Jim Davis, 1896-2000

JIM DAVIS, 1896-2000

Jim Davis circa 1917, receiving his trophy for winning a race in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.

LEGENDARY MOTORCYCLIST Jim Davis passed away last February. Born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1896, he was motorcycling's last living link to pre-World War I racing. Davis' first victory came in 1914 at a dirt-track race in Detroit, Michigan. Five years later, he joined the Harley-Davidson factory team, where he blossomed into one of America’s top riders. In 1920, Davis won the grueling 300-miler in Dodge City, Kansas-at the time, the premier motorcycle event in the U.S. Under a baking 4th of July sun, he averaged an impressive 81.8 mph (including gas stops) to win the race by more than two laps. Besides his dirt-track successes, Davis set numerous records on boardtracks from coast to coast. In 1921, he won a 50-mile event in Beverly Hills, California, averaging 97.3 mph. The next year, riding for the rival Indian factory, Davis upped his one-lap record to more than 110 mph. In 1926, in Altoona, Pennsylvania, he logged a 113-mph lap. The man who Joe Petrali

once described as “the most fearless rider I ever competed against” finally called it quits in the mid-1930s. Not content to spend his days on the golf course, Davis took up the job of starter for the AMA, a position he held for 25 years. In his later years, Davis traveled the country attending banquets and other motorcyclerelated events, entertaining audiences with his stories about the glory days.

One of Davis’ highest honors was his June, 1997, induction into the Motorsports Hall of Fame in Novi, Michigan. I was privileged to introduce him at the awards ceremony and stand next to him on the stage as he received his Hall of Fame trophy. Also in attendance were car-racing greats Mario Andretti and Ned Jarrett, among others. It was a fitting tribute to witness Davis inducted alongside such legends. Godspeed, Jim. Don Emde