7 minute read
Knox Murray-Born to Race
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Through motorcycle trips, countless hours of conversation and time spent with Jack, myself Wayne Sims, Perry Biddle and others have come to know and love Jack. Also, riders who are no longer with us including Larry Williams, Gene Snider, J.B. Woodward, Jamie Moncrief, and Bobby Smith. We would like to share our friend Jack with you today. Jack was born to his parents Claude and Lucinlle on April 8, 1932 in Anniston, Alabama. He married Mary Jo his first-grade sweetheart. They have five sons and one daughter, all of whom ride Harley-Davidsons. In 1944 at the age of twelve, Jack worked after school at Anniston Soil Foundry. After getting off the bus, he would grab a biscuit and onion and run across the hillside five miles to work because it was ten miles to travel by road. He would return home by dark having earned $1.25 for his day’s pay. Running to work each day, Jack would “eye” a Schwinn motorbike leaning by a tree. One day it asked if it was for sale. IT WAS! Jack bought his first motorbike at age 12 for $50. To crank the bike, he had to run with it until it cranked and then jump on. Two years later, Jack began working full time at the foundry. At age 16 in 1948 Jack bought his first Harley-Davidson a 1946 Knucklehead. At 18 Jack asked Mary Jo’s father permission to marry her. Her father had a question of his own. “How are you going to take care of my daughter” Jack replied I don’t know but I will.” In December 1950 the two were wed.
One day, Jack saw a sign on Noble Street, “Uncle Sam Wants You”. Tired from the day’s work, he decided to enter the office to see what “Sam” was talking about, not realizing it was a recruiting station. The recruiter instructed him to get into a van and drove to a train station in Gadsden. Jack climbed into a bunk and drifted off to sleep. Three days later when the train stopped in Texas, Jack was able to place a collect call to the only person on Buttermilk Road with a phone - Buck Greenwood. Jack still wasn’t sure what he had done, but he told Buck to go tell Mary Jo, “Sam got me!” “I’m somewhere in Texas”.
Six months later out of boot camp, Jack and about 300 other men were in a parking lot, when a captain asked if anyone worked with small instruments in civilian life. Jack raised his hand, the captain said, “come with me, you look like a dental technician.”
After three years of Sam’s air force, in 1953 Jack returned to Anniston to the foundry and his bride. Shortly thereafter Jack worked at dental labs in Anniston and West Point, Georgia while taking courses at Auburn. Jack then worked for a dentist in Pell City from 1960-1967.
Jack rode his Harley-Davidson to Pell City to work every day, encountering ruts and construction, with mud and dust for seven long years. He opened his own lab in Anniston while working his last year in Pell City. He quit his job in Pell City and had not told Mary Jo any of this. Mary Jo was a bookkeeper at South Trust Bank at the time. Jack finally told Mary Jo he had quit his job. Jo called all six children around the kitchen table and told them their daddy had quit his job and they were all going to starve in one big pile. Fortunately, Jo’s prediction wasn’t correct. Jack ran Greenwood Dental Lab until his retirement in 2018 at age 86. Jack also made gold jewelry from military days until present day. Jack’s life hasn’t been all work, for Jack knows how to have fun.
He has owned 35 motorcycles. He was an active Shriner for 25 years. He has been to Sturgis 20 times since 1986. He has been to Daytona over 50 times since 1952. Mary Jo has been with Jack on many of these trips, sometimes falling asleep but holding on to Jack. In the early days of Daytona when the races were on the beach Jack was there.
He was also at the Cabbage Patch when it was only a 4-way stop, drag racing with others, and running from the law. When asked how many continental states he had ridden in, he responded, “I can’t think of one I missed.”
Jack was an avid golfer, an excellent pool player. After several of us sit around talking with Jack for a while at times he will say, “Well, I’ve got to get back to the Valley…. Gotta go start some stuff with Mary Jo.” Jack you’ve gone from Buttermilk Road to this special event for you today. As for taking care of Mary Jo…I’d say the promise you made her father in December, 1950 has been kept. I am proud to call Jack Greenwood my friend.
THE BASIC LEFT-TURN
Approaching a busy four-way intersection there are a lot of elements to monitor: cross traffic may or may not stop for the light; pedestrians could step out at any time; an oncoming car waiting to turn left could fail to detect your presence and turn left in front of you. Sure enough, just as you approach the intersection, the car in the opposing left-turn lane swings into your path. You brake hard and swerve at the last second, barely avoiding a broadside collision. Strategy: Without a doubt, this scenario is a frequent hazard for motorcyclists riding in urban areas. A common type of motorcycle crash (for sober riders) occurs during daylight hours, at low speeds (around 30 mph), when an oncoming vehicle turns left into your path. Again, when approaching an intersection with a vehicle waiting in the left-turn lane, your best bet is to assume the worst: that a car will pull out in front of you. Reduce your speed as you approach the intersection, either downshifting or lightly applying the front brake. Adjust your position in the lane to be seen better. Slowing will increase your safety cushion: slowing just 10 mph reduces your stopping distance significantly, and covering your brake greatly reduces reaction time. After you’ve slowed, continue to visually monitor the car in case it moves and forces you to change position or stop quickly.
For more information go to www.msf-usa.org
BORN TO BORN TO RACE RACE
When Knox Murray was just four-years-old, his parents took him to see the Supercross races at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The family enjoyed an evening of two-wheeled motocross madness in all its glory and Knox studied every move by the racers. When Knox walked out of that Stadium, the young boy looked up at his folks and said, “That’s what I want to do!” “He begged us to get him a dirt bike for two years,” Knox’s mom Melissa Murray recalls. “We finally got him one and he took off and has never looked back!”
Knox is now seven-years-old, racing in the AMA six-year-old class. He started on a Yamaha PW50 and is now riding a Husky TC50 that he’s been racing for the past three months. For 2021, he’s stepped up to race in the seven and eight-year-old class because he wanted to move up to a bigger bike. “He loves opening it up on the straightaways and jumping!” his mom tells us.
Knox trains and races at Dade City MX and Bartow MX. He also loves to ride at 74 MX in Punta Gorda. Last year he only raced the Bartow MX series half the year and placed 3rd overall in the Pee Wee Shaft Class and 4th in the Pee Wee 4-6 Beginner Class. Now all of us who love ridin’ motorcycles can appreciate this young man’s passion for two wheels and his love of racing. Here’s the thing, racin’ ain’t cheap, and Knox could sure use your help as a sponsor. “We are always looking for sponsors and help because there is a lot of maintenance that goes into the bike as well as training and racing fees,” Melissa tells us. “So any help would be greatly appreciated. Knox is currently sponsored by True MX for his riding gear.” If you or someone you know would like to help make a young racer’s dreams come true, give his mom Melissa Murray a call at 352-672-7131. Tell her you heard about Knox in Born To Ride.
“He loves opening it up on the straightaways and jumping!” This is a Born To Ride Kid
