Evel Knievel, (October 17, 1938 - November 30, 2007)

[Schuyler Colfax]

By the time I was born this guy was already in his 50's. So I never did have any kind of attachment to him. But I always respected what he did. He will be missed.

[Flagg]

By the time I was born this guy was already in his 50's. So I never did have any kind of attachment to him. But I always respected what he did. He will be missed.

I like his name. That's about it. I don't hold any particular respect for jumping over things on a motorcycle, though.

[Havok]

One of my favorite stories/myths...

Not everyone who came to see him was enthralled by his perceived showboating, however. As the mass media began to milk headlines out of the motorcycle subculture, Knievel found himself at odds with some of the scene's equally newsworthy-and more maligned-elements. Asked why he chose the white leather jumpsuits Elvis appeared to later adapt for his stage look, Knievel replies, "I just thought that was a classy set of leathers to wear, and I hated black leather."

The reason for Knievel's dislike of what people normally think of as traditional biker gear stemmed from his self-instigated conflict with the outlaw biker/chopper contingent in general, and with the Hells Angels in particular.

"I had a real run-in with 'em at the Cow Palace in San Francisco," Knievel says of the Angels. "One of them threw a tire iron at me out of the grandstand when I was ready to make the jump. So I made the jump anyway, but when I came back in he was standing in the middle of the floor giving me the finger, and I knocked him on his ass with my motorcycle."
Hells Angels members who agreed to discuss the incident confirm that Knievel's recollection of the basic scenario is accurate; it's his embellished version that they have a problem with. A leading member of the Oakland chapter who attended the event remembers that Knievel took it upon himself to denounce drugs and outlaw motorcyclists-of course, this was San Francisco in the late '60s-making remarks directly concerning the Hells Angels during the sermon he customarily delivered as he stalled at the top of the ramp prior to his jump. Pissed off at being publicly and personally humiliated by this self-righteous hot dog, one Angel took exception and threw an object, though after 30 years it's hard to determine whether it was actually a tire iron or, just as likely, a beer can.

Knievel continues, "Four or five of them jumped on me and the whole crowd came out of the grandstand and just beat the shit out of 'em. Hit 'em with 4x4s, everything-just slaughtered them."

The Angels remember it a little differently. The crowd did indeed jump in, but it was the club members who primarily made use of whatever two-by-four studs were available. It's further asserted that once the fracas was underway, any Angel perceived as dogging it, who didn't come to his brothers' aid with absolute full-bore ferocity, would have been subject to a reprimand and sanctions, up to and including the confiscation of his colors. Accordingly, nothing of the kind happened, and members claim that the Angels acquitted themselves proudly and appropriately in the face of such lopsided odds. As for Knievel's claim that the police had to intervene on the Angels' behalf, the response was that yes, the cops did move in to break up the fight, but certainly not for any reasons such as Knievel suggests. It's pretty safe to assume that Hells Angels can take care of themselves.

The upshot of this reciprocal antagonism begs an answer to the question: why does Knievel persist in talking shit about the Angels, particularly when he's a business and entertainment guy with little to gain from and nothing to do with the outlaw biker culture he claims to find abhorrent? His gunslinger's bravado seems to make a case for the popular belief that Evel's got more balls than brains. Is it really necessary to point out that one of the dumbest things you can do in life is to try to enhance your image as a tough guy by underestimating the qualities one must exhibit to become a member of Hells Angels, and to take lightly what it means for those who have demonstrated those characteristics to be a member of Hells Angels? After all, it's a tribute to their dedication to the club's basic tenets that, even in this age of websites and cell phones, these guys are still, purely and unmistakably, the motherfucking Hells Angels.