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Dick Hammer Award
presented annually for Drive, Determination and Desire |
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2006: Bud Ekins gets the Hammer Award
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Bud in 1951
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1957 Winner of Big Bear
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| Born in 1930 in Hollywood, California, Ekins is the older brother of TrailBlazer, Dave.
In the 1950s, Bud Ekins was one of the first Americans to compete in Europe in the World Championship Motocross Grand Prix circuit. He also earned gold medals in the International Six Day Trial (now International Six Day Enduro). When he returned from Europe, Ekins dominated desert events. In 1955, riding a Triumph, Ekins won the Catalina Grand Prix. He also won the Big Bear Run - three times! After his racing career, Bud Ekins went on to become one of Hollywood’s leading stuntmen. |
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| It may have looked like Steve, but that is Bud Ekins jumping in "The Great Escape" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bud Ekins did the motorcycle stunt riding for Steve McQueen in the movies, "Great Escape" and "Bullett". Bud told the packed house of TrailBlazers the story of how Steve was the only person that he would trust driving the Mustang car in the scene where he, Bud, had to crash his motorcycle.
Ekins went on to be one of the country’s leading collectors of vintage and rare motorcycles. At one time, his collection numbered over 150 motorcycles and was considered to be the most valuable in the country. If you wanted to know what model and year a motorcycle might be, just ask Bud. He was the undisputed authority on every detail and every change. |
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Bud Ekins TrailBlazer and 2006 recipient of the prestigious "Hammer Award"
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Previous Dick Hammer Award winners
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2005 Hammer Award to Dick Mann
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2005 Dick Mann gets the Dick Hammer award
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| Dick Mann, on the right , one of the motorcycle sport's all-time great competitors was the recipient of the 2005 Dick Hammer Award at this year's TrailBlazers banquet. Mann twice won the AMA Grand National Championship and was the first rider to sweep the "Grand Slam" of Class C competition events, winning an AMA National in Roadracing, Mile, Half-Mile, TT and Short Track events in a career that spanned from the 1950s to the mid -1970s. The Dick Hammer Award is awarded annually to a selected motorcyclist who lived up to the standards of "Drive, Determination and Desire" typical of the namesake of the award, the late-Dick Hammer. |
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Here they are in 1971: The winners of the 1971 Daytona 200 Gene Romero, Dick Mann and Don Emde
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And today, 2005: The winners of the 1971 Daytona 200: Dick Mann, Don Emde, and Gene Romero
TrailBlazers all |
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In 2004 the Hammer Award went to Tom Cates
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Previous recipients of the coveted Dick Hammer Award. From left to right: Joe Leonard, 2002, Don Emde, MC, Everett Brashear, 2003, Skip Van Leeuwen, Charlene Hammer, Gene Romero, 2001, Keith Mashburn, MC
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Updated April 20, 2006
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