Eric Fitzgerald Rupe (born June 14, 1963) is an American professional bicycle motocross (BMX) racer. His prime competitive years were from 1978 to 1990. Considered one of the most underrated BMXers in its history, he also had one of the longest careers in BMX. He nominally retired from Senior pro racing after the 1990 American Bicycle Association Grand National but would go on to participate in Pro BMX competition on a serious basis for another 11 years, albeit in Masters/Veteran pro class, the class for racers past their peak competitive years, much like the Champions Tour (formally called the Senior PGA Tour) in golf. He was given the term "Big Daddy" at a 1988 Rockford ABA race by the announcer Dugan Finnel. He used the phrase “Big Daddy coming out on fire” for his win in Senior pro that day. He specifically called him that because he knew Eric was a father by then with a few children at home. Eric was one of the first racers to become a family man when he had his first child in 1984 (albeit Greg Hill became a father in late 1983) His clean-cut born again Christian lifestyle and philosophy lent greatly to the family man image. Over thirty-four years after his first race he was still racing professionally in the ABA Veteran pro class until recently. Today, he races in the Amateur 45 and Over cruiser class. However, he still is very competitive, winning the USA Cycling BMX National Championship in that class on March 21, 2009.

Racing career milestones

Note: All first in Pro Class are on the national level unless otherwise noted. Retired (nominally): After 1990 ABA Grand National age 26. It was according to Eric a forced retirement due to the unsatisfactory contracts that were offered him by Mongoose. He even made a formal announcement prior in the September 1990 issue of American BMXer, the American Bicycle Association's newspaper in a letter dated July 24, 1990. However, while he may have retired from the points chasing top pro circuits that contends for no 1 Pro for the year, racing was not out of his system. Like a lot of retired BMX racers who come back and race a national or two for old time's sake and to keep a thumb in the pie, Rupe raced occasionally after his retirement. His post-"retirement" racing was one of the more active. After about 11 months of "retirement" he raced in the October 26–27, 1991 ABA Fall Nationals along with fellow retirees Stu Thomsen and Harry Leary. He had himself reclassified as an "A" pro and came in second to Eric Carter in that division as well as third in Pro Cruiser on Saturday and a fourth in Pro Cruiser on Sunday. In the ABA Grand National of that year he raced and won the Pro Cruiser Class. Most returning pros did it mostly for fun but Rupe had a serious cant to his "semi-retirement". He raced in the 1991 ABA Grand National on December 1, getting a first place in Pro Cruiser. Beginning in 1995, he would race and totally dominate in the mid and late 1990s and early 2000s the ABA Veteran Pro Cruiser class and win the 2000 and 2004 NBL Masters class no. 1 plate. He was still racing seriously in the ABA's Veteran Pro and NBL's Master classes as of 2006. He is 43 years old. *****At the time there was no separate pro class for pros due to the relatively small number of pros. They raced with the 16 Experts, making it a Pro/Am class essentially. 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. This practice continued until the NBA's 1979 season in which the pros earned separate pro points and a separate pro plate from the amateurs. The NBL and ABA followed suit a year later. ******During the era Eric Rupe turned pro, there wasn't a two-tier system of Junior and Senior pros.

Career factory and major bicycle shop sponsors

Note: This listing only denotes the racer's primary sponsors. At any given time a racer could have numerous co-sponsors. Primary sponsorships can be verified by BMX press coverage and sponsor's advertisements at the time in question.

Amateur

Currently racing amateur.

Professional

*****Pros could race in the amateur classes at the time.

Career bicycle motocross titles

Note: Listed are district, State/Provincial/Department, regional, national, and international titles in italics. "Defunct" refers to the sanctioning body in question no longer existing at the start of the racer's career or at that stage of his/her career. Depending on point totals of individual racers, winners of Grand Nationals do not necessarily win National titles. Series and one-off Championships are also listed in block.

Amateur

National Bicycle Association (NBA) National Bicycle League (NBL) American Bicycle Association (ABA)

Professional

National Bicycle Association (NBA) National Bicycle League (NBL) *****By 2000 the NBL would adapt ABA practice and designate "AA" pro as the Senior pro division and rename "B" pro/Super Class to "A" pro. In the 2004 season the pro designations would be Elite Men and Superclass American Bicycle Association (ABA) United States Bicycle Association (USBA) †"Unlimited Pro" was the USBA's term for its senior professional class. It was renamed "A" Pro in the following racing season. International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF) *****The Vision Street Wear World Cup was the direct descendant of the Murry World Cup. Murray stopped sponsoring the World Cup after the fifth 1986 edition due to the failure of Murray of Ohio bicycle company and the NBL to come to an agreement about the sponsorship fee Murray would have had to pay the NBL. If Murray continued its sponsorship, the 1987 addition would have been the sixth (VI) in the series. Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) USA Cycling BMX

Notable accolades

BMX product lines

Racing habits and traits

For whatever reason, Eric Rupe had rarely raced ABA since its inception in 1977 until January 1984. In fact until the GT Supernationals held on January 27, 1984, in Burbank, California, it was only the fourth ABA national he ever attended. He happened to double, winning "AA" and Pro Open class at that one, his first ABA national wins as an amateur or professional.

Miscellaneous

Significant injuries

BMX and general press magazine interviews and articles

BMX magazine covers

Note: Only magazines that were in publication at the time of the racer's careers are listed, unless specifically noted. Bicycle Motocross News: Minicycle/BMX Action & Super BMX: Bicycle Motocross Action & Go: BMX Plus!: Total BMX: Bicycles and Dirt (ABA publication): Snap BMX Magazine & TransWorld BMX: Moto Mag: BMX World: 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): Specials: