October 25, 1975: Famous 1975 Evel Knievel Jump Almost Didn't Happen at Kings Island
If you lived in the Cincinnati area in 1975, you likely remember this striking image of daredevil Evel Knievel soaring on a Harley-Davidson just feet above a row of 14 Greyhound buses, with Kings Island’s Eiffel Tower standing tall in the background.
Knievel's most famous jump took place on October 25, 1975—49 years ago this week—on a seasonably cool, slightly drizzly day in the amusement park's parking lot.
The historic event may never have happened without the efforts of Kings Island’s Promotions Manager, James Gruber and Marketing Director, Bill Price.
After months of negotiations without a signed contract, Gruber and Price traveled nearly 2,000 miles to meet Knievel in his hometown of Butte, Montana, where he was in the midst of hosting the 1975 Evel Knievel Labor Day Golf Classic. The pair followed him around the golf course, reportedly negotiating between his shots.
The trip was important. Knievel wasn't just negotiating with Kings Island, and because he hadn't decided where he was going to jump, he filmed three commercials announcing the upcoming jump. The announcement was scheduled to air in September after the ABC television special about Knievel called “Portrait of a Daredevil.”
One version of the commercial promoted the event as taking place in San Francisco, another listed Kings Island as the venue, and the third simply stated that he would jump again and did not name the location.
Negotiations on the golf course were challenging. At one point, Knievel, frustrated by a missed putt, sent Price and Gruber away without signing the contract. They remained in town and the next day, he signed the agreement. Within 15 minutes, they were back on a plane to Cincinnati.
The final long jump of Knievel's career was broadcast live on ABC’s Wide World of Sports, achieving the highest ratings in the show's history with 32 million viewers, (a 22.3 rating according to Nielsen rating service). Over half of the nation's television viewers tuned in to watch him reach a top speed of 95 mph and soar 133 feet through the air on his Harley-Davidson XR-750 motorcycle over 14 Greyhound buses.
Although the jump was declared a success, he did hit the 14th bus upon landing, nearly breaking his bike in half. The event drew a crowd of 25,000 spectators, with 20,000 of them purchasing combo tickets to also visit the amusement park.
Enjoy these rarely seen photos from the Kings Island photo archive:
This image was captured from a helicopter during set-up in the days leading up to Evel Knievel's jump.
At this stage of set-up, only seven of the 14 buses were in place.
Landing ramp with seating set-up in the background.
A statue was created to celebrate Knievel's Kings Island jump. Today the statue resides at the Evel Knievel Museum in Topeka, Kans.
The plaque reads: "EVEL KNIEVEL14 BUS JUMP AT KINGS ISLAND, OCTOBER 25, 1975"
The modified 1972 Harley-Davidson XR-750 that Evel Knievel used for his Kings Island jump is part of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum collection in Washington, D.C. where it will be on display in the Nation of Speed exhibit until 2032.
