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.bmxmania.com January 10, 2007 interview. 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.
Racing career milestones
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 motorcycles there.BMX Plus! November 1987 Vol.10 No.11 pg.44 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.Snap BMX Magazine June 1998 Vol.4 Iss.4 No.23 pg.80Sanctioning 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 race result: Sixth place overall (out of eight in his 11 Novice class). He wrecked after the drive chain broke. He raced the next two motos on his older brother's (Robby Rupe) bicycle. It would take him a year to get his first trophy, a second place in January 1976.BMX Action March 1988 Vol.13 No.3 pg.62 (year by year chart)First win (local): February 1976. at the Van Nuys Youth Center in Van Nuys, California, just over a year after he started racing.First sponsor: Canyon Schwinn Cyclery (Bike Shop) April 1976.First national win: 13 Expert, September 1976 NBA Fall Nationals in Las Vegas, Nevada.Turned professional*: 1977, age 14. In a March 1988 BMX Action interview with Eric Rupe it has him listed as turning pro when he was 13, but in the sidebar "The Life and Times of Eric Rupe", a year-by-year chart of his career, it is listed as having him do so in July 1977. If he was born on June 13, 1963, that would have him being 14 years of age in July 1977, not 13.BMX Action March 1988 Vol.13 No.3 pg.64First 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, the equivalent of US$10.18 in 2007 (Cost of Living Calculator). It cost him US$2.00 to enter the race.Rad Gallery Spectacular July 1985 pg.28First 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.Rad Gallery Spectacular July 1985 pg.30 (photo caption)
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.BMX Plus! April 1991 Vol.14 No.4 page 26. (Table of contents page is mislabeld March 1991) He even made a formal announcement prior in the September 1990 issue of American BMXer, the American Bicycle Association's newspaperAmerican BMXer September 1990 Vol. 12 No. 8 pg. 10 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.
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.
Amateur R & R (Rick Ankron & Rick VarnerBicycle Motocross News April 1977 Vol.4 No.4 pg.4) Racing Products: February 1977-June 1977 Schwinn Bicycle Company: June 1977-November 1980 Eric turned pro with this sponsor. Currently racing amateur.
Professional Schwinn Bicycle Company: June 1977-November 1980 He left Schwinn when he got indications that he and his brother Robby Rupe were about to be dropped by them. SE Racing (Formally Scot Enterprises, Now called Sports Engineering, Inc.): February 1981-November 1981. Left under unprofessional circumstances.BMX Action March 1988 Vol.13 No.3 pg.63 Mongoose (BMX Products): November 1981-February 1983. Profile Competition Racing Products: February 1983-December 31, 1983. Mongoose (BMX Products): January 1, 1984 – November 25, 1990. Retired nominally after the 1990 season due to Mongoose's drastic cut in his salary, from $25,000 a year to $3,000. During the 1990 season Eric was forced to get a normal job to support his family. This cut into his training and practice time significantly which in turn affected his performance at races negatively. Mongoose was going to cut his salary even more which what provoked his-as it turned out-brief retirement.BMX Plus! April 1991 Vol.14 No.4 pg.26 Haro Designs/Bicycles: October 1991-December 1992. By late 1991 his brief retirement was over. Following Ronnie Anderson's example in 1990, he had himself reclassified as an "A" pro in the ABA. Pro Forx-GHP (Greg Hill Products): January 1993- Parkpre Bicycles: 1995-June 1997. Mongoose Bicycles (formerly BMX Products): June 1997-February 3, 2007. This was his third stint with Mongoose. GT (Gary Turner) Bicycles: February 2007– 2012 Extreme Team:2013 - 2014 Vendetta BMX:2015 - 2017 Redline Bicycles: May 2018–Present
*Pros could race in the amateur classes at the time.
Career bicycle motocross titles
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.
Amateur National Bicycle Association (NBA) 1976 13 Expert Western States Champion 1977 Local #1 in 14 Expert National Bicycle League (NBL) None American Bicycle Association (ABA) None
Professional National Bicycle Association (NBA) None National Bicycle League (NBL) 1980 National No.2 Pro 1983, 1984 National No.1 Pro 1985 National No.2 Pro 1986 Pro Cruiser National No.2 1987, 1988 National No.1 Pro Cruiser 1989 Pro Cruiser Grandnational Champion 1995 National No.1 Vet Pro 1996 NBL Legends Grandnational Champion 2000 National No.1 Masters Pro 2000 "A"* Pro National No.1 2002 "A" Pro Cruiser Grandnational Champion 2002 "A" Pro Cruiser National No.1 2004 Master Elite Grandnational Champion 2004 National No.1 Masters Pro
*By 2000 the NBL would adapt ABA practice and designate "AA" pro as the Senior pro division and rename "B" pro/Super Class to "A" pro. In the 2004 season the pro designations would be Elite Men and Superclass
American Bicycle Association (ABA) 1982 "AA" Pro 2nd Place Jag World Champion (ABA sanctioned) 1984 National No.3 Pro 1987 Pro Cruiser U.S. Gold Cup West Champion 1987, 1988 National No.1 Pro Cruiser 1989 Pro Cruiser U.S. Gold Cup West Champion 1991 Pro Cruiser Grandnational Champion 1996 Veteran Pro Grandnational Champion 1995, '96, '97, '98, '99, 2000, '01 National No.1 Pro Veteran Cruiser 1997, '98 World Cup Vet Pro Champion 1998 World Cup Pro Cruiser Champion 1998 Veteran Pro Race of Champions (ROC) Champion 1999 Race Of Champions "A" Pro Champion 2001 Veteran Pro National No.1 2001 World Cup Veteran Pro World Champion 2002 "A" Pro National No.3 and Veteran Pro National No.2 2003 Veteran Pro Grandnational Champion United States Bicycle Association (USBA) 1984 Unlimited Pro† Grandnational Champion 1984 National No.1 Pro 1986 Pro Cruiser Grandnational Champion 1986 Pro Cruiser National No.2
†"Unlimited Pro" was the USBA's term for its senior professional class. It was renamed "A" Pro in the following racing season.
International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF) 1987, 1989 Pro Cruiser World Champion 1987 Pro Cruiser Vision Street Wear World Cup* Champion
*The Vision Street Wear World Cup was the direct descendant of the Murry World Cup. Murray stopped sponsoring the World Cup after the fifth 1986 edition due to the failure of Murray of Ohio bicycle company and the NBL to come to an agreement about the sponsorship fee Murray would have had to pay the NBL. If Murray continued its sponsorship, the 1987 addition would have been the sixth (VI) in the series.
Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) 2005, 2006, 2007 40-44 Cruiser World Champion. USA Cycling BMX 2008 and 2009 45 and Over Men Cruiser National Champion
Notable accolades Winner of the BMX Plus! 1985 Racer of the Year Award with 44% of the reader survey vote. Won a Honda Elite Motor Scooter.BMX Plus! June 1985 Vol.8 No.6 pg.38 This was the first ever BMX Plus! Racer of the Year award. 1988 ABA Hall of Fame Inductee.
BMX product lines 1984 Mongoose Eric Rupe Signature Edition Frame Set. Product Evaluations: BMX Plus! February 1985 Vol.8 No.2 pg.24 Official BMX Plus! test article. BMX Action August 1985 Vol.10 No.8 pg.56 Official BMX Action test article.