Today in motorcycle history, February 21, 1959

   On a cold, but beautiful Michigan winter day, Bart Markel weds the love of his life, JoAnn Overton. 

 

   Bartlett D. "Bart" Markel, was the godfather of flat-track racing in Flint, Michigan, and one of the greatest racers in American Motorcyclist Association history.

 

  A former U.S. Marine and two-time Gold Glove boxing champion, his aggressive riding style earned him the nicknames "Black Bart" and "Bad Bart".   According to the AMA, at one point, Markel was suspended from racing for his rough riding style.   Quoted on the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum Web site, Markel said he just "didn't like following anybody," and if they gave him an inch on the track, he took a foot.

 

 

  It was in the dirt, sliding motorcycles tire-to-tire around racetracks at high speed, where the Flint native left major national marks.

  Teamed with sponsor Bert Cummings of Cummings Harley-Davidson, Markel helped fire up a slew of famous Flint-area racers -including Jay Springsteen, Scott Parker and Randy Goss - in the gritty arena of flat-tracking.

  Markel, Springsteen, Parker and Goss collectively won 17 Grand National titles, according to the AMA.

  Bart competed in more than 140 AMA Grand National Series, winning the AMA Grand National Championship three times during the 1960s.

 

  Bart Markel was inducted in the AMA Hall of Fame in 1998.