Marty Smith: He was essential to American motocross

I've had a wonderful time the past couple of weeks, building my new Retro Motocross site with the help of Facebook.  Having a Facebook page to support the blog content is a big boost and part of that process has been "Friending" with some of the riders we remember from the past...Warren Reid, Donnie Hansen, and Marty Smith, among others.

Marty Smith?  That one made me regroup a bit, because it evokes emotion to think back to what the Honda factory rider meant to many of us in the 1970's. Most of the MX industry might understand with Smith did on the racetrack, which related to sales for Honda.  But what may have gone unstated is the affecting impact he held on those of us who were far, far away.

Prior to my time as assistant editor at Cycle News East, I was finishing my journalism degree at the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire. That's about as far away from the motocross world as a young boy can get.  California might as well have been Mars. We stayed connected through the race reports, photos, and advertisements.

Seating assignment for class? Back row in the lecture hall. Required reading material? Cycle News, Motocross Action and Dirt Bike magazine. Much of the attention in that day was directed to Marty Smith. We modeled his look, the attitude, and as much of his equipment as we could muster.  The Honda shop used to chase us out if we hung around too much, but they didn't understand.  We were looking at those new silver-tanked CR's and imagining what it would be like to see Smith ride one.

I'm currently a communication professor so it's important to consider how media affects our lives.  Advertisers strive for engagement with media. In today's market, we glance and move on to the next image. Prior to the Internet, we could stare at a JT or Fox ad for 10 minutes!  I'd look at every fine detail, as if the final exam was based on what I found in that ad.  I wasn't the best student at that phase of my life, but I was at honors level when it came to motocross. I read voraciously and digested anything and everything I could locate.

I remember going to the local MX track, Black Bear, and watching the best rider in the area - Tim Miller.  He'd come up from the south (Milwaukee, I think) and would blister everyone in the A class motos, both 125 and 250.  Miller was a Marty Smith clone.  He had the gear, the hair, and the CR's to match.  It wasn't Marty, but it's the best we could get living in the nether regions of the USA.

I'll be looking for Marty shots as I dig deeper into my negs and scan more images.  I remember Marty later in his career when he was finishing out his pro days with Suzuki. With the factory guys, you could tell when they respected you as a person, or when their arrogance got in the way of acceptable human relations.  Marty was a class act, who always had time for a quote or a comment for the Cycle News report.

Here's a segment on Marty from Speed TV's "The Motocross Files." Watch and enjoy.

http://www.streetfire.net/video/the-motocross-files-marty-smith_175511.htm