Эрик Руп: BMX жарысшысының ұзақ және сәтті жолы

Eric Fitzgerald Rupe (born June 14, 1963) is an American professional bicycle motocross (BMX) racer. His prime competitive years were from 1978 to 1990. Considered one of the most underrated BMXers in its history, he also had one of the longest careers in BMX. He nominally retired from Senior pro racing after the 1990 American Bicycle Association Grand National but would go on to participate in Pro BMX competition on a serious basis for another 11 years, albeit in Masters/Veteran pro class, the class for racers past their peak competitive years, much like the Champions Tour (formally called the Senior PGA Tour) in golf. He was given the term "Big Daddy" at a 1988 Rockford ABA race by the announcer Dugan Finnel. He used the phrase “Big Daddy coming out on fire” for his win in Senior pro that day. He specifically called him that because he knew Eric was a father by then with a few children at home. Eric was one of the first racers to become a family man when he had his first child in 1984 (albeit Greg Hill became a father in late 1983) His clean cut born again Christian lifestyle and philosophy lent greatly to the family man image. Over thirty four years after his first race he was still racing professionally in the ABA Veteran pro class until recently. Today, he races in the Amateur 45 and Over cruiser class. However, he still is very competitive, winning the USA Cycling BMX National Championship in that class on March 21, 2009.

Note: All first in Pro Class are on the national level unless otherwise noted. Milestone Event DetailsStarted racing: November 1974 at age 11 at the Soledad Sands, California Motorcycle Motocross (MX) track. His uncle Bill used to race motocycles there. The previous November Rupe's father had told him and his brother Robby that he didn't want them to ride their motorcycles anymore least they get hurt. A few days later sensing his sons dis appointments he suggested racing their bicycles there. Sanctioning body: National Bicycle Association (NBA)Sanctioning body district(s): First race bike: A Schwinn Sting Ray custom welded by his brother Robby Rupe in his school shop class. First win (local): February 1976. First professional race result: Third place at the local race at the Van Nuys Youth Center on the first night of local races. He won US$3.00 winnings,First professional win**: Pro Class at the National Bicycle League (NBL) War of the Stars National in Petersburg, Indiana, on July 5, 1980. Height and weight at height of his career (1983–1988): Ht: 5'6" Wt: ≈148 lbs. Retired (nominally): After 1990 ABA Grand National age 26. It was according to Eric a forced retirement due to the unsatisfactory contracts that were offered him by Mongoose. He even made a formal announcement prior in the September 1990 issue of American BMXer, the American Bicycle Association's newspaper in a letter dated July 24, 1990. However, while he may have retired from the points chasing top pro circuits that contends for no 1 Pro for the year, racing was not out of his system. Like a lot of retired BMX racers who come back and race a national or two for old time's sake and to keep a thumb in the pie, Rupe raced occasionally after his retirement. His post "retirement" racing was one of the more active. After about 11 months of "retirement" he raced in the October 26–27, 1991 ABA Fall Nationals along with fellow retirees Stu Thomsen and Harry Leary. He had himself reclassified as an "A" pro and came in second to Eric Carter in that division as well as third in Pro Cruiser on Saturday and a fourth in Pro Cruiser on Sunday. In the ABA Grand National of that year he raced and won the Pro Cruiser Class. Most returning pros did it mostly for fun but Rupe had a serious cant to his "semi retirement". He raced in the 1991 ABA Grand National on December 1, getting a first place in Pro Cruiser. Beginning in 1995, he would race and totally dominate in the mid and late 1990s and early 2000s the ABA Veteran Pro Cruiser class and win the 2000 and 2004 NBL Masters class no. 1 plate. He was still racing seriously in the ABA's Veteran Pro and NBL's Master classes as of 2006. He is 43 years old. *At the time there was no separate pro class for pros due to the relatively small number of pros. They raced with the 16 Experts, making it a Pro/Am class essentially. This is why during the early years of the pro division the national number one racer of a sanctioning body could be either an amateur or professional. This practice continued until the NBA's 1979 season in which the pros earned separate pro points and a separate pro plate from the amateurs. The NBL and ABA followed suit a year later. **During the era Eric Rupe turned pro, there wasn't a two tier system of Junior and Senior pros.

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.

Note: Listed are district, State/Provincial/Department, regional, national, and international titles in italics. "Defunct" refers to the 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.

Winner of the BMX Plus! 1985 Racer of the Year Award with 44% of the reader survey vote. Won a Honda Elite Motor Scooter. This was the first ever BMX Plus! Racer of the Year award. 1988 ABA Hall of Fame Inductee.

For whatever reason, Eric Rupe had rarely raced ABA since its inception in 1977 until January 1984. In fact until the GT Supernationals held on January 27, 1984, in Burbank, California, it was only the fourth ABA national he ever attended. He happened to double, winning "AA" and Pro Open class at that one, his first ABA national wins as an amateur or professional.

In 1977 he was a stunt double doing stunts on a bicycle for the character Riff in the TV show Loser Takes All. In this sense stunt riding does not mean freestyle, but doing perceived difficult high speed maneuvers on a bicycle and/or staged falls. He got married on June 2, 1983, to Kathryn H. Meleski (he proposed in February 1983). Eric is the father of three boys: Eric Mathew Rupe, born on August 5, 1984; John David Rupe born on December 13, 1986; and Kevin Phyllip Rupe born on September 13, 1988. Eric Rupe's elder brother Robert "Robby" Rupe, a respected racer in his own right, married Deana Tomac, John Tomac's sister. John Tomac, after having a notable but comparatively brief BMX pro career, would switch to mountain bike racing (MTB) and would become one of that sport's most respected racers. Rupe is a born again Christian. Also Rupe had a love of golf and video games almost the equal of his love of racing.

Tore ligaments in ankle at the NBL Memphis National on March 31, 1985. His first race back was at the USBA San Antonio Nationals in San Antonio, Texas, on May 4, 1985, after being laid up for five weeks. Badly injured left knee on November 3, 1985, at the ABA Lake Elsinore Fall Nationals race. Laid up for four and one half months. His first race back was the 1986 NBL race in Memphis, Tennessee. In Rupe's recount of this injury, he believes it happened in 1986 but he is in error. Crashed in the main at the NBL Easter Classic in Sarasota, Florida, on April 11, 2004, breaking his wrist, specifically fracturing his scaphoid bone. He tore a few pectoral muscles as well. He was laid up until the ABA Rockford, Illinois National. This was his first broken bone he received from his 30 years of racing up to that time, although this was not the first time he was badly injured as the previous two times show. He suffered severe facial and head injuries in a crash on the second straight at the ABA Silver Dollar Nationals in Reno, Nevada, on January 11, 2008. He had a broken eye socket, cheekbone and temple bone. He had surgery on January 21, 2008, to insert Ti plates in his head to keep the bones in place as they heal. He was expected to be laid up a month. His first race back was the 2008 USA Cycling BMX National Championships in Desoto, Texas, on March 28, 2008, in 45 and over Cruiser.

"Eric Rupe" BMX Plus! January 1982 Vol.5 No.1 pg.20
"Top Pros Speak Out" BMX Action April 1982 Vol.7 No.4 pg.62 Joint interview with Stu Thomsen, Greg Hill, Kevin McNeal, Harry Leary, Brent Patterson, and Scott Clark, speaking about various issues facing the racing world. An Eric Rupe side bar. BMX Action August 1982 Vol.7 No.8 pg.40
"Eric Rupe: A New National Number One Pro." Super BMX January 1984 Vol.11 No.1 pg.70
"Eric Rupe" BMX Action March 1984 Vol.9 No.3 pg.42
"Devonshire" BMX Action July 1984 Vol.9 No.7 pg.31. One of eight mini interviews with other racers held during the 1984 Devonshire Downs NBL race. "Eric Rupe on Turning Losses Into Wins" Super BMX September 1984 Vol.7 No.9 pg.38
"Moto Notes: Jawin' With Eric Rupe" BMX Action December 1984 Vol.9 No.12 pg.60
"My Road To The NBL #1 Pro Plate" Super BMX & Freestyle June 1985 Vo1.12 No.6 pg.34 Story written by Eric Rupe. "Eric Rupe's Advice for Young Riders" Rad Gallery Spectacular July 1985 pg.28 A one off issue published by Daisy Hi Torque, the publishers of BMX Plus! magazine
"The Champs: Eric Rupe" BMX Plus! April 1988 Vol.11 No.4 pg.40 One of six mini articles of the six ABA National No.1 winners of 1987. "Cook with Eric Rupe" BMX Action March 1988 Vol.13 No.3 pg.62
Gold Cup West mini interview. American BMXer November 1989 Vol.11 No.10 pg.17 Very brief interview taken after win. "The Big Daddy of BMX" BMX Plus! April 1991 Vol.14 No.4 pg.24
"BMXer For Life: The Life and Times of the 'Big Daddy'" Snap BMX Magazine June 1998 Vol.4 Iss.4 No.23 pg.80 Autobiographical article by Eric Rupe. "Eric Rupe: 32 years To Life Behind Bars" BMX World Magazine April/May 2006 Vol.1 Iss.3 pg.52 Very large article of the career of Eric Rupe. Foreword written by his brother Robby Rupe. Masters Cycling Summer 2008 A magazine targeting the older Cyclist. It featured Eric Rupe's BMX career in the older BMX classes.