1950 Season Summary
Statistics
| 1 | 1950-05-20 | Steel Cup | Pittsburgh, Penn. |
| 2 | 1950-05-30 | Fite Memorial | Ocean City, New Jersey |
| 3 | 1950-06-17 | Glenn L. Martin Trophy [Middle River Regatta / Wilson Point Men's Club] | Essex, Maryland |
| 4 | 1950-07-04 | Keokuk Yacht Club Free For All | Keokuk, Iowa |
| 5 | 1950-07-08 | Maple Leaf Trophy | Windsor, Ontario |
| 6 | 1950-07-09 | Fox Lake Free For All | Fox Lake, Illinois |
| 7 | 1950-07-09 | Tahoe Yacht Club Free For All | Tahoe City, California |
| 8 | 1950-07-22 | APBA Gold Cup | Detroit, Michigan |
| 9 | 1950-07-29 | Henry Ford Memorial | Detroit, Michigan |
| 10 | 1950-08-06 | National Sweepstakes | Red Bank, New Jersey |
| 11 | 1950-08-06 | Red Bank Gold Cup | Red Bank, New Jersey |
| 12 | 1950-08-12 | Cambridge Gold Cup | Cambridge, Maryland |
| 12A. | 1950-08-13 | Lake Tahoe Championship | Lake Tahoe, California |
| 13A. | 1950-08-20 | Buffalo Launch Club Regatta | Buffalo, New York |
| 13B. | 1950-08-20 | Buffalo Launch Club Regatta (Old Timers) | Buffalo, New York |
| 14 | 1950-08-27 | Star Spangled Banner Regatta | Baltimore, Maryland |
| 15 | 1950-09-01 to 1950-09-02 | British International Trophy [Harmsworth] | Detroit, Michigan |
| 16 | 1950-09-04 | O.J. Mulford Silver Cup | Detroit, Michigan |
| 17 | 1950-09-09 | Ocean City Y.C. Gold Cup | Ocean City, New Jersey |
| 18 | 1950-09-09 | Ocean City Y.C. Free For All | Ocean City, New Jersey |
| 19 | 1950-09-10 | Harwood Trophy | New York, New York |
| 20 | 1950-09-10 | Marine Derby [Calvert Trophy] | Louisville, Kentucky |
| 21 | 1950-09-17 | Presidents Cup | Washington, D.C. |
| 22 | 1950-09-24 | Imperial Gold Cup | New Martinsville, West Virginia |
| 22A. | 1950-09-?? | Oakland County Boat Club Regatta [225-II] | Pontiac, Michigan |
| 23 | 1950-10-15 | Madison Water Carnival Free For All | Madison, Indiana |
| 24 | 1950-11-11 to 1950-11-12 | APBA Unlimited Trophy | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| 24A. | 1950-11-20 | PMB Trophy | Salton Sea, California |
| Date | Winner | Driver | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1950-05-20 | Such Crust II | Dan Arena |
| 2 | 1950-05-30 | Dee Jay V | George Miller |
| 3 | 1950-06-17 | Tempo VI | Guy Lombardo |
| 4 | 1950-07-04 | Tops VII | Thom Cooper |
| 5 | 1950-07-08 | My Sweetie | Bill Cantrell |
| 6 | 1950-07-09 | My Darling | Andy Marcy |
| 7 | 1950-07-09 | Hot Metal | Max Collins |
| 8 | 1950-07-22 | Slo-mo-shun IV | Ted Jones |
| 9 | 1950-07-29 | My Sweetie | Bill Cantrell/Lou Fageol |
| 10 | 1950-08-06 | Tempo VI | Guy Lombardo |
| 11 | 1950-08-06 | Tempo VI | Guy Lombardo |
| 12 | 1950-08-12 | Aljo | Joe Van Blerck |
| 12A. | 1950-08-13 | Hornet II | ? |
| 13A. | 1950-08-20 | Tempo VI | Guy Lombardo |
| 13B. | 1950-08-20 | Sister Syn | Bob Petz |
| 14 | 1950-08-27 | Tempo VI | Guy Lombardo |
| 15 | 1950-09-01 to 1950-09-02 | Slo-mo-shun IV | Lou Fageol |
| 16 | 1950-09-04 | Such Crust I | Danny Foster |
| 17 | 1950-09-09 | Dee Jay V | George Miller |
| 18 | 1950-09-09 | Jennie Lee II | Dick Lovett |
| 19 | 1950-09-10 | Etta | George Sarant |
| 20 | 1950-09-10 | My Darling | Andy Marcy |
| 21 | 1950-09-17 | Miss Pepsi (2) | Chuck Thompson |
| 22 | 1950-09-24 | Delphine X | Danny Foster |
| 22A. | 1950-09-?? | Mi Son | Bill Muncey |
| 23 | 1950-10-15 | My Darling | Andy Marcy |
| 24 | 1950-11-11 to 1950-11-12 | My Sweetie | Bill Cantrell/Horace Dodge |
| 24A. | 1950-11-20 | Ranger II [225] | Kenny Ingram |
| Driver High Points | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bill Cantrell | 995 |
| 2 | Guy Lombardo | 705 |
| 3 | Dan Arena | 640 |
| 4 | Danny Foster | 635 |
| 5 | Chuck Thompson | 525 |
| 6 | Ted Jones | 465 |
| 7 | Lou Fageol | 445 |
| 8 | George Sarant | 293 |
| 9 | Norm Lauterbach | 175 |
| 10 | Lee Schoenith | 160 |
| 11 | Andy Marcy | 150 |
| 12 | Horace Dodge III | 105 |
| 13 | Glenn Helmka | 90 |
| 14 | George Miller | 86 |
| 15 | Gene Arena | 70 |
| 16 | Al D'Eath | 45 |
| 17 | Bob Petz | 30 |
| 18 | Harold Wilson | 20 |
| 19 | Ernest Chase | 10 |
| 20 | Horace Dodge | 0 |
| 21 | Bill Muncey | 0 |
| 22 | Charles Klein | 0 |
| 23 | Jim Webster | 0 |
| 24 | Owen Cummings | 0 |
| 25 | Paul Marcy | 0 |
| 26 | Max Collins | 0 |
| Built | Boat High Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1948 | My Sweetie | 1605 |
| 2 | 1950 | Slo-mo-shun IV | 1290 |
| 3 | 1938 | Tempo VI | 1290 |
| 4 | 1949 | Such Crust II | 980 |
| 5 | 1948 | Such Crust I | 945 |
| 6 | 1950 | Miss Pepsi (2) | 715 |
| 7 | 1940 | Gale | 375 |
| 8 | 1950 | My Darling | 330 |
| 9 | 1949 | Etta | 318 |
| 10 | 1950 | Dee Jay V | 281 |
| 11 | 1949 | Delphine X | 245 |
| 12 | 1948 | Astraea II | 135 |
| 13 | 1946 | Miss Great Lakes | 90 |
| 14 | 1949 | Miss Canada IV | 80 |
| 15 | 1933? | Pep VI | 80 |
| 16 | 1927 | Sister Syn | 30 |
| 17 | 1939 | Chaz | 0 |
| 18 | 1949 | Hot Metal | 0 |
| 19 | 1949 | Ollie's Folly | 0 |
| 20 | 1949 | Fickle Eye | 0 |
| 21 | 1949 | Miss Kay | 0 |
1950
The motorboat racing world was electrified on June 26, 1950 when an unknown boat, owner., designer and driver raised the world water speed record by 19 m.p.h. Slo-mo-shun IV designed by Ted Jones and owned and driven by Stanley Sayres had gone 160 m.p.h. through the mile trap. The previous record for raising the mile standard was 12 m.p.h. by Miss America VII.
The reason for this record breaking accomplishment was the effective utilization of the prop riding approach to speed on water. Through various prop riders the 225 mile record had been elevated by 15 m.p.h., the 266 mark by 11 m.p.h. and the 135 standard by 21 m.p.h. However in equivalent competition records, the prop riding 135's, 225's and 266's had not been as impressive although clearly superior to the non prop riders. Attempts at prop riders in the Gold Cup/Unlimited class had not been successful. Such Crust II could not get over 100 m.p.h. on the straightaway and Hurricane IV 126 m.p.h. - the same as the tail-dragging Such Crust I.
Since Skip-a-Long was residing on the bottom of Lake Tahoe, My Sweetie stood alone at the top of the motorboat racing world heading into 1950. Such Crust I just couldn't take her on a 2½ or 3 mile course - the 7 nautical mile course that Such Crust I had excelled on in 1949 had been reduced to 5 nautical miles for the 1950 renewal of the Harmsworth Trophy.
In 1950 qualifying was required for all events. Weeding out inferior boats had worked in the Gold Cup and now it had been adopted for the Gold Cup/Unlimited class
preceding the 1950 Gold Cup, Detroiters tried to comfort themselves that Slo-mo-shun IV was just a straightaway boat, but after the IV qualified within 3 m.p.h. of My Sweetie, they could only hope that an unproven competition boat and a rookie driver and crew could not get the job done. Disconcerting was a pre-race Detroit Times headline - SLO-MO-SHUN CUP FAVORITE. Perhaps the TIMES remembered 1931 when Miss England II clearly defeated Gar Wood's Miss America X under similar circumstances.
My Sweetie began the season by sweeping the Maple Leaf Trophy against a redesigned and erratic Such Crust I. Still the Crust had some credibility for the Gold Cup as it was now driven by the first post war driving superstar Danny Foster who had won his last two Gold Cups. Unfortunately for Detroit Sweetie star driver Bill Cantrell had been injured while piloting Delphine X in a pre-race test. Cantrell was sore, but was determined to drive in the Gold Cup.
In the first heat Slo-mo-shun IV got off to an early lead and improved it to the point that she lapped My Sweetie. Driver Cantrell had to be lifted from the cockpit and was replaced for the second heat by Lou Fageol.
Sweetie beat Slo-mo IV to the start of heat two and was never headed until the ninth lap when she went dead in the water giving the heat to the Stan Sayres entry. Slo-mo-shun IV cruised in the final heat to take the trophy. Such Crust I could not complete a heat.
However My Sweetie's fastest lap was 86 m.p.h. to the Slo-mo's 83 m.p.h. Mitigating to some extent were the facts that Slo-mo IV was not allowed to run a trim tab and had a rather shallow skid fin--not to mention needing some beefing up to run in competition. These factors effected the IV's performance both on the turns as well as the straightaways.
My Sweetie asserted herself the next weekend in the Ford Memorial by sweeping the competition which included Such Crust I. Slo-mo-shun IV did not participate being held out for the Harmsworth Trophy in September. Detroiters perceived this as the first shot in what was to become the Seattle-Detroit rivalry. Previous to this there had been a Detroit-New York rivalry.
Between the Memorial and the Harmsworth the My Sweetie was changed - probably an admission that she was inferior to the Slo-mo. Also the new Miss Pepsi, which had failed to qualify for the Gold Cup, was turning in some impressive test runs.
Pepsi was a twin engined version of the My Sweetie by designer John Hacker. Pepsi owners the Dossin Brothers had nearly swept the 1947 season so Detroiters were cheered by the selection of a Hacker hull. However prior to the Sweetie, Hacker's last roaring success was the Oregon Kid in 1914.
Nine boats made., runs for the three boat team that was to take on the Miss Canada IV in the Harmsworth Trophy. Slo-mo-shun IV topped the qualifiers at 96.7 m.p.h. Pepsi was next at 96.5, but was not selected for the team since the committee decided she had a capacity to lose oil. Ironically Miss Pepsi had made test runs that were timed officially at over 100 m.p.h. - 107 early in the week and 103 on race day morning.
Like 1949 Miss Canada IV was held out of competition before the Harmsworth Trophy. She could not rest on her 12 m.p.h. advantage over the American boats at the end of 1949 since Slo-mo IV had beaten her record by 22 m.p.h. Nevertheless smoke from the Maple Leaf country hinted that Canada IV had unofficially shown a speed between 155 and 165 m.p.h. on the mile straightaway.
In the first heat Slo-mo-shun IV mopped the floor with My Sweetie, Such Crust II and her foreign challenger Miss Canada IV. Canada IV withdrew before the second heat, but Slo-mo IV went on to record the first official 100 m.p.h. heat average to win the second heat and the Harmsworth Trophy. In lap times she had 15 m.p.h. on her nearest competition.
Slo-mo IV did not run for cover after this record breaking performance, but entered the Silver Cup against the highly touted Miss Pepsi. Slo-mo-shun IV trounced the Pepsi in the first heat turning a lap at 106 m.p.h. Unfortunately thereafter the Stan Sayres entry had to withdraw for the day due to shaft bearing problems.
From this point on Miss Pepsi had her own way for the balance of the five heats as she had 7 m.p.h. on the field -- she had turned a lap of 107 m.p.h. to exceed the Slo-mo by one m.p.h. However Miss Pepsi was disqualified in the second heat for missing a buoy giving the race to Such Crust I the next fastest entry at the time posting a lap at 100 m.p.h.
Such Crust II had nearly taken second place in the final heat from his sister Such Crust I - she failed by 2½ seconds. If this would have happened Miss Pepsi would have won the race.
Slo-mo-shun IV went home after the Silver Cup and Miss Pepsi swept all three heats of the Presidents Cup - her closest competition could not come within 6 m.p.h. During the regatta Pepsi turned a 2½ mile lap at 95.0 m.p.h.
The A.P.B.A. held their convention in early November at Las Vegas. An Unlimited race was scheduled in conjunction with the convention. Slo-mo-shun IV came down from Seattle. My Sweetie and Such Crust II now powered by a Rolls Merlin engine - adding 800 horsepower - came out from Detroit. My Sweetie had been altered by Bill Cantrell hoping to bring her out of a three race slump. In spite of this Slo-mo-shun IV figured to win.
Such Crust II stayed with Slo-mo-shun IV for half a lap in heat one, but then expired. Slo-mo went on to win the heat leading a rejuvenated My Sweetie over the finish line by only 200 yards. In the second heat Slo-mo again got out in front, but then sheared a propeller shaft giving the heat to My Sweetie.
Thereafter on the second day of the regatta two limiteds challenged My Sweetie. With little competition My Sweetie swept the final two heats to take the race.
Slo-mo-shun IV set the mile record, won the Gold Cup and then the Harmsworth Trophy. This had happened only twice before in the history of motorboat racing -- 1908 with Dixie II and 1920 with Miss America.
Nevertheless Miss Pepsi had turned the fastest 5 nautical mile lap at 107.654 m.p.h. and the fastest 2½ mile lap at 95.038 m.p.h. Slo-mos' marks for these distances were 106.175 for 5 nautical miles and 91.463 for 2½ miles. On a long course Pepsi had 1½ m.p.h. on Slo-mo and on a 2½ mile course which favored the turning ability of Miss Pepsi it was 4½ m.p.h. Slo-mo would be under the gun to defend her laurels in 1951.
[Statistics and comments from Greene, V.1]