Richard Cram (May 22, 1961-) |
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Ali had the shuffle, Erving had the finger roll and Crammy had the cutback.
Seeing him wail down the line, you'd wonder what he could possibly do with such speed. He'd hurl himself into the unsuspecting shoulder of a wave, as though shot from a cannon, burying the rail of his board in an arcing trench that would leave the poor wave in shambles, barely able to roll forward. Richard Cram's cutback remains one of the purest mixes of speed and force that surfing has ever seen. Current power brokers Pancho Sullivan and Taylor Knox try valiantly, but ask anyone whose gouges did the most damage and more often than not, you'll hear the name Richard Cram. Crammy caught the surfing bug on a slap of coolite foam in the Bondi shorebreak. In 1979, he claimed the New South Wales and Australian Junior titles, but a professional career was not on his mind. He went straight to work as an apprentice electrician with an elevator company for three years. In 1981, he dabbled on the pro tour, winning Hawaii's prestigious Pro Class Trials and finishing 20th on the ASP ratings. The next year, Crammy went full bore, finishing 13th and solidifying his solid reputation in Hawaii. He hovered around the top 10 for the next few years, not exactly taking the world by storm, but running the table in terms of peer respect. Tom Carroll called him the most underrated surfer in the world. He was a surfer's surfer; the way Luke Egan is today. In 1985, ranked 10th in the world, Crammy called it quits. Only 24 years old, he settled down with a position at Quiksilver. He left the tour in an era of multiplying events in substandard conditions, bored with the travel and monotony. Imagining how he'd fare given today's tour of the world's best racetracks is frightening. Could it have held his interest? He certainly would have held ours. Over the next few years, Cram traveled the world on business, showing up at the odd event to bust out a potent cutback or two. He has relocated to the United States and currently resides in Carlsbad, California, with his wife, Lisa, and two children. He works in Rip Curl's marketing department, so he still gets in the water, usually with his son at nearby Ponto. He's slowed a bit with age, of course, but there's still no safe haven when he's flying down the line with his eyes set on the shoulder. The Crammy cutback continues to do damage. -- Jason Borte, October 2000 Click here to find all the Richard Cram photos and editorial on Surfline.
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