Dave Blase
Encyclopedia
Dave Blase is an American cyclist whose story served as the inspiration for the movie Breaking Away
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bike race. He quickly became a dominant rider and was recruited by the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. However, eligibility rules for the race were changed to require transferring team members to sit out one year. Blase continued to ride in outside races waiting to become eligible to ride for Phi Kappa Psi, a move which precluded him from competing the following year when a new rule was enacted requiring those who participated in outside races to wait 1 year to become eligible. Blase spent that year off campus and returned to ride in the 1962 Little 500. Blase led Phi Kappa Psi to a victory, riding 139 of the 200 laps himself.
was written by Steve Tesich
, an Indiana University graduate who served as an alternate rider on the Phi Kappa Psi Little 500 Team in 1962. He was team mates with Dave Blase and used him as an inspiration for the Dave Stoller character and for the overall story. Like Blase, the Stoller character developed an appreciation for Italian culture and the Italian cycling team.
Breaking Away
Breaking Away is a 1979 American film. A coming of age story, it follows a group of four male teenagers in Bloomington, Indiana, who have recently graduated from high school. It stars Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern , Jackie Earle Haley, Barbara Barrie and Paul Dooley...
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Little 500
Blase attended Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana from 1958 - 1962. In his freshman year he started cycling and joined a team for the Little 500Little 500
The Little 500 , is a bicycle race held annually at Bill Armstrong Stadium on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana...
bike race. He quickly became a dominant rider and was recruited by the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. However, eligibility rules for the race were changed to require transferring team members to sit out one year. Blase continued to ride in outside races waiting to become eligible to ride for Phi Kappa Psi, a move which precluded him from competing the following year when a new rule was enacted requiring those who participated in outside races to wait 1 year to become eligible. Blase spent that year off campus and returned to ride in the 1962 Little 500. Blase led Phi Kappa Psi to a victory, riding 139 of the 200 laps himself.
Breaking Away
Breaking AwayBreaking Away
Breaking Away is a 1979 American film. A coming of age story, it follows a group of four male teenagers in Bloomington, Indiana, who have recently graduated from high school. It stars Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern , Jackie Earle Haley, Barbara Barrie and Paul Dooley...
was written by Steve Tesich
Steve Tesich
Stojan Steve Tesich was a Serbian-American screenwriter, playwright and novelist. He won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 1979 for the movie Breaking Away.-Career:...
, an Indiana University graduate who served as an alternate rider on the Phi Kappa Psi Little 500 Team in 1962. He was team mates with Dave Blase and used him as an inspiration for the Dave Stoller character and for the overall story. Like Blase, the Stoller character developed an appreciation for Italian culture and the Italian cycling team.