12 replies to this topic

[alfredaustria]

Tex Petersen was an American racing driver in the 1930s and 1940s.

Can someone please help me with more information about Tex Petersen? When was he born? When did he die? When was he active? Thank you very much. 

[ReWind]

You did not check my Lives on 4 Wheels thread here on TNF, did you?
I suppose - and I emphasize that it is a guess - that Tex Petersen was this man.

 

 

 

EDIT: Meanwhile I deleted his entry in the Lo&b4W thread because the identity obviously is more than doubtful.

Edited by ReWind, 16 March 2024 - 15:51.

[Michael Ferner]

Clarence (Tex) Peterson, 33, 3292 Sierra Madre avenue, Pasadena, was instantly killed on the Culver City speedway, yesterday, when his car crashed through a fence at high speed

 

The Los Angeles Record, Monday, September 5, 1932

 

Well, it wasn't quiteas bad as that, or like the lavish illustrations of the accident in the Los Angeles Times suggested, and a fortnight later "Tex" was back for the next race at the same track, winning the Trophy Dash and the Fast Heat, and continuing his career for another two decades. Like Nigel Mansell, he never really retired, but eventualy dropped out of racing when he no longer received enough offers to drive - the last mention of him I could find is a note in a 1953 newspaper, 

 

Tex Peterson has been on the sidelines for two years now and probably will remain out of auto racing unless - and it's only a faint possibility - a track along Ascot's old lines should open up. He is now working in Pasadena but may head for the Northwest soon.

 

Citizen News, Hollywood, Friday, April 17, 1953

 

Naturally, his family name was often misspellled (as in both instances above), but his home was consistently given as Pasadena (a suburb of Los Angeles), so I doubt Reinhard got the right man there, but I can't offer personal details. The nickname "Tex" points to the possibility that he came originally from the Midwest (not necessarily Texas), and the note about the Northwest may serve as a lead to find out more, maybe he had relatives there? Hopefully Jim Thurman knows more.

 

If its race results you're after, I'm sure I have quite a lot of those in my data base.

[alfredaustria]

You did not check my Lives on 4 Wheels thread here on TNF, did you?
I suppose - and I emphasize that it is a guess - that Tex Petersen was this man.

 

thank you.

[Jim Thurman]

So, Tex means someone from the Midwest? Hmm. True, it's often applied to folks from Oklahoma, maybe even Kansas, but that's about it unless someone has a proclivity for western wear (hats, boots, jeans, etc.). American football figure "Tex" Schramm was from Southern California, but since his given name was Texas, it makes more sense 

 

Yes, Petersen was always listed as residing in Pasadena, "The Crown City", but I believe I have run across mention of him being originally from Nebraska. Where I ran across that, I do not recall. Even with a first name of Clarence, a name as common at Peterson makes it difficult to track down with any certainty. Also see, Jimmy Miller of the 30s-early 40s.

 

I bow to Michael's results, but I have "Tex" racing roughly from 1932 through 1949, minus the World War II cessation years.

[Jim Thurman]

I suppose - and I emphasize that it is a guess - that Tex Petersen was this man.

Hmm. No further confirmation, but there is a Clarence J. Petersen, b. October 22, 1908 in Nebraska, d. January 7, 1987 in Los Angeles

https://www.findagra...ence-j-petersen

 

Since there are no cemeteries in Pasadena, Mountain View is the cemetery for Pasadena. Several racers are buried at Mountain View Cemetery: Johnny McDowell; "Babe" Stanyer; Henry Beal; Kenny Baker, all of whom were from Pasadena or Altadena.

 

EDIT: Corrected link

Edited by Jim Thurman, 01 March 2024 - 20:31.

[Michael Ferner]

So, Tex means someone from the Midwest? Hmm. 

 

I did say "possibility"! 

[Michael Ferner]

First entries in my data base:

 

1930-11-02 Bakersfield/CA, AAA Pacific Coast round 35, #29 (I. B.) Terry/(Rajo?), probably DNA (entered as C. J. Petersen)

1930-11-09 Ascot/CA, AAA Pacific Coast round 36, #29 (I. B.) Terry/(Rajo?), qualified 29th, DNS main event, no heat info (entered as C. Peterson)

1930 AAA Pacific Coast Championship: 72th with 1.88 pts

1931-01-11 Ascot/CA, AAA Pacific Coast round 1, #74 (I. B.) Terry/(Rajo?), qualified 27th, DNS main event, no heat info

etc.

 

last entries:

 

1949-01-30 Carrell/CA, AAA Pacific Coast round 1, #8 Morales/Offenhauser, qualified 8th, 5th in heat 2, started main event in 11th, probably DNF (not listed amongst top 7 finishers)

1949-05-29 Oakland/CA, ARA, #4 (Karl) Orr/Miller, not listed amongst 13 drivers in heat and main event results

1949 AAA Pacific Coast Championship: 39th with 1.18 points

1950-04-30 Arlington Downs/TX, AAA non-points, (#8?) Morales/(Offenhauser?), probably DNA

 

 

All in all, I have 233 entries for Tex Petersen, mostly in California (187), but also in Oregon (1), Indiana (5), Ohio (8), Iowa (14), Arizona (6), Minnesota (2), South Dakota (4), Missouri (1), Illinois (1), Oklahoma (1), Wisconsin (1), Utah (1) and Texas (quite ironically, only the last one listed above and a DNA at that, despite the nickname). 65 AAA races, and the rest mostly local Californian clubs such as CARA, ARA, CRRC, CODA and WRA, but also a few tours of the Midwest with the IMCA and CSRA. Quite a few wins, the first one at Huntington Beach/CA on June 26, 1932 (CARA) and the last one at Carrell/CA on May 12, 1948 (WRA), his biggest success no doubt the Oakland/CA 500-miler on Sep 24 in 1939 (with relief by "Rajo Jack" for the last 54 miles).

[Michael Ferner]

Another thing, I have two mentions of his age, 33 in 1932 (as in article mentioned a few posts back) and 48 in 1947, so it does appear he was born around 1899!

[alfredaustria]

Another thing, I have two mentions of his age, 33 in 1932 (as in article mentioned a few posts back) and 48 in 1947, so it does appear he was born around 1899!

 

You describe exactly the problem why I can't find the correct date of birth and date of death. The reference to "find a grave" sounds good, but doesn't fit with your research (born 1899). It remains a mystery. 

[Michael Ferner]

I has to be said, though, that age mentioned in newspaper articles is often very unreliable info. Still, two mentions that far apart (15 years), that point to the same year of birth make it quite a bit more likely, however.

[Jim Thurman]

Michael, I do really wonder about the Clarence J. Petersen I found at Mountain View Cemetery. Even with the age discrepancy, he would have been 21 years old at the earliest date in your database and 41 years old as of his last known appearance (42 if he showed at Arlington Downs).  And, Michael, you do have him as C.J. Petersen. That and the Pasadena connection are interesting.

 

It's a matter of if there's any reference at all to his earlier racing career in an obituary appearing 37 years later, which I'm guessing there probably isn't. Sadly, it will probably be just a few lines at most.

 

Sounds like a trip to Pasadena is in order. Shame this didn't come up during the decade I was nearly constantly in the nearby area. From 2009-2019, I made at least several visits to the Pasadena Central Library for research.

Edited by Jim Thurman, 02 March 2024 - 05:11.

[Jim Thurman]

I didn't make the trip to Pasadena, but did request an obituary lookup from the library. Unfortunately, there was no published obituary in 1987 for the Clarence J. Petersen that I mention above. I still can't help but feel that this is our man, though without more information, it seems difficult to confirm.