George Singler of Medina, Ohio, spent much of his long life around motocross. Born in 1933, he served in the U.S. Navy in the 1950s, stationed for a time in Hawaii, where he would ride stripped-down Harley-Davidson motorcycles in the pineapple fields. He also started racing enduros, scoring class wins in such notoriously tough events as the 500-mile Jack Pine National Enduro in Michigan. As motocross began growing on the heels of Edison Dye’s Inter-Am Series, Singler quickly became one of the top American riders of the late 1960s, along with the likes of
Barry Higgins and
John DeSoto.
Singler became a promoter too when he took over Smith Road Raceway from 1971 through 2010, holding both races and track days for many years. He was also continued riding himself, as you can see in this video from 2014.
A friend and fellow rider named Mark Winfree said this of Singler a few years back: “George is a motocross living legend and shows he loves the sport by having a well-prepped practice track every Wednesday night and selected races during the year. He’s a wealth of motorcycle knowledge and a blast to talk to and pick his brain on many subjects.”
Singler was at his home in Brooksville when he passed in April at the age of 87. His obituary included this description of his passion for life and moto: “Often known to leave trophies behind and hang plaques on trees, George rode for the love of the sport, always looking toward the next race, the next challenge, or the next day. He talked about tomorrow and faced life head-on, including his eight-year battle with cancer.” George got mentioned on RacerX. I thought it was good to remember him again.