Cycle News

VOL. 52 ISSUE 6 FEBRUARY 10, 2015 P111 won my heat and felt good for the win—until some kid named "Magoo" took out half the field in the first turn. There was one more high school race coming up in 1975 and I really wanted to win it. It was set for December 13, 1975, during the intermission of something called "The Ameri- can Motocross Finals," at some place called Anaheim Stadium. Just as he had been doing most of the year, Broc ran off and hid. I was in second, but bent my rear brake pedal around my footpeg on the last lap, stall- ing my bike. Dave Eropkin got by me for second and Team DG swept the podium. Me, Dave and Broc were interviewed down on the podium, I kissed the trophy girl, Miss Molly Blue, and the three of us were hustled up into the press box, where actual newspaper reporters asked us stuff and we mumbled our best replies. It was surreal and we were all pretty much in shock. Prior to that night, Broc and I had been friends, just kids goofing around at the races. His dad, Dick, had done the front forks on my Elsinore. It's not like something happened that night and we suddenly were not friends anymore, or there was any kind of bad blood between us. He signed with factory Yamaha shortly after that and then went on a tear, winning the 125cc National Championship in 1977, '78 and '79, followed by three 500cc Championships and countless races and ac- colades in between. I will never forget how proud I was when I saw the cover of Cycle News, saying, "Broc Glover is 125 National Champion." Broc had definitely moved on and left the rest of us behind. I raced the Nationals and Supercross Series for a couple of years with spo- radic results and even landed a factory Yamaha ride for 1979. I would see Broc here and there, but we never spoke again after that night in 1975, until 30 years later. We were standing on the infield of Anaheim Stadium, each waiting for our turn at the podium with Terry Boyd, the field an- nouncer. Broc was there rep- resenting Dunlop, his longtime employer, and I was promoting our Wonder Warthog privateer support programs. We talked about that night in 1975 and the irony of us finding our way back to that spot after 30 years. Marty Smith walked up and I remem- ber a warm and familiar feeling come over me—it occurred to me that when I last spoke to either of them, we were all boys. I thought about the things that I had experienced during the past 30 years, as I talked to these two men, who at different times in my life, I had known as friends, competitors and heroes and now back to friends again. I see Broc at the races, we think nothing of calling each other late at night and we both have causes that we try to help each other with. Broc is heavily involved in the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and I have my Big Air Kid's Fair. He's come to a couple of our Old SoCal Pro Reunions and I've gone to his Breathe Easy event in Del Mar. We are friends, for sure, but he is also one of my heroes. I found Broc signing auto- graphs at the Legends and Heroes pit area last Saturday night, along with Donnie Han- sen, Tommy Croft, David Bailey, Chuck Sun, Jim Beauchamp, Gary Chaplin, Ricky Johnson, Scott Burnworth, Billy Urban and some other giants of the sport. It was almost time for Broc's award presentation, so we all headed to the stadium floor. It was great to see Broc so happy and appre- ciative of being honored and as everyone assembled on the po- dium for a group picture and the presentation, I could tell it meant a lot to him to be surrounded by men who were his friends, competitors and heroes. I was in awe as I looked up at so many of my heroes on that stage, but when they invited me to join them up there, It felt like 1975 again, only better! Congratulations, Broc, on your induction to the Legends and Heroes Hall of Fame, and Happy 60th Birthday, Jimmy Beau- champ! CN

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