AMA Hall of Famer George Barber Passes at 85

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George Barber, the founder of the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum in Birmingham, Alabama and an inductee into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame, has passed away at the age of 85. Barber began privately collecting motorcycles in the 1970s and opened the museum in 1994 to display his growing collection to the public. In 2003, he relocated the museum to its current 830-acre complex that also includes a 2.38-mile road circuit.

Why it matters

Barber's Vintage Motorsports Museum is considered the world's largest collection of historic motorcycles, preserving an important part of motorcycle history. As an AMA Hall of Famer, Barber's impact on the motorcycling community was significant, both through his museum and his own racing career in the 1960s.

The details

Barber was a philanthropist, real estate developer and businessman, and the son of George Warren Barber Sr., who founded Barber Dairies in the 1930s. Barber began privately collecting motorcycles in the 1970s and established the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum as a nonprofit in 1994. In 2002, he opted to close the original location of the museum and moved the collection to its current 830-acre complex in Birmingham, Alabama in September 2003.

• Barber began privately collecting motorcycles in the 1970s.
• The Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum gained 501(c)(3) nonprofit status in 1994.
• Barber closed the original location of the museum in 2002 and moved the collection to its current 830-acre complex in Birmingham, Alabama in September 2003.
• Barber was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2014.