That's one of the big reasons the Pilgrims and Puritans left the old sod. :>)Originally Posted by D-Type
Think Harvest celebrations, farming industry, a chance to gather, barnyard entertainment without the Vikings, horse racing and horse tracks and the eventual intrusion of the racecar, add your UK 'Funfairs' for good measure and their you have it.
http://www.fun-fairs.co.uk/
Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati
Oh I don't know, I went to a Wurzels concert at a Gloucestershire venue called Cattle Country that had an atmosphere exactly like what's being described here.
Disappointed they forgot to include a sprint car show, but you can't have it all.
Cranston RI 1915
An additional perspective from the engineering/construction business.
Engineering News Sept 1915
Narraganset Park Conversion from horse track to auto track.
http://books.google.com/books?id=1eg...epage&q&f=true
And another brief article on Narraganset Park from Hemmings News
http://www.hemmings.com/hmn/stories/...feature16.html
Again, the link to Darren Galpin's Pre WW1 venues:
http://www.teamdan.com/archive/book/venues.pdf
Last edited by carl s; 10-24-2011 at 12:58 AM.
Add some foreign flair with Havana's Oriental Park.
The photographic collection of driver Marcelino Amador- UofMiami Digital Collection-Cuban Photo Collection.
http://merrick.library.miami.edu/cdm...&CISOSTART=1,1
Imperial County Fairgrounds (AKA El Centro) Mid Winter Fair.
Another Fairgrounds track -albeit a one and 1/8 mile from 1913-1940(and later reduced ) that ran AAA Events. Mickey Dale-an Imperial resident- who announced and promoted CRA Fair races starting in the 70s is working on a book of his experiences there and was given these 15 photos from the Fair management files who were in the process of throwing them out as historically insignificant. Thanks for the rescue Dale!
Here's link to the 15 photos from the early 1930s (preceeded by two photos of townspeople milling around awaiting the 11 cars of the 2-22-1912 'Imperial Valley Road Race' to come through town)
photos are alpha arranged -just scroll down to 'Imperial'
All photos have description and commentary attached to them if you open the thumbnail.
http://s1011.photobucket.com/albums/...rts/?start=all
Last edited by carl s; 01-03-2012 at 04:55 PM.
Addendum: The last photo in the Imperial sequence, labelled 'Imperial Fair 1934 Feature' is of further sad note- read Michael Ferner's description after opening the thumbnail.
Last edited by carl s; 01-03-2012 at 04:56 PM.
Carl, I don't know how to add comments to the Photobucket site, but here's one for your picture "Langhorne 1940"
This is the start of the main event at the Langhorne Inaugural on May 12, 1940: row one inside is Tony Willman (O'Day/Offenhauser), outside Ev Saylor (Teter/Dreyer), row 2 Bob Sall (Peters=Cunningham/Offenhauser) and Walt Brown (Marion/Offenhauser), row 3 Vic Nauman (Kreiser/Hal) and Ted Horn (Horn/Offenhauser), row 4 Joie Chitwood (?) and Mark Light (Light/Miller), row 5 Hank Rogers (Scopa=Teter/McDowell) and Ottis Stine (Hopf/Hal). Horn won the 50-miler after Willman dropped out eight laps from home, with Nauman second and Chitwood third.
Picture #28 titled "Culver City year?" is from the March 21, 1926 race, and the following picture "Culver City BO #15" is from the March 6, 1927 event.
Front row: Bob McDonogh and Pete Kreis, second row Dave Lewis and eventual winner Bennie Hill, third row Leon Duray and Harry Hartz (all in Millers).
I can make out Frank Lockhart and Cliff Woodbury in row one, Pete de Paolo and Harry Hartz in two, Dave Lewis and Bennie Hill in three, Leon Duray and Al Melcher in four, and Fred Lecklider inside of row five. Don't know who the tenth car may be.
Thanks again for the valuable info Michael. I'll add your comments to the photo.
Each photo should open to show 'Description' -which only I can enter but below 'Description' are multiple 'Comments' boxes that I thought were open (just click in the empty box and type) to the viewers-maybe you have to join to post comments?
Carl, I don't know how to add comments to the Photobucket site, but here's one for your picture "Langhorne 1940"
This is the start of the main event at the Langhorne Inaugural on May 12, 1940: row one inside is Tony Willman (O'Day/Offenhauser), outside Ev Saylor (Teter/Dreyer), row 2 Bob Sall (Peters=Cunningham/Offenhauser) and Walt Brown (Marion/Offenhauser), row 3 Vic Nauman (Kreiser/Hal) and Ted Horn (Horn/Offenhauser), row 4 Joie Chitwood (?) and Mark Light (Light/Miller), row 5 Hank Rogers (Scopa=Teter/McDowell) and Ottis Stine (Hopf/Hal). Horn won the 50-miler after Willman dropped out eight laps from home, with Nauman second and Chitwood third.
It appears so. I don't want to join another club that would accept someone like me as a member...
It appears so. I don't want to join another club that would accept someone like me as a member...
Stop being an old Groucho!
Duncan Rollo
The more you learn, the more you realise how little you know.
Bill Blaylock at Racing History site adds:
Exposition Park San Luis Obispo, CA 1 Mile, 1923-1925.
Exposition Park July 4, 1923
http://sloblogs.thetribunenews.com/s...position-park/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/special...ns/6281348729/
http://sloblogs.thetribunenews.com/s...rk-race-track/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBicDo04Uw0
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0015359/
I've read that the film clip was probably produced by Harry Pollard's film crew to promo the 1924 'Sporting Youth' Universal Pictures movie that was filmed up the coast in Pebble Beach with racing sequences at Exposition Park.
Last edited by carl s; 02-02-2012 at 01:45 AM.
I think starting this thread on TF is my proudest moment on here. This has been so much fun. Thanks all.
Gregg Sebald
Good Time Park - Goshen, NY.
Starting as a horse track (Fiddlers Green) in the early 19th Century, suspending operations in 1820 and lay unused till 1899 then a resurgence and home of The Hambletonian for many years. It hosted 3 AAA Championship auto races in 1936, 46 and 47.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Time_Park
Link to photo of 1936 Goshen 100 AAA Championship Points Race at Good Time Park-cars on starting grid.
http://s1011.photobucket.com/albums/...achment-23.jpg
Last edited by carl s; 10-29-2012 at 11:09 AM.
If this has been mentioned before, sorry for the repeat.
San Jose, Ca. had a track in addition to the mile at the fairgrounds. It was on what is now Race Street. I think it was a mile but not sure without looking it up. Bobby Ball won in '52, the AAA days.
Don't know any more of the track history.
Going by memory (dangerous) - I think Joe Leonard came to prominence at the San Jose mile back in his motorcycle days.
I lived in SJ several years. I knew of the track, but wasn't able to find out much about it other than it had been there. I think it was a mile, but not sure. I'm sure Leonard raced there, as he lived there.
The race that Bobby Ball won in 1952 was definitely at the fairgrounds, without a shadow of a doubt.
What is your source for this other San Jose mile? I'm not familiar with it.
As Michael rightly points out, the 1952 AAA race won by Bobby Ball was definitely at the fairgrounds, the one on Tully Road.
As far as Joe Leonard, I don't know that they had AMA races there in his day. Joe Leonard was originally from San Diego and moved to the Bay Area to further his motorcycle racing career. He raced weekly at Belmont Stadium in Belmont. The big AMA races in the area during his era were at Bay Meadows. He and Paul Goldsmith had a terrific duel at one of those races.
Last edited by JThur1; 11-02-2012 at 01:28 AM.
There was also a 100 mile Midget race on that triangular shaped mile track in Goshen, in September 1947. Ed "Dutch" Schaefer had a two lap lead with two laps to go, when he ran out of fuel. Failure by a crew member to close the gas cap tightly, caused Schaefer to hit the inside fence while pumping frantically to get fuel to his engine, as the air he pumped into the tank escaped out the filler. It was also the race where he lost an eye due to a stone going through his goggles. Henry Renard won with Chet Gibbons 2nd. Schaefer was 3rd. It was said the loss of that eye is what kept Dutch out of the Indy 500, but some who were "in the know" said it was because of Dutch keeping the AAA Midgets out of the east, when he was President of the ARDC.
Darren has done an amazing job digging out these various venues, impressing me to no end in sorting out more than a few that had me stumped or puzzled or confused.
However, a minor quibble: for Point Breeze Darren has the later track that was used (mostly for motocycle racing) and not the where the Q.C.M.C. events were run. That track was in roughtly the same area, but rectangular, almost boxy, in shape.
As I continue my research on the period to 1920 in US racing, I continue to find more and more venues as well as information regarding many of them -- usually finding more regarding names and places: e.g., Narberth, PA and the Belmont Park track there. On the road racing side, finally have a good circuit map for the Portland road races, finding a good illustration of the circuit that was made for the 1908 races. Lots of interesting venues just keep popping up.
At some point I will finally index what I have and pass it on.
And so we beat on, boats against the current, drawn back ceaselessly into the past ... F. Scott Fitzgerald
Ever have the feeling that the rest of the world is a tuxedo and you're a pair of brown shoes? ... George Gobel
I lived in San Jose for several years. I heard of the track that was on Race Street from locals who were there when the track was running. Later, it was closed and developed. I couldnt find anyone that could give me details on track length, etc.
I found a 1929 reference to a dirt track called the suicide bowl. It didnt give a location, but it predates the Tully road fairground track.
from what I understand, the one on Race St. Was before the fairground or SJ Speedway by the mall.
I think I may have found some sort of proof. Follow this link: http://www.historicaerials.com/aeria...345&year=T1939 It shows you on the 1939 and 1946 topographical maps where the track once was. However a quick comparison shows that the 1946 map wasn't updated in that area from the 1939 map. Also, if you look at the 1948 aerial photo the area the track occupied is all covered up with houses.
Wonder if it's covered in this "History of San Jose Auto Racing 1903-2007"?
http://www.historysanjoseautoracing.com/
The track referred to in 1929 and called "(a) suicide bowl" (quite informally), would have been the San Jose Speedway on the east side, on Alum Rock. It was a banked 5/8 mile dirt oval that operated from 1923-1939. Many prominent drivers of the era raced there. It was part of the AAA Pacific Coast Championship for a while. The newspaper dubbed it "(a, the) suicide bowl" as there were six fatalities in the first three years (Allen Mulford, Henry Beal, Jack Kemp, Paul Arrighi, Adolph Giusti and a motorcycle racer whose name escapes me, Soares?). There was even a motion to ban auto racing in San Jose.
Last edited by JThur1; 11-03-2012 at 12:56 PM.
I'm guessing the Race St. oval was the old Agricultural Park, which was the original fairgrounds site. That one goes waaay back. We're talking pre-WWI era with Barney Oldfield. Later there was the San Jose Driving Park, which I understand to have been on roughly the same piece of land as the later fairgrounds.
I wouldn't be surprised. Looks like a decent book.
It looks to be in the right location. Hard to tell the size, but that must be it.
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