Hall Of Famer Passes
E
arl Bowlby, a 10-time AMA
National Hillclimb Champion,
passed away Saturday, August
5. He was 90 years old.
Born October 27, 1933, in
Hocking County, Ohio, Bowlby's
love for motorcycles began as
a teenager as he rode his paper
route aboard a Whizzer motor-
bike during the 1940s. Bowlby's
racing career didn't get started
until the late 1950s, but instead
of hillclimb, he first dabbled in
drag racing.
In 1960, Bowlby established
his own motorcycle dealership in
Logan, Ohio, and began to ramp
up his racing activities. Bowlby
tried a variety of disciplines,
spanning from enduros to hare
scrambles, but ultimately found
his true calling, hillclimb.
Earning his pro license at 32
in 1966, it took only two years
for Bowlby to claim his first
national victory with a win in
Muskegon, Michigan, in 1968.
From that point forward, Bowlby
dominated the national hillclimb
scene, claiming 10 national titles
across his 25 years of profes-
sional racing, a record that stood
until 2021.
In addition to his 10 national
titles on the AMA hillclimb
circuit, Bowlby also added six
Canadian national champion-
ships to his trophy case dur-
ing his career. In 1984, Bowlby
became the first competitor to
complete the triple crown of
hillclimb by winning the national
invitational at Muskegon while
claiming the AMA and Canadian
national titles.
As a result of his illustrious
racing career, in which he cap-
tured more than 80 AMA na-
tional hillclimb wins, Bowlby was
inducted into the AMA Motor-
cycle Hall of Fame in 1999 and
remained a steadfast supporter
from that point forward. In
February 2023, Bowlby donated
his 1967 BSA 650 to the AMA
Motorcycle Hall of Fame collec-
tion.
CN
WIND
IN THE
P32
Hall of Fame hillclimber Earl Bowlby
passed away at the age of 90.
