To make sure I wasn't missing something, about 20 minutes ago I called Jim Ochowicz (director of 7-ELEVEN and Motorola) to confirm the 7-ELEVEN dates. He was insistent that 1981 was the first year of 7-ELEVEN's involvement in cycling. I then looked through my back issues of Velo News from 1980 and could find nothing to refute his position.
Jim had no recollection about the 1980 Chicago Cycling Classic mentioned in Todd Kuzma's email.
I know that over the years there has been some confusion regarding the 7-ELEVEN sponsorship as there are more variations to the jerseys than number of sponsorship years. In my collection, I am fortunate to have nearly every incarnation/variation of the 7-ELEVEN and Motorola jerseys. However, there is one jersey I have never been able to date. I assumed it was either an amateur team sponsored by 7-ELEVEN that predated the pro team or a bike shop replica. Turns out, after speaking with Jim, it was from their womens team. (There were additional variations to the jerseys in later years for events like the Giro, Tour, Mexican races, and junior team.)
Brett Horton San Francisco, California
**************************************************** From: Todd Kuzma <tullio@TheRamp.net> <snip> OK, I just checked the poster here in the shop. The Chicago Cycling Classic that I saw was in 1980. I distinctly recall seeing the 7-Eleven team there. So, what's up with that? <snip>
.