Bill Spencer
1941 - 2001
There will be a
celebration
of Bill Spencer's life Wednesday, July 4, 11:00 am, at the Media
Center at Laguna Seca
Raceway. This is the same location as Ricky Graham's services were
held. Please tell your
friends. Any questions please Email me.
Rod
Dirttrack4@home.com
With great sadness I have been told that Bill Spencer has
passed
away this morning from a
heart attack. Bill was the racer’s friend, the fans friend
and the promoter of good will for the
motorcycle fraternity.
He will be missed dearly, God Bless You Bill….
For more information contact
Mike at (408) 281-0788
Gene Romero
Myself and many Palo Alto Motorcycle Club members meet Bill
shortly
after high school and
he started hanging out with us and going to the races. Bill
had found his love with being at the
races and getting to know all the riders. He has been a great
friend to all of us and has
enlighted and amazed many with his knowledge of who and what
was going on in the
motorcycle world. We will miss you Bill............
Ramon Porky Perez
In losing Bill Spencer we have lost a great voice, a great
encyclopedia
of racing knowege and
a great friend. We all have our memories of Bill. We can all
honor him by trading those stories
over beers after the races. God Bless, Bill. We will miss
you.
The Rudy Family
Our sport has lost a treasure that will never be replicated.
Godspeed my friend
JB Norris
I beleave I speak for many feeling the loss of a friend. I
don't
remember the day but it was over
30 years ago when I met Bill ... many stories...good times..
a great voice for our racing family.
Marty Lewis
Goodbye and God Speed Bill, I shall miss you.
Dale Lineaweaver
We are all saddened by the loss of 'Big Bill'. He has been
an icon
in the motorsports world for
many years. Now, he can announce all those heavenly
racers....Godspeed
Bill, you will be
missed.
Yarrow Family
We are deeply saddened to hear about Bill. he truly
was a great
friend to racing over the
years.he had racing in his blood. God bless him....
Mickey Lane
This morning I lost an old friend. Bill and I go back to the
sixties
and the day when scrambles
tracks were carved out of hillsides. Back then Bill was the
photographer and I was the
announcer. A couple of years ago, Bill commented that after
all these years we had switched
places. Just the other day Mario Rinaldi said to me that we
don't see too many of the old
guys any more. Sadly, that's so true. Bill, you touched so
many lives, thanks for being my
friend. Godspeed!
Bob Bacosa
Bill signed me up at 14, 31 years ago at Hayward Speedway. I
never
would have raced if I
hadn't met Bill. I am one of a thousand kids with a story
about Bill, and how he helped
them. Godspeed Bill, the races will never be the same without
you.
Rod Lake
Rod your are so right. Bill let me sell Cycle News for him
at Fremont
Raceway so I could earn
enough money to buy a 60cc Yamaha. I sold but off all year.
At the end of the each night Bill
would give my cut to my Mom to make sure I would'nt spend
it. That winter we got that 60cc
Yamaha and I race the piss out of it. Thanks Bill for giving
me the opportunity to do what I love.
You will be missed. R. Bacosa
From the entire Bacosa Famly: God Speed Bill.....
GodSpeed A Great Man In Ourlives
Trapper McDaniel
My sincere best wishes to a big man that lived for the sport
he loved
so much, he knew
everything about everybody, at Hanford 2 weeks ago at the
end of the A main I ask Bill if he
was do for a beer and he said what kind? I said Coors Light,
he said no thanks I'm a
Budman...I wasn't gonna force a Coors on that man...Godspeed
Bill...
Jim Grant
I am very saddend to hear the news about Big Bill. My
earliest memories
of Bill are from the
old San Jose indoors and Fremont marathons. I got to know
Bill personally after becomming
a race promoter in northern cal. Bill was a person I could
look to for advice wheather it be
Motocross racing or flattrack, I am very greatful to him for
the time he took to help me and my
race organization I will miss him, but I know that with Big
Bill, Harold Murrell and the others
we have recently lost there will be some awesome races going
on above us. Godspeed Bill,
Thank-you for eveything.
Matt Lorenzo
Am very sorry to hear about the passing of Bill. He
will be
trully missed. My thoughts and
prayers go out to his family. God speed Bill.
Michelle Lineaweaver
Competing in AMA District 36 in the mid-60's - 70's, you
couldn't
help but know Bill. Riding
Lodi, Hayward, Fremont and many of the other Northern
California
events, you'd always see
his byline in Cycle News with a great report of the race,
and, every now and then you'd run
across your own name when you made the cut. The majority of
the time, it was spelled
correctly (!) and you knew it started with Bill.
I hadn't seen Bill in roughly 28 years but happened across
him by accident at High Five Pizza
in San Jose. I'd been to the WoO show at San Jose and was
sitting at a table with Brent
Kaeding and friends when I heard Bill's voice across the
crowded
bar...he was giving a running
commentary of the night's Outlaw show as the video tape played
on the TV. I asked Brent
who it was and when he told me it was Bill, I had to go up
and say 'hello' as I'd never really
thanked him for all he'd done for the sport (Hell, I was a
teenager in those days and we
weren't usually smart enough to say 'thanks' even if we were
picking up a trophy!). We had a
little reality check and he asked my name, which I rattled
off, and he promptly spelled it back
to me...correctly...and without hesitation. With a last name
like Cuthbertson, it's not the
easiest thing to do! We relived some of the old days...brought
up some of the other riders of
the era...and said goodnight.
It was good to renew a friendship and say thanks...and it's
really sad to say goodbye.
John Cuthbertson
I met Bill in 1964 - He was a big kid and a motorcycle
racing fan.
He was THE
PHOTOGRAPHER . I saw Bill become more polished as a
photographer
- writer -and
announcer through the years. We were good friends as he was
to hundreds. Some things
never changed - his outgoing personality and love of our
sport.
He was always the same Big
Kid. What a loss for all of us. Godspeed Bill
Wally Weisler
Bill was always in the middle of the action, dedicated to
the sport
we all love so much.
Whenever I saw Bill I felt as though we were back in the 70's,
which was the heyday of our
sport. Godspeed big guy, we won't forget you.
Dennis
So many races,so many memories, Godspeed Big Bill
Bob Hill
The big guy seemed invincible. Thanks for your time with us,
we'll
miss you! GODSPEED
Al De Hoyos
Bill always showed great respect for all the racers and the
sport
of motorcycle racing. He was
a great announcer. He always had the answers to any questions
of or about racing and
racers. The racers in the sky have gained one of the best
announcers there was.
God speed, Bill. We'll sure miss you.
Eddie and Jodi Mulder
Bill was an encyclopedia of motorcycle knowledge. I tried to
stump
him more than once, and
never could. Bill was a friend of mine for as far back as
I can remember, our family will miss
him.......Bill Arbogast....
I remember racing at Fremont in the early 70's when Bill was
the
referee/promoter/track
photographer. He DQed me for cheating in practice. I took
my 500 BSA out in the 250
practice, that is when he DQed me. The bad part was, I parked
my bike and went back to
complain and he said he would have let me ride but I had a
beer in my hand right then. I have
had lots of good memories with Bill and he will be missed.
Eric Weisler
I remember way back in the 60's Bill rode a 441 BSA Victor.
We use
to hang aroung the old
Hayward, Fremont, Lodi TT's. He was a referee (AMA), I think,
and would keep point totals for
the riders, etc. I know for sure-- he cared a lot for DT and
the people involved. Always keeping
an eye on the progress of amateur riders as well as pros.
He was the track photo guy too. He
took some fantastic black and white 8x10's. Thanks Bill I've
still got mine and thanks to you,
they provide great memories. He hung out at Sonny Kenyon's,
partied with the
greats - Roberts, Brelsfords (Mark and Scott), you name'em
he knew them. He will be greatly
missed.
AD
Bill was Bill. He treated all people alike. It did't
matter
if you were National #1, Blackplate #1, or a
360 novice. He loved racing and the people involved with the
sport. Bill was and will alway's be
part of my fond memories of racing and growing up. Thank's
for the memories
Old 20M
I think back to all those Dist. 36 races I use to go to
during the
'70's-80's, and I remember always seeing Bill there. Bill
knew everyone, if
you were at the races, either as a rider or part of the pit crew,
Bill would
remember you. He would always have the time to say hi to
everyone,
and
everyone was treated the same. Even when I got away from
motorcycles
and
racing for a period, and I hadn't seen him for over ten years, Bill
stopped
to say hi, and had a story to tell me about the "old days".
Bill will be
greatly missed by everyone that met him, as will I. Godspeed.
Manuel Datan
Big Bill Spencer
I met him at San Jose Speedway he was one of the greatest
announcers I have
ever heard and I have been to many dirt tracks as well as
Indianapolis,
Talladega. Bill made every racer he announced sound like he was
the next AJ
Foyt. He had a name for everyone, From Randy the Hurricane, to Quick
Nick
Rescino. The best part about Bill as an announcer you could here
him over
the cars his voice boomed with excitement. We use to meet at High
Five Pizza
several times a week and talk about the good old days of Al Pombo,
Marshall
Sargent, Johnny and Jerry Freitas to Joltin Johnny Brazil. He was
a history
of racing and it was all in his head. But the thing I remember most
about
Bill was his friendship he always had a big smile and always made
room for
my wife Sharon to have a seat he was a class act and is missed.
God Speed Big Bill ....
SEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Ya
Joe Vargas
Very few people have dedicated their lives to dirt track
motorcycle
racing as much as Bill Spencer.
He lived, breathed, drank and slept motorcycles. I never knew
anyone that you could count on more to be at every race
and to deliver top quality, professional pictures of riders.
When he would come to me with a picture of me
and my fellow racers around me on the track, I would look in my
pocket and say, "It's a hot dog and a coke or a picture."
Most of the time I bought the picture. I could always
eat later, but his pictures were eternal.
Bill was the first person you saw when you were coming out of a
turn, flash bulb and all.
He always had a smile on his face. And with his booming voice,
you knew he was around.
Bill was a good friend of mine and will forever remain in my
memories
as a good guy who loved the sport or motorcycle racing.
Bill Landsborough
billlami@aol.com
My family met Bill In 71-72 at a Fremont TT. There had to be
700
or more riders.
We saw Bill at 2-3 events every week for the next 5 or so years.
Started roadracing in mid 1980 and who shows up, Bill.
He loved every form of racing. And he still remembered the Kane
family.
Bill Spencer! What a guy.
The Kanes will always remember you
If you would like to add a memory to this
page,
please send it to dnasuter@verizon.net
