Former dirt tracker, White Brothers owner, motocross advocate and all-around good guy Tom White will be part of the AMA Hall of Fame’s Class of 2014.
Tom White, a former AMA Grand National Dirt Track national number holder, White Brothers Cycle Specialties founder and a lifetime advocate of motorcycling and the sport of motocross, will be inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2014, according to the AMA.
White, was elected into Hall of Fame through its Ambassador/Industry category, and will be inducted at the 2014 AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Friday, Oct. 17, in Orlando, Florida.
“Few have done more to advance the sport of motocross racing, and the history of motocross racing, than Tom White,” said Ken Ford, a member of the Hall of Fame executive committee and treasurer of the AMA board of directors. “By virtue of his early racing success, his long and successful career in motorcycling, his personal dedication to promoting both the past and present of this great sport and his selfless dedication to the Hall of Fame on the American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation board, Tom White is personally responsible for improving the experience and opportunity for motocross racers and motorcyclists of all ages.”
White got into motorcycling at the age of 15, and by the time he was in his early 20s, he was ranked among the top 100 motorcycle racers in America, earning AMA National No. 80. He founded White Brothers Cycle Specialties in 1975, initially selling hop-up parts for Yamaha’s TT500 four-stroke, and from there the company blossomed into one of the top off-road motorcycle accessory companies in America. When White sold the company in 2000, the firm listed more than 30,000 items in its catalog.
Today, White feeds his passion by racing motocross, serving as a race announcer and emcee, and tending to a spectacular collection of more than 160 motocross and off-road motorcycles in his Early Years of Motocross Museum in Villa Park, California.
“There is no higher honor in motorcycling than being inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame,” White said. “This is special because it comes from your peers in the industry and existing Hall of Famers. I am humbled to think that my heroes, these great people of the sport, believe that I’m worthy of this acknowledgement of my life and career. It’s a real testimony that if you love motorcycling enough, sooner or later people will notice.”
White’s lasting contributions to the sport also include the Edison Dye Motocross Lifetime Achievement Award, which he instituted to recognize persons who have made the largest impact on the growth of motocross in America. He also creatied the World Veteran MX Championship and the World Four-Stroke Championship, which has since become the World Two-Stroke Championship.
“I’ve always had the attitude that we as an industry need to work together for a common goal, and that’s to make this activity of motorcycling so cool that everyone wants to do it,” White said. “I’m probably most proud for carrying on after the sale of my company. I’ve been able to spend a lot of positive energy to promote the sport. One of my goals has been to make more of today’s motorcyclists more appreciative and aware of the pioneers and trailblazers of the past, and I’m blessed that I’ve been in a position where I’ve been able to do that.”
White expressed his appreciation to those who nominated and elected him to the Hall of Fame.
“I’m just very thankful to everyone who played a part in this recognition,” White said. “You look at the Hall of Fame, and you look at the people who are in the Hall of Fame, and you realize the significance of it. You come to realize that when your name gets added to that wall, it will go on for generations. It’s just such a huge tribute, and I really don’t know what it’s going to feel like when that happens. Besides being married to the love of my life and the birth of my children, this is one of the most wonderful things that has happened to me.”
White is the second member of the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame class of 2014 to be announced. He joins previously announced inductee motocross pioneer Pierre Karsmakers.
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