You’ve seen the one. The grainy, high-contrast shot of a man suspended in mid-air, a Triumph Bonneville beneath him, framed perfectly by the white-water plumes of the Caesars Palace fountains. He’s wearing a white leather jumpsuit with a V-shaped star-spangled banner across the chest. He looks like a god. Or a ghost. Honestly, in that split second captured in the most famous photos of Evel Knievel, he was both.
That 1967 jump didn't just break 40 bones. It made a career.
Robert Craig Knievel wasn't just a guy who rode motorcycles over things. He was a master of the image. He understood that while the jump lasted seconds, the photos lasted forever. Those still frames of him soaring—and more often, tumbling across the pavement in a cloud of dust and leather—built a multi-million dollar empire of toys, lunchboxes, and legend.
The Caesars Palace Fountains: The Shot That Almost Killed the Man
If you look at the contact sheets from December 31, 1967, you see the tension. Knievel wasn't actually invited to jump the fountains by the casino. He basically harassed Jay Sarno, the owner of Caesars, into letting him do it by creating a fake company and calling from different phones.
The most iconic image is the one where he is at the apex of the 141-foot flight. It’s a beautiful lie. It shows a successful flight, hiding the fact that the landing was a total disaster. He hit the safety ramp, the bike bucked, and he was thrown over the handlebars like a ragdoll.
People forget he was in a coma for 29 days after that photo was taken.
The photography from that day is haunting. You can find shots of him on a stretcher, face bloodied, looking remarkably peaceful for a man who had just shattered his pelvis. It was ABC’s Wide World of Sports that bought the footage later, but it was the still photography in magazines like Life that burned the image of the "Patriotic Daredevil" into the American psyche.
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Snake River Canyon and the Skycycle X-2
Fast forward to September 8, 1974. Knievel is no longer just a stuntman; he's a global phenomenon. He’s at the rim of the Snake River Canyon in Idaho. He isn't on a Harley this time. He’s strapped into the Skycycle X-2, a steam-powered rocket designed by Robert Truax.
The photos of Evel Knievel from this era are wild. They look more like NASA archive material than sports photography.
Why the Snake River Photos Look Different
- The Scale: Photographers like Heinz Kleutmeier for Sports Illustrated had to use long lenses to capture the rocket against the sheer 500-foot drop of the canyon walls.
- The Failure: The most famous shot from this day is the one where the drogue parachute deploys way too early. You see the rocket barely clearing the ramp and then drifting down into the abyss.
- The Crowd: Photos of the "Evelville" encampment show a side of the 70s most people want to forget—chaos, biker gangs, and a weirdly celebratory atmosphere for what many thought would be a public suicide.
Kleutmeier actually told his assistant to go to the bottom of the canyon. He knew that’s where the story would end. He was right. Knievel floated down, landed on the riverbank, and walked away with a broken nose and a bruised ego.
Wembley Stadium and the End of the Road
By 1975, the "King of the Daredevils" was starting to feel the weight of his own legend. He went to London to jump 13 AEC Merlin buses at Wembley Stadium.
The photos here are brutal.
There’s a sequence of shots by Al Satterwhite that shows the exact moment Knievel realizes he isn't going to make it. He lands on the last bus, the bike collapses, and he’s crushed by the machine. What’s amazing about the Wembley photos is what happened after. Instead of being carried out, he insisted on being helped to a microphone.
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"I will never jump again," he told the 90,000 people. He lied, of course, but the photos of him hobbling off that field are some of the most humanizing images ever taken of him.
Rare Finds and the "Evel Comes to Cooperville" Collection
Not every great shot was on a 35mm Leica held by a pro. Some of the best photos of Evel Knievel came from the fans.
In 2014, a book called Evel Comes to Cooperville by Garrett Colton surfaced. It featured photos found in an attic that documented a 1972 trip Knievel took to Oklahoma. These aren't the polished "hero shots." They show him in the paddock, talking to kids, looking tired, and wearing shirts with massive collars.
These images matter because they show the man behind the cape. You see the sweat. You see the 1970s in all its polyester glory.
What to Look for in Authentic Knievel Photos
If you're a collector or just a fan, knowing what you're looking at is key.
- The Bike: Up until the late 60s, he rode Triumphs and Nortons. By the 70s, he was almost exclusively on the Harley-Davidson XR-750.
- The Leathers: Early suits were plain. The "Star-Spangled" look evolved. If he's wearing the "V" with the stars, it's likely post-1968.
- The Scars: By the mid-70s, his face had a distinct "weathered" look from all the reconstructive surgeries.
Actionable Steps for Knievel Enthusiasts
If you want to dive deeper into this visual history, don't just scroll through Google Images.
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First, check out the Evel Knievel Museum in Topeka, Kansas (though a new location is slated for Las Vegas in 2026). They house the actual motorcycles and the Skycycle X-2, along with high-res prints of these historic moments.
Second, look for the work of Al Satterwhite or Heinz Kleutmeier. These photographers didn't just snap a picture; they captured the tension of a man who lived his life a quarter-mile at a time.
Finally, if you're looking to buy prints, stick to reputable archives like Getty or the Smithsonian. Avoid the cheap "blown-up" digital files on eBay that lose all the grain and soul of the original film. The grain is part of the story. It reminds you that this was real, it was dangerous, and it wasn't filtered.
Knievel used to say, "Anybody can jump a motorcycle. The trouble begins when you try to land it." These photos are the only reason we still remember the landing.
Actionable Insights:
- To see the most detailed technical photos of his gear, visit the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History online archive for his XR-750.
- Use archival-quality frames for any Knievel prints; the high-contrast 1970s film stock is prone to fading if exposed to direct UV light.
- Study the "Wembley Sequence" if you want to understand 1970s sports photojournalism at its peak.