The motorcycle racing legend, "Smokin’ Joe" Petrali dies from a heart attack in Casa Grande, Arizona.
From the mid-1920's to the mid-'30's, you'd be hard-pressed to beat Joe Petrali whether competing in board track racing, dirt track, speed records, endurance races or hillclimbs.
"Smokin' Joe" began the hillclimb portion of his career in 1929, when he won both the 45-inch and 61-inch AMA National Championships aboard an Excelsior at Muskegon, Michigan. The 61-cubic-inch (1,000cc) Excelsior that Petrali had custom-built was affectionately dubbed "Big Bertha." Riding Big Bertha, he would win the first 6 races he entered on the 1930 hillclimbing circuit.
Sadly, like so many other businesses, the Great Depression took its toll on Excelsior and the company ceased production early in 1931. Petrali found himself without a ride but word was out and before long he received a phone call from Milwaukee and was signed by Harley-Davidson who were well aware of his hillclimbing exploits.
The 1931 season proved Petrali and Harley-Davidson were a hard to beat team as Joe would win 8 of the 16 dirt track and hillclimb AMA Nationals that year. The following season, Petrali earned the distinction of being the only rider in AMA history to win both the dirt track and hillclimb National Championship in the same year. He repeated that feat three more times in 1933, 1935 and 1936!
"Smokin' Joe" Petrali was at the peak of his form in the early '30's. He won with such regularity that the races where said to be somewhat boring with the outcome rarely being in question. In one particularly impressive stretch from May to August of 1935, Petrali won every Class A National race – 10 in a row!
Today in motorcycle history proudly supports the National Association for Bikers with a Disability (NABD). www.nabd.org.uk
Today in motorcycle history proudly supports the National Association for Bikers with a Disability (NABD). www.nabd.org.uk
