Gary Faules’ posts on the history of the Vanderbilt Cup have introduced us to all sorts of new readers and contributers, each of whom have had something valuable to add to the conversation. Our newest addition is Vanderbilt Cup historian Howard Kroplick, a Long Island native who has been gathering stories and images for years. With over 20,000 photos in his stash, Howard was more than prepared to write his new book on the history of the Vanderbilt Cup Races which will be released later this month.
Howard has just launched a companion site to go along with the book which has literally tons of photos. A quick poke about the site shows that Howard also drives a 66 GT350H, the rental cousin of Gary Faules’s Lucky.
As we continue trying to sort out the mystery of the Mora race cars and the Vanderbuilt Cup, reader Geri has provided even more photos. To clear the blur a bit, Geri has also provided what she knows about the photos and the family that provided them.
I’ll let Geri take over from here: They were involved with Duryea Motor Wagon Company who produced the 1st motor car in 1893 in Springfield Mass. Frank and Charles Duryea went their separate ways and Frank went to Reading Pennsylvania. The photos with Barbey’s Brewery I believe were in Reading Penn. I think the automobiles in that set of picture were Duryea Motor Wagons. Frank Duryea’s oldest daughter was one of the test drivers. I have several photos of a young woman who appears comfortable in the drivers seat. I thought she was just posing but after learning his daughter test drove automobiles, I wonder. The first motor vehicle accident involved a Duryea automobile and a bicycle on Long Island. I think a Duryea was in the Sealed Bonnet run as Frank was quite the driver and participated in the very first recorded Automobile Race in the United States. The family (who had the photos) continued to be involved with automobiles and I have photos of automobile shows up to the 1940’s. They were prominent family in Providence R.I. quite wealthy and influential.
I think I have some good news for Ms TL Thousand regarding identifying the car in the photo posted earlier this week driven by her grand father with Fred Duesenberg as a passenger. Today I located a photo of a Mercedes owned by Vanderbilt himself. This photo was taken on 10/24/1908 and you can see the driver and mechanic fueling the car on the old board track. I am contacting Mercedes with both photos to see if they can shed some light on the topic because I believe them to be the same car with one in race trim. Even the location of the rivets in the frame are exactky the same. It looks as if Paul’s keen eye may have been right at first glance.
Off topic, you have just got to love the way the spectators are dressed. Just look at the gents all dressed up in suits and top hats and the ladies are very formal including their best hats. And if that doesn’t add some interest try to imagine carrying around one of those cameras those photographers are lugging around.
While it’s difficult at first glance to find info on Geri’s cars I’m not ready to give up just yet however I sure do love these old cars and so much history that really deserves to be retold and there is SO MUCH of it to tell.
Regarding Mora’s race career in the Vanderbilt Cup races I found this news article that leads me to believe it was probably short lived at best. Mora paid the required deposit of $500 with the understanding the Vanderbilt Cup race was an “international” race however the Vanderbilt Commission was recently involved in a clash between the A.A.A. and the Automobile Club of America which resulted in a peace agreement whereby the A.A.A. controlled national racing events while the A.C.A became the governing body for International events.
After the Vanderbilt Cup became a national event instead of an international event there was talk that it may fail and end all together. Because of this uncertainty Mora owners decided not to build any race cars for the Vanderbilt Cup series.
One of the great things about The Garage is the interaction we have with our readers and how we are often lucky to learn from each other. Reader Geri commented on a recent post about car racing in San Francisco. It seems that Geri has a bunch of photos in his possession that are holding on to a few secrets.
Apparently some of the images are from the Sealed Bonnet 600 Mile Run in New York from June 19-22, 1907 while the others are from the Vanderbuilt Cup and a few from France. One appears to be of a car called a Mora, but beyond that there is little information.
The photos here are just a few, Geri promises there are more to come. So folks, who has more details about these photos?
I could use some help. A while back I wrote an article on the Vanderbilt Cup history in San Francisco and as a result I was contacted in a effort to help identify the amazing car in this photo. Even more amazing is who the gentleman is sitting in the passenger seat. If anyone has any information about this car whatsoever please contact me at gfaules44@aol.com.
Ms TL Thousand is the owner of the photo and it was said to have been taken in Dubuque Iowa. TL is the grandchild of the driver in the photo. I was asked to help identify the brand or type of car as they suspected the car might have some connection to the “Maytag” Mason Hill Climber or Goat. Ms TL Thousand wrote, “My grandfather (a German immigrant and mechanical engineer) used to be a chauffeur for Fred Dusenberg circa 1916-1918. I have an absolutely fabulous photo of my grandfather and Fred seated in an unidentified racing car — a car whose lines look very much like it could be a non-stripped down version of the Maytag “Goat” 2-cylinder racer.”
Duesenberg and Maytag had a collaboration going on with the Mason Car Company so there may be a connection. Fred Duesenberg may have either had a hand in this car or simply knew the fellow that owned it and just wanted a picture of himself in it.
Having grown up in a small town along the southwestern coast of Oregon I never stopped dreaming about many of the same things as any other red blooded boy… girls, cars, girls, travel, girls, and cars. Funny as it is I was the son of a man who owned lumber mills and much of his lumber over the years was shipped to San Francisco. Later in life my travels led me to eventually make my home in San Francisco. As I could afford it and as opportunities made themselves available I became involved in the sport auto racing. When I was about 19 years old there was an old man in a wrecking yard that would tell me stories about his uncle who raced on board tracks in San Francisco but to tell the truth for many years I always believed he was tipping the bottle too much and whenever I asked anyone else about “board” tracks they all laughed at me. Continue reading →
Nostalgia seems to have overcome the inhabitants of the Garage. The Vanderbilt Cup which was held on Long Island, is only one event that made up a rich heritage of New York City area racing in days gone by. One of the greatest race tracks in an era of wood surfaces, yes I said wood, was located in Brooklyn, New York of all places.
In 1915 the Sheepshead Bay Race Track was closed. The horse track was replaced by a different kind of horse power. A two mile track constructed of 2×4 yellow Georgia Pine beams was built on the site. The Astor Cup Race at 350 miles run on Oct. 9, 1915, was the first event at the Sheepshead Bay Speedway. The winner was Gil Anderson in the No. 5 Stutz. His teammate, Tom Rooney, No. 7, finished second. No. 4, a Peugeot driven by Bob Burman, was seventh. The crowd was estimated at 70,000. Continue reading →
We love all sorts of racing here in The Garage, but nothing more than rally. As a driver, there is something very primitive about racing balls to the wall along a real road. Back in the early days of racing though, there was no choice between formats. They raced on real roads that were usually some sort of dirt. Sort of like modern rally cross, only without all the safety equipment like roofs, seat belts or decent brakes. As Ryan from the Jalopy Journal points out, these guys truly were daredevils.
Ryan tells the incredible tale of the Vanderbuilt Cup, held on Long Island in the early 1900’s. His story is accompanied by some stunning photos that were found by a member of the H.A.M.B. who was working on a research project. Both Ryan’s tale and the photo gallery are well worth spending some time.
