Entering just his fourth year as a professional rider, two-time Peoria TT winner George Everett crashes hard at Ascot Park in Gardenia, California. Sadly, three days later he would die from his injuries.
George Everett was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. On his 21st birthday he shocked his family and friends by announcing he was moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in motorcycle racing.
Settling in Pasadena he quickly began making a name for himself at the local scrambles tracks. By 1955, he had high-pointed in the amateur class and made some great showings against the pros. In the 1955 Pacific Coast TT Championship, aboard a BSA he finished second to San Diego legend Brad Andres riding an H-D.
Getting his expert license in 1956, he made a bee-line to Daytona Beach and finished an amazing third in the Daytona 200, his very first AMA National race. Everett’s name was now known in motorcycle circuits throughout the country.
For the rest of the 1956 season, Everett stayed close to his adopted home in southern California to ride in the money-making local races, but he did venture cross-country once again to race in the famous Peoria TT Nationals. At Peoria, he was every bit as impressive as he’d been at Daytona, taking second and third in the two Nationals at Peoria’s Clubgrounds. Racing in just three Nationals, he would finish tied for fourth in the final 1956 AMA Grand National point standings.
Everett came back in 1957 to win at Peoria riding a BSA and earn his first AMA National victory. Again, he finished ranked in the Top-Ten in the National Championships despite racing in only half of the events.
In 1958, George would stamp his name on Peoria TT history by winning for a second straight year. He would ride to victory in the Dodge City Grand Prix Road Race and earn another Top-Ten result in the Daytona 200. Back home in Los Angeles, Everett won the Pacific Coast TT title and was the high-point rider at Ascot Park.
He seemed to be on the verge of making even a bigger impact on the national scene when he was sadly struck down in a multiple-bike accident during the weekly Friday night program at Ascot Park. Everett lingered for three days before succumbing to his injuries. He was 28. Everett’s death struck the racing community, especially in Southern California, very hard. A fine, humble, soft-spoken and humorous man, Everett was described by many as the best-liked rider by both fans and fellow competitors.
His old friend, Bob Shafer, wrote a fitting eulogy to Everett in his newspaper column.
"It is not easy to say goodbye to a friend. The only measure of solace is found in the notion that George went out doing what he liked best; living life, as he saw it, to its fullest. He is beyond hurt. It is those he leaves behind who suffer the deep ache now. His was an occupation whose dangers he fully realized and oft-times freely discussed. Were it to be done over again he undoubtedly would chose the same kind of life."
If you can, go see some live racing. Whatever is near you, be it hillclimbing, TT, trials, scrambles, flat track, drag racing, Speedway, etc. Have a blast.
Today in motorcycle history proudly supports the National Association for Bikers with a Disability (NABD). www.nabd.org.uk
