The 1989 Rochester War of the Stars tapes!

Bill Neuman Rochester 89 from Doses on Vimeo.

Dennis McCoy 89 Rochester from Doses on Vimeo.

Danny Meng Rochester 89 from Doses on Vimeo.

Gerry Smith Rochester 89 from Doses on Vimeo.

Kevin Jones Rochester 89 from Doses on Vimeo.

Darren Pelio Rochester 89 from Doses on Vimeo.

Jeff Rugg Second run Rochester 89 from Doses on Vimeo.

Cracking footage from 1989 by Doses, Rochester All Stars contest, Sunday is too far off to wait on this footage, peep awesome riding from Bill Neumann, Dennis McCoy, Danny Meng, Gerry Smith, Kevin Jones, Jeff Rugg and Darren Pelio, just awesome!

15 thoughts on “The 1989 Rochester War of the Stars tapes!

  1. i’ll be the first to comment on this piece of history can’t believe i’m the first, well i first saw these video’s last night and was blown away this was 1989 a time when things were changing “the changing of the guard” era even Mccoy was off Haro riding a GT for VIP Products a time when riding and the big sponsors and money had taken a back seat a time when the real tricks were coming through ,i urge anybody to watch these runs Mccoy,Neuman (so good)Meng,Rugg,Jones,Pelio,Smith (amazing) this is the blueprint for modern day flat,big thanks to Adam Guild for posting these up i could watch these forever 🙂

    • yes crazy contest, i hear there was a whole issue around prize money at this one, bill neumann and danny meng i believe cashed their checks right away, everyone else was not quite so lucky! Bill Neumann’s run is awesome! Part of me does feel hey Kevin Jones must feel weird, all the pros competing against him doing his tricks against him.

  2. Quote from Josh Marsele, http://www.vintagebmx.com: The only Pro to return for the ’89 AFA season was DMC… the rest were all the 2nd generation of Pros, who busted their butts to progress themselves, Meng, Mervar, Brandt, Neuman, Castillo,… The ones only looking for coverage and sponsorships were no longer there

  3. I was at this contest, and remember it very well. Alot of good stuff going down, especially for the time period. It was called the “War of the Stars”. I also heard that only a few of the pro riders cashed their checks in time, rumors were that sponsors pulled out at the last moment and the contest organizer stopped payment on the all the pros checks. Kinda worst case scenario as far as prize money goes!

    Also wanted to add, that is not Darren Pelio. It is Denny Howell.

  4. Yep, You’re right, E. Bill & Danny were the only guys that got paid…everyone else got boned on the deal. Great comp…classic riders who were WAY on top of theor game.

  5. Hey there, E…

    I have a GREAT story about the hitchhiker and how Billy ended up learning it. It involves another great rider, but nobody knew it at the time…let me know if you’re interested…I think you’ll get a kick out of it, since you’re one for flatland history/lore….

    • yes Josh, you know it, well I grew up on this stuff, this contest was just an article in Freestylin’ this is all golden for me, so hit me up on email, i’ll be stoked to hear it!

  6. At some point in 88, the Expert class really started to out shine the Pro class. There were so many hungry riders in a stacked Expert class, I would have hated to be a judge! 89 saw those top Experts come out and play in the pro class…putting a lot of the factory stars out of business. They just look so smooth and polished while doing the most difficult tricks for the era!

  7. Ok guys im really sorry for rehashing such an old thread, but in my defense, it is freestyle history and even someone posting what the weather was like that day at the contest is something important. Well, not really but its history of a sport we all love and memories are all we got and theyre easy to forget if not written down. War of the Stars was AWSOME!! One of the best times of my life!! We need as many people there to write their experience cuz i forgot about some stuff until i read it above from the other people who posted… But does anyone remember Young Dave Mirra there? That was my first “real” experience as an avid obsessed freestyler of being under the same roof as the guys i saw in the magazines.. i was from way up north in Ontario Canada…Magazines were the ONLY way we learned and advanced in riding… And ya, I remember hearing of Bill Neuman only shortly before this even and saw a few pics of him in American Freestyler or some other mag and hitch hikers were the new big impossible for me trick and i had to see it in person…. So a couple of my freestyle “team mates” just finished doing a few shows with the GT/Dyno Team in Canada, which was the best thing in my life btw but thats another story and ill tell it to anyone that wants to listen, its worth it lol, involves the whole team and the foldup halfpipe they had being parked in my drivewsy… But anyways.. i was practicing in the pits beside the halfpipe off to the side, and some small young kid was busting some pretty sick stuff. I mean, i only saw guys this good in magazines, once again… And i was so blown away that i stopped riding and just watched…i asked who this kid was.. i mean, the only kid i knew was that rad was trevor Hernandez, and i knew it wsnt him uz i just had his big bro Brett over at my place the day before and knew Trev was on tour.. so i found out it was Dave.. itbwas amazing and ill never forvet that day… Thats pretty much the only thing i really remember well.. i dont remember any of the Pro runs… And becuz the videos above dont work i may never be able to remember… Anyways thats my story..again sorry guys… Getting old sux so keep posting memories cuz its all we have… Unless u recorded it lol

  8. I was there and competed in 15 expert division came in 5th it was a lot of fun. I remember everybody doing hitchhikers and backpackers and hang fives/nothings in the practice area. Jeff I remember David Mirra being there and I believe he won the flatland in my division but i can’t remember if he rode vert there too. I know he started off as a flatland rider.

    Like House of Lightning stated everybody should have signed there checks over to Kevin Jones. This was his golden age period 80% of the flatland tricks were the new style rolling/gliding/spinning tricks he invented.

    Thing that bummed me the most was I sent them $30 for a VHS of the event and they never sent it. Its true many people didn’t get paid but I remember Make-a-Wish foundation was the primary sponsor.

    I came here hoping to see some videos from the event but it looks like all of the links are dead. Does anyone know where I can see video from the event?

    • Thanks for taking the time to comment Brian, loved the insight. I regularly look for this contest on the inter webs but no luck finding again, if anyone does find it. Give me a heads up, thank you!

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