Albert Crocker

Albert Crocker (1882–1961) was an American inventor and the founder of Crocker Motorcycles. His innovations had a substantial influence on the motorcycle and racing business.

Crocker graduated from Armour Institute, part of [[Illinois Institute of Technology]], with an engineering degree. His first job out of college was with the Aurora Automatic Machine Company; he worked in the motorcycle division, engineering new products. Although he was an engineer, he loved motorcycles and racing, competing in and winning many endurance contests.

During his racing years, Crocker met Oscar Hedström and Charles Hendee, the president and chief engineer of Indian Motorcycle of Springfield, Massachusetts. A close friendship developed between Crocker, Hendee and Hedstrom that eventually evolved into a full-time position for Crocker at Indian.

Crocker's personal life was deeply affected by the 1912 accident in which the famous board track motorcycle racer Eddie Hasha was severely injured in a race and died from his injuries shortly after. Crocker later met Hasha's widow, Gertrude Jefford Hasha, in 1919, while both were working at the Indian branch in Denver, Colorado. They were married in 1924 and had one son also named Albert.

In that same year, Crocker took over the Indian motorcycle dealership in Kansas City. The dealership functioned as a distributor for several Midwest states. Eventually, however Crocker moved to Los Angeles.

In Los Angeles, Crocker bought Freed Indian, an established Indian Motorcycle dealership. Al Crocker and Paul Bigsby must have spent many of their spare hours designing and developing their own bikes, for in 1931, they introduced their dirt track racing bikes to the world of racing.

Crocker, a very capable designer and engineer, invented the Crocker 30-50 cu. in. single-cylinder speedway bike. It became the bike of choice for many of the best riders on the Pacific coast when speedway racing was at its height. Crocker ultimately built about thirty speedway bikes, giving the big-name speedway bikes some tough competition.

He later sold his Indian dealership and moved on to create Crocker Motorcycle Company in a small factory at 1346 Venice Blvd in downtown LA.

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