Beckman, Ernie
Name/Title
Beckman, ErnieTags
Dirt TrackDescription
- Core member of the legendary “Indian Wrecking Crew” trio that dominated American flat-track racing in the early 1950s - The last rider to win an AMA Grand National race on an original Indian motorcycle - Winner of the Williams Grove 8-Mile National Championship race for three consecutive years (1951, 1952 and 1953), setting multiple track records in the process By Ernie Beckman’s own admission, he got his start in racing by opening his big mouth. The year was 1946, and the site was the Calhoun County Fairgrounds in Marshall, Mich. Beckman was a spectator watching the local dirt track races when he turned to a racer friend and claimed he could go faster than any rider out there on the track. Beckman’s buddy put him on the spot and said, “Well, go ahead and get out there and let’s see what you can do.” Beckman changed into his buddy’s racing gear in a nearby horse barn and within minutes was lined up for his first race. And even though Beckman didn’t break any records that day, his racing career was off and running. Before retiring from the sport 11 years after this inauspicious start, Beckman went on to win three AMA Nationals and was an integral part of the famous Indian Motorcycle “Wrecking Crew,” a trio of racers — which also included fellow Hall of Famers Bobby Hill and Bill Tuman — that dominated American flat-track racing in the early 1950s. Beckman was born on May 31, 1923, in Battle Creek, Mich. Motorcycles were not a part of Beckman’s life until World War II. While stationed in Guadalcanal, Beckman decided to take a joy ride on a military police motorcycle that he found parked on a beach near his barracks. The MPs caught Beckman after the short jaunt and, luckily for him, did nothing more than make Beckman push the bike back to the spot where the short-lived joy ride began. But the hook was set. In 1949, Beckman turned pro. His first finish at an AMA national was fourth place in October of that year, at the half-mile dirt track in Shreveport, La. On August 5, 1951, Beckman won his first national, the eight-mile championship race at Williams Grove, Pa. Beckman went on to dominate that event for the next two years, until his three-year Williams Grove Half-Mile winning streak was finally ended by Charles Carey, who nipped Beckman at the line in 1954. Beckman was one of the most consistent performers on the national circuit in the early 1950s, holding the title of Michigan State Champion from 1951-53, 1955 and 1957. From 1949 to 1957, Beckman earned 10 podium finishes and only finished outside of the top 10 six times in that entire span. Beckman will also be remembered for being the last rider to win an AMA Grand National race on an original Indian motorcycle — his August 2, 1953, victory at Williams Grove, Pa., on his Indian Sport Scout race bike. Beckman retired from racing after the 1957 season. He owned a motorcycle shop in his hometown of Battle Creek for a few years before joining Lincoln-Mercury, where he put his considerable mechanical skills to work constructing experimental concept cars that were shown at auto shows across the country. In his later years, he relocated to the Pacific Northwest, eventually settling in Clark Fork, Idaho, where he passed away in 1999 at the age of 76, just one year after his induction into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.Category
Class of 1998