Racer X Online - Motocross & Supercross NewsRacer X Online

  • Subscribe Now
  • Latest
  • Features
  • Breaking News

Racer X Online - Motocross & Supercross NewsRacer X Online

  • One Click Sign-In

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    OR

    Sign in with your username and password

    • Sign In
  • Features
    • 10 Things
    • 30 Greatest AMA Motocrossers
    • 3 on 3
    • 250 Words
    • 450 Words
    • Between the Motos
    • Breakdown
    • Deals of the Week
    • GNCC Report
    • Great Battles
    • How to Watch
    • Injury Report
    • Insight
    • In the Mag, On the Web
    • Lockdown Diaries
    • Longform
    • MXGP Race Reports
    • My Favorite Loretta Lynn's Moto
    • Next
    • Observations
    • On This Day in Moto
    • Open Mic
    • Privateer Profile
    • Race Day Feed
    • Racerhead
    • Racer X Awards
    • Racer X Redux
    • Rapid Reaxtion
    • RX Exhaust
    • Saturday Night Live
    • Staging Area
    • The Conversation
    • The List
    • The Moment
    • Things We Learned at the Ranch
    • Unphiltered
    • Wake-Up Call
    • Where Are They Now
  • Multimedia
    • Podcasts
    • Photo Galleries
    • The Weege Show
    • Racer X Films
    • Video
    • SX Preview Shows
    • Factory Tech Tip
    • MX Preview Shows
    • Behind The Bars
    • Racer X Rapid News
  • Races
    • Series Schedules
    • TV Schedules
    • Results
    • Champions
    • Teams
    • 2021 Numbers
  • Results
    • Points Standings
    • Race Results
    • Riders
    • The Vault
    • Loretta Lynn's Vault
  • The Mag
    • Customer Care
    • Digital Magazine Bookstand
    • Current Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletter
    • Store Locator
    • Sell Racer X
    • Free Stickers
  • Shop
  • About Us
  • Table of Contents
  • Subscribe Now
  • Latest
  • Features
  • Breaking News
Results Archive
Supercross
Atlanta 1
Articles
450SX Results
  1. Eli Tomac
  2. Chase Sexton
  3. Cooper Webb
Full Results
250SX West Results
  1. Nate Thrasher
  2. Justin Cooper
  3. Cameron McAdoo
Full Results
Australian MX
Wonthaggi
Articles
Supercross
Atlanta 2
Articles
450SX Results
  1. Ken Roczen
  2. Chase Sexton
  3. Jason Anderson
Full Results
250SX West Results
  1. Justin Cooper
  2. Hunter Lawrence
  3. Cameron McAdoo
Full Results
GNCC
Tiger Run
Articles
Overall Results
  1. Steward Baylor
  2. Ricky Russell
  3. Ben Kelley
Full Results
XC2 Pro Results
  1. Jonathan Girroir
  2. Craig Delong
  3. Thorn Devlin
Full Results
Supercross
Atlanta 3
Articles
450SX Results
  1. Cooper Webb
  2. Ken Roczen
  3. Eli Tomac
Full Results
250SX West Results
  1. Nate Thrasher
  2. Justin Cooper
  3. Seth Hammaker
Full Results
Upcoming
Supercross
Salt Lake City 1
Sat Apr 24
Articles
Upcoming
GNCC
Hoosier
Sat May 1
Articles
Upcoming
Supercross
Salt Lake City 2
Sat May 1
Articles
Upcoming
Australian MX
Canberra
Sun May 2
Articles
Full Schedule

Great Races: The 1983 Anaheim Supercross

April 7, 2006 8:52am
  • Home
  • Great Races: The 1983 Anaheim Supercross

"I remember the mud hole at the '83 Anaheim Supercross," Johnny O'Mara said while watching his daughter Shelby celebrate her second birthday at JW Tumbles in Laguna Niguel, California. It was Sunday afternoon, April 2 of ’06, and Johnny was talking about getting dirty. "My whole career, I didn't really like to get dirty. And even though I had success in the mud, I was not into that mud hole at Anaheim at all."

Later that night, I slipped a disc from the World's Greatest Supercross Races DVD set into my player and found the ’83 Anaheim SX. "It's a tremendous crowd at Anaheim Stadium, but they're not here to see the Angels play or the Rams," NBC Sports commentator Paul Page said, sporting a blue Members Only jacket and a full head of hair. "Baseball, football, they'll draw crowds of 60,000 or 64,000, but the largest crowd in the history of Anaheim Stadium is here tonight." A quick shot of the Anaheim Stadium scoreboard read: "SELL OUT APPROX 70,000." With that, Page and NBC Sports broadcast partner Johnny Rutherford (the collar of the multi-time Indy 500 winner's  Members Only jacket pulled straight up) began to elaborate on the rough, rutted, damp circuit that would host the opening round of the 1983 AMA Wrangler Supercross Series.

"And as if the track itself were not enough of a challenge, they've added one more little wrinkle, and some of the riders are not that happy about it," Page said, referring to a big man-made mud hole, where legend Bob "Hurricane" Hannah was standing in a blue HRP jersey and wearing a blue-and-yellow Wrangler hat, looking angry.

Bailey at Anaheim '83
photo: Racer X Archives
"Well, everybody has got to handle it," Hannah mused. "It's no different for me than for anybody else. It creates a problem in that it makes it a little slippery, makes it bad on our eyes and on our goggles, and if you try to pass in it and somebody is in front of you, you can't see. But everybody has the same problem, so I guess we'll all have to deal with it."

The main event that night included one of strongest gatherings of supercross talent in AMA history: Hannah, O’Mara, Rick Johnson, Mark Barnett, Broc Glover, Jeff Ward, Jim Gibson, Billy Liles, Donnie Cataloupi, Danny "Magoo" Chandler, and a young Honda rider named David Bailey.

The gate dropped and it was Chandler coming out of first turn with the holeshot, but before the first lap was over, Chandler looped out big in the whoops, and in the words of Johnny Rutherford, "The bike just went and walked away from under him!" Glover raced into the lead, Bailey found himself in second, and Washington's Phil Larson held station in third. Lap after lap, Glover and Bailey splashed through the water hazard, but at the two-thirds mark of the race, Glover lost control in the "rockers," a tame whoop section (at least by today's standards), and both of his feet flew well above the seat. Glover saved it, but Bailey was through and seemingly gone.

Bailey celebrates his now-famous Anaheim win
photo: Thom Veety
With just a handful of laps remaining, Bailey was closing in on his first professional supercross victory as O’Mara was chasing after Glover for second. When the checkered flag flew, Bailey flew across the finish line, taking both hands off the bars and thrusting them high into the air. Seconds later, his teammate O'Mara did the same thing, the O'Show having nipped the surprised Glover for second at the bitter end.

"It's great! I wish everybody out there could feel the way I do right now!" beamed Bailey, wearing a red, open-face Shoei helmet, its JT Racing duckbill visor splattered with mud. "I mean, this is an all-time high!" Then, from out of the crowd, someone handed Bailey a quart of Miller High Life beer (a series sponsor). Bailey grabbed it and added one of the most memorable podium quotes on all-time: "I'm going to drink this whole thing!"

Months later, Bailey claimed the 1983 AMA Supercross Championship, plus he 250cc National Motocross Championship, which helped him earn that year’s Wrangler Grand National Championship for combined points. And yes, he drank the whole thing!

  • Racer X Films: Kevin Windham Racer X Films: Kevin Windham 10:20am
Read Now
June 2021 Issue Now Available
Get Racer X on your iPhone
Check out all the exclusive content this month on any device!
Read Now
The June 2021 Digital Issue Availalbe Now

Motocross & Supercross News - Racer X Online

122 Vista Del Rio Drive, Morgantown, WV 26508 | 304-284-0084 | Contact Us
©1999 - 2021 Filter Publications LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy
designed at: Website DesignImpulse Studios