Harry Leary

Who is Harry Leary?

Harry Clarence Leary Jr. was a "Old School" professional bicycle motocross racer.

Nicknamed "Scary Harry Leary", and later "Turbo", the former for his aggressive racing style, the latter was a moniker coined by Bicycle Motocross Action magazine when he "Turboed" himself into finishing National No. 2 in both the American Bicycle Association and the National Bicycle League in 1981 after being relatively far back in the national standings during that year. His prime competitive years were from 1978-1985. He officially retired from BMX Senior pro racing in 1989, and for the previous three years he was largely inactive and served as Diamond Back's factory team manager. He came out of "retirement" in the early 1990s to race in the ABA's Veteran Pro class and is still racing at 48 years of age.

One of the most respected racers in BMX history, his career was not as laden with titles as many of his contemporaries. His career was plagued by many injuries, in particular his knees which cut many promising seasons off and required surgery. Also, he had trouble dealing with the fame, as limited to the BMX world as it was, that his career brought. He went as far as to attend a sports medicine clinic for stress management in July 1984. He met many stars of the more established sports at the facility. The stresses that come with the burden of fame was and is a widespread if little discussed aspect in the career of a top amateur or professional athlete.