30 Day Countdown to A1: #28 Larry Ward
Saturday, December 8, 2012 | 12:55 PM
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PrintWelcome to the third day of the Monster Energy 30-Day Countdown to the Anaheim season opener, set for January 5, 2013. We are marking each day by counting down our 30 Best Supercross Racers of All-Time, as voted on by the Racer X editorial staff and our contributors like Eric Johnson and more. And at 28 days until Anaheim, we turn to our #28 Supercross racer of all time, Larry Ward.
The tall and lanky Ward, known as Big Bird, had one of the strangest careers in the history of the sport—and we mean that in the best way possible. The Washington native started his 250 SX career with a flurry, winning the famous 1990 Seattle Supercross for Team Suzuki in front of highly-partisan home-state fans. He was even in the title hunt early in his rookie year. But then Ward seemed to fall back a bit, even losing his factory ride before resurfacing with the Noleen/Sizzler privateer Yamaha effort. His 1995 season with that team is the stuff of lore, as Ward finished second in the final season standings as a full privateer. He eventually worked his way back to factory status—incredibly, again, with Suzuki-and then even returned to victory lane at the 1998 Tampa Supercross. That's eight years between career wins one and two! To take it full circle, Ward fittingly won the Seattle Supercross in 1999, the final race held in the now-demolished Seattle Kingdome.
Larry Ward in 1995 on his Noleen/Sizzler backed Yamaha.
Racer X Archives photo
Ward raced all the way until the 2003 season, which puts him right near the top of the all-time supercross starts list (when he retired, he was at the top, but Mike LaRocco was able to edge past him). No doubt, Ward garners extra rankings on this list due to his longevity. Yesterday's #29, Mike Kiedrowski, has two more career wins than Ward and may have been slightly better when they raced head-to-head from 1990-1995. But Kiedrowski essentially retired after '95 (he returned only for the 1997 season, ironically as a teammate of Ward on Honda of Troy) while Ward continued to race well into the next decade, and he won two races during that time.
The back-end longevity of Ward's career certainly means something, and that's why he makes the all-time Top 30.
To see all of Big Bird's results in SX/MX, check out the Racer X Vault.
Join us tomorrow when Monster Energy Countdown to Anaheim unveils the #27 Best Supercross Racer of All Time.
The 30 Best Supercross Racers of All-Time Tracker:
#30 Marty Tripes
#29 Mike Kiedrowski
#28 Larry Ward
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I would have thought the MX-Kied would be rated higher than Larry Ward.
Didn't he piss off Mitt Romney? He said something about "getting rid of Big Bird" that came up in the news, but I hate politics, so I didn't read any more than the headline.
Shortly after he retired he showed up at a local track in Minnesota to race. Not sure why he was in MN. Seemed like a nice guy. Waited in line, signed-up, and paid his entry fees, just like everyone else. Once on the track, he was head and shoulders above everyone else, in more ways than one.
Larry was so stylish rocking the Xtreme gear !! Damn we had style back then!!
Just a regular guy with a lot of funny stories
i beat larry ward once!!!.......... @camp coker '89. the nite b4 we raced in atlanta sx. i drove to coker after the sx and slept in my van , when i woke up sunday morning and saw a team honda box van rolling thru the gate......i started thinking how much second place was paying! lol......... I holeshot, he got a bad start...... and i hung on to win the moto. he was 4sure faster than me........... but i got to the checkers first........ haha larry ! he was pretty cool guy and a great rider.
Good guy, perfect riding style and was always WFO ! Glad you made the list, Larry
His longevity added to his appeal, but I have to agree with endoman that Kiedrowski belong higher.
Kiedrowski belongS
Larry Ward, jumps on his mechanic Liam Macallum (sp?)
Loved big bird
I remember the 1994 Geneva supercross. This is long before hospitality areas existed in the sport for all you youths out there. My big bro and I walked into the stadium area to find our places. We walked past two guys shouting out t-shirts for sale. There were no other tables around, just this one. Since no one spoke english in those days, everyone just ignored them. Being the saffa I am however I gave them a quick glance, and low and behold it was Larry Bird and Steve Lamson. I yanked at my bro's t-shirt and we both headed over to have a chat. It was surreal to say the least. Kids were coming up asking for the price (in french) and these two clowns responded no parler frencho. My bro hooked out his MX-Action magazine and larry started paging through it to an add in it he knew was there to sign it. Those were the days when our sport could fit into your backpocket and riders were so approachable. I THINK steve lamson gave Larry a good spanking that night. He was too strong. Chicken was there that night as well. Those were the days when there was more racing than show in the event. Now its so bloody organised and has waaaaay less character.
I don't think they managed to sell a single t-shirt actually...hilarious....