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100 Years of History - The Condensed Version
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1904 |
In November of this year, the
SFMC holds its first meeting at the Thor Motorcycle shop, owned by A. Freed,
on the 1400 block of Market street near Fulton. 12 charter members were in
attendance. A few were: C.C. “Daddy”
Hopkins, J.L. Tormey, George Payton, Joe Hollie, Harry Rockwell, and A. Freed |
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1905 |
In the summer of ’05, the club
held its first run. It was to be a 5
mile race from the clubroom to the top of the hill in Daly City by way of
Mission Street. The weather would not
cooperate and the event was cancelled as none of the 12 riders could make it
past Geneva Avenue as they were bogged down by rain and mud. At that time Mission Street was dirt south
of Army Street. |
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1906 |
April 18th, a day
that all San Franciscans remember, the Great Earthquake and Fire strikes and
fire ravages the SFMC clubroom and all its possessions. |
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1907 |
The club finds a new clubroom at 25th and Mission
Streets just outside the earthquake;fire damaged area. |
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1911 |
The membership of the SFMC hits
its peak with over 500 members including San Francisco’s mayor P.H. McCarthy. |
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1913 |
Dudley “Red” Perkins Sr. joins
the SFMC, a spirited rider, he gains recognition as a champion hill-climber
aboard his Harley-Davidson. One year
later, he opens a Harley Davidson dealership. |
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1924 |
San Francisco Motorcycle Club
joins the American Motorcycle Association as Club Number 142. Dud Perkins wins the National
Hill_Climb Championship. The Club also wins big at Motorcycle Polo, led by Pat Speer.
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1920’s-1930’s |
Jack Cottrell and Ray Eddy
dominate local racing during this period, especially T.T.Racing. |
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1936 |
The first Hap Jones Birthday
Party, a tradition that will last well past WWII, is a favorite with the
local riders. It’s said that they
would bark for weeks after, from consuming so many hot dogs. |
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1937 |
Hap Jones, also noted as a
champion T.T. Racer rides then pushes his Indian Chief through the crowd of
pedestrians to become the first to cross the Golden Gate Bridge. |
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1938 |
Through the war years, the SFMC
sponsors a Civil Defense Messenger Corps led by Hap Jones and Bob Young. |
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1941 |
The SFMC wins its first
Performing Drill Team trophy in Pittsburg, CA. |
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1944 |
At the 40th
Anniversary Banquet of the SFMC, a white haired gentle man delivers to the
club a box containing the original club gavel thought to be lost in
1906. The man, C.C. Hopkins tells a
story of how J.L. Tormey went into the burning clubroom and rescued the
gavel. |
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1947 |
Hollister- The SFMC was there
with its T.T.Racers and and Drill Team.
Sadly, motorcyclists will never be looked at quite the same way. The SFMC finally get a real home by
purchasing an old blacksmith shop located at 2194 Folsom Street. Work begins immediately to transform it
into a thing of beauty. |
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1949 |
The SFMC holds an auction, with
the members bring in in things to disburse.
H.L. Lausing brings in a 1904 Curtiss motorcycle. That day, no one was willing to bid on it
so H.L. Lausing donated it to the club.
Today it holds a place of honor on the wall of the SFMC. |
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1950-1956 |
The SFMC sponsors the 20 Mile
National Championship at BayMeadows Race Track where racers like Joe Leonard
and Dick Mann win big. |
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1960s-1970s |
The SFMC sponsors some events
at Champion Speedway but most of its attention turns to social riding. |
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1985 |
Fire again strikes the SFMC
damaging the clubhouse and destroying many of its possessions. The SFMC rallies and rebuilds its
clubhouse. |
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1987 |
Hap Jones, after years away
from the club, returns to again lead the 50th Anniversary Crossing
of the Golden Gate Bridge. Hap is 83
years old and this time doesn’t have to push the Henderson sidecar rig he is
piloting. |
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1996-1999 |
In 1996, David Schiller wins the Top Rider of the Year Award in AMA District 36
Road Rider Division becoming the first and only SFMC member to do so. He repeats in 1997 and 1998 to accomplish the feat 3
years in succession. He does this at the same time he is winning 3 Top Rider Awards in the SFMC High Points Compitition.
After a long drought, a 1st Place Racing Trophy comes to rest in the SFMC Trophy Case
as John Sweeney wins the AFM 500 Class for 1999.
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2004, 100 years and beyond. |
The SFMC continues to add new
members and sponsor social rides and events, including our annual run in
October and the Old Timer’s dance on the first Saturday of December. SFMC has been a charter member of the
American Motorcycle Association (AMA number 142) since 1924, and the club
remains active in District 36 today.
At our weekly meetings you will still find motorcyclists of all walks
of life riding all kinds of bikes, both domestic and foreign. The SFMC now boasts over 80 members,
including motorcycle mechanics, road and dirt racers, daily commuters and
weekend riders. We are involved in
weekend rides, endurance runs, off-road riding, all types of track racing, and long distance tours,
and we actively support the motorcycling community in San Francisco as well, from the smallest simplest
scooter to the largest and most innovative motorcycles built.
In 2004, we celebrated
our 100th year of continuing existence as a motorcycle club. It was a blast, with motorcyclists from around the globe
dropping in to make it a fantastic year of celebration. |