Wigwam or Wrecking Crew

Wigwam or Wrecking Crew, soon you will get to chose. I've got something exciting coming out within the next week that I think you guys are going to like so stay tuned.

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In the meantime, how about an image that perfectly captures the immutable battle between America's two quintessential motorcycle brands. A rivalry that began over 100 years ago, 

both Indian and Harley-Davidson traded the top spot as America’s dominant motorcycle manufacturer over the years both on the track as well as on the sales room floor. In the process the two equally iconic and patently American companies drove innovation and created an expansive culture which spread around the world. And nowhere was this fierce rivalry more palpable than on the race tracks of the early 1920’s and late 1940’s. Here, this timeless American grudge match is captured perfectly in a single moment as Harley-Davidson’s Billy Huber (#7) and Indian’s Bobby Hill (#71) cross the finish line simultaneously during the AMA Class C 10-Mile National at Atlanta’s Lakewood Speedway, August 8, 1948... it remains to this day the only recorded tie in AMA history.

Team Wigwam or Team Wrecking Crew, coming soon to the Archive Moto Store HERE

A Battery of Gatlings: The Oakland Motordrome 1911

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Six men battle inside the short lived Oakland Motordrome, which was located at 98th Ave. and 6th St. in Elmhurst, California. The fifth board track motordrome built by Jack Prince, the track at Elmhurst was seemingly the final experiment in design before the lively British track builder and promoter decided upon the formula that the remainder of his stadium motordromes would follow. Elmhurst was unique in that it was the second of Prince’s tracks built with consideration for auto races as well as motorcycle races. A half mile long circle with a continuous banking of 40 degrees and seating along the rim, the track just east of San Francisco was basically a pared down version of the wildly popular 1 mile long behemoth Los Angeles Motordrome at Playa Del Rey, which Prince had completed in partnership with two other enthusiastic entrepreneurs in April of 1910. 

Prince initially signed the lease for the 32 acre plot on which to build the Oakland Motordrome in early December of 1910, but material shortages and damage caused by a tremendous wind storm pushed the track’s completion into February of 1911. A wet spring delayed the opening races further still, until finally on April 23, 1911 the Oakland Motordrome was open for competition. Prince secured contracts with the country's top racers, household heroes like Johnny Albright, Eddie Hasha, Jake DeRosier, Morty Graves, Al Ward, Ray Seymour, Charlie Balke, and a newly discovered Don Johns. The men lined up for the first time at what Prince declared to be the fastest track anywhere on earth and fired up their machines. Described as a "battery of gatlings," they shot around the new boards of the Oakland drome at speeds over just 80 mph, 2 dizzying laps in less than 44 seconds to the delight of 5,000 electrified spectators. Charlie Balke,  onboard an Indian bested Morty Graves and Ray Seymour, winning both the 5 and 10 mile professional events, while DeRosier’s newest protege Don John’s traded checkered flags with two local gents in the private owner and trade rider races. 

The Oakland drome went on to host a number of successful races and broken records in the 1911 season, including the FAM National Championships in May and an extraordinary close call in December that nearly killed Joe Wolters when he collided with a biplane that had drifted onto the track after a rough landing in the infield. However, Prince had sold his interest in the track by this point and mismanagement began to turn both the riders and the public against the drome. When attendance began to drop racers were asked to compete for partial wages, and on a few occasions the track’s management were so bold as to have the men race “for the glory.” Racer protests and strikes led to further discontent from the public and by February of 1912 all of the riders had left for other tracks. A local group of Shriners continued to put on infrequent auto events at the Oakland Motordrome, but by September the track was being demolished and its 500,000 feet of timber sold for scrap. Yet another of Prince's costly stadiums, proud homes for the world’s most daring became a just vacant lot, but for a short time in 1911 Prince’s Oakland Motordrome harbored the fastest men on Earth.

Tennessee Highway Patrol, Atlanta 1935

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Today's post is dedicated to the boys (and girls) in blue from the pages of Georgia Motorcycle History. No nonsense but style for days, these three depression-era officers of the Tennessee Highway Patrol make for a great scene as they stopped on Atlanta's Peachtree St. in 1935. Patroling the beautiful winding roads of southern appalachia onboard their specially outfitted Harley-Davidson VL's it is certain these guys had the most envied position on the force.

Read more about the service rolls that motorcycles occupied inside Georgia motorcycle History: The First 60 Years 1899 - 1959 available HERE

Tex Richards and the Chattanooga Motordrome

Opening day of the Chattanooga Motordrome was one full of celebration. Jack Prince, the father of the American motordrome had returned to the south in August of 1913 shortly after completing the Milwaukee Motordrome in order to build yet another of his spectacular arenas. The track in Chattanooga was to be his 19th circular wooden stadium, the second in his proposed southern circuit which included the already successful 1/4-mile Atlanta Motordrome, as well as planned tracks in Nashville, Memphis, and Birmingham. At mid-day on September 11, 1913 a grand parade through the streets of downtown Chattanooga kicked off the festivities. By late afternoon a crowd of over 5,000 packed into the overwhelmed Rossville Trolly line and headed to Prince’s coliseum of speed. Larger than any sporting venue in the area the Motordrome was a sight to see, the 1/5-mile wooden track was blanketed in electric light for the opening races, and according to one report the illumination alone was worth the $.25 price of admission.

A card of 8 races fired off at 8:30 pm that evening featuring top riders from around the country. Fred Luther from Syracuse, Tex Richards from Dallas, Harry Swartz from Denver, Henry Lewis from Springfield, “Millionaire” Morty Graves from Los Angeles, Harry Glenn from Atlanta, and George Renel, the star racer from Paris. Each of the riders had come up from Atlanta where they had run the night before, the latest in a season long battle between Graves and Richards in which Graves had just come out on top. Richards, motivated by his loss tore around the brand new boards of Chattanooga, winning both of the two finals and hitting average speeds of 83 mph onboard his crimson Indian. Atlanta’s Harry Glenn provided quite a scene for the virgin eyes of the Chattanooga crowd as he nearly shot off of the track after blowing a tire at 80 mph, sending him crashing hard into the infield. In typical fashion for the day, the hard-nosed Glenn hobbled back to the pits, dusted himself off, and convinced the officials to allow him to run in the final heat. But again Glenn lost a tire at top speed, this time nearly clipping the rear wheel of Fred Luther before safely coasting a full lap to the bottom of the drome. The people off Chattanooga were instantly hooked, Chattanooga’s newest sport was a sensation and a series of nightly races were scheduled for the following week.

This intimate portrait of Wilmer Richards, the lanky Texan, was taken a couple of years after his glory days competing for Indian in the motordromes of Atlanta, Chattanooga, Houston, and Dallas. In 1915, Richards joined a handful of fellow racers in Atlanta when he took a job in Gus Castle’s Harley-Davidson Southern Branch.  As the days of the motordrome spectacle faded across America Richards began competing for the Milwaukee Motor Co. in long distance road races and the increasingly popular flat track circuit, until in 1919 when he returned to racing for Indian.