TONY AGONIS

 

                                      January 28, 1948 – January 10, 2009

 

Man, we’re going to miss Tony! The ECEA will be changed forever without seeing Tony’s smiling face, always in the shadow of brother Bob “Fabio” Agonis. 

For you newbies, it’s a shame you didn’t have enough time to get to know the “brothers” over the years. These guys were, as Willie Battaglia would say, a couple of “cuties”. Yes, they were! And we tortured them relentlessly! …… and they dished it out as well as they took the abuse! But most importantly, they were ECEA guys that were dedicated, hard workers, extremely helpful, fun, surprising, and……. did I say dedicated to the sport as a whole like no others. 

I ran the complete ECEA Enduro circuit for over 20 years, never missing a race, and the Agonis boys were always there! They coached countless number of riders on the art of Enduro riding, and supported their club like no other. If you rode for CJCR, it was as close to the factory ride that Mike Lafferty gets! As a matter of fact, they supported the ENTIRE ECEA! Any rider in need could pull up to the famous BBT (Blue Bread Truck) and get whatever they needed in the way of parts, or mechanical help. Wow – it was amazing how many riders would “hover” around the BBT at a reset! I think they personally baby-sat Scott “Wolf” Wolfersberger and Hank Stankiwicz for a number of years before those two old guys figured out how to ride an event. (They were slow learners, what can I say). 

My riding “group” used to have a lot of fun with both Tony and Fabio. I’m talking over the years Dengler, Lambert, Tomasello,  Ebersole, Deveney, Beeler, Dagrosa, Barr and so on. During an event, whenever we would see them, we would head in their direction, and roost the hell out of them! It was a riot seeing all four of us “attack” Fabio during an Enduro! Tony was always the “good guy”, Bob “Fabio” was the bad guy. I remember Tony’s eyes would always light up when he saw us coming down the road or trail. He would step to the side and his smile would growing bigger as we closed in on the kill – his brother! Man, we had a lot of laughs! After a while, brother Bob caught on and became a harder “target”. I think a few times we started sections late because of these antics! 

Tony, we will always remember your smile, dedication, putting up with your brother, and most importantly….. your kind, giving heart for everyone. Your brother I’m sure, will continue to carry the “torch” for you!