I'm changing my vote to either the Grab-On kid, or Radical Rick. I still haven't decided. LOL!!!!

Hey Deanna..I think everyone understands that Brit was a great racer..I remember watching him and talking with his Dad many times about how incredible a racer he was..Here's the deal..Brit's career was a short lived deal compared to Richie's. If you think of Brit you are thinking of a young kid that won a lot of races..When you think about Richie you can see him as a young 8 year old kid that won and as a young man that won..His track record as an amatuer racer is absolutly un contested, it's not an opinion it's fact. Statistics do not lie. Were not talking about who was the fastest, who was the coolest, who won a NAG plate or the overall amatuer title were talking simply about who won the most races and titles as an amatuer hence the title "greatest amatuer racer of all time" Richie Anderson is in league of his own in this catagory.

Just for the record Im not president of the Richie Anderson fan club, Im not on a mission for him or whatever. Im a guy who lined up to race having just watched him win another main event and I watched for years..The guy rocked it..

Have a great New Years everyone!

GH

i read all this.. and didnt see shelby james mentioned anywhere.........

...........and scene!.....

Who has a copie of the picture of Shelby James sittin with all the Punk Rockers in Europe form the 80's

Oops!

[ December 30, 2006, 06:18 PM: Message edited by: Gary Haselhorst ]

I'm glad someone mentioned some of those "age discrepencies" of the 80s. My brother had to race Bruton locally. Alice Bixler swore she had seen his birth certificate. Within in a year his star had faded and he totally disappeared. No locals, no nothing. Rumor was he was finally caught.

Back to the topic, Avalanche is a great choice because he was an amateur forever. Shelby James because he dominated from such a young age through his teens. Going way back, anyone remember when Donny Atherton was an amateur? 16 over x and TOTALLY dominated for over a year. Starts were so good you would swear he jumped the gate unless you watched closely.

Ken

Greg,
After walking away from the computer and thinking about it a bit more you are correct. Based on Richie's long career in the sport and a great pro career to boot I agree he was the best amateur given the longevity of his career in BMX. I just had to think a bit more about it.

I was thinking more in terms of the right up in BMXA as the industry based Brit to be the best amateur given at the time based on his domination in the sport although it was short lived.

So many things to think about to come up with an answer and every one has their opinions on the subject.

Speaking of Brit or his dad Dick has anyone ever been able to track them down? Wouldn't mind hearing how the family is doing and getting in touch with them. The artical stated he was doing a great job at baseball and was also an accomplished body surfer...... going from memory here of course.

Happy New Year everyone!

Richie Anderson, but let's not forget one of the fastest and smoothest back in the day DENNY OWENS!!!

No doubt, Richie was bas *** but the first guy that came to mind for me was also Donny Atherton.

He would have to be somewhere in the top 5 on the list.

gotta go with shelby james.

shouldn't steve veltman be mentioned in this conversation as well?

My vote goes also to the Avalanche Richie Anderson, the guy hated to lose.More BIG wins & titles than anybody BITD (up to 85') From what? say 1976 or 77' to when he turned pro, he won everywhere all the time.Definitely a focused win at all cost, never quit, imtimidating racer.

I think that's a good point. What about the "intimidation" factor? Who did you race that you just knew was going to smoke you no matter what? I would imagine Avalanche would top that list. Also Shelby when he hit that growth spurt and was a foot taller than everyone else! I think Jason Jensen also had that rep.

Ken

I think more importantly though, Richie never really had a bad slump. He was always winning and if he didn't I'm sure he was hard on himself, but shouldn't have been. I mean he's human and can't win them all.

I only add this for the sake of discussion. Are there any riders in the new school era worthy of discussion? Bubba Harris? - How many titles did he win? Josh Oie comes to mind, but his career flamed out too quickly.

On the girls side - Alise Post? I think she turned pro too quickly to seriously challenge Cheri Elliot's standing as top Am.

I like the fact that Richie is getting a lot of credit, even from Hill. Alot people hated the Anderson Brothers. I was never a big threat to them so they were cool to me.

What if Hill didn't go pro at an early age. He bi-passed the Amatures to become one of the grettest racers ever as a Pro.

Good point. No doubt if Greg could have gotten paid as an Am like Richie did, he might have ruled the Am classes for 4 more years....

If we entertain the new kids on the block.....BRADFORD !

The DENNY OWENS was a cool choice.....that kid flat hauled the mail. Got to see him about every weekend.

Richie
Charlie
Donny
Mike
Eddy King
Paul Gossaru
Judge
Jensen
Kyle Fleming

I'd have to go with Richie.........

MaGoo

Avalanche gets my vote.

quote:

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Charlie Williams too.
Richie was simply more consistant.
Farside was awesome too....

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Lol, better watch putting those names so close together. It may make the board blow up or something.