Delfino "Gordie" Rivera

The man who called Yuma home since he was 11 years old, passed away Tuesday, February 14, 2017 at the age of 73, leaving behind a legacy that included athletic prowess, hard-earned success in professional drag racing, and unending respect from nearly everyone he met.

“I went to an NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) race once with Gordie in Denver,” recalled Ralph Adamson, owner of AAA Machine Shop in Yuma, “and you could not believe how many people came by to see him in his pit. Not just a few. I’m talking hundreds of people, hundreds. That’s how popular and respected he was.”

The owner of Gordie’s Speed Center lived the dream. Seriously, he did.

After his high school and college years, Rivera decided he wanted to go drag racing, and not in a little way, but a big way, on the world’s largest stage, going up against the best of the best, in the NHRA.

For five decades Rivera traveled back and forth across the country as a regular competitor in the Pro Stock Division, on one of four professional divisions in the NHRA.

After starting with a 1935 Ford coupe that was a B/G Class runner-up at the 1970 Winternationals, Rivera made the leap to Pro Stock in 1973.

He then competed in more than 250 NHRA national events, with his only final-round appearance racing the NHRA Arizona nationals in 1990, when he was runner-up to Bob Glidden.

Still, over four decades of racing, Rivera finished on the coveted Top 10 four times, including a career No. 5 ranking in 1985.

The four drivers ahead of him were Glidden, Warren Johnson, Bruce Allen and Butch Leal, all of them factory-funded while Rivera raced as an independent.

That was what made Rivera special to so many on the NHRA circuit, among competitors and fans alike, the fact that he did all of his own research and development in a shop behind his home in the Yuma Valley.

Also, Rivera’s reputation of cutting “quick lights,” or in layman’s terms his reaction time when the green light went on to signal the start of a race, were among the quickest in the sport.

But that should have surprised no one, not in his hometown, anyway.

Before going drag racing, Rivera was a stellar athlete at Kofa High School, where he won two state wrestling championships, one at 127 pounds and the other at 133 pounds.

And he did no let his size – 5’ 3”, 125lbs, according to a clipping from the Yuma Daily Sun – keep him from playing football too, where he was also a star. On the grid- Delfino Rivera led the Kings (652 yards, 4.8 per average) and (six touchdowns) during the 1960 football season.

He also excelled a track and was named to the All-State Track and Field Team in the 100-yard dash with a personal best, and then-Kofa record, 10.1 seconds.

And as a freshman, he was a starter on the Kings’ varsity basketball team.

But wrestling seemed to be his calling, and he went to Phoenix College on a wrestling scholarship where he lettered for the Bears and had a 13-4-2 record with 10 pins as a sophomore.

He also tried out for the U.S. Olympic Team in wrestling.

In 1965 Rivera married his teen-age sweetheart, Debbie Borg. They recently celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary.

“We’ve been together since I was 14.” Said Debbie River. “He was my best friend. He was my whole life.”

The two had two sons Gordie Jr., and Doug, who is now a regular in the Cocopah Speedway Racing Series, competing in the IMCA Modified Division.

After Gordie Rivera stepped away from athletics, he focused his attention on starting a business selling race car parts and doing custom engine work during the week, and racing, of course, on weekends.

His business, Gordie’s Speed Shop, 1878 S. Arizona Avenue, originally occupied a space in a building owned by his father, who operated Delf’s Electric. Later however, Rivera’s business took over the entire building and became known as Gordie’s Speed Center. Like his dad, while Doug Rivera is not racing, he’s working at this dad’s shop.

“I lost my best friend too,” said Doug Rivera, “I was with him every day, all day. We had good days and bad days, but who doesn’t; good friends fight and argue. But he was my best friend. I was with him more than anyone. I wish I had just 24 more hours with him.”

It was not unusual to find gear heads hanging out at Rivera’s shop practically any day of the week, any hour of the day, talking racing or trying to get Rivera to help make them go faster. He established a reputation of being a talented motor builder, helped by his reputation on the track.

“He was always willing to help you out with any of his knowledge,” said Mike Martin, owner of Ultimate Off Road in Yuma and a driver in the USAC Southwest Sprint Car Series. “I used to go in there as a young kid and ask him questions, and half the time I didn’t even know what I was asking. But he would always help me out. Growing up as a kid in Yuma he was always one to look up to, because he came from Yuma and he did something; he was one to be proud of his accomplishments, because he was from Yuma."

"We all wanted to be like Gordie," echoed Joe Haines, of Chassis Dynamics in Yuma. "He was a professional Race car driver, that's every kids dream. I remember growing up, I had this red Gordie's Speed Center hat... I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I remember I wore it to track and field day (in elementary school) and I had to wear it in the 100 yard dash because I believed if I wore it, it would make me that much faster. I know it sounds corny, but as a kid I believed it. Why wouldn't I believe it? He drove a drag car that went 200 miles an hour!"

Business rivals, like Adamson, also respected Rivera. "I've known Gordie for the best part of 50 years; raced with him, helped him with his race car, been associated with this business, his family," continued Adamson, "He's probably the most valuable friend and person I ever met in my life; always very kind, very friendly, truly a business man, a serious racer, very knowledgeable, very secretive too. He didn't tell us everything he knew, unless you asked the right question, and I respect that. I'm going to miss him totally, his knowledge, his friendship, his kindness. I don't know what we're going to do without him."

"When I was a kid, he was a legend to me," said Haines' father Jeff Haines, who recalled once helping Rivera master a hill at the Imperial Sand Dunes in a high-powered jeep built by Rivera. "I thought that was the coolest thing, me helping him drive up the hill!" said Jeff Haines. "I will miss him."

Ironically, on Sunday, the last day of the recent IMCA Winter Nationals at Cocopah Speedway, Joe Haines, a competitor in the Stock Car Division, said while he was parked in staging, "I look up and see my dad and Gordie sitting on top of the hill, messing with each other. They were really good friends. I'm going to really miss seeing that, those two old farts sitting up there, cheering me and Goober (Rivera's son, Doug) on. It's not gonna be the same out there anymore. He will be missed."

Services are scheduled for 1 pm, February 21, at First Christian Church, 3261 S Avenue 6E.

Arrangements under the direction of Johnson Mortuary & Desert Lawn Memorial Park, Yuma, AZ.

You only live once.

And Gordie Rivera made the most of it.

The Kofa High School star athlete, state champion wrestler, college wrestler, professional drag racer and devoted family man and business man, who was respected by and a friend to one and all, moved on to start the cycle all over again with the angels and saints in heaven on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017

Delfino "Gordie" Rivera Jr. leaves behind his father, Delfino Rivera, wife Deborah of 51 years, and sons Douglas Scott Rivera/Kayla and Delfino Gordie Rivera III; step grandsons Cameron and Colin Yancey; sister-in-law Diane Harding and brother-in-law Robert Harding; brother Louie Rivera/Terri; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his mother Stella Rivera, sister Rosalie and brother Frank Rivera.

Gordie began his life journey on Jan. 8, 1944, in Phoenix, the second son of Delfino and Stella Rivera.

He moved to Yuma when he was in the sixth grade, attending Palmcroft Elementary School and Gila Vista Junior High School before arriving at Kofa High School, where he would leave an iconic mark.

Among his accomplishments as a King were two state wrestling championships, one at 127 pounds, the other at 133 pounds. In football, Gordie led the Kings in rushing (652 yards, 4.8 yards per average) and scoring (six touchdowns, 48 points) during the 1960 football season. He also excelled at track and was named to the All-State Track and Field Team in the 100-yard dash with a personal best, and then-Kofa record, 10.1 seconds. And as a freshman, he was a starter on the varsity basketball team.

Before graduating with the class of 1963, Gordie was offered a football scholarship at Point Loma University and a full-ride wrestling scholarship to Oklahoma State University, but chose instead to accept a wrestling scholarship from Phoenix College.

He also tried out for the U.S. Olympic Team in wrestling.

In 1965, Gordie married his teen-age sweetheart, Debbie Borg.

Gordie then went into business, starting what is now Gordie's Speed Center, and in 1973 he began a five-decades-old run as a competitor in the National Hot Rod Association's Pro Stock Division. Gordie, with Debbie by his side, traveled across the country, competing in more than 250 NHRA national events. His only, final-round appearance was at the NHRA Arizona Nationals in 1990, when he was runner-up to Bob Glidden.

Gordie also eclipsed the 200-mph mark late in his career, finished in the coveted Top 10 four times, including a career-best No. 5 ranking in 1985, and was one of only four Pro Stock drivers chosen to put on a drag racing demonstration in Japan, in his own car.

During his drag racing career Gordie also established a reputation for having one of the sport's fastest reaction times at the starting line.

But drag racing is not what defined Gordie. He did not want to be a one dimensional man. He wanted to be known more for the motors he built, and challenge of finding more horsepower, not just driving a race car.

He was also a beloved father to little Gordie and Doug, and an animal lover.

And Gordie was a friend to everyone he met, always a good listener, always willing to help out with advice, always willing to share his knowledge of life, and always willing to offer a firm handshake.

Needless to say, he will be missed by all who knew him.

Funeral Services are scheduled for 1 p.m., Feb. 21, at First Christian Church, 3261 S. Avenue 6E.

In lieu of flowers the flowers the family suggests making a donation to the Humane Society of Yuma.