"pumping (up) someone's tires" = 'praise, flatter'

[Ben Zimmer]

Stefan Fatsis inquired about a quote during the Stanley Cup finals
from Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo, about his counterpart on
the Bruins:

“I’ve been pumping his tires ever since the series started. I haven’t
heard any one nice thing he’s had to say about me, so that’s the way
it is.”

On Google News Archive (http://bit.ly/jiFChe), there are a lot of
examples of "pump someone's tires," especially starting around 2005 in
NFL and NHL circles. The phrase ranges in meaning from 'praise so as
to provide a boost of confidence (as in a coach's pep talk)' to
'praise or flatter excessively; blow smoke up someone's ass.' The
earliest sports example I've found so far is from Oct. 24, 1990,
quoting Phoenix Cardinals coach Joe Bugel on running back Johnny
Johnson: "I don't want to pump his tires, but I think he should be
Rookie of the Year."  (Bugel's from Pittsburgh, FWIW. I thought
initially it might be Canadian in origin, but I think it just happens
to be popular among hockey players and coaches.)

On Google Books, there's this intriguing non-sports usage from 1967
which suggests the expression (or at least the "pump up" variant)
might be much older:

http://books.google.com/books?id=UbtAAAAAIAAJ&q=%22pump+up%22
James C. Thomson, Jr., "Minutes of a White House Meeting, Summer, 1967"
in _Who We Are: An Atlantic Chronicle of the United States and Vietnam_ (1969)
"Mr. White reported that the Rhodesia thing might come unstuck over
the weekend. The Zambians were wobbly and could use some massaging.
The President might call in their ambassador and pump up his tires."

Anyone have further insight into this?

--bgz

--
Ben Zimmer
http://benzimmer.com/

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