Remebering Evel Knievel
Robert Craig Knievel was born in Butte, Montana on Oct. 17, 1938. At the age of eight, he was the Joey Chitwood daredevel show, and he decided what he wanted to do with his life. Thru his teenage years and into adulthood, Knievel was into everything. He earned awards in ski jumping and ice hockey during high school. He admitted to having been a swindler, a car thief, a safe cracker, a holdup man. He served in the Army. He formed a semi-pro hockey team and was the owner, the coach, and a player. He worked in the copper mines, sold insurance, operated a hunting guide business, and opened a Honda Motorcycle Dealership. But, Robert Craig Knievel was a stuntman and entertainer. Billing himself as Evel Knievel, he drew crowds. He began a solo touring trip in 1966 charging promoters $500 to jump two cars. By 1968, he had gained national recognition by steadily increasing the distance of the jumps. For New Years 1968, he announced he would jump the fountains at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas