AMA Hall of Famer Passes
G
eorge Barber, an AMA Mo-
torcycle Hall of Famer and
founder of the Barber Vintage
Motorsports Museum in Bir-
mingham, Alabama, home to
the world's largest collection of
historic motorcycles, passed
away at 85 years old.
Barber had a unique impact
on the motorcycling commu
-
nity. Son of George H. Barber,
founder of Barber Dairy and a
pioneer of dairy pasteurization
in the United States, the younger
Barber's love for motor vehicles
began early in his life. In the
1960s, Barber raced and worked
on his own Porsche racers with
great success, amassing a
significant record of wins behind
the wheel.
Barber's interest in motorcy
-
cles soon followed, leading him
to open his own museum and
hire skilled workers to restore
vintage motorcycles to expand
his collection. At the same
time, Barber operated a vintage
motorcycle racing team, which
raced across the United States
and Europe.
In 1994, Barber's museum
gained 501(c)(3) nonprofit
status and was officially named
the Barber Vintage Motorsports
Museum.
In 2002, Barber decided to
close the original location of
the Barber Vintage Motorsports
Museum and moved his collec
-
tion to its current site in Septem-
ber 2003, which is an 830-acre
complex that also features a
2.38-mile road circuit.
For his long-time preservation
of motorcycle history, Barber was
inducted into the AMA Motor
-
cycle Hall of Fame in 2014.
CN
WIND
IN THE
P24
George Barber, founder of the
Barber Vintage Motorsports
Museum in Birmingham, Alabama,
home to the world's largest
collection of historic motorcycles,
passed away at the age of 85.
