10 Stories About Evel Knievel You Won't Believe
2. He Was An Accomplished Ice Hockey Player
Whilst almost exclusively known for his motorcycling prowess, as a young man Knievel was an accomplished sportsman who excelled in track and field, ski jumping, and especially ice hockey. He even played professionally for one season with the North Carolina-based Charlotte Clippers .
In his hometown, Knievel started his own team, the Butte Bombers. The team played a number of semi-professional and college teams but most notably, in 1960, they participated in an exhibition match against the 1960 Czech Olympic team. The match resulted in a great deal of publicity for the team and a reported 2000 spectators watched the Bombers lose 22-3.
However, the events that occurred after the match led to Knievel almost starting a major diplomatic incident. After being ejected from the game in the 3rd period he promptly left the stadium, hours later, when the Czech officials went to collect their share of the game’s takings they were gone.
In the end, the US Olympic Committee was forced to step in to compensate the visitors and quell any further diplomatic unrest.