Donald Atherton is a former American "Old School" professional Bicycle Motocross (BMX)

BMX

Bicycle motocross or BMX refers to the sport in which the main goal is extreme racing on bicycles in motocross style on tracks with inline start and expressive obstacles, and it is also the term that refers to the bicycle itself that is designed for dirt and motocross cycling.- History :BMX started...

 racer whose prime competitive years were from 1978-1982.

Racing career milestones

----
Started Racing: December 1977 at age 13.

First race result: First place in 13 begininer at the Elks Club BMX track in Simi Valley, California

Simi Valley, California

-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Simi Valley had a population of 124,237. The population density was 2,940.8 people per square mile...

.

First win (local): See above.

Sanctioning body:

Sanctioning body district(s): American Bicycle Association

American Bicycle Association

The American Bicycle Association is a United States-based Bicycle Motocross sports governing body in Gilbert, Arizona created by Merl Mennenga and Gene Roden in 1977. It is the largest sanctioning body in the United States concerning BMX. It has tracks in Canada and Mexico as well as in the USA...

 (ABA) California 7 (CA-7 1980)

First race bicycle: A red FMF.

First sponsor: Flying Dutchman Team (bike shop)

First national win:

Turned Professional: Late December 1980 at age 16.

First Professional race result: Fourth place. It was a local race in Van Nuys, California during the week of December 20, 1980. His first National pro race was the JAG World Championships on December 27, 1980. He crashed in the Pro Money class first qualifying moto and his two other qualifying finishes in the qualifying round wasn't good enough and did not transfer to the semi-finals. He did get a sixth in Pro Trophy.

First Professional* win: In "AA" at the American Bicycle Association

American Bicycle Association

The American Bicycle Association is a United States-based Bicycle Motocross sports governing body in Gilbert, Arizona created by Merl Mennenga and Gene Roden in 1977. It is the largest sanctioning body in the United States concerning BMX. It has tracks in Canada and Mexico as well as in the USA...

 (ABA) Great Northwest National in Sumner, Washington

Sumner, Washington

Sumner is a city in northern Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 9,451 at the 2010 census. Nearby cities include Puyallup to the west, Auburn to the north, and Enumclaw to the east.-History:...

 on June 15, 1983. He won USD$500 (USD$1,032.63 in 2007 Cost of Living Calculator).

Retired:

Height & weight at height of his career :

Amateur

• Flying Dutchman's Performance Products: January 1978-December 1978.
• Jag BMX: Early 1979. He was on Jag for only two weeks.
• Schwinn Bicycle Company: March 1979-December 1983. He joined Schwinn at the 1979 NBA Mid-West Championships in St. Louis, Missouri
  St. Louis, Missouri
  St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
  
  . Atherton would turn professional with this company.

Professional

• Schwinn Bicycle Company: March 1979-December 1983.
• Pro-Fit: January 1, 1984-Late January 1984. This was a bicycle stem company Atherton was part owner of and at this time his primary sponsor.
• Kam Marketing/Champion Racing Products: Late January 1984-April 1984
• Redline Engineering: Early May 1984-Mid June 1984. Atherton was only sponsored by Redline for approximately six weeks, leaving a week after the ABA US Nationals held on June 3, 1984. He was dissatisfied with the number of races planned on sending him, ten maximum, in contrast to the thirty or more Vector could send him to.
• Works/Pro-fit: Mid June 1984-November 1984. Once again his company was his main sponsor.
• Vector: November 1984-June 1985

Amateur

National Bicycle Association (NBA)

• 1979 National No.3

• 1979 15 Expert Jag World Champion (NBA/NBL sanctioned)

• 1980 16 Expert and Overall Western States Champion.

• 1980 National No.1

National Bicycle League (NBL)

• 1980 16 Expert National No. 3

American Bicycle Association (ABA)

• None

International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)

• None

Professional

National Bicycle Association

National Bicycle Association

The National Bicycle Association , later known as the National Bicycle Motocross Association was an United States based Bicycle Motocross sports sanctioning body originally based in Soledad, California that was created by Ernie Alexander in 1973 and ceased operations as an independent body in 1981...

 (NBA)

• 1981 Pro National No. 17

National Bicycle League

National Bicycle League

The National Bicycle League is a United States based Bicycle Motocross sports sanctioning body originally based in Deerfield Beach, Florida but after several moves it was based in Hilliard, Ohio...

 (NBL)

• 1984 Pro National No. 14

American Bicycle Association

American Bicycle Association

The American Bicycle Association is a United States-based Bicycle Motocross sports governing body in Gilbert, Arizona created by Merl Mennenga and Gene Roden in 1977. It is the largest sanctioning body in the United States concerning BMX. It has tracks in Canada and Mexico as well as in the USA...

 (ABA)

• 1982 Pro 20" Northeastern Gold Cup Champion
• 1982 Pro National No. 3

United States Bicycle Motocross Association

United States Bicycle Motocross Association

The United States Bicycle Association was a short lived Bicycle Motocross national sanctioning body based in Tempe, Arizona. It was founded in March 1984 by five former members of the American Bicycle Association : Rich Mann, Dave Cook, Geoff Sims, Steve Schaefer and Rod Keeling, who became the...

 (USBA)

• None

International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)

• None

Pro Series Championships

Notable accolades

• He won the 1980 NBA best Fifteen Year Old Expert Award
• He was named the 1980 NBA Most Improved Rider of the Year
• He was named the Rookie of the Year for 1979 by BMX Plus! magazine.

Significant injuries

• Broke his pelvic bone participating in a school track meet in the Spring of 1978. Was out of racing for six weeks.
• Suffered a separated shoulder in a crash during one of his qualifying motos at the NBL Memphis Classic in Memphis, Tennessee
  Memphis, Tennessee
  Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
  
   in March 1985.

BMX press magazine interviews and articles

• "Donny Atherton 'King of the Experts'" BMX Plus! August 1980 Vol.3 No.8 pg.36
• "Rags To Riches: Schwinn's Donny Atherton" Super BMX August 1980 Vol.7 No.8 pg.66
• "New Wave Superstars" Bicycle Motocross Action August 1980 Vol.5 No.8 pg.37. Mini biography with six other BMX newcomers.
• "The Complete Racer: Atherton & Schwinn" Bicycle Motocross Action December 1980 Vol.5 No.12 pg.72. A detailed look at Atherton's race bike.
• "A Lesson in BMX" Super BMX June 1983 Vol.10 No.6 pg.64. Atherton gives BMX racing tips to celebrity
  Celebrity
  A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
  
   child actor
  Child actor
  The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting in motion pictures or television, but also to an adult who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion, the latter is also called a former child actor...
  
   Jason Bateman
  Jason Bateman
  Jason Kent Bateman is an American television and film actor. After appearing in several 1980s and 1990s sitcoms including It's Your Move, and The Hogan Family, Bateman came to prominence in the early 2000s for playing Michael Bluth on Arrested Development, for which he won a TV Land, a Golden...
  
  .
• "Devonshire" BMX Action July 1984 Vol.9 No.7 pg.27. One of eight mini-interviews held during the 1984 Devonshire Downs NBL race.
• "Atherton Attack" Super BMX & Freestyle May 1985 Vol.12 No.5 pg.10

BMX magazine covers

Bicycle Motocross News:

• None

Minicycle/BMX Action & Super BMX:

• March 1985 Vol.12 No.5 (SBMX&F)

Bicycle Motocross Action & Go:

BMX Plus!:

• July 1979 Vol.2 No.7 behind Eddy King
  Eddy King
  Edward King is an "Old School" former professional Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1977 to 1985....
  
  .

Total BMX:

Bicycles and Dirt (Magazine published by the ABA):

NBA World & NBmxA World (The official NBA/NBmxA membership publication):

Bicycles Today & BMX Today (The official NBL membership publication under two names):

ABA Action, American BMXer, BMXer (The official ABA membership publication under three names):

USBA Racer (The official USBA membership publication):

External links

• The American Bicycle Association (ABA) Website.
• The National Bicycle League (NBL) Website.