As if there was ever any doubt, Evel Knievel was the baddest motherfucker on the planet, and the FBI now confirms it.
According to documents obtained by The Associated Press, the federal government came close to charging Knievel, who in turn threatened to sue the FBI for alleging he was connected to a crime syndicate. Neither followed through.
Dude threatened to sue the FB-fucking-I. How classic! The FBI was investigating whether Evel was involved in a string of beatings in the 1970's. Of course he was! He's Evel Knievel! Knievel repeatedly denied his involvement.
"Knievel stated that he was not responsible for what just happened to (name redacted) and that he had no control over the 'thing'" according to one phone conversation recounted in an FBI interview.
Yeah, he knew enough to have others do some of the beating for him, to 'absolve' himself of liability. Smart businessman, that Evel was.
His most well-known run-in with the law was a 1977 attack on movie studio executive Shelly Saltman, whom the daredevil beat with a baseball bat in the parking lot of 20th Century Fox.
Saltman promoted Knievel's infamous attempt to jump Idaho's Snake River Canyon and then wrote a book about the experience, angering Knievel by portraying him as "an alcoholic, a pill addict, an anti-Semite and an immoral person."
Knievel was sentenced to six months in jail and Saltman won a $12.75 million judgment, but never collected.
Yeah, the 'one time' he did it himself he got busted. Knievel's 290 page file (202 of which were released to the AP) shows that the FBI believed that he was involved in an attack in a Kansas City hotel room and a beating in San Francisco, according to subjects quoted in the file.
My only question is, where do I get a copy of this file? I want to read more!
Monday, October 6, 2008
Confirmed: Evel Knievel was a badass son of a bitch
Monday, August 25, 2008
Ryan Capes jumped a motorcycle 352 feet
Unknown to probably 99% of the world (including me), cycle jumper Ryan Capes jumped his bike 352+ feet on July 9th. He wanted to jump 400 feet but wind gusts of 26 mph ended his day. Oh, did I fail to mention that he started the day jumping with the ramps at 280 feet apart then gradually pulled the ramps further and further apart til he ended up at 352 feet? On that first jump he only hit the ramp at 91 mph for a measly 321 foot jump. Here's video of the biggun...
Monday, June 30, 2008
Daredevil stunts are great for kids
A fun little video of a youngster who fashions himself a bit of an Evel Knievel. Why, just look at him jump those trash cans on his bike! Two trashcans! Three! Four! Fiv-- ooh. Okay, better dial it back to four. WATCH A YOUNG SUPER DAVE...
Friday, June 20, 2008
Sometimes the stupid succeed
What would you think if I said that the video below showcases a guy jumping his BMX bike off a ramp 40 feet over fence into a pool, that, oh by the way, has people in it? You'd expect a crash of epic proportions, right? Sorry. Didn't happen. Still kinda cool though...
Monday, June 9, 2008
Robbie Knievel jumped some more stuff
Robbie Knievel has been busy the last couple of weeks. On Memorial Day weekend he jumped 24 buses, and this past weekend he jumped 21 Hummers at the IndyCar race held at Texas Motor Speedway. Not bad for a 46-year-old.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
This had to really freakin' hurt
I have no idea who this is or when it was done. What I do know is that it's insane, a world record of some kind, and you need to watch it. Watch as some dude jumps a car a record distance while the car spins out of control in the air and lands flat on the concrete below. Yeah...
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Robbie Knievel is still jumping things
Robbie Knievel, at age 46, jumped 24 buses at at Kings Island just outside Cincinnati, Ohio on May 24th, the site of one of his father Evel's most famous jumps. In 1975 Evel Knievel jumped 115 feet over 14 buses at Kings Island in an event that was watched by more than half of the nation's television viewers. Robbie dedicated this jump to his father, U.S. war veterans and those serving in the military.
SI/AP
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Robbie Maddison attempts world-record jump
Aussie cycle jumper Robbie Maddison attempted to break the world record of 310 feet for the longest jump on a motorcycle last night/this morning. Before I tell you if he succeeded or failed, let me give you my opinion on all of this.
First, I am a devoted disciple of the King of all Daredevils, Evel Knievel, so I am a bit of a fuddy-duddy when it comes to these newboys doing their jumps. Evel jumped on a heavy-ass Harley barely more than stock 30 to 40 years ago.
Today these boys are jumping on custom-made cycles specifically made to do their stunts. And that’s okay… I guess. My real problem with last night’s jump and the one before it that set the “world record” are the landing ramps. Evel did his jump by using actual ramps, not giant, and I mean giant, piles of dirt. If Evel missed the ramp, it was concrete, baby. Plus this giant pile of dirt pretty much eliminates any cross-wind concerns (just ask Gary Wells about being wide of the ramp), which is the ultimate “safety ramp” and a thing that really torqued off the man himself. If these guys miss left, right, long, or short, it’s a giant pile of soft dirt (by comparison to concrete) waiting for them. Evel Knievel (and Gary Wells) were the only “real” cycle jumpers in my book. These guys today are actually barely more than glorified stunt men. Anyway, with my old guy rant (which I know is lame as hell, thank you) out of the way, he made the jump.
Oh, did I fail to mention that he… uh… made the record then was p.o.’d and wanted to do it again because it wasn’t far enough? Yeah, that was kinda cool. Especially since after the second jump he still seemed pissed that he didn’t go further.
Here is his practice jump for the record-breaker; his remembrance of the legend himself; and the previous record jump by Ryan Capes (which according to the AP link below was not actually the record… no idea why not since the telecast clearly stated that 310′ was in fact the record).
RobbieMaddison.com | ESPN | AP
