*Sample* | Evel Knievel: The Greatest Daredevil in History | Bedtime Sleep Stories about History (Bonus Episode #112)

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Welcome to another bonus episode of Calm History, an extra treat for my SoapBus members.

This is the story of Evel Knievel, the greatest daredevil in history. But don't confuse Evel Knievel with another great daredevil in history, Super Dave Osborn. Both men did death-defying stunts in the 1970s. Both men wore similar uniforms. And both men crashed a lot. But there's one key difference. Evel Knievel holds the official Guinness World Record for the most fractured bones in a lifetime, which is 433

On the other hand, Super Dave Osborne, who probably crashed more often than Knievel did, never fractured or broke a single bone during any of his stunts. Now, if you already know about Super Dave Osborne, then you know his secret. But if you don't know the story of this man, then I know where you can find a special episode about him. The Sleep With Me Podcast will release an episode about Super Dave Osborne in early November of 2026 The podcast is hosted by my good buddy Drew Ackerman, who you may know better as Scooter. We plan these two episodes together so you could learn about both of these incredible daredevils. In this episode, I'll tell you all about Evel Knievel, his troubled childhood, his time in jail, his tricks and ruses to promote his shows, and of course, how he jumped his motorcycle over cars, buses, casinos, canyons, snakes, mountain lions, and sharks. Yeah, I said sharks. In Scooter's episode, he'll tell you all about the bizarre and wacky world of the other great daredevil Super Dave Osborne. To hear his episode, just search your podcast player for Sleep With Me or tap the link in the episode notes. But for now, lean back, put up your feet, and allow some calm history to distract and relax your overactive brain squirrels.

Evel Knievel, The Greatest Daredevil in History.

Little baby Knievel was born in 1938 in the US state of Montana. His parents, Ann Knievel and Robert Knievel immediately flipped through a book titled The Worst Names for Your New Baby. From this book, they selected three potential first names. Evel, Sticky Flem, and Pootie Poot Pootin. Fortunately, they changed their minds and named their new baby Robert Craig Knievel. Unfortunately, though, they separated several years later, which left Robert and his younger brother to be raised by their grandparents.

In 1946, at the age of eight, little Robert Knievel and his brother attended an auto daredevil show. One of the stunts of the show included a car going up a ramp, jumping over another car, and then landing on another ramp. As soon as the two boys got home, they created their own version of this stunt. Knievel described what he did about thirty years later in an article that was published in the Roanoke Times newspaper in 1974 Here's what it said.

I came home and took a large door off our garage. I propped up one end with a can, and I made it into a ramp. I then got on my bike, and I jumped it. My younger brother Nick got some dry plants, lit them on fire, and placed them in front of the ramp. I jumped that too. We then took the other door off the garage, and placed it on the other side of the burning plant as a landing ramp. My plan was to jump through the blazing fire and land on the opposite ramp. It didn't work out though. Instead I landed too early, and I hit the other ramp head on. The worst part though was that we burned up the garage doors. My grandparents weren't happy about that.

Now I'm sure his grandparents tried their best with him. But let me tell you, Little Knievel was one handful of chaos, and another handful of mayhem. In a New Yorker Magazine article, Knievel described the following as a fun activity in his youth. When I was a kid, the main activity was to go up and throw rocks at the street walkers. We would also bang on their doors, so the pimps would chase us down the street.

Oh boy, compared to Knievel, my childhood was a bit more pedestrian.

Knievel also shared the following about his youth with Esquire Magazine. Here's what he told them. I got into a lot of trouble. It probably all started with stealing hubcaps, and then a little more trouble all the time. Until pretty soon, your snatching purses and robbing places and just doing things you shouldn't be doing.

Yeah, it doesn't end there. Knievel also confessed to other dirty deeds during his youth. He claimed he stole his first motorcycle, a Harley Davidson, at the age of thirteen. He rode it around until it ran out of gas. Soon after that, he acquired another motorcycle, perhaps legally. He rode it aggressively around his neighborhood and the local mines, speeding on dirt roads and doing endless wheelies. By the time he entered high school, Troublemaker Knievel was well known to the local police. In 1954, at the age of 16, he quit high school and began working in a local copper mine.