Leftclankers
Bouncin' Bob Malley
For 54 years, Bob Malley has been waving the checkered flags, in a style that is truly his own.
Known as much for his cartwheels and gravity-defying leaps as he is for his flamboyant outfits, Bouncin' Bob is undeniably one of the true personalities of the flat track world.
It all started with a group called the Blue Barons, in Graham, Washington.
The Blue Barons had just built Graham Speedway, and Bob was asked to be the Club President. Not long afterwards, a starter was needed. Bob said... "Why not?" For five years, Bob acted as
both a racer AND the starter.
"Someone would step in for me, and flag while I raced," Bob said. "Then, I'd get off my bike and go flag for the other racers.
He wanted to be entertaining, for the fans who came to watch the action, so Bob started adding his now-signature jumping.
"I started trying to see how high I could go," He said. "The kids LOVED it."
In 1968, Dave Welch told Bob that the AMA was looking for a starter, for the Western Region GNC races.
"Back then, they had three starters," Bob said. "There was one for the Eastern Region, one for the Midwest, and one for the Western Region... from Colorado to the West Coast. They needed a guy, so Dave urged me to try out. I owe my entire National starting career to Dave."
The rest is history... but a fascinating history.
At the Seattle International Raceways, another performer was hoping to entertain the fans, much as Bob was.
"Evel Knievel was there, and he was going to do a jump. Well, during the jump, he crashed. I was one of the first guys to get to him. We got him back to his trailer... he was really
hurting. I told him, 'Bob, you aren't going back out there. We need to get you to get checked out!' He looked at me and said, 'Bob, look out there. See all those people? There are THOUSANDS of
them. Every single one of them paid good money to see me jump. I didn't make it. I'm not going to let them down. Here's what I want you to do...'
"He had us duct tape his hands to his bike. 'Now,' He said, 'When I land, I want you to get out there and cut me loose, and help me back to the trailer.' And that is just what we did. He went out, made the jump... the crowd went wild. As soon as his bike landed, we ran out, cut him free of his bonds, and took him back to his trailer.
"He told me, 'No matter what, believe in what you do, and believe in yourself.' Those words have stuck with me, forever. He was a man with a sense of deep commitment. He was a good friend... a good person."
Bob took Evel's message to heart. He decided he wanted to be the best he could be, both as a flagger and as an entertainer. That is why, at the age of 30-something, Bob decided to learn how to do a cartwheel.
"I got out my phone book and opened up the yellow pages. I called three different Tumbling Instructors, and told them what I wanted to do. The first two, when they found out how old I was, basically laughed and hung up. The THIRD guy, though, was a man named Lou Ballatore. He listened... probably chuckled a little... and said, 'Ok, but you'll have to take lessons with little kids.' I said 'Oh, BOY!' "
Bob has always had a special place in his heart for children. He has instructed them in motorcycle riding techniques since he was sixteen years old, and continues to run a youth riding program, today. If that sentence was meant to discourage Bob, it certainly had the opposite effect.
"I took tumbling for four or five years," Bob said, "And incorporated the cartwheels and other things I learned into my routine. The AMA did NOT like it. The fans LOVED it. Eventually, the AMA gave me the ok to let someone else hold my headphones when I was about to do a stunt. I guess they knew I wasn't going to stop."
On his forty-second birthday, Bob celebrated by performing forty-two consecutive cartwheels, earning a spot in the Guiness Book of World Records.
"I actually broke my own record, a few years later," Bob said. "I did fifty-six, in a row. The promoter forgot to submit it to Guiness, but there's a video of me to prove I did it!"
The acrobatics weren't the only thing that caused some controversy, in Bob's early years.
"Back then, the starters wore white," He said. "I wanted to stand out... I like stars... so I had a red white and blue outfit made, with stars. I loved that outfit. I was so proud of it!"
When asked if Evel Knievel had inspired his clothing, he laughed and denied it. "I love our country, and the red-white-and-blue. I won't get into politics, our talking about the government, but I do love our country, and what it means to me.
Values, equality, and ethics are crucial, to Bob.
This was displayed clearly at the first Pomona National.
"We had a fatality on the track, that day. They told us to keep the race going, so the guys lined up for the restart. Four or five of the guys jumped the start, so I sent them back to the penalty line. One of them was Dick Mann.
"The ref came up to me and asked me what I was doing. He said I couldn't send Dick back to the line. I told him the rules were the same for everyone. He didn't like that, and neither did the crowd.
"Normally, when the races were over, I was signing autographs and talking to fans for about an hour afterwards. That night, not a single fan approached me. I felt so lonely, walking back to my van. I remembered Evel telling me that I had to believe in myself, and in everything I do. I knew I had done the right thing, but I felt really bad about the response.
"Then, as I was approaching my van, two of the racers came up to me. One of them was Chuck Palmgren. He stuck out his hand and said that he wanted to thank me. I asked him, 'What for?' He said, 'For being fair, and treating us all the same. That was really cool. We appreciate it.'
"Those words helped me through all of the critics in the magazines and papers, afterwards. Boy, there were a lot of them. One of them called me, 'Moogly Boogly,' or something like that." He laughed. "But it died down, after a while. That's something I've always believed... you can't be a good starter if you play favorites, or make exceptions for some and not others. You have to be consistent. You have to be fair."
The week following the Pomona race, Bob tells of another memorable moment.
"It was at San Jose. There was a heckler, in the stands, yelling and shouting things. He was good, too... He knew right when things would get quiet, so all you could hear was his big mouth. I just remembered what Evel said, 'You are always a performer... believe in yourself, and what you do, and always do your best.'
"So I did. I jumped. I did cartwheels. I went all out. At the finish, I couldn't even tell who won. They were about eight wide... it was unbelievable! I had to grab my headset to find out who to hand the checkers to!
"The crowd went crazy. It was great. As I was walking back to my van, I heard someone yell my name. I looked, and... it was THAT GUY. The heckler. A great big guy, red hair, and he was walking towards me really fast.
"I tried to get my door unlocked, but I wasn't fast enough. I just knew this guy was going to want to fight me, or something. Instead, he reaches over and says, 'Man, I have got to shake your hand. Nobody has EVER taken what I've dished out, before. Can I have your autograph?' I'm like... um... okaaaaaaay..." (He laughs.)
"But, that's the thing I love about this sport. I love the people. The participants, the crowd, the fans, the kids... they don't come any better than the flat track community. They're the best people on Earth. I've been doing this for fifty-four years, and that's why I hope to do this for a long time, yet."
Bob modestly skims over (or omits) some of his OTHER major accomplishments.
Within two years of starting his racing career, Bob was the leading scrambles rider in the Northwest. He entered the professional ranks, the following year, and finished his Novice season in a respectable fifth place spot. Within the next two or three years, he had moved up into the Expert Class, and was a leading competitor in the Western Region.
Beginning in the seventies, Bob not only started the "Young Hotshots" club (teaching youth, age 6-16, the art of safe riding and motorcycling techniques... he was also a driving force in assisting a group of McNeil Island Prison inmates in developing THEIR club. This organization, dubbed the "West Coast Nomads," combined teaching inmates about motorcycle safety and techniques with instructing them in the skills of motorcycle repair, helping them to build knowledge that might help them secure employment upon their release.
He owned a Triumph dealership for seven years, and managed a Harley Davidson/Kawasaki shop for five years, after that. Numerous riders tell about how Bob was instrumental in putting them on their first bike, or giving them the lessons they would need to succeed.
He also appeared in the classic documentary, "On Any Sunday."
"That was the most fun, hardest thing I've ever had to do," Bob said. "I remember when Bruce Brown approached me. He said, 'Now, this is what I want you to do...'
And I did it. It seemed like, at every race, I spent all of this time getting filmed and doing stunts for the camera. When I heard the film was out, I told EVERYBODY. I just knew, as much time as they'd spent filming me, I was going to be one of the main people in this movie! So, opening night, I grabbed the wife, our friends, our neighbors... everyone I could think of. We PACKED the movie theater. Then... I've got, like, two brief appearances. I know, there's like four hours of Bouncin' Bob footage on the cutting room floor.
"But I was still thrilled. That movie... it's the greatest. And Bruce... what a great guy. A wonderful man. I can't tell you how much I appreciate what he did for the sport of motorcycle racing."
Even with this glowing resume, Bob remains humble. "I love people," he repeats, "And I believe that nothing happens to people unless there are others involved. I would have never become popular if it wasn't for the people who put me there. We all need each other. We need to support each other, to listen to the wisdom and advice of others, to take the opportunities that others offer us. Then, it's up to us to be the best we can be, from there. Then... when you touch someone ELSE'S life... well, thats the most uplifting gift there is."
