Phil Hill has passed away… There I said it, something I hoped never would cross my lips. There are some great men who we wish would never leave us, and possibly Phil Hill is just such a man and because of his many legendary accomplishments just maybe he never will. Anyone that knows anything about racing knows Phil Hill was one of racing’s greatest icons.
In the history of the international Formula 1 Grand Prix Championship, the highest prize in the world, only two Americans have taken home the coveted GT Crown: Phil Hill in 1961 and Mario Andretti in 1978. Phil was the first American to win the classic 24 Hour race at Le Mans, the first American to win three times at Sebring, the first American to win a modern championship Grand Prix and the finally become the first American Champion. Besides a list of accomplishments too long to list, between his sports car and Grand Prix victories, Phil Hill won more races for the Ferrari team than any other driver to date.
My son Will and I are truly blessed that we both got to spend a day with Phil and to experience first hand one the greatest drivers of all time. Will said to Phil, “Mr Hill, what an honor it has been to meet someone like you who has won so many championships, great races, endurance races and so on.” But Phil put his hand on Will’s shoulder, leaned over and said, “Yeah, but I never won a 25 hour race like you guys did,” (Referring to us winning the 25 Hours of Thunderhill.) He was all about making those around him feel as special as he did.
Phil loved racing and did everything he could to make sure everyone around him enjoyed it as much as he did. As we walked around the paddock we came up to a car that was on display and in front of it was a placard describing how many races the car had won driven by Phil Hill. When the man seated next to the car saw us examining it he began telling us more about the car and it quickly became apparent he didn’t realize he was talking to Phil Hill himself. After we walked away I asked Phil why he didn’t tell the man he who he was. Phil said, “I have never seen that car in my life.” Then I asked why he didn’t set him straight and he said, “Why? Besides, someone probably sold him the car telling him all those lies and who am I to ruin his day? Let’s just let him go on living his dream.”
Dreams about racing are in fact what Phil Hill left us with. Thank you Phil. God’s speed.
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I’m very sad to hear that Phil Hill, one of my great heroes, has passed away.
I actually never heard of him until I started reading his Salon features in Road & Track magazine. His articulate and retrospective analysis’s actual nurtured my curiosity in the history of motor sports, and pushed me to find out more, to read as much as I could find on the subject.
That’s when I really learned of his amazing accomplishments in a great variety of racers, and his artistry in Ferraris. My research also showed me that no one had encapsulated his success for the Ferrari Team in art. This led me to create a series of illustrations on his wins with them.
Mr Hill not only chose to feature them on his website, but also agreed to sign the series. Keep in mind that this happened just over a year ago, so it was an incredibly difficult task for him. His signature was obviously effected by the Parkinsons, but he non-the-less pushed on and did the series.
His son Derek was kind enough to take some spapshots of his dad signing, and sent them out to me, and they are now my treasured keepsakes.
Godspeed, Phil Hill 1927-2008…
Oh my. Even though his passing is not unexpected, it still comes as a bit of a shock to realize we’ve lost another great one.
One of the true legends…and possibly one of the most understated champions. Kind of a sad week in motorsports, with news of Paul Newman possibly taking his last drive on a race track too.
For some reason Gary F is having problems with adding comments, but he offers up a memory of Newman here.
Knowing the effort Phil Hill went through to sign something for a fan in recent years makes his signature even more special and says something about the man. Gary F. asked Phil to sign a poster for me on the day the above photo was taken. Later, Gary described how Phil had to walk around for a few minutes to get his Parkinson’s under control before he could sign anything. Then, he personalized it with a reference to the story of the day my uncle shook hands with Juan Fangio. Gary was surprised that day when Phil showed up to co-host a hospitality event with Gary. I wish I could have been there to hear their stories.