Jeffrey Kosmala was a professional American "Old School" 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 (1978–1981)

Racing career milestones

----
Started racing: 1973

Sanctioning body:

First race result:

First win (local): First recorded win records reveal was in 14 & over Novice on September 19, 1975 at the Van Nuys Youth Center.

First sponsor: Gus Dando's bikes

First national win: In 15 Expert at the 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) Supernationals in Trabuco Canyon, California

Trabuco Canyon, California

Trabuco Canyon is a small unincorporated community located in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains in eastern Orange County, California, and lies partly within the Cleveland National Forest.Trabuco Canyon is north of the town of Rancho Santa Margarita...

 on April 3, 1977.

Turned Professional: 14 yrs

First Professional race result:1st Beat David Clinton

First Professional win:

First Junior Men Pro* race result: Not Applicable

First Junior Men Pro win: Not Applicable.

First Senior Men Pro** race result:

First Senior Men Pro win:

Retired: Effectively 1983 shortly after he left Redline Engineering.

Height & weight at height of his career (1978–1981): Ht:6'1" Wt:188-210 lbs.

Amateur

• Mongoose (BMX Products): July 1977-March 1982 Kosmala turned pro with this sponsor.

Professional

• Mongoose: July 1977-March 1982 As the biggest, fastest kruiser rider in the world . Jeff would line up on the starting line everyone else would try and figure out who was going to get second, in 1980 Jef won 21 out of 24 Nationals the ABA national #1 and the NBA national #1 and the JAG World Championship in the same year. To this day there is not more of a demonating year in the sport by one rider. The KOS KRUISER is the most winning bike of all time. According to Kosmala Mongoose wasn't going to pay him for his name on the Kos Kruiser which he was owed, it cost mongoose a lot more than Jeff was asking for.
• Redline Engineering: Early April 1982-Early May 1983 His first race for Redline was the NBL Detroit, Michigan
  Detroit, Michigan
  Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
  
   National on April 17, 1982. He won Pro Cruiser.
• O'Neal: January 1984- Kosmala got back into the BMX world by becoming a sales representative for O'Neal, a Motorcycle Motocross apperal company which was trying to break into the BMX market. Kosmala would occasionally race in O'Neal livery much like John George
  John George (BMX racer)
  John George was a professional American "Old School" Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from .-Racing career milestones:----Started racing: September 1972...
  
   did for Mongoose after his retirement from competitive racing.

Amateur

National Bicycle Association (NBA)

National Bicycle League (NBL)

• 1980 JAG 15-29 Cruiser World Champion.*

American Bicycle Association (ABA)

• 1980 Cruiser Grandnational Champion
• 1980 Cruiser National No.1*

*Note: At this time the ABA Cruiser title was a Pro/Am tile. Racers who were Professionals in the 20" class could race the amateurs in Cruiser class
and win the title, but only trophies, not cash rewards.

Fédération Internationale Amateur de Cyclisme (FIAC)*

• None

International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)*

• None

Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)*

• None

*See note in professional section

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)

• 1980 Pro Cruiser National No.1
• 1981 Pro 20" & and Pro Cruiser Western States Champion.

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)

• None

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)

• None (See amateur section)

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

Fédération Internationale Amateur de Cyclisme (FIAC)*

• None (FIAC did not have a strictly professional division during its existence) (defunct).

Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)*

• None

*Note: Beginning in 1991 the IBMXF and FIAC had been holding joint World Championship events as a transitional phase in merging which began in earnest in 1993. Beginning with the 1996 season the IBMXF and FIAC completed the merger and both ceased to exist as independent entities being integrated into the UCI. Beginning with the 1997 World Championships held in Brighton, England the UCI would officially hold and sanction BMX World Championships and with it inherited all precedents, records, streaks, etc. from both the IBMXF and FIAC.

Pro Series Championships

Notable accolades

• He won the first ABA sanctioned jumping contest in at the ABA Fall nationals in 1982. This jumping contest predated the King of Dirt (KOD) contest of the late 1980s and the emphasis was distance jumping and not aerial stunts maneuvers and height. He beat second place finisher Ronnie Anderson by one inch.

BMX product lines

• 1979 Mongoose "Kos Kruiser"

Product Evaluation:

"Kos Kruiser Test" BMX Plus! December 1980 Vol.3 No.12 pg.70 (1980 Model).

"Jeff Kosmala and the Kos Kruiser" Bicycle Motocross Action February 1981 Vol.6 No.2 pg.60

Significant injuries

• Broke thumb at the NBA United States Grand Prix (U.S.G.P) in Las Vegas, Nevada
  Las Vegas, Nevada
  Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
  
   He had his cast shaped like a "C" in order to grip the handle bars
• Broke his wrist at the 1983 NBL WOS Memphsis double header 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....
  
  .

Miscellaneous

His pants motto* was "Just Be Kos/ nice try/ Kid Kos "

A small image of what Mr. Kosmala looks like today.

BMX press magazine interviews and articles

• "The Thrill Of Victory, The Agony of...Victory" BMX Action January 1983 Vol.8 No.1 pg.42
• "Jeff Kosmala: Superstar" Bicycles and Dirt January 1983 Vol.1 No.5 pg 27.

BMX magazine covers

----
Bicycle Motocross News:

• None

Minicycle/BMX Action & Super BMX:

Bicycle Motocross Action & Go:

• BMX Action October 1982 Vol.7 No.10 (27) in top right insert. In center left insert Andy Patterson
  Andy Patterson (BMX rider)
  Andrew Patterson was an American professional "Old School" Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years are from 1977 to 1985. His moniker was "Mr. Bigfoot" for his size 13 feet. Patterson was one of the first American racers to compete on the European BMX circuit during its formative...
  
  ; in bottom right insert Jeff Ruminer
  Jeff Ruminer
  Jeffrey Ruminer was a professional American "Old School" Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from...
  
   (8) ahead of Bobby Woods.

BMX Plus!:

• June 1980 Vol. No.6

Action Now:

Total BMX:

Bicycles and Dirt:

• January 1983 Vol.1 No.5

NBA World, NBmx World (the official BMX publication of the NBA):

Bicycles Today & BMX Today (the official BMX publication of the NBL):

ABA Action, American BMXer, BMXer (the official BMX publication of the ABA under three different names):

External links

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