Eagle Mountain, SCCA National, June 3, 1956: Jim Hall in his 1.5-liter Vignale-bodied OSCA MT4, chassis 1145. Sitting on the tailgate on the right is Walt Gray, whose Allard/Olds is parked on the left. Walt and Jim took the Allard to BM1 [16th overall] at Sebring in 1954.
Long before Jim Hall of Abilene, later Dallas was old enough to get his competition license [in July 1956], there was another Jim Hall in Texas. Late 50s reports told them apart by naming them Big Jim Hall and Young Jim Hall, and Big Jim was the better known in racing circles.
Born in 1907, Big Jim ran his first race on dirt in Houston, on July 4 1928. He raced a Chevy 4, then a Pontiac 6, and then various souped up Model As. He was the first in the area to put a Ford V8 in a Model A chassis. The car was entered in the Nuevo Laredo - Monterrey race in Mexico in 1930 and 1933, an event to celebrate the new 150-mile highway between the towns. Big Jim finished 3rd overall both times. In 1930 he had an encounter with a gas station after missing a turn. In 1933 the encounter was pre-race, with a horse that demolished the radiator shell and hood. Jim ran the race without the items
photo: Jim Hall Family collection
all research Willem Oosthoek.
Edited by Jerry Entin, 09 May 2010 - 18:29.