Ed Kretz Jr.
knew how to
win—just like
his dad.
CN
III ARCHIVES
BY LARRY LAWRENCE
E
d Kretz Jr. was an AMA Grand
National Championship com-
petitor of the 1950s and 1960s. If
the name is familiar, it's no won-
der. Kretz's father, Ed Kretz, win-
ner of the inaugural Daytona 200,
was the most popular motorcycle
racer of the 1930s and '40s and
growing up following in his fa-
mous father's footsteps, everyone
wanted to beat the Iron Man's kid,
however, Kretz Jr. said he never
felt the pressure of following in the
footsteps of his father.
"My dad never pushed me into
racing," Kretz Jr. said. "It was
His biggest career win came in
1955, when he rode a Triumph to
victory in the prestigious Peoria
TT.
Kretz was born in Pomona,
California in 1932. Motorcycling
was always a part of Kretz's life.
He grew up going to races with
his famous father and worked
in the family-owned motorcycle
dealership in Monterey Park, Cali-
fornia, from an early age. Kretz Jr.
rode bikes as a child and began
racing at the age of 16 on one of
his father's Indian Scouts.
Kretz Jr. had an illustrious ama-
P130
always something I wanted to do.
My dad coached me, but I don't
think I had it any easier or harder
than anyone else out there. We
were all trying to do the best we
could. I never felt that my fellow
riders looked at me any different
just because my name happened
to be Kretz."
Kretz Jr. became a very ac-
complished rider in his own right.
He was known primarily as a TT
and road racing specialist, but he
also was a leading off-road rider
in the 1950s. He won his class at
the Catalina Grand Prix in 1956.
THE SON OF
IRON MAN
