamfoth. Tex Luse was third on another factory Norton. Mathews came back to win his second Daytona 200 in 1950, this time besting Norton teammate Klamfoth by one minute and 45 seconds. The 1950 race ended on a humorous note as Mathews took the checkered flag then crashed his bike while celebrating on the sand bank in turn one. Nothing more than Mathews' pride was damaged in the accident and he became only the second multi-time winner of the Daytona 200, following Ben Campanale. Mathews was refused entry into the U.S. in 1951, a victim of the Senator Joe McCarthy communism scare of the time. Bill was carrying a membership card from a political party that was evidently considered a communist threat. He would, however, return and make the 1952 classic on a BSA. The machine was not competitive and he finished 48th. That was to be his last Daytona 200 ride. P123 Mathews gradually faded from the American racing scene during the 1950s, although he kept racing in Canada through the rest of the decade. Later in his career, he concentrated on road racing. He moved to British Columbia and went to work at Trev Deeley's Vancouver dealership. Deeley said he remembered Mathews as a fun-loving guy, whom everyone liked. He conveyed a funny story about Mathews. When Deeley was approached by Honda to become a dealer in the late 50s, Deeley said he would have to sample some of the company's bikes first. Honda sent over a 305cc Dream and Deeley remembers Mathews enthusiastically hopping on the bike and zipping away in heavy downtown Vancouver traffic. Mathews returned some time later pushing the bike with his head down. He had crashed the first Honda in Canada into a car. Mathews was a indeed a likeable guy, standing only five feet four, with blue eyes, and a gap toothed grin. Barrel chested, he was known to have remarkable upper body strength, something that served him well in his racing career. He was very modest about his racing accomplishments, even some of his own family were not aware of what he had achieved. Grant Sauerberg, now living in Calgary, worked with Bill for years at Deeleys and says he had no idea the man ever raced. "He never spoke about it." Mathews eventually took a job with the British Columbia Department of Highways. He died of cancer on July 11, 1980. He was 68. He was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.Mathews will always be remembered as one of the first Canadian racing stars to venture south of the border and make a name for himself in America. He was the first Canadian to win America's biggest motorcycle race and it would be 50 years before a rider named Miguel Duhamel matched Mathews' feat. CN Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives

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