Bruce Brown

Filed under Hall Of Fame on February 25, 2020 | Comment(s)

Technically, Bruce Brown’s contribution to the sport of BMX was merely one minute and thirty three seconds long - but unknowingly, it would become a monstrous spark that would quickly ignite a BMX bonfire. 

Those opening credits of ON ANY SUNDAY changed the way of life for many movie-goers. Both kids and adults were inspired to check into this new activity that would become known as bicycle motocross. Among those inspired were future owners of BMX brands and publications, as well as numerous Hall of Fame inductees whose immediate reaction after leaving the theatre was to go out to a dirt field and imitate those kids who were imitating motorcycles. 

Filmed in a dirt lot down the street from Bruce Brown’s Dana Point home, it was just a typical Saturday in 1970. Neighborhood kids, many of them friends with his son Dana, were doing what so many other kids were doing, all across the country. But as soon as those jumps and that long-distance wheelie down the street hit the big screen, in one of the most iconic motorcycle documentaries of its time - a movie that had the star power of Steve McQueen - a movie that was nominated in 1972 for an Academy Award for best feature documentary - the unintentional outcome of those credits were that Bicycle Motocross competition would soon explode in popularity.  

During his career, Bruce Brown left his mark on many sports - besides BMX. His documentary ENDLESS SUNDAY changed the way the World looked at surfing, and ON ANY SUNDAY had the same effect of altering public perception on motorycle racing of all types.  

In 1999, the AMA inducted Bruce Brown into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame. 

In 2009, he was inducted into the Surfers Hall of Fame. 

...and in 2019, the trifecta was complete, as the BMX World saluted Bruce's significant contribution in the earliest days of our sport - as the late, great filmmaker Bruce Brown was inducted and recognized into the BMX Hall of Fame! 

On behalf of his father, Bruce's son Dana Brown accepted the BMX Hall of Fame plaque during the 2019 award ceremony.