1960's

Measuring in at just 4 1/4" x 19", this production "Major" model skateboard from the early sixties typifies the style at that time. Skateboards were still considered toys and by the design of this model you can see why… Steel wheels and roller skate style trucks mounted onto a tapered pill shape deck were about the best you could ask for back then. Stability? Who needs stability? Also shown, in the additional image, is the "Olympic" 5 1/4" x 23" larger model.

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Clay wheels on double action trucks and a solid oak deck measuring 5 ¼’ x 21” all come together as a tool designed for dangerous fun.

This early 60’s Fli-Back Skate Racer deck is branded with racecar driver Richard Petty’s #43 and was manufactured in High Point, North Carolina. The rounded tail and tapered nose deck measures 5 ½” x 21” and is fitted with steel wheels and sporty yellow hubcaps.

Super Surfer was considered to be the coolest and one of the most famous brands of the sixties. This clean example is a 5 ½” x 22 ¾” steel wheel Super Surfer with pillow block trucks. It’s a solid wood constructed deck with an off white stain and clear coat finish.

By the early to mid Sixties skateboarding was experiencing it's first boom phase. Skateboard production spread from the California area to all over the U.S. and Canada. Here we see a beautiful example of a steel wheel board made in Canada ("A Genuine Skateboard of Canada") from the early '60's. This 4 3/4" x 19" model shows development into a more surfboard style template shape and features trucks attached with Robertson screws (to this day, these square head screws are available only in Canada). This was a departure from the more common method of riveting the trucks onto the board.

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Sport Fun produced this 5 ¾” x 23 ¾” steel wheeled board sometime in the early to mid sixties. The tapered template shape is mounted with pillow block trucks using two large rivets per truck. The sporty stylized lettered logo graphics are typical of the era.

Surf N’ Ski, Skate N’ Glide and Roll N’ Surf were just some of the killer model names put on skateboards in the sixties. The 5 ½” x 23 ½” Roll N’ Surf model shown here is a mint example of an early to mid 60’s steel wheeled tool of chaos.

We don’t have any info on the Sokol company that produced this 5” x 21 1/2” Surf Skate model skateboard. There is however a few details that make this a pretty dialed steel wheeler. First, the more surf influenced template shape, which was a departure from the more plank shape, decks of the time. Second, the rails have been routed with a unique step style router shape giving it a cool finish, and finally the woodburn style branding which would become more popular in the later Sixties and early Seventies.

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This 5 ½’ x 22” board from Nash is one of the stranger graphic concepts offered by the Texas based company. Using one of their standard shapes, Nash fitted this model with pillow block trucks and steel wheels circa late ‘50’s.

Nash produced many models in the 60’s with one of the most popular being the Shark. Solid deck construction measuring 5 ½” x 22”, borrows from surfing with it’s graphic theme. Shown here are blue and red graphics, with orange and black also available in the steel wheeled Shark model.

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Nash produced a large range of skateboards in the sixties with a variety of shapes, sizes and graphics. The clay wheeled Surf Bird is a solid wood deck measuring 5 ½” x 22” mounted with adjustable trucks, clay wheels and loose bearings. The decks were finished clear with assorted graphic print colors.

Yet another surf influenced sixties steel wheeled skateboard from Nash, the Tenderfoot is 5 ½” x 20” and is finished in bright red with a crisp white graphic. Barefoot riding still dominated skating at this time.

By the time the Eighties rolled around Nash had gained the reputation as a crappy department store brand, but back in the Sixties their stuff was tight. This Sixties steel wheeled Nash Sidewalk Surfer is a good example of one of their cooler models. Olden school surf style template shape with pre-modern roller skate trucks and bone shaking steel wheels, topped off with the solid barefoot / stepover Sidewalk Surfer graphic… barefoot riding recommended.

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Most of us may be familiar with the name Bauer because of all the hockey skates and related equipment that they make, but did you know that they also made skateboards? This 5 1/2" x 22" steel wheeled Bauer skateboard was made in Canada in the mid '60's by the very same original company. Pretty decent template shape and stylized Bauer / Arrow graphics, all put together with Robertson mounting screws, would have made this a hot model back in the day … if you were in Canada that is.

Roller Derby was huge into roller skates before they ever started making skateboards. Somewhere along the way they must have gotten hip to the fact that kids were cutting up their roller skates and nailing them to boards. Enter the Roller Derby Skateboard Kit, which is a boxed set complete with two roller skate style trucks mounted with clay wheels and loose bearings and fitted with base plates designed to mount onto boards. Also included was one wrench which fit the kingpin and axle nuts. Our best guess in this is that Roller Derby offered this item along with pre assembled complete skateboards as well, probably around the mid Sixties.

The next big development in skating was from the steel wheel to the clay wheel (not actually clay, but a composite material made mostly of pulverized walnut shells). Believe it or not, the clay wheel actually preformed way better, but unfortunately wore out a lot faster especially on rough surfaces. Shown here is the 5 1/2" x 23 1/2" Super Skate with clay wheels. This board was made in Richmond, BC (a suburb of Vancouver, Canada). I bought this roller from the original owner who had ordered it from the Simpson Sears catalog in 1967.

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Sincor was a brand name based in Venice, California in the Sixties. The board shown here measures 5 1/4” x 20 1/2” and is shaped from solid oak with clean surfboard-like tapered side rails. Built complete with unbranded single cushion roller skate style trucks and loose bearing Sure grip Super X clay wheels. The top side of the deck has a wood burned Sincor logo branded near the tail with the words “Venice Calif.” included. This board sends the mind wandering back to simpler times at the Venice pavilion.

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Roller Derby was a prolific producer in the '60's with several sizes, shapes, and models offered throughout the decade. The board shown here measures 5" x 21" and would have been quite a stand out at the time. Most boards were either wood grain or painted red with very marginal graphics. This board however was painted baby blue with yellow Mustang graphics and matching yellow clay wheels… crazy innovation on the marketing end that would stay with us until today. Skateboarding was also seeing some development with more carving, slalom, and basic tricks making their way into skater's repertoires.

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The 6 ½” x 28 ¾” Roller Derby Aerflyte, 6 ½” x 28 ¾” Hedlund Roller Surfer 500 and the 5 ¼” x 21 ½” Roller Derby Deluxe #20 all share the same graphic theme, which appears to be either a skier or water-skier image. All three models are fitted with clay wheels, loose bearings and double action adjustable trucks.

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The 6 ¼” x 26 ¾” Bat Board likely was available in the mid sixties. It has a smooth surf influenced template shape with radiused rails cut from laminated birch. Adjustable trucks are mounted with wood screws and use thru axles with clay wheels and contained loose bearings.

Measuring in at 6” x 24 ¾”, The Boss Man is a mid sixties directional mini surfboard shape fitted with clay wheels and loose bearings. Graphics show dude doing a look back turn with old school T-stance foot positioning. Although many boards had cool graphic themes in the ‘60’s, others – like this one- were pretty corny.

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Smallish in size, the 5 ½’ x 22” Buck Board shows a graphic based on the western / cowboy theme popular in the ‘50’s with a sarcastic slant in reference to kids being bucked from their skateboards.

Cooley capitalized on the corny sixties term “bustin buns”, used to describe beginner skateboarding styles seen during the first skateboard boom The surf style shape measures 6 ½” x 22 ½” and runs on loose bearings and clay wheels

As evidence of the far reaching skate craze in the ‘60’s, this board was manufactured in Portland, Oregon by Play Craft Inc. Measuring in at 6 ½” x 28’, this clay wheeled set up would have been considered a big land cruiser at the time (mid sixties). Although not designed with particular intentions, board sizes really varied a lot in the ‘60’s.

Sport Fun produced a large assortment of shapes, sizes and graphics in the sixties. This 5 ¾” x 24 ½” GTO model is equipped with clay wheels and loose bearings and likely borrows its name from the automobile of the same name made by Pontiac. The graphic application is in the form of a sticker rather than a screenprint.

Yet another offering from the Sport Fun company is this 6 ¾’ x 28 ¾” Indy 500 model. The laminated plywood constructed deck is mounted with double action trucks and loose bearings / clay wheels and is decorated with Indy 500 checkered flag graphics, which were likely unauthorized.

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The Duro Mustang 225 surf shaped model has adjustable trucks and clay wheels and measures 5 ½” x 20 ½”. This is a comparatively small sized board within the clay wheeled era.

This mid to late sixties Nash Goofy Foot skateboard is built with double action adjustable trucks, loose bearings and clay wheels mounted with wood screws. The graphic and 5 ½” x 22” deck shape both show the heavy influence surfing had on skateboarding in the early days.

It’s likely this was considered to be a deluxe model from Nash, the deck is a larger 6” x 26 ½” size with an extended tail. The double action adjustable trucks are mounted with loose bearings and clay wheels with plastic 3 spoke Nash hubcaps.

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One of the most popular and successful brands in the sixties was Super Surfer, with this solid oak 5 ¾” x 22” model being one of their best sellers. Super Surfer branded trucks and clay wheels complete this mid-sixties dream set up.

Only the luckiest (or most spoiled) of kids would have had the privilege to own one of these super deluxe contrasting vertical laminated wood inlay Super Surfers. The surf shape measures 6 ¼” x 25” and is assembled with Super Surfer trucks, clay wheels and loose bearings made by Vita-Pakt Products of Covina, California.

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The 5 ½” x 23” Pro-Surfer by the N.J. Aluminum Company of North Brunswick, New jersey is unique as it is an early board constructed from aluminum. The deck was extruded and pressed to shape with trucks riveted on in the mid sixties. The Pro-Surfer was available in silver or gold anodized finish and came equipped with pillow block trucks and steel wheels with hubcaps and also was offered with adjustable trucks and clay wheels.

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The Sears Company (formally Sears and Roebuck), which was a large department store chain, sold their own branded skateboards in the sixties. This 6 ½” x 29” Hot Dog model is a smooth surf style shape with double action adjustable trucks, loose bearings and clay wheels. Many other department stores also produced their own branded boards at the time.

The 5 ½” x 23” Sidewalk Surfboard was manufactured by Nash in the mid 60’s and is shown here in two variations. First, the clay wheeled navy graphic Nash branded version and secondly the blue / red steel wheeled with hubcaps version branded “by Champion”, but still showing the small Nash “N” logo.

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The 6” x 27 ¾” Surf N’ Ski was made by Fox MFG. of Chatham, Ontario in Canada. Shown here are two versions, the first being the steel wheeled version with white graphics and second the clay wheeled version with blue graphics. Fox MFG. was the largest producer of skateboards in Canada in the 60’s with many shapes, models and variations on the market.

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Produced by Don Brown Automotive, this board really exemplifies the surf, hotrod and skateboard custom culture that was happening in California in the sixties. The 5 ¾” x 24” board features vinyl Tuk n’ Roll upholstery with plastic rails on a laminated wood deck & was available in gold, red. Green, blue and purple metal flake colors. This board was also innovative in offering a quick adjust wheelbase setting.

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This 6 ¼” x 23 ½” White Arrow model form Sport Fun was made in the early to mid-sixties. It features a surf inspired deck shape mounted with double action adjustable trucks, loose bearings and clay wheels.

The Zipees Sidewalk Surfboard was manufactured in the ‘60’s by Manning MFG. Corp. in Chicago, Illinois. It measures in at 6 1/2” x 27” and has a clean template shape with beveled side rails to mimic a surfboard. This particular model is called the Lahana M-444 and features unbranded roller skate style trucks each attached to the board with two large rivets. In an early marketing technique at the time the board has green Zipees clay wheels with color coordinated green action cushions and sleek two color top graphics. They also made a steel-wheeled version.

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A somewhat larger Sixties board, which measures 5 3/4" x 27 3/4", the Dominion Surfskate was made in Ontario, Canada. The template shape on this model is kind of crummy, but the graphic on this board is pretty killer. A boy and girl skating together in very '60's style artwork. As the son of the owner of this company explains it, "you know, Jack and Jill went up the hill". Kind of an inside joke directed at the kids tumbling down hills. Skateboarding was getting it's first taste of negative media sensationalism right around this time. If you believed some of the news reports, kids were dropping like flies.

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The first pro model skateboard wasn't endorsed by a skateboarder, but by world famous surfer Phil Edwards. The Makaha "Phil Edwards model" skateboard shown here measures 6" x 22" and has the most rippin' mini surfboard shape with beveled rails. Equipped with Makaha clay wheels made by Chicago and Chicago trucks (with the advent of clay wheels came the double action adjustable truck design which enabled riders to adjust the truck tension for the first time.) Legend has it that Skip Engblom wood burned the logos and assembled these boards in the Makaha factory in 1963.

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This 60’s super surfer fiberglass board was a pretty tech set up for back then because of it’s glass lay up with center beam and brass inserts for mounting along with a textured top surface for grip. The deck measures 7” x 27” and comes mounted with nickel-plated double action trucks and clay Super Surfer wheels. This board was featured on the Wide World of Sports coverage of the 1965 World Skateboarding Championships in Anaheim, California and was obviously a big influence in the later Ez Rider, Zephyr and Z-Flex brand boards.

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There's as few things that make this '60's model (6" x 21 3/4") skateboard really cool: 1) The top graphic is a big bold badass rally stripe 2) the clay wheels say Teenco on them [that name kills me] 3) in 1998 Big Daddy Ed Roth (R.I.P.) hit the bottom off with a Big Daddy original drawing of a crazed monster riding a multi wheeled long skateboard with the caption reading, "I'm bad cause I dig longboards". Ed Roth was a cultural icon whose influence will be felt for years to come. It was a privilege to get a piece of his artwork applied to this way-out '60's skateboard by Teenco.

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The 2+2 predates urethane wheels and is unique in that it’s equipped with rubber wheels instead of steel or clay. There were a couple other makers (including ones in England) that experimented with rubber wheels early on, but found that, while offering a smoother rider, the rubber unfortunately disintegrated quickly. The board also has cool raised white letters “SLICK” markings on the ‘tires’ and silver hubcaps. The deck measures 5 ¾” x 22 ¾”.

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The Roll-A-Board Starfire is a mid sixties popsicle shaped deck with straight rails crafted from solid pine and mounted with pillow block trucks featuring thru axles, loose bearing and the usual radial shaped wheels made of rubber. Roll-A-Board also produced the same board with the different “Rocket” graphic. They probably had no idea how advanced the popsicle deck and radial wheels were at the time.

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It is estimated that the Ice surfer (patent pending) was manufactured some time in the mid to late ‘60’s. The deck measures 9 ¼” x 33 ¾” and is crafted from solid oak. With ice blades in place of wheels and a unique truck design the Ice Surfer was an unusual design for it’s time and featured textured rubber decking instead of grip tape.

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