SBHS Class of 63

Reprinted with permission of the Door County Advocate

Rekindling memories of earlier racing

Written by
Jon Gast, Door County Advocate

 American Motorcycle Association flat-track racing has a rich history on dirt tracks throughout the upper Midwest. It returns to the Door County Fair Saturday night. “That old rickety grandstand was packed, and people lined the track,” remembers John Schiesser of Sturgeon Bay. Schiesser was one of the most accomplished homegrown riders, getting his start at the fair in 1960 at the tender age of 14. A year later he was a state champion.

The fair circuit was just the beginning of a professional career that had him running tracks from Ohio to St. Louis, Chicago to Daytona. It was a career that would tragically end with the death of his teammate and his own career-ending broken neck within a week of each other in 1969.

Even after what racing has done to him, Schiesser isn’t planning on missing Saturday night’s motorcycle racing at the fair. “I’m going to take my grandkids and show them just how foolish I was,” said Schiesser with a chuckle. But, even after all these years, the passion seemingly drips from his recollection of a professional career that at one time included an amazing 42 wins in a span of 47 races.

After being rained out last year, the return of motorcycle racing rekindles memories for some of when the races were the hottest ticket at the fair. Schiesser was part of a pack of Sturgeon Bay riders whose talent was matched by the type of fearless daring that would make most mothers cringe. Guys like brothers Phil and Joe Peterson, and Johnny Wiesner. “They made me sit in the back of the pickup truck,” remembers Schiesser. “I was on a Triumph and they were Harley guys.”  But that pickup went to lots of other fairs and “we barely had room for all the trophies on the ride home,” he said.

The Door County Fair was no exception. Schiesser remembers one night “when I won on the last lap and looking up and thinking, ‘Boy, there are a lot of people here!’”  Schiesser was particularly fond of the short-track racing at the fair, racing so tightly bunched that he still remembers the tire rubber on his racing leathers and the gnarly knuckles he said still remain from tangling with too many handle bars from other bikes.

Scrambles also proved to be popular with riders and fans alike. A precursor to today’s motocross, Schiesser said they normally included a jump. But they also incorporated speed — reaching 90 mph on some tracks.

Because the Door County Fair was a lot like other tracks on the fair circuit, which were primarily horse tracks, the kind of speed these cycles were producing created a recipe for danger. “Our bikes back then had no brakes and shocks,” said Schiesser. “It was just a frame and a big engine.”

But Schiesser had the derring-do this type of racing required, and it took him to bigger cities and bigger fields. Still, Schiesser said the popularity of the fair races shouldn’t be underestimated as it regularly brought in some of the country’s top riders.

Saturday provides a rare opportunity to see a sport that at one time was a regular on Door County’s summer schedule. Today stock car racing continues to fill that motorsport void and Schiesser is glad it does. “I was just there a couple weeks ago, and there were families cheering on their favorite driver,” he said. 

It doesn’t matter if it’s done on two wheels or four.