Gary Ellis


Gary Leo Ellis Jr. was one of the last American "Old School" professional bicycle motocross racer whose careers started in the 1970s to early 1980s. His prime competitive years were from 1982–1996. He was nicknamed "The Lumberjack".
Just like Tommy Brackens was nicknamed "The Human Dragster", "The Lumberjack" was coined for Ellis by the BMX "play by play" announcers at nationals. By the age of 16 he was 6' 2" tall and 190 lbs. He also had a thick beard and mustache making him look meaner and older than his years. The place of his birth was also a factor in the nickname since it was a stereotypically American Lumberjack region of the United States. Plus, there was an apocryphal story that he sawed down a tree that was in the right of way of a practice track he was building in his front yard. The appellation stuck and he had it throughout the majority of his long 21-year career.

Racing career milestones

He started racing in 1977 at age 11 after He saw a BMX display at a car show and he asked his father if he could race. His father, Gary Leo Ellis Sr., is a 1987 ABA Hall of Fame Inductee for the track operator with the longest continuously operating track in the country.
His first race bicycle was a Schwinn Sting-Ray.
His first local race result was fourth place at the Tacoma Jaycees BMX track.
The sanctioning body was Northwest Bicycle Motocross Association, a short lived regional governing body in Washington State.
His first national amateur win was at an American Bicycle Association in 15 Expert in Portland, Oregon in 1981.
His first sponsor was Pedal Pushers Bike Shop in 1979.
He turned Professional on December 1983 at age 17.
His first pro race result was a first place in junior "A" pro at the joint 1983 American Bicycle Association /Canadian American Bicycle Association Canadian-American BMX Championships pre race in Monroe, Washington on December 10, 1983.
His first senior pro** race result was a seventh place in "A" Pro at the National Bicycle League Celebrity Race For Childhelp USA/International in Azusa, California on January 22, 1984. He moved himself up to "A" pro after the 1983 Jag World Super Bowl Championship which was held on December 29, 1983. This was a charity event.
His first Senior Pro win was in 1989 Gary Ellis became the first ABA pro national No.1 in its history come from outside of California.
He retired November 1998, after the 1998 ABA Grand National, age 32.
*In the NBL "B" Pro/Super Class/"A" Pro/Junior Elite Men depending on the era; in the ABA it is "A" Pro.
**In the NBL it is "AA" Pro/Elite Men; in the ABA it is "AA" Pro.

Career factory and major bicycle shop sponsors

Note: This listing only denotes the racer's primary sponsors. At any given time a racer could have numerous co-sponsors. Primary sponsorships can be verified by BMX press coverage and sponsor's advertisements at the time in question. When possible exact dates are given.

Amateur

Note: Listed are District, State/Provincial/Department, Regional, National, and International titles in italics. "Defunct" refers to the fact of that sanctioning body in question no longer existing at the start of the racer's career or at that stage of his/her career. Depending on point totals of individual racers, winners of Grand Nationals do not necessarily win National titles. Series and one off Championships are also listed in block.

Amateur

National Bicycle Association
National Bicycle League
American Bicycle Association
*Beginning with the 1983 season the ABA instituted age class rankings, much like NBL practice. However, the overall National No.1 Amateur title was retained. Doug Davis was overall National No. 1 Amateur for 1983.
United States Bicycle Motocross Association
International Bicycle Motorcross Federation
Fédération Internationale Amateur de Cyclisme *
Union Cycliste Internationale *
*See note in Professional section.

Professional

National Bicycle Association
National Bicycle League
*In his last NBL race ever, the 1998 NBL Grand National held on September 6, 1998 in Louisville, Kentucky, he scored a perfect three wins in the pro main motos which as was BMX standard procedure for the pros, both ABA and NBL were run three times to minimize luck and to reward consistency. This performance that lead to his victory as Grand National Champion, was the capstone of his reputation as being at his best under pressure at very important races.
American Bicycle Association
*There is controversy surrounding Gary Ellis's 1995 title. That year, Frenchman Christophe Lévêque, was the actual points winner. He was not awarded the title or the automobile prize that went with it due to a rule in the ABA rule book that required the winner of the ABA No.1 Pro title to be a U.S. citizen. Lévêque was permitted to race the season and collected points, but the rule remained, as another ABA rule prevented rule changes from being made during a race season. As a result, Ellis was rewarded the title. The controversial rule was changed for the following season.
United States Bicycle Motocross Association
International Bicycle Motorcross Federation *
Fédération Internationale Amateur de Cyclisme *
Union Cycliste Internationale *
*Note: Beginning in 1991 the IBMXF and FIAC, the amateur cycling arm of the UCI, had been holding joint World Championship events as a transitional phase in merging which began in earnest in 1993. Beginning with the 1996 season the IBMXF and FIAC completed the merger and both ceased to exist as independent entities being integrated into the UCI. Beginning with the 1996 World Championships held in Brighton, England the UCI would officially hold and sanction BMX World Championships and with it inherited all precedents, records, streaks, etc. from both the IBMXF and FIAC.
Independent Invitationals and Pro Series/single races
* Go was BMX Action/Freestylin new name until its demise in 1992.
**This was the very last NORA Cup to be awarded before Go ceased publishing. The NORA Cup would not be awarded for another six years until 1998 when Snap magazine brought it back with Gary Ellis winning in 1998.
*** Snap BMX Magazine, by acquiring the rights to the NORA Cup, became the spiritual heir to BMX Action/Freestylin magazine, which ceased publication in 1992 as GO magazine.

Significant injuries

Like many former BMXers they have either returned to Motorcycle Motocross or picked it up for the first time. Gary Ellis revisited it. He also likes to relax riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Unlike many former top pro BMXers, he has never raced again in BMX after his retirement in 1998, not even the Veteran and Masters classes in the ABA and NBL respectively, not even for fun. On the occasion of his last NBL race the 1998 NBL Grand National in which he scored a perfect 1-1-1 score, i.e. winning all three of the mains he made a vow not to come back after he retired. Many pros like Turnell Henry, Frank Post and Brian Patterson raced after their official or unofficial retirements from BMX racing. Many like Stu Thomsen just raced basically for fun once or twice a year. Some like Eric Rupe and Harry Leary made it a second career to race in the junior "A" pros and/or ABA's Veteran Pro and NBL's Masters classes. Unlike them Gary Ellis did not to come back:
BMX Plus!: Stu Thomsen retired from racing in '86 but he raced Pro Open at the Fallnationals a few years later. After this year is over and you retire, do you think you will race Pro again some time in the future...even just for fun?
Gary: No. When I'm done, I'm gonna be done. I'm not gonna go back out and do it again. I don't plan on it anyway.
--Gary Ellis BMX Plus! January 1999

As of November 2008 he has been as good as his word and not raced BMX in any capacity.
However, this does not mean he totally abandoned BMX. He became the non racing team manager of the Nirve BMX Team in early June 1999.

BMX and general press magazine articles and interviews

*Due to a change of printing companies, BMX Plus! technically did not have a May 1983 issue. The issue succeeding April's was called the June issue.

BMX magazine covers

Bicycle Motocross News:
Minicycle/BMX Action & Super BMX:
Bicycle Motocross Action & Go:
BMX Plus!:
Total BMX:
Bicycles and Dirt:
Snap BMX Magazine & Transworld BMX:
NBA World & NBmxA World :
Bicycle Today & BMX Today :
ABA Action, American BMXer, BMXer :
USBA Racer: :