They call it the " Corvette of bicycles " : The Schwinn Sting - Ray , which overturn the manufacture in the 1960s , was created by Al Fritz , who died on May 7 , 2013 ofcomplications from a stroke .
After serving on Gen. Douglas MacArthur ’s stave in the Philippines , Fritz was hired to make for in the factory at the bicycle society Schwinn ; in his 40 year there , Fritz mount the ranks from floor worker to administrator , even putting his typing skill to use in a stint as a secretary . Jay Towley , a former Schwinn executive director , return : “ So Al was still in his welding kit with a leather apron and sword - toed shoes , and he washed his hands and went into the old mankind ’s office … and said he was there to practice for the secretary job . ” After transcribe one “ flawless ” letter , Fritz was hired on the spot .
While play as Schwinn ’s Director of Research and Development in 1962 , Fritz point out a strange trend that was sweeping the Los Angeles area . teen were outfitting their own slow 20 - in cycle with longer banana tree behind and butterfly stroke handlebar , transforming standard manufactory bikes into jazzy , bike - esque contraptions . After witnessing this wildly popular trend , Fritz reported back to Schwinn : “ Something goofy is happening in California . ”
Fritzpromptly went to workon his own version of the Los Angeles - style wheel , and eventually landed on the blue - slung , richly - handled design of the Sting - Ray . Though the untraditional paradigm was ab initio scoff at by Fritz ’s fellow executive director , nearly 45,000 Sting - Rays were sold in the first few months of its liberation — eventually selling out the entire year ’s line of descent . In colors like “ Flamboyant Lime ” and “ Radiant Coppertone , ” and equipped with stick - shift and other features marketed toward youngsters with car fever , the Sting - Ray transformed the bicycle into a cool , sporty sporting well akin to a sumptuousness automobile for kids .
Competitors quickly followed suit , and at one point , cycle in the Sting - Ray panache — including countless caricature — made up over 60 percent of all U.S. bike cut-rate sale .
Al Fritz pave the way for bicycles as something sporty and exciting , rather than a simple mode of transportation , paving the way for the eventual ascension of BMX and other utmost sport . In fact , in 2010 , Al Fritz was inducted into the BMX Hall of Fame . After his diagnosing with Alzheimer ’s disease in 2009 , Fritz ’s granddaughter pay tribute to him as a participant in a 20 - mile fundraising wheel drive — riding , of course , an original 1963 Sting - Ray .
