other tracks.". With some skeptics calling UARAs entries junk
It was a 1/4 mile dirt oval that raced 1940 - 42. Paul | June 04, 2011 at 03:12 PM. Nick and Pete, and also at Soldier Field, Ray Lankheim of Chicago won the second
great show, a lot of action. Ballparks used in 1945 Negro League Season 1945 Season ParkID Ballpark Name City State AKR01 League Park Akron OH ALT01 Columbia Park Altoona PA ATL04 Ponce de Leon . There was a fairgrounds track between 36th and 32nd but it is. Here is info I found. The highlight of the show was the Dive Bomber which consisted of getting a car, called a bomber, up to speed, go up a ramp and drive into a row of junk cars. perhaps a track such as Motor City Speedway or the Chicago Amphitheater or the Nutley on Friday night, June 13, winning the 20-lap feature in front of a reported
Wally Zale is shown here in his #1 midget in 1940. From the Collection: A week later, Scally won again at
AbeBooks.com: Bigelow Field Raceway Midget Auto Race Program 1950-Grand Rapids MI-Ads for Coca-Cola-Hires Root Beer-VG: -Grand Rapids MI -Sanctioned by Great Lakes Racing Association -Tri-fold scorecard format -Scored in pencil -Ads for Coca-Cola-Mission Orange Soda-Hires Root Beer -Historic Mid-West race program -Rare - GRADE: VG Me dad, Eddie Ostwick, drove midgets in the 1930s and 1940s but I do not know if he ever went to Bigelow Field. During an
An event was attempted on October 10 with only nine
June 16 1941 Article Lansing State Journal. Baseball legend, Satchel Page pitched here in 1941. Hometown papers of well-known drivers like. Don and Carson Zeiter then quit promoting midgets at Bigelow Field for two reasons. during the semi feature. He was based at Motor City Speedway (formerly VFW Speedway) in Detroit but traveled widely photographing and reporting on races throughout the area. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. UARA split away
Extend Academy Student Certificate. Hanley won the
", Stock cars ran briefly for one season at Bigelow Field in 1952 and then in 1953 a fire wiped out the grandstands. Located south of Wealthy at Reeds Lake shore, it is the first park to have a grass infield, 2,000 permanent seats, 4,500 total capacity, dismantled 1903. While the track was very well lighted for night racing, there were also day race programs in 1938. There is clearly a lot of work to do on this April day with racing just a month away. Copy to clipboard. neck injuries. Hometown papers of well-known drivers like Ray Stauffer, Howard Dauphin and Eddie Ostwick got customized stories featuring each local hero. Big Bill Mitchell, out of Detroit was one of the flagmen and he had a solid background in racing, having owned big cars as far back as the late 1920s with drivers such as Chet Miller, Cliff Duran and constructed large quarter mile clay oval at the Northern Illinois Fairgrounds in
A+ fast, secure ship, exactly as described, perfect communication & seller, thanks! Please see item description for more information. Helen Earlene "Beans" Risinger Grand Rapids Chicks collection, Collection 160. The story begins with my discovery of a notebook among my father's records containing a series of letters, news releases, programs and newspaper clippings all relating to Bigelow Field. dirt oval: r5/3/1938-40, 47-c52: defunct: TRACK DRIVER STANDINGS. the feature winner. The track called Bigelow Field has been gone and mostly forgotten for more than 40 years. We have had some inquiries of leasing the track for a few races this year but at this time we are only interested in selling and not leasing. Pulling the brake with both hands, Stauber ran
Larry Johnson, Singer, Simmons and Boscher rounded out the top ten. These chairs were part of the Bigelow Field, which was located at 3871 Division Ave. South, then Wyoming Township. UARA actually had its roots in the City of Chicago, holding the majority of its
Tom. A list of 32 Michigan newspapers was assembled for the promotional campaign. Other Sports Stats - World TeamTennis Stats - World TeamTennis Search The dugout roof fell and caught him in the throat and the rest is history.". Ben Zukor guided his Reichenbach Brothers-built
Zeiter came to Grand Rapids and laid out a one-fifth dirt track for midgets at Bigelow Field with the first Don and Carson Zeiter then quit promoting midgets at Bigelow Field for , History of American Speedways, Past & Present. I have not read in detail all that has been said, nor am I an advid race car fan. More Info. The following story chronicles UARAs first season1947. The pits were located near third base and the clay track was usually good and sticky, never dusty. opener. [2], The franchise originated in 1944 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as the Milwaukee Chicks. Three photos in the collection document the fire at Bigelow Fields where the Chicks played, in 1952. Our Hutch (farm store) is open MOST Saturdays 11am-4pm. Rubright, Scally, Saylor, Ambrose and Zukor in the final points tally. Johnson, Singer, Simmons and Boscher rounded out the top ten. down. his first feature win of the campaign on June 27 with Ken Rubright finishing
Belvidere winner Simmons and Tony Saylor. Of many race tracks that he ran at, that was one that I never saw. Main Michigan driver Don Ingersoll won at Bigelow Field on August 20. 34
These are auto racing photographs taken by Al Blixt, Sr. in the 1930's. This 1938 clipping shows the Bigelow track from the air. PayPal Me: https://www.paypal.me/michigandermanPlease check out my Zazzle store! The stadium burned down in 1952. We have to go way back to the 1930s when Don and Carson Zeiter were busy building race tracks in the Michigan area first for big cars and then for something new called midgets. Advertisementif(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[320,50],'statscrew_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_8',157,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-statscrew_com-medrectangle-3-0');if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[320,50],'statscrew_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_9',157,'0','1'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-statscrew_com-medrectangle-3-0_1'); .medrectangle-3-multi-157{border:none !important;display:block !important;float:none !important;line-height:0px;margin-bottom:7px !important;margin-left:auto !important;margin-right:auto !important;margin-top:7px !important;max-width:100% !important;min-height:50px;padding-bottom:20px !important;padding-top:20px !important;text-align:center !important;}. Field. streak for the time being. Fedel. On the 18th, only 11 cars are listed as competing with Joe Allan winning the feature. BIGELOW, Shawnee D. Coopersville, MI Age 60, passed away unexpectedly April 1, 2021. On August 6, Elliott captured his second win at
He never flipped a race car and went on to win the National Championship and the 1957 Indianapolis 500. Restauracja szybkiej obsugi zajmuje dzi cz terenu. Hanson Park, capturing the 50-lap Championship race in front of 10,000 fans. Maybe there is someone among our readers who knows more. The service tech called to give me notice 15 minutes before he . He always treated people, including drivers, great. I remember one time a car was qualifying and spun in turn three, went into the infield grass and kept running in circles, apparently the driver was unconscious. Holding weekly racing events for years at the Joliet
Some interesting recollections of a couple of greats, from Howard Newland, who raced midgets at Bigelow Field. CONTINUE. ID Card Office Online. Bigelow Field fire. When a new promoter from Indianapolis named W.R. Caine took over promotion at Bigelow Field for the 1940 season, it is not surprising that he would hire the best people he could find to operate the track. League pitching titles were won by the Chicks with the award going to Wisniewski in 1944 and 1945, Mildred Earp in 1947, Alice Haylett in 1948, and Ziegler in 1950. Wohlfiel, Henry Banks, and Duane Carter, you would probably be thinking of Grand Rapids had its share of league stars including Players of the Year Connie Wisniewski in 1945[3] and Alma Ziegler in 1950. Helen Earlene "Beans" Risinger Grand Rapids Chicks collection, Collection 160. garnered his second straight win at Hanson Park on August 15 before a crowd of
inaugural season of events at Hanson Park Stadium on the citys northwest side. The friendship part of the racing has been what has kept us going. Night game at Bigelow Field. Staff Interface You say that you never heard of it? A nearly 90 degree turn at home plate certainly must have made for some exciting action when the midgets came roaring down to get the starter's flag. The majority
Images of the coach and a couple of team photos are included. As shown in the program, about 29 cars and drivers were on hand including many of the best racers in the Midwest. Race historian Allan Brown, in his comprehensive History of American Speedways, Past & Present records that racing ended at Bigelow Field in June 1940 and did not resume until after WWII in 1947. Grand Rapids Press Library photos. Grand Rapids, Mich. on Wednesday night, June 16. Was he a crook? Capacity: 3,000 (1940); 4,500 (1941); 12,000 (1949); 8,000 (1950) Dimensions (Left, Center, Right): 298-530-298 The catcher faced west. With some skeptics calling UARA's entries "junk It was certainly common to have promoters run off with the purse after a night of racing in those days but this promoter seemed to be legitimate. Actually Id be talking Images of the coach and a couple of team photos are included. n.d.. Helen Earlene "Beans" Risinger Grand Rapids Chicks collection, Collection 160. the Chicagoland area, drivers Lou Scally, whose real name was Lou Scaramuzzo,
UARA feature event at Hanson Park on June 6. The track always had a good safely crew who would tell the drivers, "If you spin, just pull it out of gear and well pull you off the track. He wiped out Jakes International pickup truck and did considerable damage to the race cars. The track called Bigelow Field has been gone and mostly forgotten for more than 40 years. Jim Williams, the owner and promoter of the facility called a press conference and with tears in his eyes stated, "Im afraid that its all over, Im going to tear it down.". Russ Jacobson, the son of the legendary Jake Jacobson, didnt get hurt but probably got chewed out by his father, Jake, when he was towing the J-2 and J-3 midgets from Bigelow Field back to Pontiac, MI and went off the road by Ada. Bigelow Field Raceway Midget Auto Race Program 1950-Grand Rapids MI-Ads for C cleared payment - opens in a new window or tab, Report this item - opens in new window or tab. Something had certainly happened. Please note that location entries may feature older photos or post card views that may not represent the current appearance or features of the attraction. Tragedy struck several times when midget race drivers were fatally injured at Bigelow Field. ", Time Capsule: 1962, Mt. in his columns and race reports which appeared in Illustrated Speedway
Pniej zespoy gray na Bigelow Field na South Division Avenue. Images of the coach and a couple of team photos are included. The action looks great as the drivers round home heading for first base. The next night saw Saylor end Elliotts reign at
Clemens Race Track and Me, Frank Lockhart - "The greatest of them all." Larry
Charlene Jean Bigelow, age 82, a long-time resident of Grand Rapids passed away suddenly on Saturday, April 15, 2017 while in residence at Whispering Way. Well over 10,000 fans
55, made it two in a row
off the track some 100 yards, running under a rope barrier and suffering fatal
The promoting end of the racing had been taken over by Jim Williams in 1946, (who had purchased the property and also built a motel next to the track). Hockey Stats - NHL - WHA - Minor League Hockey - Search Anything about opening this season at Kamp Motor Speedway is pure rumor. One of the more difficult features won was by Ralph Pratt when he and two other cars came down for the checkered flag and he ran over a wheel, got airborne and actually crossed the finish line without any wheels on the ground. spin, just pull it out of gear and well pull you off the track. Elliott kept
-- Paul Ostwick (Eddie Ostwick's grandson), Posted by: UARA and Bigelow Field parted ways with the Great Lakes Racing
There was two more weeks of racing on June 4 and then June 18, 1940 and then nothing. Grand Rapids History Center. winner again at Hanson Park on August 29 with Saylor winning the 50 lap Labor
pushed several individuals to look at the formation of a racing association for
That was the end of the crack-the-whip. Rubright was second
Paul Russo, Tony Bettenhausen, Cowboy O'Rouke, Ronnie Householder, Johnny A few reviews for this pro. Bigelow Field to his credit, was crowned the first UARA champion as he defeated Rubright, Scally, Saylor, Ambrose and Zukor in the final points tally. Rubright came home second with Simmons third. He was rushed to the hospital but was soon released. These failed to deter the drivers as they raced to new record-breaking marks.". Bigelow Field fire. RICK KNIGHR 6168130260 , THANK YOU! the Grand Rapids Jets played. Notes - Delivery *Estimated delivery dates include seller's handling time, origin ZIP Code, destination ZIP Code and time of acceptance and will depend on shipping service selected and receipt of cleared payment. In any event, the guy in the suit has only hay bales to protect him. from Hanson Park after difficulties arose over the purse structure for the 100
Finishing behind Wiswald and his No. Unforunately, he has no pictures. That turn at home plate must have been a doozy! Starting to get on a roll, Elliott was the
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