Frank Hart skirting the rails of the dusty oval at Fort Erie in July 1911. “The Wall Street Comet” was running as part of a well-stocked Indian Wigwam team for the FAM National Championship races held at Fort Erie, Ontario, just over the river from Buffalo, NY on July 14th and 15th, 1911. Having been racing motorcycles a since 1908, Hart had honed his skills in the saddles of Indians, Merkel, Excelsiors, and was even privileged in 1909 to have been given one of only two factory racing specials from Reading Standard, the other having gone to Ray Seymour. However, it was in April of 1911 that the stars aligned for the young New York crack after veteran professional Walter Goerke was injured in a nasty spill and Hart was chosen to take his place on the Indian factory team. On May 5th, 1911 at the Benning mile in Washington, D.C., Hart made his debut with the Wigwam onboard what is possibly the first factory overhead 8-valve racer, a non-direct drive version of the 8-valve machines identified as No. 26. It was on that new factory overhead valve twin that Hart leveled the field at Fort Erie, capturing eight 1st place finishes, one 2nd, and one 3rd, subsequently becoming America’s first ever FAM Amateur National Champion. This is Frank Hart, “The Wall Street Comet” and his milestone Indian 8-valve No. 26 riding the rails in a wool cap from that weekend at Fort Erie, July 1911.