30 Day Countdown to A1: #20 Jimmy Ellis
Sunday, December 16, 2012 | 4:25 PM
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PrintToday we reach #20 in our Monster Energy Countdown to Anaheim 1. We are naming the best riders in supercross history as we go, and today we reach #20: Jimmy Ellis.
Born too soon? You could make an argument that Cobalt, Connecticut's Jimmy Ellis (known as “Captain Cobalt”) dominated the supercross game a little too early. And we mean dominated. When the series was just getting started, Ellis became the first star of the sport, sweeping the four-race 1975 AMA Supercross Championship by winning every single round. The exclamation point came at the '75 finale at the Superbowl of Motocross at the L.A. Coliseum, a huge race that was broadcast on CBS, showcasing the sport in a way it never had been before. The win there cemented Ellis' place at the top of the game.
Ellis won his title on a Can-Am, which you may think as a disadvantage. But those Can-Ams were actually one of the first effective supercross weapons, and that, combined with his technical ability, made Ellis and his white bike a hard-to-top combination. Many put Ellis as a key link in the evolution of SX riding, stringing together double jumps before it became part of every rider's repertoire, and dissecting those early tracks like few others.
Jimmy Ellis in 1975 aboard a Can-Am en route to the 1975 title.
The Japanese brands were advancing quickly, though. Ellis kept the Can-Am brand competitive for several years, though, grabbing three more wins for them, and then moving to Team Honda in 1978, and winning his final SX race in Seattle of that season.
The SX schedule from his day hurts Elli's record more than anything else. The '75 season consisted of just four races, and the '76 schedule featured just six. Had he raced a schedule similar to today's 17-race tour back in his prime, he surely would have racked up many more wins that his career total is eight.
Like we said, born too soon. Regardless, he manhandled the field for that 1975 title, and there's certainly credit that needs to be given for any rider who gets that dominant (in our voting for this top 30 countdown, we like to call it "Who's the man?" status, and there's doubt that Ellis reached that level in '75).
Today, Ellis actually lives in Australia, as he was lured there by an Aussie race promoter in 1983 and liked it down under so much that he stayed. But he did return to the U.S. just a few weeks ago, to be inducted in the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame. Check out his speech here and note the Aussie accent!
You can check out all of Jimmy Ellis' results in the Racer X Vault.
Ellis was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame this year.
The 30 Best Supercross Racers of All Time Tracker:
#20 Jimmy Ellis
#21 Mike LaRocco
#22 Ezra Lusk
#23 Broc Glover
#24 Ron Lechien
#25 Jimmy Weinert
#26 David Vuillemin
#27 Donnie Hansen
#28 Larry Ward
#29 Mike Kiedrowski
#30 Marty Tripes
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That's the problem with all-time win lists is that they favor current riders because today they race longer schedules. Glad Racer X took that into consideration.
Nice to see Jimmy alive and well. For some reason back in the day I was always in love with those Can-Am bikes. Never owned one, but use to daydream about them all the time. Also dreamed of the 1975 RM-125 and thought it was the coolest bike on the planet when I saw a guy win a race on it at the Rhein-Main Air Base in Germany.
My friend had a home movie (used this stuff called "film" that you had to get "developed") of a national, mid to late 70s, not sure the year, at Sugar Tree. After the first turn, the track headed up a hill, and there was what I would consider a ditch at the top and then a slight left hand turn. My friend was filming the pack coming towards it. You see all the helmets drop down into the ditch, except for Ellis, who launches from one side to the other and takes the lead. I don't think the term double-jump was even coined yet.
The main thing I remember the tests of the Can Am 250s was that they said they had crazy amounts of horsepower, something ridiculous like 10HP more than a stock Japanese bike at the time, with an "experts-only" powerband.
@ MX Bob Year was May of 1977 . I was in attendance with my dad who was working with the Rhinestone Cowboy Kent Howerton on a Husky and a lot of other riders from that era that new me and my dad, even had the privelage to race some of the races with them or they had come to my house to practice during the summer months in between races . For years .......This is in the day of box vans and riders travling the circus from place to place ! 1977 was a big year in mx history Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania's High Point would join the tour for the first time along with Hangtown, Unadilla, Red Bud, and Southwick great days ....
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all .............See you at A-1
Ellis, Gary Jones and wildman Buck Murphy all hauled ass on those Can-Ams. They definnately had the horsepower.
@mintermoto14
Mike Runyard,John Savitski,Rich Eierstedt, Tim Hart,Gary Semics !!1
Were not to shabby on the brand either in the day !
@Mr-Mx - Not to sidetrack this thread completely, but there's a hole in my memory (one of many) that you may be uniquely qualified to fill. I went to a Trans-USA at Road Atlanta in 1979. I was stuck in town, and was given a ride to the track by a a guy in a van, a Husky-mounted privateer from Ohio. His first or last name may be Ross, or not. We hate breakfast at Embers with the Sun brothers. On that day, I think they may have been the only guys riding Huskys in the 500 class.
Not only did he give me ride to the track, it was 13 miles that I would have walked or hitchhiked otherwise, he got me into the race for free and gave me a pit pass. Have any idea who this good samaritan may have been?
@ MX Bob Ross Williams from Medina, OH . I lived and grew up in Canton,Oh which was about 35 miles north west of us. l moved out of the state in 2009 . Yes Ross was a kid my dad helped a little in late 70's with Maico,Before he went to Husky then Ross had a little help from Husky in 80 I think . I rode a little with him in 1980 I was 16 yrs old then rode some on a Husky , He also helped Guerra,Kessler,Englund, Theiss {RIP} My dad was a big wig with Honda and Yamaha also over time. I could name tese guy's all day. We also back in the day had a house in California when he was a VP with Hoonda and Yamaha.. Ross was a nice guy................Wouldnt know what he is up to now though............. Gotta hit the hay. I have another surgery tommorrow on my back at 10:00am Later
@ MX Bob
I took a quick look at my diary notes in from 1979 Trans Usa we went to
1. Mid Ohio Sept 23
2. Red Bud Sept 30
3. Unadilla Oct 7
4. Road Atlanta Oct 14 { Mike Bell }
**** On my flyer that was all !!!!! but I have a note about Mike Bell on the Sonoma win 10- 21 -1979 Must a been an addition that year
@b787tech Chad Reed has spent almost equal portion of his life in US in comparison to Australia. Of course his accent has changed
I thought that RC was the first rider to sweep a AMA professional series.I thought he was the first one to have a perfect series.Well at least Ellis can claim he is the only one to have a perfect SX series.
@Mr-Mx - Thanks, that 's some good stuff. Your notes seem correct to me. The series was losing its luster by that time. No big-name Euros were there and many of the top Americans were absent also. I got to see Magoo on a Maico and David Bailey on a Bultaco. I think Schultz and Howerton were there.
Good luck with the surgery.
@ MX BOB Here is an atrticle to read which talked about the series format{ Trans USA versus the Trans AMA
Thanks I made it back home alive it was a dozzy ..
I will be in bed all day maybe check in tommorrow if I can handle it sitting .... look at second header down by the + - sign magnifier and look for the dark black button that shows all pages click on it then look about 4 row down towards the right and click on Broc Glovers picture, then hit the plus button on the magnifier and get to your liking to read.. Enjoy....Merry- x - Mas and Happy New year !
http://books.google.com/books?id=GvgDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA36&lpg=PA36&dq=1979+trans-usa+red+bud&source=bl&ots=Y0HmPlfojp&sig=MUifocPsmp3iHc668ojOvyH7yxc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=KEfPUJW0OZCO8wSntICIBw&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=1979 trans-usa red bud&f=false
It's was great to see this article My 1st mx race I went to watch at Middlebough MA and the big race of the day was Jimmy Ellis against Greg Spooner what I remember is the anouncer saying before the race is that those two guys raced Sat flat tracking against each other and Greg Spooner had beaten Jimmy Ellis. In the MX race 250cc went to Ellis 1-1 Spooner 2-2 in the open class Ellis 1-1 Spooner 2-2 Great races.
Oh yah that was in 72