Today in motorcycle history, July 10, 1993

                 

                          

  Robbie Knievel challenges British world record holder and motorcycle stuntman extraordinaire Eddie Kidd to a world title 'jump off' competition in St. Louis, Missouri.  Knievel had deemed Kidd to be the only jump rider in the world worthy of challenging him (hmm, bit of an ego?).  The event was televised as a $19.95 pay per view event titled, "The Daredevil Duel, Knievel vs. Kidd".  The competition required each rider to make three jumps, with the accumulative distance covered by each rider calculated to determine the winner of the contest.  Kidd took the winner's belt by out-jumping Knievel by 6 feet.  Robbie Knievel said he had hoped for a 'rematch', but three years later, Kidd retired after sustaining serious injuries in a motorcycle accident, so the opportunity for him to win the title belt back from Eddie was never to be realized. Heavy sigh, big pout.

  Eddie Kidd worked as a stunt double in many films for actor's such as Timothy Dalton, Val Kilmer, Roger Moore, Michael Caine and Pierce Brosnan.  One of his most famous stunts was in the 1979 film Hanover Street , doubling for Harrison Ford on a motorcycle, he jumped a 120 feet railway cutting at 90 miles per hour in Shepton Mallet, Somerset.