1947 Silver Cup
Silver Cup Captured by Notre Dame
Final Heat Is Won by Lombardo
Detroit Boat Takes Trophy on Points
By W. W. Edgar
Much like the fighter who is knocked out a few seconds before the final bell and is awarded a victory on points, Danny Arena and the Notre Dame "inherited" the Silver Cup on the Detroit River Monday afternoon.
Although he finished approximately two miles behind Guy Lombardo and the Miss Great Lakes in the final heat, the second place gave him a total of 700 points under the American Power Boat Association point system.
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And that was more than enough to win as Miss Great Lakes, with its owner, Al Fallon at the wheel, failed to finish the first heat last Saturday.
More than 100,000 persons, who packed every point of vantage along the 4-1/2-mile course, saw the wierdest of all speedboat finishes in the history of the regatta on the Detroit River.
It saw Danny Foster, with Miss Peps, set a blistering pace for four laps and then "retire" when the left sponson collapsed at the end of four laps.
While the Gold Cup winner was leaving the course, the gathering also saw Lombardo, coaxing a sweet tune out of the Miss Great Lakes' motors, move into the lead ahead of Arena and Notre Dame.
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Previously, Harold Wilson and Miss Canada III the pre-race favorite, broke down on the lower turn of the first lap because of trouble with the water intake of the cooling system. This cost him more than four miles. After that the Canadian entry was not a factor.
With this series of mishaps the race settled down to one between Lombardo and Arena, with Lombardo in command at all times after taking the lead at the start of the fifth lap.
The band leader who won the Gold Cup here last year, and was forced out of the Silver Cup when his boat. Tempo VI, broke down in a trial run, averaged 71.065 miles for the 45 miles. He made his best showing on the tenth lap when he hit a speed of 74.861 miles an hour.
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Behind the two leaders came Lou Fageol, of Kent, Ohio, with So Long, Harold Wilson with Miss Canada, and Howard Hughes with Nuts and Bolts. None of these trailers figured in the race and just went for the ride after the half way point.
Despite Lombardo's thrilling victory, he didn't attain a speed to match Saturday's first heat when Arena sent Notre Dame around the 45 miles at a speed of 73.685, and Miss Canada attained the best lap speed with an average of 77.169. For this performance, Wilson earned the Lieut. James Meehan Memorial Trophy.
Under the APBA point system, the final standings were:
| Notre Dame (Arena) | 700 pts. |
| Miss Canada III (Wilson) | 469 pts. |
| So Long (Fageol) | 450 pts. |
| Miss Great Lakes (Lombardo) | 400 pts. |
| Miss Peps V (Foster) | 169 pts. |
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When the race started, it was expected to be a battle between Notre Dame and Miss Canada, with Arena and Miss Peps V given only an outside chance.
But, contrary to his performance of Saturday when he literally was left at the post, Foster shot Miss Peps over the line first, with Notre Dame right behind. Miss Canada was several hundred yards back.
After getting the jump on his rivals, Foster "stepped on it" and worked out a sizeable lead going down the backstretch, with Arena and Notre Dame trying to close the gap.
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Then came the first "sigh" from the huge gathering. The Miss Canada suddenly came to a stop at the lower turn. Harold Wilson leaped into the water and tried to release the water intake with a screwdriver. He finally got started again, but the fleet had lapped him and he never was a contender.
Meanwhile Foster widened his gap over Arena and it became a battle of time.
For here was the situation -— Foster had to pick up five minutes lost on Saturday to Notre Dame, even if Arena finished no better than fourth.
The two former buddies then staged a real duel, but it was not to last. Coming up toward the finish of the fourth lap.
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Great sprays of water piled up and Foster pointed to the port side of his craft. The left sponson was gone and he had to head for the pits -- beaten in his greatest bid for victory.
He had attained a speed of 75.676 miles an hour on the third lap and had left Arena and Notre Dame 41 seconds back.
But that spurt put too much of a strain on the boat and it brought about his downfall.
Just as Miss Peps faltered the gathering noted that Notre Dame hadn't sounded good after the second lap and Arena wasn't getting the speed out of her that was shown Saturday.
As they were trying to figure out what happened, Lombardo, with Al Fallon at his side, came roaring up the River, passed Arena and Notre Dame, and took over the lead.
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Once in front he stayed there. There was no fight left in Notre Dame. Her motor was acting up and Arena played safe -- he asked her just to finish the race and the little mahogany lady did just that.
She finished far back with an average of 67.813 miles an hour. But under the point system she won the Silver Cup while Lombardo got all the cheers.
Wild Bill Cantrell gave the folks a thrill in the Fageol Trophy race where he missed the first heat with the Schafer Special, but won the next two.
Because of his showing with an average speed of 68.047 miles an hour for the 30 miles he raced, Lou Fageol. winner on points, asked that the trophy be given to Cantrell.
Ray Erickson, of Columbus, Ind., swept all three heats of the Boyd Trophy race for the 225 class and averaged 58.994 miles an hour.
In the runabout speedboat event, Herb Mendelson, Jr., beat Phil Wood, brother of Gar, in a boat called Madoshumi, with a speed of 45.24 miles an hour.
(Reprinted from the Detroit Free Press, September 2, 1947)