The Fast Times of Albert Champion

by Peter Joffre Nye

  213. “Cooper Is the Phenomenon of ’95,” Bicycling World advertisement by Monarch Cycling Manufacturing Company, December 18, 1895, p. 899.

  214. Chicago Tribune quote in a full-page Monarch ad, Bicycling World, October 30, 1896, p. 22.

  215. William A. Brady, Showman: My Life Story (New York: E. P. Dutton and Company, 1937), p. 224.

  216. “Death Comes to Tom Cooper in Auto Accident.”

  217. Ibid.

  218. “Cycle Cracks Sail for Europe,” Brooklyn Eagle (New York), July 25, 1900.

  219. Nolan, Barney Oldfield, p. 37.

  220. Ibid., p. 38.

  221. Ibid.

  222. Ibid.

  223. Ibid., p. 39.

  224. Ibid.

  225. Ibid., p. 40.

  226. Ibid.

  227. “What the Boys are Doing Now,” Bicycling World, November 17, 1906, p. 217.

  228. Nolan, Barney Oldfield, p. 40.

  229. Ibid.

  230. Ibid., p. 41.

  231. Ibid., p. 43.

  232. Ibid.

  233. Ibid.

  234. Ibid., p. 44.

  235. Ibid.

  236. Ibid.

  237. Ibid.

  238. Ibid., p. 45.

  239. Ibid., p. 46.

  240. Ibid.

  241. Ibid.

  242. Ibid.

  243. Ibid., p. 48.

  244. Ibid.

  245. Ibid.

  246. Ibid.

  247. Ibid., p. 49.

  248. Ibid.

  249. Ibid.

  250. “Oldfield Won from Winton,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, October 26, 1904, p. 4.

  251. Ibid.

  252. Nolan, Barney Oldfield, p. 49.

  253. Ibid.

  254. Ibid., p. 50.

  255. Jerry M. Fisher, The Pacesetter: The Untold Story of Carl G. Fisher, Creator of the Indy 500, Miami Beach, and the Lincoln Highway (Fort Bragg, CA: Lost Coast Press, 1998), p. 18.

  256. “Marvelous Driving in Oldfield-Cooper Match Race at Indianapolis,” p. 663; “New Automobile Records: Barney Oldfield Figures from One to Five Miles on a Round Track,” New York Times, June 21, 1903, p. 9.

  257. “Marvelous Driving in Oldfield-Cooper Match Race at Indianapolis,” p. 663; “New Automobile Records,” p. 9.

  258. Nolan, Barney Oldfield, p. 52.

  259. Fisher, Pacesetter, p. 4; L. Spencer Riggs, “Carl G. Fisher, Indiana’s Best Kept Secret,” Automobile Quarterly (Kutztown, PA) (May 1996): 68.

  260. Fisher, Pacesetter, p. 4.

  261. Ibid., p. 8.

  262. Ibid.

  263. “Great Card for Auto Meet,” Indianapolis Star, June 20, 1903.

  264. “Track Mile under a Minute,” p. 6.

  265. Ibid.

  266. “Marvelous Driving in Oldfield-Cooper Race at Indianapolis.”

  267. Ibid.; “Track Mile under a Minute”; “New Automobile Records”; “World’s Records Cut,” Motor World, June 25, 1903.

  268. “Marvelous Driving in Oldfield-Cooper Race at Indianapolis.”

  269. Ibid.

  270. Donovan, “Champion Rides a Mile in 58 4-5s.”

  271. “Piloting Motor Driven Races,” Motor, December 1903, p. 18.

  272. “Many Died in Fearful Heat,” Boston Globe, July 12, 1903, p. 1.

  273. Donovan, “Champion Rides a Mile in 58 4-5s.”

  274. Ibid.

  275. Ibid.

  276. “Walthour’s Close Shave: Tried Champion’s French Motor and Did Not Know How to Stop It,” Bicycling World, July 18, 1903, p. 498.

  277. Ibid.

  278. Ibid.

  279. Ibid.

  280. Ibid.

  281. Ibid.

  282. Ibid.

  283. Ibid.

  284. Ibid.

  285. Ibid.

  286. John J. Donovan, “By 1-1/3 Laps: Champion Wins again from Walthour,” Boston Globe, August 16, 1903; Grantland Rice, “Coliseum Is Fixed for Races Tonight,” Atlanta Journal, September 15, 1903.

  287. Donovan, “By 1-1/3 Laps.”

  288. “News for Wheelmen: Albert Champion Promises to Give Bobbie Walthour a Beating in Their Next Race,” Boston Globe, May 5, 1902.

  289. “New Automobile Records: Oldfield Makes World’s Figures of 0:55 4-5 for mile,” New York Times, July 26, 1903.

  290. Ibid.

  291. Ibid.

  292. John J. Donovan, “Goes a Mile in 56s: Albert Champion Cuts His Record on a Motor Cycle,” Boston Globe, September 4, 1903.

  293. Ibid.

  294. Ibid.

  295. Ibid.

  296. Ibid.

  297. Ibid.

  298. “Elkes Monument Erected: Now in Place at the Grave and Will be Dedicated June 19,” Bicycling World, June 11, 1904, p. 347.

  299. Ibid.

  300. John J. Donovan, “Champion and Hurley: Stars at the Afternoon Meet,” Boston Globe, September 7, 1903; “Cyclist Champion Won Long Race,” New York Times, September 7, 1903.

  301. John J. Donovan, “Champion Goes a Mile in 552/5S: Clips Three-Fifths of a Second off His Own Motorcycle Record at Charles River Park,” Boston Globe, September 8, 1903.

  302. Ibid.

  303. Ibid.

  304. Ibid.

  305. “The ‘Gray Wolf’ Racer,” Automobile, September 19, 1903, p. 293.

  306. “How the Gray Wolf Came to Grief,” Automobile Topics Illustrated (New York), November 7, 1903, p. 239.

  307. Ibid.

  CHAPTER 8. “NEARLY KILLED AT BRIGHTON!”

  1. Griffith Borgeson, The Golden Age of the American Racing Car, 2nd ed. (Warrendale, PA, Society of Automotive Engineers, 1998), p. 3.

  2. Andrew Homan, Life in the Slipstream: The Legend of Bobby Walthour Sr. (Washington, DC: Potomac Books, 2011), p. 115; “Crack Riders Race Tonight: Walthour and Champion to Decide Championship of World,” Atlanta Constitution, September 17, 1903, notes that Walthour had won thirty-eight races.

  3. Grantland Rice, “Walthour Is Back From Northern Tracks,” Atlanta Journal, September 10, 1903.

  4. “Bobby Won Best Race Seen Here: Walthour Had to Break Track Record to Beat Champion,” Atlanta Constitution, September 18, 1903.

  5. Russ Gatlin, “The Wooden Wonders,” Automobile Quarterly (Kutztown, PA) (Spring 1971): 258.

  6. Ibid.; Larry L. Ball Jr., “John Shillington ‘Jack’ Prince,” National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum induction, 2003, see http://www.sprintcarhof.com (accessed July 16, 2014). Prince (1859–1927) became legendary in the 1910s and 1920s when he multiplied his formula for constructing board tracks for bicycle races by a factor of ten to construct larger board auto-racing tracks, called “toothpick saucers.”

  7. “Prince’s Coliseum Plans,” Cycle Age and Trade Review, May 24, 1900, p. 100.

  8. Ibid.

  9. Gatlin, “Wooden Wonders”; Ball, “John Shillington ‘Jack’ Prince.”

  10. “Prince’s Coliseum Plans.”

  11. Homan, Life in the Slipstream, p. 1.

  12. “One by One, States Join Confederacy,” Chronicle of America: From Prehistory to Today (New York: Dorling Kindersley, 1995), p. 364.

  13. Homan, Life in the Slipstream.

  14. Ibid., p. 2.

  15. Ibid., p. 11.

  16. Ibid., p. 13.

  17. New Georgia Encyclopedia, http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org (accessed October 14, 2013).

  18. Grantland Rice, “Coliseum Is Fixed for Races Tonight,” Atlanta Journal, September 15, 1903.

  19. Grantland Rice, “Monroe Here Ready for Race,” Atlanta Journal, September 11, 1903.

  20. William A. Harper, How You Played the Game: The Life of Grantland Rice (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1999), p. 6.

  21. Ibid., p. 122.

  22. Ibid.

  23. Homan, Life in the Slipstream, p. 87.

  24. Ibid., p. 131.

  25. Grantland Rice, “Riders Are Ready for Big Race Tonight,” Atlanta Journal, September 14, 1903.

  26. Grantland Rice, “C
ycle Kings to Settle Title: Both Walthour and Champion Claim to Be Holders of Championship and Test Begins Tomorrow Night,” Atlanta Journal, September 16, 1903.

  27. Ibid.

  28. Grantland Rice, “Champion Says He Did His Best,” Atlanta Journal, September 18, 1903.

  29. Ibid.

  30. Ibid.

  31. Ibid.

  32. Ibid.

  33. Ibid.

  34. Ibid.

  35. “Frenchman Beaten Two Straight Heats,” Atlanta Constitution, September 18, 1903.

  36. Beverly Rae Kimes, “Packard Gray Wolf,” Automobile Quarterly (Kutztown, PA) (Third Quarter, 1981): 296.

  37. William F. Nolan, Barney Oldfield: The Life and Times of America’s Legendary Speed King (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1961), p. 56.

  38. Kimes, “Packard Gray Wolf,” Automobile Quarterly, p. 296.

  39. Ibid.

  40. Ibid.

  41. Ibid.

  42. Ibid.

  43. Ibid.

  44. Ibid., p. 303.

  45. Ibid.

  46. Evan P. Ide, Packard Motor Car Company (Charlestown, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2003), p. 34.

  47. Kimes, “Packard Gray Wolf,” p. 299.

  48. “How the Gray Wolf Came to Grief,” Automobile Topics Illustrated (New York), November 7, 1903, p. 239.

  49. “Surprises Develop at Detroit Races: Oldfield and ‘Baby Bullet’ Meet Their Equals in Cunningham” Automobile, September 12, 1903, p. 263.

  50. “How the Gray Wolf Came to Grief.”

  51. Kimes, “Packard Gray Wolf,” p. 300.

  52. “How the Gray Wolf Came to Grief.”

  53. Ibid.

  54. “Notes of Brighton Beach Race Meet,” Automobile, November 7, 1903, p. 489.

  55. “How the Gray Wolf Came to Grief.”

  56. Ibid.

  57. Ibid.; “Serious Accident Mars Motor Races: Albert Champion Hurled from His Machine at Brighton Beach,” New York Times, November 1, 1903.

  58. “How the Gray Wolf Came to Grief.”

  59. “Notes of Brighton Beach Race Meet,” p. 475.

  60. Ibid., p. 474.

  61. Ibid.

  62. Ibid., p. 475.

  63. “Serious Accident Mars Motor Races.”

  64. Ibid.

  65. Ibid.

  66. Ibid.

  67. “Hurt in ‘Auto’ Race: Albert Champion Breaks Hip,” New York Tribune, November 1, 1903.

  68. Ibid.

  69. “How the Gray Wolf Came to Grief.”

  70. “Serious Accident Mars Motor Races.”

  71. “Last Star Event of the Racing Season,” Automobile, November 17, 1903, p. 474.

  72. Ibid.; “Serious Accident Mars Motor Races”; “Hurt in ‘Auto’ Race.”

  73. “How the Gray Wolf Came to Grief.”

  74. “Serious Accident Mars Motor Races.”

  75. “Notes of Brighton Beach Race Meet,” p. 489.

  76. “Notes on the Sport,” Automobile, November 7, 1903, p. 492.

  77. “Track Racing Is Safe,” Automobile Topics Illustrated, November 7, 1903, p. 255.

  78. “Racing Autoist Nearly Killed at Brighton!” New York World, November 1, 1903, p. 1.

  79. “Serious Accident Mars Motor Races.”

  80. “Champion Hurt,” Boston Globe, November 1, 1903.

  81. “Champion in Smash,” Boston Herald, November 1, 1903.

  82. Kimes, “Packard Gray Wolf,” p. 302.

  83. Interviews with Dr. W. Scott Schroth at the George Washington University Hospital, November 19, 2001, and Dr. Andrew Lovy, at A. T. Still University, April 4, 2013; e-mails in October 11, 2010 and August 28, 2012 with Dr. Bill Mallon, of Duke University Medical Center.

  84. John J. Donovan, “Albert Champion Still Undaunted,” Boston Globe, November 10, 1903.

  85. “Notes,” Automobile, December 14, 1903, p. 526.

  86. “Albert Champion Still Undaunted.”

  87. Ibid.

  88. “Notes.”

  89. Ibid.

  90. Albert Champion, “Piloting Motor Driven Racers,” Motor (New York), December 1903, p. 19.

  91. Ibid.

  92. “Albert Champion Still Undaunted.”

  93. Ibid.

  94. Albert Champion, “All Kinds of Machines at the Automobile Show,” Boston Traveler, January 19, 1904.

  95. “Chauffeurs Tell of Thrilling Accidents and Narrow Escapes,” New York Sun, undated in Champion’s scrapbook, but likely from around January 19, 1904. Champion’s reference to the “Great Reaper” rather than the traditional “grim reaper” reflects his grappling with English. The unsigned article could have been written by Amos Grant Batchelder, on the staff of the New York Sun as well as chairman and president of the US National Cycling Association, the governing body for American cycling, which issued his professional license. Batchelder went on to serve as editor of the American Automobile Association’s flagship magazine and as a member of the AAA’s executive committee. After his death in a plane crash, he was eulogized in the July 1921 American Motorist for his role among the foremost advocates working to bring the federal government into a national highway system. When President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916, establishing a national highway system, he presented his gold pen to Batchelder.

  96. Ibid.

  97. Ide, Packard Motor Car Company, pp. 47–49.

  98. “Champion Will Be Racing Again,” Boston Globe, undated, about February 1904, from Champion’s scrapbook.

  99. Ibid.

  100. Pierre Chany, La Fabuleuse Histoire du Cyclisme: Des Origines à 1955 (Paris: Nathan, 1988), p. 160; the Paris journalist signing his name as The Man in the Street, likely L’Auto journalist Charles Ravaud, in “Cycling Gossip,” La Pédale (Paris), October 8, 1924, pp. 12–13, described Champion as “being handicapped by an extraordinarily short leg.”

  101. The Man in the Street, “Cycling Gossip.”

  102. Beverly Rae Kimes, “The Dawn of Speed,” American Heritage (New York), November 1987, online at Vanderbilt Cup Races, http://www.vanderbiltcupraces.com (accessed September 27, 2012).

  103. Ibid.

  104. “Champion Will Race Again.”

  105. Chris Sinsabaugh, Who, Me? Forty Years of Automobile History (Detroit: Arnold-Powers, 1940), p. 55.

  CHAPTER 9. NATIONAL CHAMPION OF FRANCE

  1. Pierre Chany, La Fabuleuse Histoire du Cyclisme: Des Origines à 1955 (Paris: Nathan, 1988), p. 160.

  2. “Champion Is Back in Town,” Boston Globe, May 5, 1904.

  3. “In Collision Huret Is Hurt by Michael,” Atlanta Journal, September 6, 1902.

  4. Stephen B. Goddard, Colonel Albert Pope and His American Dream Machines: The Life and Times of a Bicycle Tycoon Turned Automotive Pioneer (Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, 2000), p. 51.

  5. Ibid., p. 45.

  6. John B. Rae, The American Automobile: A Brief History (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1965), p. 20; Roger J. Sherman, “The Decline of Pierce-Arrow in the 1920s,” Table 1, Time-line of the Pierce-Arrow Company, in Automotive History Review (Maple Grove, MN: Society of Automotive Historians, 2004), p. 21.

  7. “Champion May Retire,” Boston Globe, June 2, 1904.

  8. “American Auto Owners Will Enter Oldfield, Champion, and Others,” Champion’s scrapbook, unidentified newspaper.

  9. Ibid.

  10. Andrew M. Homan, Life in the Slipstream: The Legend of Bobby Walthour Sr. (Washington, DC: Potomac Books, 2011), p. 139.

  11. “The French Championships,” Cycling Weekly (London), September 28, 1904, p. 272.

  12. “Champion May Retire.”

  13. Ibid.

  14. “Automobile Races at Readville,” Boston Herald, June 5, 1904.

  15. Adolphe Clément’s Légion d’Honneur file, archived at the Centre Historique Archives de Paris, Ref: L0549039, http://www.culture.gouv.fr/documentation/leonore/pres.htm (accessed March 3, 2006).

  16. Frank A. Munsey, “The Automobile in America,” A
utomobile, February 1, 1906, p. 313, from an article appearing in Munsey, January 1906.

  17. Ibid.

  18. Rae, American Automobile, p. 23.

  19. Ibid.

  20. Ibid.

  21. Ibid.

  22. US Census, http://www.census.gov (accessed April 12, 2014).

  23. “Bob Dunbar’s Sporting Chat,” Boston Journal, May 4, 1904.

  24. “Henry Contenet,” Gazzetta, http://www.cycling4fans.de/index.php?id=2298&no _cache=1&sword_list[]=contenet (accessed February 6, 2006).

  25. Harry Van Den Brent and Rene Jacobs, Velo Plus, Het Nieublad Sportwereld (Gent, Belgium, 1987), p. 189-E, lists Marius Thé as winner of the 1897 national classic race from Marseille to Nice, 125 miles.

  26. F. Mercier, “The Return of Champion,” L’Auto, July 1, 1904; “Champion again in France,” Bicycling World, July 23, 1904.

  27. Mercier, “The Return of Champion.”

  28. John J. Donovan, “Victory of Albert Champion,” Boston Globe, June 6, 1904.

  29. Ibid.

  30. A. G. Batchelder, “Victory of Champion,” New York Sun, June 9, 1904.

  31. “Moran’s Winning Streak,” Bicycling World, June 11, 1904, p. 353.

  32. “Champion Will Return to France,” Washington Post, June 19, 1904; “Albert Champion Going Home,” Bicycling World, May 28, 1904, p. 298.

  33. “Leander Killed on Track: Six Day Winner Meets His Fate While Following Pace in Paris,” Bicycling World, August 22, 1904.

  34. John J. Donovan, quoted in Andrew Homan, “The Windy City Fat Boy,” Road Bike Action (Valencia, CA) (January 2010): 102–106.

  35. “Six-Day Bicycle Race Ended in a Riot,” Boston Evening Transcript, January 6, 1902.

  36. Victor Breyer, “Return from America,” La Vie au Grand Air (Paris), July 14, 1904, p. 544.

  37. Homan, Life in the Slipstream, p. 135.

  38. Ibid., p. 129.

  39. Ibid., p. 135.

  40. Ibid.

  41. “Champion Hurt in Fast Race: Injury Was Received While Slowing up after Race,” Atlanta Constitution, June 16, 1904.

  42. “Cycling Notes of Interest,” New York Times, June 30, 1904.

  43. Mercier, “Return of Champion.”

  44. Serge Laget, “How the Tour Was Born,” foreword to The Official Tour de France Centennial 1903–2003 (London: Weidenfield and Nicolson, 2004); Chany, La Fabuleuse Histoire du Cycling, pp. 167–75.

  45. Laget, “How the Tour Was Born”; Chany, La Fabuleuse Histoire du Cycling.

  46. Laget, “How the Tour Was Born”; Chany, La Fabuleuse Histoire du Cycling.

  47. Henri Desgrange, “Death of Clément-Bayard,” L’Auto, May 11, 1928, p. 1.