I'm forwarding the following question I have recieved to you guys:
"I am looking for information on a driver named George 'Swede' Smyth/Smith who died March 4, 1934 in a crash at the Imperial County Fairgrounds, Imperial, California. Famous driver Ernie Triplett was also killed in the crash. Any info is appreciated."
George 'Swede' Smyth/Smith
Started by
Leif Snellman
, Jun 24 2003 20:11
18 replies to this topic
Advertisement
#2
Hans Etzrodt
-
- 3,188 posts
- Joined: July 00
Member
Posted 25 June 2003 - 08:41
Must have been a minor event because its not listed in Phil Harms' collection.
#3
Hans Etzrodt
-
- 3,188 posts
- Joined: July 00
Member
Posted 25 June 2003 - 08:56
Ernie Triplett supposedly died the following day on March 5 "succumbing to a skull fracture and internal injuries."
#4
Jim Thurman
-
- 7,973 posts
- Joined: February 01
Member
Posted 25 June 2003 - 11:49
Originally posted by Hans Etzrodt
Must have been a minor event because its not listed in Phil Harms' collection.
The race was an AAA Pacific Coast Championship event, on the 1 mile banked oiled dirt oval at the Fairgrounds in Imperial, California (not far from the Mexican border). In the crash: "Swede" Smith died, Ernie Triplett received what proved to be fatal injuries and Al Gordon was badly injured. Reportedly there was a fight between AAA officials over the race not being red flagged earlier due to heavy dust. Gordon and Triplett were dueling, side by side for the lead and came upon Smith's wrecked car, obscured by the dust, and struck it. I also believe someone trying to help Smith from the car was killed or badly injured (I'll check my records). The AAA official that punched the other was reportedly arrested. The fairgrounds, which still operates in a smaller configuration, is often referred to as being located at El Centro, but that is because reporters filed their stories from the larger city.
Even more happened in the aftermath, notably the infamous incident where one of Randolph Hearst's photographers burst in on Triplett's funeral and took photos of Triplett's widow and children and Triplett's body in the coffin before leaving the church followed by some drivers who chased him down, roughed him up and smashed his camera.
A very dark day in the history of racing in the Western U.S.
Unfortunately, I don't know much about Smith.
Jim Thurman
#5
Jim Thurman
-
- 7,973 posts
- Joined: February 01
Member
Posted 27 June 2003 - 22:17
Checking what I have led to more confusion...
"Hap" Hafferly, a pit man, was struck and killed by Smith's car.
This information had the Smith-Hafferly and Triplett-Gordon accidents as separate incidents.
Two published books have this all being one incident, though they differ as to how it occurred (one has Triplett and Gordon in a side by side duel coming upon Smith's stalled car with Hafferly assisting. The other has Triplett coming on the scene in the lead, clipping Smith's car and continuing up the track into Gordon's path).
I did run across Smith being 1933 Class 'B' champion.
Jim Thurman
"Hap" Hafferly, a pit man, was struck and killed by Smith's car.
This information had the Smith-Hafferly and Triplett-Gordon accidents as separate incidents.
Two published books have this all being one incident, though they differ as to how it occurred (one has Triplett and Gordon in a side by side duel coming upon Smith's stalled car with Hafferly assisting. The other has Triplett coming on the scene in the lead, clipping Smith's car and continuing up the track into Gordon's path).
I did run across Smith being 1933 Class 'B' champion.
Jim Thurman
#6
fines
-
- 9,647 posts
- Joined: September 00
Member
Posted 01 July 2003 - 07:29
I know the version where Smith crashed and Triplett and Gordon ran into him unsighted because of excessive dust...
Don't know nothing about Smith, though - an interesting sidelight, though Smith is probably the most common name in the USofA there is an absolute lack of success in top national American racing for drivers named Smith. No Smith has ever succeeded in starting the Indy 500, for example, not even as a riding mechanic...
Don't know nothing about Smith, though - an interesting sidelight, though Smith is probably the most common name in the USofA there is an absolute lack of success in top national American racing for drivers named Smith. No Smith has ever succeeded in starting the Indy 500, for example, not even as a riding mechanic...
#7
Gregg
-
- 7 posts
- Joined: December 06
New Member
Posted 27 December 2006 - 16:03
I don't know much about George "Swede" Smith. This is about all.
He was the 1933 Pacific Southwest Class B Champion. This was aparently a step below the Class A class where several drivers that competed in the Indianapolis 500 also competed in that class. Smith beat out Ted Horn for that title.
There was a race in 1934 at El Centro Speedway. It was an oiled dirt track. The track was not in good shape for the event with recent rains and watering of the track doing little to improve the conditions. On the seventh lap of the race a car stalled in the middle of the groove at one of the turns. I don't know why but the car remained on the track. I don't know if the extremely dusty conditions played a role or not. On the 21st lap Swede clipped the stalled car and began a side over side roll. A pit hand named Hap Hafferly tried to run to the aid of Swede. Ernie Triplett swerved to try and avoid Hafferly but because of the dust he was too late in reacting. Triplett struck Hafferly then continued on crashing into the fence "bounced high in the air and caromed off that of Gordon's" (Al Gordon's car).
Officials stopped the race but Hafferly was dead, both Smith and Triplett were dying and Gordon was seriously injured.
The source never spelled out exactly what happened at the funeral but only to say some of the newspapers were on a campaign to demonize auto racing. It did not call out William Randolph Heart be name only that the Examiner, his paper was involved. The Examiner was one of the papers taking a hard sensational line against Auto Racing. Several drivers at the funeral aparently took a reporter and photographer and roughed them up. The then put each of them in passenger cars and drove them to the Examiners offices. This led to charges of Kidnapping, gangster tactics and desecration of hallowed grounds (a cemetery). I haven't read much further than that but it doesn't look like any of the drivers were convicted of anything.
Source: "The Life of Ted Horn American Racing Champion by Russ Catlin, Floyd Clymer Publishing, Los Angeles, California, 1949, Pages 34-49.
He was the 1933 Pacific Southwest Class B Champion. This was aparently a step below the Class A class where several drivers that competed in the Indianapolis 500 also competed in that class. Smith beat out Ted Horn for that title.
There was a race in 1934 at El Centro Speedway. It was an oiled dirt track. The track was not in good shape for the event with recent rains and watering of the track doing little to improve the conditions. On the seventh lap of the race a car stalled in the middle of the groove at one of the turns. I don't know why but the car remained on the track. I don't know if the extremely dusty conditions played a role or not. On the 21st lap Swede clipped the stalled car and began a side over side roll. A pit hand named Hap Hafferly tried to run to the aid of Swede. Ernie Triplett swerved to try and avoid Hafferly but because of the dust he was too late in reacting. Triplett struck Hafferly then continued on crashing into the fence "bounced high in the air and caromed off that of Gordon's" (Al Gordon's car).
Officials stopped the race but Hafferly was dead, both Smith and Triplett were dying and Gordon was seriously injured.
The source never spelled out exactly what happened at the funeral but only to say some of the newspapers were on a campaign to demonize auto racing. It did not call out William Randolph Heart be name only that the Examiner, his paper was involved. The Examiner was one of the papers taking a hard sensational line against Auto Racing. Several drivers at the funeral aparently took a reporter and photographer and roughed them up. The then put each of them in passenger cars and drove them to the Examiners offices. This led to charges of Kidnapping, gangster tactics and desecration of hallowed grounds (a cemetery). I haven't read much further than that but it doesn't look like any of the drivers were convicted of anything.
Source: "The Life of Ted Horn American Racing Champion by Russ Catlin, Floyd Clymer Publishing, Los Angeles, California, 1949, Pages 34-49.
#8
bpratt
-
- 149 posts
- Joined: September 01
Member
Posted 30 December 2006 - 02:11
George "Swede" Smith/Smythe came from the Pacific Northwest. Raced in the 1920s to early 1930s as far north as Hastings Park in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
I do have some photos of Swede, mostly from the Art Scovell collection (Art was a contemporary of Swede) copied by Idaho Don Radbruch. (Let's see if I can get the photo attached.)
http://img145.images...ithc1928kd7.jpg
I do have some photos of Swede, mostly from the Art Scovell collection (Art was a contemporary of Swede) copied by Idaho Don Radbruch. (Let's see if I can get the photo attached.)
http://img145.images...ithc1928kd7.jpg
#9
Jim Thurman
-
- 7,973 posts
- Joined: February 01
Member
Posted 30 December 2006 - 08:31
One correction: The pitman's name was Cambern "Hap" Hafley. I too had it "Hafferly" and posted that based on the information in print. Turns out the name was badly misspelled in newspaper accounts and repeated since. It took my checking death records to get the correct spelling. To anyone who feels projects like "The Tribute Project", Motorsport Memorial or the Speed's Ultimate Price thread here on TNF are "ghoulish" and the like, I point to getting this poor man's name right...after only 70 years. And that isn't the only example of that sort of error.
Brian, thanks for posting the link to the "Swede" Smith photo.
Brian, thanks for posting the link to the "Swede" Smith photo.
#10
TrackDog
-
- 335 posts
- Joined: August 07
Member
Posted 13 June 2008 - 19:58
Originally posted by Gregg
I don't know much about George "Swede" Smith. This is about all.
He was the 1933 Pacific Southwest Class B Champion. This was aparently a step below the Class A class where several drivers that competed in the Indianapolis 500 also competed in that class. Smith beat out Ted Horn for that title.
There was a race in 1934 at El Centro Speedway. It was an oiled dirt track. The track was not in good shape for the event with recent rains and watering of the track doing little to improve the conditions. On the seventh lap of the race a car stalled in the middle of the groove at one of the turns. I don't know why but the car remained on the track. I don't know if the extremely dusty conditions played a role or not. On the 21st lap Swede clipped the stalled car and began a side over side roll. A pit hand named Hap Hafferly tried to run to the aid of Swede. Ernie Triplett swerved to try and avoid Hafferly but because of the dust he was too late in reacting. Triplett struck Hafferly then continued on crashing into the fence "bounced high in the air and caromed off that of Gordon's" (Al Gordon's car).
Officials stopped the race but Hafferly was dead, both Smith and Triplett were dying and Gordon was seriously injured.
The source never spelled out exactly what happened at the funeral but only to say some of the newspapers were on a campaign to demonize auto racing. It did not call out William Randolph Heart be name only that the Examiner, his paper was involved. The Examiner was one of the papers taking a hard sensational line against Auto Racing. Several drivers at the funeral aparently took a reporter and photographer and roughed them up. The then put each of them in passenger cars and drove them to the Examiners offices. This led to charges of Kidnapping, gangster tactics and desecration of hallowed grounds (a cemetery). I haven't read much further than that but it doesn't look like any of the drivers were convicted of anything.
Source: "The Life of Ted Horn American Racing Champion by Russ Catlin, Floyd Clymer Publishing, Los Angeles, California, 1949, Pages 34-49.
I read an article in Car and Driver by Brock Yates about 20 years ago regarding this very subject; and as I recall, one driver DID serve time...I think it was either Babe Stapp or Stubby Stubblefield, but I'm not sure. Hearst was absolutely inscensed by the incident and made the charges stick...whoever was convicted served several months. I just wish I had the article handy, but some of my older magazinews were lost during my divorce.
Dan
#11
kingfm
-
- 2 posts
- Joined: July 08
New Member
Posted 28 July 2008 - 15:33
Thanks for all the info on Swede Smyth. When my father died a few years ago I saw an interesting grave near his that included a picture of a race car with wings.... George "Swede" Smyth, Race Car Driver. I always wondered who he was. Yesterday, for no particularly good reason, I rememberd to look online. Turns out the original question in this thread was prompted by a woman in her late 70's who had found out in her early 70's that she was adopted. SHe thought that her birth father was Swede. I've emailed her, but no response so far. It's been a few years so she may be gone. I'll try to get a picture of his grave the next time I go out.
Bryan
Seattle
Bryan
Seattle
#12
fines
-
- 9,647 posts
- Joined: September 00
Member
Posted 28 July 2008 - 20:10
I believe the stalled car into which Swede crashed was Jimmie Wilkeson's, and the driver going to jail Louis Tomei - six months iirc!
In the meantime, I have a bit more info on Swede Smith (I have never seen it spelled Smyth, btw). Born ca. 1899, George L. Smith (I have also seen George H. Smith, but less frequently, and even Ralph Smith!) lived in Portland (OR) in the late twenties, and was a very prominent racing driver in the area. As always, drivers with common names are difficult to research, and during the same time and in the same area, one Ken Smith and one A. D. Smith were also active, but less successful.
Some sources show Swede Smith as the 1929 Pacific Northwest Champion, but it's difficult to substantiate. Championship claims were ten a penny those days, and I have seen fellow driver Guy Deulin decorated with the same title. However, it may have been a trueful claim, as the Washington Automobile Racing Assoc. (WARA) has a long yet not fully researched history, and it may have been their first championship year, and since Deulin was also a car owner, both claims may actually be true! We will see in short order that Swede and Deulin were not strangers to one another...
Btw, that picture posted by Brian is VERY interesting, since it shows Swede in what appears to be a genuine ex-works Stutz racing car from 1915! I have seen various race results of the Northwest and the early twenties, with a Stutz finishing high up or even winning, and always assumed that it was an old Bearcat that was still good enough to beat some old junkers, but this car is another matter, of course! I believe there were only four built, and one was still good enough in 1919 to finish second at Indy! So, perhaps the competition in the Northwest wasn't that poor after all...
When the AAA started its "Pacific Southwest Dirt Track Championship" in 1929, it opened new horizons for racing west of the Rockys: many independent drivers and owners suddenly saw a chance to break into the "Big Time", and many eventually did! The heart and soul of this circuit was Ascot Speedway in Greater Los Angeles, but the show did travel regularly north, up to Fresno or San Jose, several times a year. In September of that first year, Swede Smith and Guy Deulin traveled to Fresno to meet the AAA circus at the annual District Fair Race on the local one-mile fairgounds dirt track. Deulin's #91 was a seriously fast Special with a DOHC Fronty head on a Model T Ford block, and Smith shocked the establishment by easily taking the first heat, beating the regular hot shoes Jimmy Sharp, Mel Kenealy and Bill Heisler in the process! His time on the reconfigured track was a record, of course, but it was also ten seconds faster than the next best time - what a debut!
Sadly, the Deulin/Frontenac was as fragile as it was fast, and Smith retired in the 50-mile final, and also on his Ascot debut the following week, but he did eventually pick up a couple of good finishes, including one very close third place before the year was out. For the last three or four races, Smith settled into the cockpit of another racer from Portland, the #92 of one W. Begg, and took another third place finish with that car at the Arizona State Fair. For reference, he was beaten that day only by Babe Stapp and Fred Frame, two Indianapolis regulars by then, and finished ahead of future Indy starters Stubby Stubblefield, Johnny Kreiger, Al Gordon, Francis Quinn, Phil Pardee and Mel Kenealy, to say nothing of Lou Moore. As far as I can make out, Swede finished just outside of the top twenty in AAA points despite missing three times as many races as he actually competed in!
Swede started the new year in the Begg, took a fifth, a second and finally a win (from Triplett, Frame and Quinn, no less!) in the first three races to lead the championship for a while, but then he faded away. He had a few more outings in the Deulin, always good for a heat win or a "Helmet Dash", but seldom a factor in the feature races. On October 1 he took a second win with the Begg, again at Ascot, but it was a lucky one with a couple of faster cars (including the Deulin) retiring. He slipped to 7th in the final standings, not bad but, nonetheless, disappointing in the circumstances.
However, that was to be the highlight of his AAA career, for things were moving fast at Ascot, and yesterday's winner was tomorrow's non-qualifier! Smith did not have much luck in finding good rides in 1931, although by the end of that year he made his first start for Bill or Bob Rasor from Glendale (CA), owner of a fast McDowell. After forsaking AAA for a short while in 1932 to win another Pacific Northwest title (although other sources name Mario Bianchi!), Swede came back to drive the Rasor/McDowell in the newly promoted "Class B" championship for less expensive cars, mostly Fords and Chevys, with the main events meanwhile completely dominated by $10,000+ Millers... and one cheap Hisso, driven by the genius of Rex Mays!
Swede was no Rex, though, but he did win a goodly number of "B features", and the "Class B" championship from guys like Ted Horn, George Connor, Louis Tomei and Frank McGurk, no less! He also garnered a few "Class A" rides near the end of the season, did well and looked to be on course for a revival of his career, until that fateful March day. Perhaps he was already too old to expect much of an Indy career, but it's easy enough to see him take a couple of starts, and maybe finish "in the money" once or twice. It was not to be...
In the meantime, I have a bit more info on Swede Smith (I have never seen it spelled Smyth, btw). Born ca. 1899, George L. Smith (I have also seen George H. Smith, but less frequently, and even Ralph Smith!) lived in Portland (OR) in the late twenties, and was a very prominent racing driver in the area. As always, drivers with common names are difficult to research, and during the same time and in the same area, one Ken Smith and one A. D. Smith were also active, but less successful.
Some sources show Swede Smith as the 1929 Pacific Northwest Champion, but it's difficult to substantiate. Championship claims were ten a penny those days, and I have seen fellow driver Guy Deulin decorated with the same title. However, it may have been a trueful claim, as the Washington Automobile Racing Assoc. (WARA) has a long yet not fully researched history, and it may have been their first championship year, and since Deulin was also a car owner, both claims may actually be true! We will see in short order that Swede and Deulin were not strangers to one another...
Btw, that picture posted by Brian is VERY interesting, since it shows Swede in what appears to be a genuine ex-works Stutz racing car from 1915! I have seen various race results of the Northwest and the early twenties, with a Stutz finishing high up or even winning, and always assumed that it was an old Bearcat that was still good enough to beat some old junkers, but this car is another matter, of course! I believe there were only four built, and one was still good enough in 1919 to finish second at Indy! So, perhaps the competition in the Northwest wasn't that poor after all...
When the AAA started its "Pacific Southwest Dirt Track Championship" in 1929, it opened new horizons for racing west of the Rockys: many independent drivers and owners suddenly saw a chance to break into the "Big Time", and many eventually did! The heart and soul of this circuit was Ascot Speedway in Greater Los Angeles, but the show did travel regularly north, up to Fresno or San Jose, several times a year. In September of that first year, Swede Smith and Guy Deulin traveled to Fresno to meet the AAA circus at the annual District Fair Race on the local one-mile fairgounds dirt track. Deulin's #91 was a seriously fast Special with a DOHC Fronty head on a Model T Ford block, and Smith shocked the establishment by easily taking the first heat, beating the regular hot shoes Jimmy Sharp, Mel Kenealy and Bill Heisler in the process! His time on the reconfigured track was a record, of course, but it was also ten seconds faster than the next best time - what a debut!
Sadly, the Deulin/Frontenac was as fragile as it was fast, and Smith retired in the 50-mile final, and also on his Ascot debut the following week, but he did eventually pick up a couple of good finishes, including one very close third place before the year was out. For the last three or four races, Smith settled into the cockpit of another racer from Portland, the #92 of one W. Begg, and took another third place finish with that car at the Arizona State Fair. For reference, he was beaten that day only by Babe Stapp and Fred Frame, two Indianapolis regulars by then, and finished ahead of future Indy starters Stubby Stubblefield, Johnny Kreiger, Al Gordon, Francis Quinn, Phil Pardee and Mel Kenealy, to say nothing of Lou Moore. As far as I can make out, Swede finished just outside of the top twenty in AAA points despite missing three times as many races as he actually competed in!
Swede started the new year in the Begg, took a fifth, a second and finally a win (from Triplett, Frame and Quinn, no less!) in the first three races to lead the championship for a while, but then he faded away. He had a few more outings in the Deulin, always good for a heat win or a "Helmet Dash", but seldom a factor in the feature races. On October 1 he took a second win with the Begg, again at Ascot, but it was a lucky one with a couple of faster cars (including the Deulin) retiring. He slipped to 7th in the final standings, not bad but, nonetheless, disappointing in the circumstances.
However, that was to be the highlight of his AAA career, for things were moving fast at Ascot, and yesterday's winner was tomorrow's non-qualifier! Smith did not have much luck in finding good rides in 1931, although by the end of that year he made his first start for Bill or Bob Rasor from Glendale (CA), owner of a fast McDowell. After forsaking AAA for a short while in 1932 to win another Pacific Northwest title (although other sources name Mario Bianchi!), Swede came back to drive the Rasor/McDowell in the newly promoted "Class B" championship for less expensive cars, mostly Fords and Chevys, with the main events meanwhile completely dominated by $10,000+ Millers... and one cheap Hisso, driven by the genius of Rex Mays!
Swede was no Rex, though, but he did win a goodly number of "B features", and the "Class B" championship from guys like Ted Horn, George Connor, Louis Tomei and Frank McGurk, no less! He also garnered a few "Class A" rides near the end of the season, did well and looked to be on course for a revival of his career, until that fateful March day. Perhaps he was already too old to expect much of an Indy career, but it's easy enough to see him take a couple of starts, and maybe finish "in the money" once or twice. It was not to be...
#13
Jim Thurman
-
- 7,973 posts
- Joined: February 01
Member
Posted 28 July 2008 - 22:25
I've seen contemporary newspaper accounts. Originally several drivers were implicated, including "Al Savage" and "Ted Devlin", who were being sought. Accompanied by AAA official Art Pillsbury, the group of drivers went to the District Attorney's office and surrendered, but none would identify "Savage" or "Devlin". I assume them to have been aliases given by Al Reinke and Louie Tomei as Stapp was identified and charged. Stubblefield was never mentioned. Charges were dropped against Reinke as he died in a testing mishap before the initial court hearing. Eventually, charges were reduced and probation requested for Stapp and Tomei. I do not have final outcome of that hearing.Originally posted by TrackDog
I read an article in Car and Driver by Brock Yates about 20 years ago regarding this very subject; and as I recall, one driver DID serve time...I think it was either Babe Stapp or Stubby Stubblefield, but I'm not sure. Hearst was absolutely inscensed by the incident and made the charges stick...whoever was convicted served several months.
EDIT: Tomei sentenced to six months in Los Angeles County Jail and Stapp fined $100
The accounts were typical of Hearst's over the top hyperbole, emphatically pointing out that the death penalty could be invoked for what they did to the photographer and reporter (and the accounts I read were not Hearst papers).
#14
Jim Thurman
-
- 7,973 posts
- Joined: February 01
Member
Posted 28 July 2008 - 22:37
Well guess what?...thanks to you providing a middle initial, I checked the California death index and he is listed as Smyth.Originally posted by fines
In the meantime, I have a bit more info on Swede Smith (I have never seen it spelled Smyth, btw). Born ca. 1899, George L. Smith (I have also seen George H. Smith, but less frequently, and even Ralph Smith!) lived in Portland (OR) in the late twenties, and was a very prominent racing driver in the area. As always, drivers with common names are difficult to research, and during the same time and in the same area, one Ken Smith and one A. D. Smith were also active, but less successful.
And Michael, thanks for the great biographical info on Smyth
#15
kingfm
-
- 2 posts
- Joined: July 08
New Member
Posted 29 July 2008 - 00:44
Yes, and his grave says Smyth.
Thanks to all. For me it solved a low level mystery of who was Swede Racer as I thought of him... the man buried near my dad. Amazing what you can find on the Internet. Thanks Guys.
Thanks to all. For me it solved a low level mystery of who was Swede Racer as I thought of him... the man buried near my dad. Amazing what you can find on the Internet. Thanks Guys.
#16
fines
-
- 9,647 posts
- Joined: September 00
Member
Posted 31 July 2008 - 15:05
Aha! So, another case of Dinsmoor/Dinsmore, Lueptow/Luptow, Fraizer/Frazier etc., it seems.
#17
fines
-
- 9,647 posts
- Joined: September 00
Member
Posted 04 September 2008 - 19:55
Well, I have found information that Oral Palmer raced "Earl Cooper's old Stutz [...] about Seattle, Tacoma and Spokane" in the very early twenties, so it looks like we now know which car we are looking at!Originally posted by bpratt
George "Swede" Smith/Smythe came from the Pacific Northwest. Raced in the 1920s to early 1930s as far north as Hastings Park in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
I do have some photos of Swede, mostly from the Art Scovell collection (Art was a contemporary of Swede) copied by Idaho Don Radbruch. (Let's see if I can get the photo attached.)
http://img145.images...ithc1928kd7.jpg
#18
bpratt
-
- 149 posts
- Joined: September 01
Member
Posted 05 September 2008 - 07:35
I'd have to look at the clippings I've accumulated from that era. For some reason the name Oral Palmer doesn't ring a bell (just call me "ding dong").
There were lots of Stutzes in the teens and twenties in the Pacific northwest. Jim Parsons had a Stutz dealership in the Seattle area. He raced in the AAA Tacoma races in the early years. Did well in the support races.
And there were other Stutz machines involved. One driven by a Victoria, BC, guy, E.J. "Toots" Cameron reappeared around 1919 with a Vancouver, BC, driver, Harry Hooper, behind the wheel. The car was owned by an ironworks business called Vulcan somethingorother and the car was nicknamed the Vulcan Kewpie.
Gus Duray (Dauray?) also raced Stutz.
The photo up at imageshack of Swede Smith in that particular Stutz has the same AAA emblems on its cowling as another Stutz that won a big race at Hastings Park (Vancouver, BC) in 1923.
Like I say, I'd have to look at the clippings to try to sort out all the Stutz static but it's late, I'm bleary-eyed and it'll have to wait.
There were lots of Stutzes in the teens and twenties in the Pacific northwest. Jim Parsons had a Stutz dealership in the Seattle area. He raced in the AAA Tacoma races in the early years. Did well in the support races.
And there were other Stutz machines involved. One driven by a Victoria, BC, guy, E.J. "Toots" Cameron reappeared around 1919 with a Vancouver, BC, driver, Harry Hooper, behind the wheel. The car was owned by an ironworks business called Vulcan somethingorother and the car was nicknamed the Vulcan Kewpie.
Gus Duray (Dauray?) also raced Stutz.
The photo up at imageshack of Swede Smith in that particular Stutz has the same AAA emblems on its cowling as another Stutz that won a big race at Hastings Park (Vancouver, BC) in 1923.
Like I say, I'd have to look at the clippings to try to sort out all the Stutz static but it's late, I'm bleary-eyed and it'll have to wait.
#19
fines
-
- 9,647 posts
- Joined: September 00
Member
Posted 05 September 2008 - 16:14
Thanks for your input, Brian, much appreciated!
Yes, Oral Palmer appears to be a rare one. Possibly from Northern California, I've seen him listed as P. D. Palmer, P. C. Palmer, and O. P. Palmer! The quoted reference to him driving the former Cooper car was from early 1923, btw.
Jack Ross was the Stutz driver I was refering to in my earlier post, winning a 25-mile race at Salem (OR) in 1923. And yes, Gus Duray (never saw Dauray, must be a typo) also drove a Stutz in the same event. The Parsons Stutz was a much earlier car, probably a Special - I recall having seen a picture of it somewhere, but danged if I knew where!
The reason for my statement was the rarity of that type of car, as mentioned above, I believe there were only four built. All four of them raced in the 1919 Santa Monica race, and can be traced further for about a couple of years. One was sold to New Zealand, and another modified quite heavily before it was possibly broke up in 1920, so you can see what a "rare bird" it was by 1923!
But just as I was writing this post, I discovered by chance that Palmer raced a #8 Stutz in 1915 already! I guess that means that the article was refering to Earl Cooper's other "old Stutz", namely his 1913 car...
Yes, Oral Palmer appears to be a rare one. Possibly from Northern California, I've seen him listed as P. D. Palmer, P. C. Palmer, and O. P. Palmer! The quoted reference to him driving the former Cooper car was from early 1923, btw.
Jack Ross was the Stutz driver I was refering to in my earlier post, winning a 25-mile race at Salem (OR) in 1923. And yes, Gus Duray (never saw Dauray, must be a typo) also drove a Stutz in the same event. The Parsons Stutz was a much earlier car, probably a Special - I recall having seen a picture of it somewhere, but danged if I knew where!
The reason for my statement was the rarity of that type of car, as mentioned above, I believe there were only four built. All four of them raced in the 1919 Santa Monica race, and can be traced further for about a couple of years. One was sold to New Zealand, and another modified quite heavily before it was possibly broke up in 1920, so you can see what a "rare bird" it was by 1923!
But just as I was writing this post, I discovered by chance that Palmer raced a #8 Stutz in 1915 already! I guess that means that the article was refering to Earl Cooper's other "old Stutz", namely his 1913 car...
