I
n 1970, $18.50 a day was the
going wage for a dream job.
This was a gig where you could
travel the country with your best
friends, raise a little hell on the
highways and in the hotels, with
breaks on the weekends for re
-
ally fast motorcycle rides. This
was the life of Tom Rapp, one of
America's early motocross stars,
a California boy who was racing
motocross here in the States be
-
fore it even had a name. His jour-
ney began on the campground
trails, which led him to the desert
and finally to something called
"European Scrambles." He was
a motocross pioneer, and he
cleared the trail for every pro
MX'er that has come after him.
Tom Rapp comes from a two-
wheeled racing family. His father,
Don, raced a little in the desert,
and Tom's grandfather was one
of the fearless Indian-mounted
daredevils who cheated death
on the motordrome board tracks
in the days of World War I. Tom
was born in Southern California
in 1952, the youngest of three
children. As the baby of the fam
-
ily, he benefited in the same way
that most youngest children do.
"My dad was a Teamster truck
driver," Rapp says today, "and by
the time I came around, there
was some money for fun things.
My dad bought a Honda step-
through 50, and we would take
it camping. We belonged to the
Santa Ana Trailer Club, so we
would go fishing and bring the
Honda along to ride."
"When I was 12, my dad sold
a home that he owned in Orange
County and gave each of us kids
$500. I took my money right to
the cycle shop and bought a new
Hodaka, and pretty soon I was
CNII ARCHIVES
P118
BY KENT TAYLOR
In the 1970s, every Californian
motocrosser knew Tom Rapp. He
and his Bultaco competed across
the state and usually won.
DREAM JOB
For motocross pioneer Tom Rapp, racing wasn't about
money; it was for the love of the sport.
