David Clinton (born January 2, 1960, in Sun Valley, California[1]) is an "Old School" former professional Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from 1973 to 1979.
During the previous year he won the junior class division of a series of what could be called proto Nationals, a part of the first major BMX series, when he took first place in the Junior class at the Yamaha Bicycle Gold Cup which decided the California State Champion.
Clinton along with Scot Breithaupt and John "Snaggletooth" Palfryman participated in the first true National sanctioned by the NBA in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1975[3] and became the first official pro in BMX in 1977 (although Thom Lund could be considered the first BMXer to race for money.
For the sake of consistency and standardization noted professional first are for the first pro races for prize money offered by official BMX sanctioning bodies and not independent track events.
First national win: Yamaha Bicycle Gold Cup Final on September 14, 1974, in Junior class* age 14.
While the Yamaha Bicycle Gold Cup was not a true national-no national points were awarded to any participant who resided outside of the state-it was the very first large, heavily promoted race series up to that time in BMX.
He made a brief comeback in 1982 at the ABA Fall Nationals in Lancaster, California, on October 16 and 17 but a preexisting knee injury forced him to retire from BMX permanently.
This is why during the early years of the pro division the national number one racer of a sanctioning body could be either an amateur or professional.
Primary sponsorships can be verified by BMX press coverage and sponsor's advertisements at the time in question.
This organization is the American Bicycle Association that was formed in January 1975 by Bob Bailey in Torrance, California[17] but ended operations in December 1975 after going bankrupt.
The racers in the mains during halftime were invited after an NBA race at Rancho San Diego on September 19, 1976, in San Diego[19] David Clinton has numerous first attributed to him: Note: Only magazines that were in publication at the time of the racer's career(s) are listed unless specifically noted.