L.A.M.C. secretary and avid pioneer motorcyclist J. Howard Shafer with his V-twin Thor factory racing special at L.A.’s Agriculture Park, September 9, 1908.
Los Angeles' own J. Howard Shafer, one among the few pioneers of motorcycle racing in America with his Thor twin in 1908. Shafer was a part of the first class of enthusiasts in the Los Angeles area at the turn of the 20th century and one of the first motorcyclists in the country to venture into competition. As a founding member of the Los Angeles Motorcycle Club, Shafer acted as the club's secretary and was highly active within an elite group, including racing icons like Paul Derkum, Charlie Balke, Ray Seymour, Will Risden, and Morty Graves, many of which represented the first motorcycle dealerships in California. Before long, the club began sponsoring and promoting races at the nearby 1-mile-long horse track at Agriculture Park.
His earliest races began around 1907 as Shafer pulled double-duty organizing and competing in endurance runs and track races at Agriculture Park. By February 1908, he was racing alongside Charlie Balke, Ray Seymour, and "Paul Daredevil" Derkum, taking podium positions onboard his Reading Standard. As the popularity of the races at Agriculture Park grew, the local cracks began seeking ever better mounts, running modified "stripped-stock" racing singles and becoming early adopters of America's first V-twins. In May 1908, Shafer was among the few entrants to finish the Los Angeles Endurance Run and took the top team race prize the following month at Agriculture Park alongside Derkum, Balke, Risden, Blaylock, and Parmlee.
It was on September 9th, 1908, however, that J. Howard Shafer ascended to the national headlines as he smashed all existing track records at Agriculture onboard this unique Thor V-twin racing special. However, the event itself was nearly canceled following the tragic, back-to-back deaths that occurred leading up to the event. The first happened the day before when Charlie Balke was running practice laps onboard a similar Thor twin. One in a pack of six riders, including Paul Derkum and Morty Graves, Charlie was in a cloud of dust when Ben Bresee, the rider in front of him, took a spill. A group of young boys snuck in to get a glimpse of the commotion, and though they had repeatedly been shooed away from the venue, their persistence made for a tragic outcome. Once again, the boys climbed the fence but still wanted a closer look, so they darted across the track following Bresee's fall when the pack came back around the corner. At 60 MPH, there was little Charlie could do to avoid them, and he collided with seven-year-old Lester Webb. The young boy was killed instantly, and Balke was thrown from his machine, shattering his ribs, snapping his collar bone, and taking a terrible blow to the head.
The Park was shut down for the day, but after significant debate, it was agreed that the September 9th races would not be canceled as thousands of tickets had already been sold. When day broke on race day, several riders arrived early to make up for lost practice time, one of which being 24-year-old John F. Derkum, the younger brother of Paul Derkum, one of America's first racing stars. While running warm-up laps, John lost control of one of the corner's loose dirt and careened into a fence post, fracturing his skull and being rushed to the hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries 5 hours later. This was the nature of the early sport, especially given the ever-increasing performance of the latest machines and the insufficiencies of racing venues in those first days. Paul knew this and returned to the track shortly after to fulfill his obligations, putting on several exhibition runs for the crowd.
Though several matches were scheduled alongside Derkum's exhibitions, the main event for the day was the big 1-hour free-for-all, a novel contest in 1908. In total, 13 riders started in the event alongside Shafer; among them were notables like Ben Bresee, Arthur Mitchel, Al Ward, Will Risden, Ray Seymour, and a young newcomer named Morty Graves. From the starting pistol, Shafer, who rode a new V-twin Thor special, pulled to the front of the pack, along with Morty Graves on a new Indian twin, led by the legendary Ray Seymour on a locally-built H&H twin. Seymour led the pack for the first 6 miles largely uncontested, but as the riders ticked over the miles, the pack of Seymour, Shafer, and Graves pulled farther ahead of the rest.
After nipping at his rear wheel for the first leg of the race, Shafer overtook Seymour on lap 19, much to the delight of the 6,000 spectators. Seymour's mount then developed trouble 3 miles later, forcing him to stop and sort it out, and once he rejoined, Shafer and Graves had gained a 2-mile advantage. Shafer's speed was unlike any seen on a track to that point; despite trailing Seymour in the first 19 miles, his pace was consistently faster by a few tenths, enough to mark a new record for each distance and win the special cup offered to the leader at the 250-mile mark. Meanwhile, Seymour managed to ride his way back to the front of the pack by the end of the allotted 1 hour time, placing second behind Shafer, though Graves protested the award, claiming that he had lapped Seymour twice and was the actual runner-up.
When the final pistol fired, J. Howard Shafer had demonstrated the full potential of his new Thor twin as well as the extent of his abilities in the saddle, covering a distance of 56 miles and 660 yards over the 60-minute race. In the process, he captured the track speed record for every distance from 10 to 56 miles. Newspapers and trade magazines nationwide reported on the humble Los Angelino's accomplishment, and the Aurora Automatic Machine Company, builders of the Thor brand made quick work of advertising his record-breaking day at Agriculture Park. This image of J. Howard Shafer, a lesser-known pioneer of motorsport and his lightning-fast Thor twin, was snapped on that fateful day, September 9th, 1908, at Los Angeles' Agriculture Park.