1960 Seafair Trophy Race
1960 August 8
Heat 1-a
--- August 8, 1960 8j
* * *
Dead Engine, Frustrated Driver
Bill Brow, pilot of Miss Bardahl, is the picture of frustration after his craft sputtered and went dead shortly after the start of Heat 1-A of the Seafair Trophy Race.
--- (United Press International Telephoto.)
— August 8,1960 8zl
* * *
Heat 1-B
Dallas Sartz and Wife
Winner Of Heat 1-B Congratulated.
(— Post-Intelligencer Photo)
--- August 8, 1960 8zd
* * *
Rescuers Rush To Aid Of Mira Slovak, Adrift In Life Jacket
This aerial view gives complete picture of dramatic rescue of Mira Slovak, who was thrown out of Wahoo when the craft lost a sponson in Heat 1-B of Seafair Trophy Race. Upper arrow indicates Slovak, held up by his life jacket. Swimmer alongside is Bob Larsen, driver of KOLroy, first to reach Slovak. Lower arrow points to Wahoo. Craft with curving wake is Coast Guard patrol boat. At upper left, Coast Guard helicopter swoops down to drop skin diver. Slovak then was lifted in basket stretcher, flown ashore and transferred to ambulance.
— (P-I Photo by John Vallentyne from Lake Union Air Service Plane)
--- August 8, 1960 8f
* * *
Mira Slovak, the “win or wreck” driver of Bill Boeing’s speedy Wahoo cracked up on the north turn and was pulled unconscious from the floating debris of his almost totally wrecked boat by a hovering helicopter.
A Coast Guard helicopter crew lifted Miro Slovak (circle) from the water after his hydroplane, Wahoo, flipped.
The Wahoo, with parts of her deck strewn around her, shows in lower foreground. A Coast Guard boat, lower left, spend to give aid.
The Miss Spokane, upper right, and the KOLroy, next to it, stood by.
-—Times aerial photo by Larry Dion.
— August 8, 1960 8b
* * *
Slovak Mishap First of Many That Marred Race
Bill Boeing Boat Rides Deep in Water on Way to Pits After Throwing Driver Mira Slovak
— Post-Intelligencer Photo By John M. “Hack” Miller)
— August 8, 1960 8w
* * *
Miro Slovak, unconscious from injuries, was placed in an ambulance for the trip to a hospital. Slovak flipped
in the Wahoo during the first heat of the Seafair Trophy race. His boat was wrecked and he was injured severely.
— Forde photo
--- August 8, 1960 8c
Moments after his crash in Wahoo during the first lap of Heat 1-B in yesterday’s Seafair Trophy Race on Lake Washington, driver Mira Slovak was picked up by helicopter, flown ashore and taken to a hospital. Slovak was taken from the helicopter in the basket in which he was rescued before being placed on an ambulance stretcher. Slovak was not hurt seriously.
--- (Forde Photographers Photo).
--- August 8, 1960 8zb
* * *
Shattered hull of Wahoo is about to be lifted out of the water after being brought back to the pits following crackup on the first, lap of the Seafair race yesterday. The flip sent driver Mira Slovak to the hospital and ended owner Bill Boeing’s racing career.
— (Post-Intelligencer Photo.)
— August 8, 1960 8h
* * *
Wahoo, the hydro which rolled over during Heat 1-B, sat forlornly on her truck in the Stan Sayres Memorial pits. Damage included a ripped bow section, shattered left fuselage, shorn-off tail and extensive cockpit and stern damage. Her driver, Miro Slovak, was injured severely.
— August 8, 1960 8e
* * *
Heat 2-a
Miss Spokane crosses the finish line as the winner of Heat 2-A in yesterday’s Seafair Trophy Race. Rex Manchester, driver of the trim hydroplane from Spokane, piloted the craft to a surprise victory. He took the lead in the first lap after Miss Seattle Too went dead coming out of the south turn.
--- (Post-Intelligencer Photo by John M. "Hack" Miller)
— August 8, 1960 8p
* * *
Heat 2-b
Thriftway Too, foreground, and Miss U. S. 1 battled on the straightaway in Heat 2B of yesterday's race. Both drivers—Russ Schleeh of the Thrifty Too and Don Wilson of the Miss U. S.-—later were injured in two of the day's numerous accidents.
— Times photo by Vic Condiotty
— August 8, 1960 8
* * *
Heat 3
Miss U. S. ‘Flames Out’
The Miss U. S. 1 was dead in the water, with flames pouring out of her hold, in the final heat of the Seafair Trophy race. Her pilot, Don Wilson, battled the flames and suffered severe burns. KOLroy, lower right, stood by to give assistance.
— Times aerial photo by Larry Dion
— August 8, 1960 8o
* * *
Chuck Hickling, driver of Miss Burien, is in the water (arrow closest to boat in lower right) on way to help Don Wilson other close arrow), driver of Miss U. S. 1 (upper left arrow) that caught fire in final heat. Coast Guard craft is on way to give assistance.
— (Post-Intelligencer Photo by John Vallentyne from Lake Union Air Service Plane.)
--- August 8, 1960 8g
* * *
The Coast Guard's rescue helicopter started off with Don Wilson, injured driver of the Miss U. S. 1 (smoke billowing up) after the Detroit hydro caught fire in the south turn during the third heat. A Coast Guard patrol boat moved in.
— Bob Carver photo.
— August 8, 1960 8r
* * *
Miss U. S. 1 is towed back to the pits after it caught fire in the final heat of yesterday’s Seafair Trophy Race. Riding the hydroplane are three of the trim craft’s crew members. Don Wilson, driver of the craft, was burned in the accident and was admitted to Virginia Mason Hospital. His condition was called “good.”
--- (Post-Intelligencer Photo)
--- August 8, 1960 8i
* * *
Don Wilson, driver of Miss U. S. 1, is carried on a stretcher to an ambulance for transportation to a hospital after he was burned in the final heat of the Seafair Trophy Race when his craft caught fire. Wilson, who suffered serious burns, was admitted to Virginia Mason Hospital in “good.” condition.
— (Forde Photographers Photo)
— August 8, 1960 8k
* * *
Shock: Don Wilson, driver of Miss U. S. 1, was in a state of shock from burns and injuries as he was strapped on a stretcher after his hydroplane caught fire in the final heat.
— Forde photo.
— August 8, 1960 8ze
Tough Luck In Miss U. S.
Before the final heat, Miss U. S. 1, George Simon’s speedy Detroit boat, was giving the western camps conniptions. The red racer had showed terrific speed, despite some difficulty with a too-rich fuel mixture, and the Miss U. S. driver, Donny Wilson, needed only a third-place finish in the last heat to be tied for first in the final point standings.
But Donny Wilson’s boat caught fire in the south turn of the final heat. He dove overboard, but not before suffering critical burns on his face and body.
The heat over Heat 3-B was Intense. The Spokane camp lodged a strenuous protest at the decision to race the whole heat over again, claiming no flares should have been fired to stop the race.
“The boat in trouble was far down the course,” said Simon, the Spokane leader. “The accident didn’t affect the finish at all. They could have fired those flares at the finish line just as easy as they did a thousand yards before the race was over. I told Donogh I thought it stunk the way they called it.”
Ken Simonson, crew chief for Miss Spokane, was just as bitter.
“I’ve been over here three times now,” he said “and it’s always a rhubarb. Seems like you got to beat Thriftway six or seven times before you really beat ’em. When have they had a race when they haven’t had a rhubarb?”
“I’m gonna’ protest!” said Bob Miller, of Miss Everett. “I think Spokane won it. If they’re going to rerun the race for Muncey, let’s rerun it for everybody.”
For his part, Muncey refused to comment. “I don’t want to be quoted,” he said, almost pleadingly. “It’s another beef and I don’t want to say anything.”
So, the arguments, pro and con, raged on into darkness. And the race isn’t over yet. Everybody will be back out today, trying to settle the weird mix-up that wound up an exciting afternoon on Lake Washington.
“I hope,” commented a weary fan, late last night, “that, they can get the boys out of the pits by Christmas.”
— August 8, 1960 8n
* * *
Col. Russ Schleeh, driver who jumped out of the Thriftway Too when its engine shot fire into the cockpit, grimaced as he was helped from the helicopter. Schleeh was one of three drivers hospitalized during the race. His accident ended the second running of the third heat.
— Forde photo.
* * *
Air Force Col. Russ Schleeh was able to walk away after being flown to a barge after a Thriftway Too explosion in the last rerun of the final heat yesterday. Schleeh suffered bruises and minor burns.
— (Post-intelligencer Photo.)
--- August 8, 1960 8q
Skydiver, 26, Injured In Faulty Leap
A Seattle Skydiver, who parachuted from a plane 7,500 feet over the Seafair Trophy Race course, was injured seriously yesterday in a faulty landing in Lake Washington.
He is Charles Kirkpatrick, 26, Snohomish, one of six members of the Skydivers, who dropped from the plane in a demonstration prior to the final heat of the trophy race.
Dr. Randolph Pillow, a physician who attended Kirkpatrick in the ambulance en route to Virginia Mason Hospital, said the Skydiver suffered multiple chest injuries, shock and was in “very serious condition.”
Kirkpatrick struck the water almost flat on his back. He had intentionally released himself from his ’chute harness 50 feet above the surface of the lake.
Fellow Skydivers said this was an accepted method of dropping into water after a parachute jump.
He maintained consciousness, inflated his life vest and was floating safely, but in intense pain, when he was pulled from the water by a small pickup boat.
Charles Kirkpatrick, Snohomish, is brought ashore seriously hurt after a plunge of 50 feet from his parachute into the waters of Lake Washington yesterday
at the end of a jump. Kirkpatrick, one of six skydivers who participated in an exhibition, suffered a ruptured spleen and multiple chest injuries.
— (Forde Photographers Photo.)
--- August 8, 1960 8zh
* * *
'Just Put the Boat in The Water And Race'
Rumors Run Wild; Confusion Reigns
By Emmett Watson
As Mr. Bud Simons, shepherd of Miss Spokane was saying after the race, “All right, we’ll have a drivers’ meeting -- but get Stanley Donogh down here and see what he has to say.”
Having come within 1,000 yards of victory, he regards Mr. Stan “Donahoo” (Donogh), the race referee, as a less gifted offspring of Jesse James.
“As far as we’re concerned,” said Bob Larsen, driver for KOLroy camp, Rex Manchester Is the winner.”
The drivers didn’t have long to be concerned. A moment later, milling about in loudly arguing groups, the driver heard the news, broadcast via the public address system:
“Miss Spokane has been declared the winner!”
A great cheer went up from the drivers, who pummeled Manchester with gusty congratulations. Which means they didn’t hear the announcer’s cautious disclaimer: “This is UNofficial!”
Mr. Donogh, who is a conscientious guy, had nothing to do with this announcement. He was busy conferring with other officials, trying to come up with a sensible solution to a situation that hardly offered one.
More sensible accounts of what really happened can be found elsewhere. But Manchester possibly made the most definitive statement of all when, after some roaring protests, Miss Spokane was asked to race again in a rerun of the final heat—which most people felt, emotionally, at least, that she had already won. “This is too technical for me,” shrugged Manchester. “Just put the boat in the water and let’s race.”
Hydroplane racing, which has a kinship with the Keystone Kops, was almost a parody of itself yesterday. Rumors ran wild. Everybody was bewildered. Orders countermanded orders; confusion reigned.
One is tempted to laugh, but there is nothing funny about , an afternoon of racing that nearly killed one driver, Mira Slovak, and resulted in serious burns for another, Donny Wilson.
The Slovak disaster in the north turn of heat 1-A, drew some thoughtful comment from two hydroplane experts, Ted Jones and Lou Fageol.
As Wahoo was towed to the pits, Ted Jones surveyed the wreckage and commented:
“It looked like he went into the turn without slowing down. In his eagerness to catch Miss Seattle Too, he went too fast into the turn, and I’m inclined to think his troubles began then.
“It’s sad,” added Jones, “that these drivers keep pushing, pushing; pushing for more speed on the turns. We ‘red-line’ these boats at 145 at the turns, and I think Slovak was going about 160 when he hit that turn.”
Lou Fageol, who saw the wreck from the press barge, believed Slovak was guilty of a pilot error in dealing with Miss Seattle Too’s wake.
“I thought he tried to stay inside the wake,” said Fageol, “when he should have gone across it. As it was, he was inside an ever-narrowing circle and took the wake right on the sponson, at which point, she dug down and went over.”
By coincidence, the first to dive in after Slovak was Larsen, driving KOLroy. Larsen, a husky, pleasant fellow, is a pilot for United Air Lines, and is a close friend of Slovak, who flies for Continental Airlines out of Denver.
“I broke an oil line and never did see the wreck,” said Larsen. “The first thing I saw in the turn was the wreckage of Wahoo spread all over the course. Then I spotted Mira.
“He looked unconscious. His mouth was open, and he was taking in water. I yelled at him, ‘Mira, Mira! Are you all right?’ He didn’t answer, so I dove in and held his head above water. A skin diver came along and we held him up until the helicopter came.
“I feel terrible about it. Mira and I are great friends. He lets me use his car when I’m in Denver, and we see a lot of each other when we get the chance.”
Slovak’s arch-rival, Bill Muncey, with whom he has been involved in a bitter feud, was not in the same heat with Wahoo.
“It’s terrible,” Muncey said, shaking his head. “That’s been a fast boat, and Mira has driven her hard. It’s just terrible when a thing like that happens.”
* * *
‘Protest’ Seafair Hydro Champ Still Uncrowned
Third-Heat Rerun May Clear Issue
By Bud Livesley
Two seething hydroplane camps—Miss U. S. 1 and Miss Spokane—today claimed victory in the hectic, destructive Seafair Trophy race which officials decreed isn’t over yet.
The officials were awaiting American Power Boat Association sanction for a second rerun at 4:30 o’clock today of a final heat in 7½ hours of racing that sent three drivers to the hospital yesterday.
Miro Slovak was injured seriously when the Wahoo dug its left sponson into a wake on the north turn in Heat 1B. The boat did a “shoulder roll,” throwing Slovak into the water.
Don Wilson suffered agonizing burns when trapped in the cockpit of the burning Miss U. S. 1.
Col. Russ Schleeh was more fortunate. The forward cockpit in the cabover Thriftway Too allowed him to “ditch” when his boat caught fire also.
An “Endless” Day
Wilson and Schleeh were victims of two attempts to conclude the long day of racing—both after 6:20 p. m.
The first try at a final heat came within 17 seconds of success.
Officials said Miss Spokane was that far away from the finish line when the race was stopped by the Coast Guard after the Miss U. S. burst into flames on the south turn.
The rerun was halted when flares again burst into the darkening skies as Schleeh leaped to safety from the smoking Thrifty Too.
The race was called by the officials at 7:32 p. m. A decision to ask for sanction to extend the race was reached at 7:50 o’clock after a huddle of race-committee officials and Stanly Donogh, referee.
“We Won”—Simon
“We won a race,” said George Simon’ Miss U. S. owner. “Don won a race. The race is, over as far as I’m concerned.”
* * *
And E. J, (Bud) Simons, president of the Miss Spokane Hydroplane Association, said that his driver, Rex Manchester, had “won the race.”
Both Simon and Simons are armed with protests. Spokane’s Simons said he will file his. Detroit’s Simon said he will protest “if more than two boats race” in a second rerun of the final heat.
Seven hydros—Miss Thriftway, Miss Spokane, Breathless II, Miss Seattle Too, Miss Burien, KOLroy I. and Miss Tool Crib—were listed to run in the unprecedented second-day finale; '
“We’ve had a boat race,” Simon told The Times before departing for his home in Detroit.
“The officials tried twice to run the final heat. The race should have been called. There were two heats. The race was more than 50 per cent run.
“We have 800 points. We won the race.”
Miss U. S. won Heats 1A and 2B.
Manchester said he saw the flares and the checkered flag simultaneously in Miss Spokane.
“That’s the basis of our protest,” Simons said. “The checkered flag means you’ve won. Also, we’re protesting that boats left the pits last night. It was announced there would be no engine changes allowed.”
Supporting Argument
Simon concurred. He said Miss Burien and Miss Seattle Too left the pits and therefore are “ineligible to race again.”
“The Thriftway and Spokane would be the only ‘legal’ boats for a rerun,” Simon said. But he added he had no objection to the running of KOLroy I and Tool Crib because “they don’t figure in the high points, anyway.”
KOLroy I — Bob Gilliam’s lone survivor of three qualified boats—and the Tool Crib were well out of contention for the trophy. Each had 394 points after two heats.
A poppet valve in Miss Seattle Too’s carburetor — about the size of a 50-cent piece—may have left the door open for Miss Spokane’s first serious bid for victory in ten races. It also may have prevented Seattle Too from adding the Seafair Trophy to a1 Diamond Cup victory.
The Popping Poppet
The malfunctioning, poppet valve shut off the fuel to the Too’s engine’ at an inopportune time. The Too, winner ul a rerun of Heat 1-B, came out of the first turn leading the pack in Heat 2A.
The poppet valve popped shut. The Too went dead in the water. Later, a twisted quill shaft added to Miss Seattle Too’s miseries.
The Too never was up to the form of its heat win, when it turned in the day’s fastest average speed of 108.173 miles an hour.
The Too also was leading the way when Slovak, cutting sharply through the Too’s wake, “barrel-rolled” to destruction.
Miss Spokane, riding herd on Dallas Sartz, was ready to take charge when Seattle Too conked out in Heat 2A. Manchester charged to the front for the first head victory of the Spokane camp’s career.
Roger Murphy, who had steered Breathless II to second place in the rerun of Heat 1B, grabbed off another runner-up spot for the Lake Tahoe camp behind Miss Spokane’s winning effort. Bill Muncey in Miss Thriftway was third.
Gross Mismatch
Muncey had coasted in winning Heat 1C, the day’s grossest mismatch: The Thrifty finished two miles ahead of the second-running $ Bill.
Muncey’s clocking was 8 minutes 29.2 seconds; the $ Bill’s was 9:47. The Tool Crib, lapped by Muncey, was third in 11:19.2.
The heat was notable in that it signaled the end of an era. Miss Seattle, the once majestic Slo-mo-shun V, which won the Gold Cup in 1951 and 1953, reached the end of the line.
She bowed out gracefully and in the tender care of Al Benson. Reluctantly, he pulled her off the course and switched off the ignition.
“She’s tired,” Benson said with a smile.
Miss Seattle had run second for three laps and had turned back a challenge from the $ Bill on the north turn.
With that spurt, the Miss ended her racing career.
Boat casualties came early and mounted through the day. In the first. heat, Tacoma’s Coral Reef blew her “stack” at the start The Reef never returned to the course after leaving pieces of her supercharger in the lake.
Miss Bardahl got through the first turn of the first heat before flinging a propeller into the gathering debris in the lake. The Bardahl also broke a crankshaft. That de-fanged the Green Dragon.
Burien’s Troubles
Miss Burien, the West’s Harmsworth representative, never overcame carburetor problems all day. She showed speed only in finishing second to Miss U. S. in Heat 1-B. The Dart ran fourth behind. KOLroy In Heat 1A.
While the U.S. turned back the Thrifty Too’s challenge, the Detroit hydro, in 1A, showed symptoms of the engine sickness that led to her demise hours later.
— August 8, 1960 8d
* * *
Wahoo Flips Slovak Hurt
Trophy Race Suspended by Mishaps
Rerun Of Seafair Hydros Final Heat Due Today
By Royal Brougham
Seattle’s Seafair Trophy Race was ruled No Contest late last evening after an eventful day of competition which took a heavy toll on drivers and their buck-humping hydroplanes.
The shadows of night had fallen over the churned-up Lake Washington race course when Chairman Don Amick announced the final heat of the most tempestuous speedboat race in the stormy history of the event would be rerun this afternoon at 4:30.
The; new schedule must have the approval of the American Power Boat Association.
Before the horrified gaze of an estimated 200,000 shocked spectators, three drivers and an exhibition parachute jumper were injured in four separate accidents.
Three times the warning red flares of danger halted the racing, which finally ended on a note of confusion and uncertainty.
Hydro Story-Heat by Heat
FASTEST LAP (unofficial)—Miss U. S. 1 (1st, 2nd) 105.88.
SUMMARY—At the one-minute gun Miss Burien and Miss U. S. 1 were in center-course, while the other four boats were at the top of the backstretch. Miss U. S. 1 got the inside on a short turn, but was passed by Miss Bardahl and Coral Reef by about ten feet at the start. Coral Reef went dead in the water shortly past the press barge. Miss Bardahl moved into a lead coming out of the south turn on lap 1, but Miss U. S. 1 passed Miss Bardahl on the inside. Thriftway Too passed Miss Burien on the outside in the backstretch for third place. Miss U. S. 1 added to the lead in the north turn and Thriftway Too passed Miss Bardahl as the latter went dead shortly after completing lap 1. Miss Burien, limping badly in fourth place, passed the dead Miss Bardahl at the end of lap 1.
Miss U. S. 1's motor faltered at the end of lap 2, but held a steady lead over Thriftway Too, the only serious challenger. KOLroy I remained in third position. Miss U. S. 1 and Thriftway Too lapped the dragging Miss Burien in the backstretch of their third laps. Completing the third lap. Miss U. S. 1 had increased her lead, mainly due to sharper cornering. KOLroy I lapped Miss Burien as she completed lap 3.
Positions stayed about the same during lap 4, with Miss U. S. 1 again gaining water on the turns. Miss U. S. 1 lapped Miss Burien again in the backstretch of lap 5, and Thriftway Too did likewise shortly before the north turn. Thriftway Too cut inside Miss U. S. 1 on the final turn, but was unable to pick up enough speed to press the winner.
FASTEST LAP (unofficial: Miss Seattle Too (1st, 2nd) 110.26.
At the one-minute gun, all boats were bunched going into the North turn, with Miss Everett processing slowly at the front of the pack. Wahoo had the inside on the start with Breathless II on the outside, but Miss Seattle Too pushed out in front after the start. Miss Everett got a very slow start. Miss Spokane was third at the start. Going down the backstretch, it was Miss Seattle Too, Wahoo, Breathless II and KOLroy. At the top of the North turn, with Miss Seattle Too in the lead, Wahoo spun out and the red flares shot off, ending the heat. Slovak to Virginia Mason hospital.
After the five-minute gun sounded, a red flare, signaling debris on the course, was fired, delaying the start again.
At the five-minute gun, Breathless II was having trouble in starting, and had a steady flame from her stacks. At the one-minute gun, all five boats were bunched in the middle of the backstretch.
Miss Spokane held the inside at the start as Breathless II almost hit Miss Seattle II. Miss Seattle II, Breathless II and Spokane led at the start, with Miss Everett again off to a very slow start. Coming out of the first turn, Miss Seattle Too held a short lead over Breathless II, with Miss Spokane third and KOLroy a slow fourth.
KOLroy experienced difficulty in the north turn and went dead, being passed by Miss Everett in the turn. Miss Seattle Too lapped Miss Everett shortly before the end of lap 2. The other two contenders also lapped Miss Everett, both shortly after the start of lap 3.
Miss Seattle Too again lapped Miss Everett in the south turn of lap 5, followed by Breathless II. Miss Spokane lapped Miss Everett at the end of the backstretch.
FASTEST LAP (unofficial): Miss Thriftway (1st) 112.20
SUMMARY—Miss Tool Crib entered the course just at the five-minute gun, as KOLroy II still had not made the scene. The other three boats were bunched in the backstretch.
Shortly before the one-minute sun, KOLroy II stalled out on the course, and, at the four-minute sun, the remaining four boats started up the backstretch At the start. Miss Thriftway, off to a bad start, led Miss Seattle and KOLroy II across the line. KOLroy II was disqualified for nor running at the one-minute gun. Miss Thriftway held a wide lead up the backstretch, with KOLroy II, although disqualified, pressing Miss Seattle for second. $ Bill was a close third. Miss Tool Crib trailed.
At the end of the second lap, Miss Thriftway had increased her margin lead, and $ Bill began to press KOLroy II for the "third" position
$ Bill, on the inside, pressed KOLroy II near the end of lap three, and passed the disqualified entry, to gain on Miss Seattle. Miss Thriftway, a half lap ahead of the field, lapped Miss Tool Crib at the end of Thriftway's fourth lap. $ Bill made his move on Miss Seattle in the backstretch and passed Miss Seattle on the inside shortly before the turn. Miss Seattle went dead coming out the north turn.
Miss Thriftway held a two-mile lead over $ Bill at the finish
FASTEST LAPS (unofficial) Miss Spokane (1, 2, 3,) 109.09.
SUMMARY—At the five-minute gun, all six boats were on the course. Shortly before the one-minute gun, someone fell off the official barge. At the one-minute gun, all boats except Miss Spokane were bunched at the north turn, with $ Bill on the inside.
Miss Seattle Too, KOLroy I and Miss Thriftway led the boats at the start. Miss Seattle Too, in the lead, went dead at the start of the backstretch. Miss Spokane took over the lead in the backstretch, with Breathless II, KOL Roy I and Miss Thriftway following in order. $ Bill trailed.
Miss Spokane led at the end of- lap 1, followed at 10(>yard intervals by Breathless II, Miss Thriftway and KOLroy I. $ Bill trailed, bouncing a little. As Miss Spokane finished her second lap. Miss Seattle Too started up and began running well down the backstretch. The other boats held their positions.
Miss Spokane lengthened the lead over Breathless II at the end of lap 3, as Miss Thriftway closed the difference for second place.
All boats held their positions during the fourth lap.
Miss Spokane lapped $ Bill in the backstretch of her 5th lap, and Breathless II did likewise nearing the end of the backstretch. Miss Thriftway lapped $ Bill in the north turn of lap 5.
Miss Seattle Too, driving hard, re-passed KOLroy I as the latter finished the heat, and began gaining on $ Bill, passing $ Bill to move into 5th place in the backstretch of her last lap.
FASTEST LAP — (Unofficial) Thriftway Too (1st), 103.00; Miss U. S. 1. (2d), 103.00
SUMMARY—At the five-minute gun, all boats except Miss Tool Crib were on the course. Miss Tool Crib started onto the course about five seconds before the one-minute gun, as the other boats bunched in the north turn. Miss Tool Crib bunched in the south turn.
Miss Burien and Thriftway Too blocked Miss U. S. 1 at the start but Miss U S. 1 recovered and passed both boats on the outside. Miss Everett trailed.
Miss Burien, on the inside, led out of the south turn, followed closely by Thriftway Too and Miss U. S. 1. Thriftway Too, with a burst of speed on the backstretch, passed Miss Burien as the latter slowed. Miss U. S. 1 also passed Miss Burien to move into second position, on the inside. Burien, slowing, fell far behind in third place, followed by Miss Everett.
In the south turn of. lap two. Miss U. S. 1, making a move on Thriftway Too, slowed and almost went dead, but regained speed in the backstretch. Miss U. S. 1 took the inside on the north turn and finished the second lap only a boat-length behind the leading Thriftway Too. The Detroit boat took the lead in the straightaway of the third lap.
Miss U. S. 1, slowing at the end of the third lap, still held a growing lead on Thriftway Too, largely because of greater cornering ability, and passed Miss Tool Crib in the backstretch of lap four. Miss Burien, picking up speed, began gaining on Thriftway Too in the second-place battle.
Miss U. S. 1 lapped Miss Everett at the start of lap five, as Miss Tool Crib also prepared to pass Miss Everett for fourth position. Miss Burien passed Thriftway Too for second place shortly after the start of lap five.
Miss Burien, taking second, lapped Miss Everett at the finish of lap five.
SUMMARY—At the five-minute gun, all boats except Miss Burien and Thriftway Too were circling the course. Both boats came out shortly after the gun. Breathless II, stopping near the official barge to check something, went dead.
At the one-minute gun. Miss Seattle Too led the pack into the north turn, with Miss Thriftway last.
KOLroy entered the field at the start. Disqualified for starting too late. Miss Burien and Miss Seattle Too led a closely-bunched field at the start. Coming out of the south turn, the boats were Miss Seattle Too, Miss Spokane, Miss Burien, Miss U. S. 1 and Miss Thriftway, with Thriftway Too trailing. Miss U. S. 1 and Miss Thriftway passed Miss Burien in the turn as Miss Spokane
took the lead from Miss Seattle Too.
Miss Spokane lengthened the lead in the backstretch of Lap 2, with Miss Thriftway pressing hard on Miss Seattle Too, passing Miss Seattle Too in the north turn on the inside. Miss Seattle Too was passed by Miss U. S. 1 and Miss Burien shortly after the start of Lap 3. Miss Seattle Too began slowing heavily in the south turn.
Miss Spokane increased her lead at the end of Lap 3, as Miss Thriftway also held a handy lead over third-place Miss U. S. 1. Thriftway Too was pressing Miss Burien for fourth, with KOLroy I trailing in last place.
Miss Thriftway gained slightly on Miss Spokane at the end of the fourth lap, but not enough to make an appreciable difference. In Lap 5, Miss U. S. 1 slowed considerably in the south turn and a red flare was shot off. Miss U. S. 1s on fire.
Miss Spokane led Miss Thriftway by about 6 seconds at the finish.
--- August 8, 1960 8l
* * *
Race-Day Injuries Hospitalize 3 Drivers
By Matt Sayre
Tragedy stalked the Seafair Trophy race course yesterday and nearly snuffed out the lives of three drivers and a parachutist.
Ironically, the parachutist, who performed during a race intermission, was the most seriously injured.
The injured are:
Charles Kirkpatrick, 26, Snohomish, parachutist with the Seattle Skydivers. He was reported in grave condition.
Miro Slovak, driver of the Seattle hydroplane, Wahoo.
Don Wilson, 28, West Palm Beach, Fla., driver of the Detroit hydro, Miss U. S. 1.
Slovak Hurt First
Col. Russ Schleeh, March Air, Force Base, Calif., driver of the Seattle hydro, Thriftway Too.
Slovak was the first to fall. He was thrown out of his boat as it turned a complete roll to the side on the north turn of the first lap of Heat 1B.
Next came the parachutist’s spectacular mishap. After dropping more than a mile, Kirkpatrick leaped from his harness and plummeted more than 100 feet into Lake Washington.
No sooner had an ambulance driven away with Kirkpatrick than Wilson’s boat, “blew up” in his face as he came out of the south turn in the final lap of the scheduled final heat.
Schleeh, veteran test pilot who has survived more than his share of airplane and water crashes, miraculously escaped serious injury when he dived over the side of his hydro in the first lap of the restarted third heat. Flames shot into the cockpit of his big cabover hydro.
All four injured men are in Virginia Mason Hospital.
Slovak was reported in “satisfactory” condition today, partly recovered from shock. He suffered abdominal injuries, none of which appear serious, and a face laceration. He is expected to remain in the hospital several days.
Wilson Badly Burned
Wilson suffered first and second-degree burns about the arms, legs and face and minor burns on the back. His condition is. reported “good.” He is expected to be in the hospital a week or longer.
Kirkpatrick underwent emergency surgery late yesterday for serious chest and abdominal injuries, including a ruptured spleen.
Schleeh was reported in “good” condition. He suffered fractures of parts of three vertebrae, a back sprain and first-degree burns on the back of his left leg.
Drivers Aid Rescues
Fellow drivers were first to aid Slovak and Wilson.
Bob Larsen, driver of the Seattle hydro, KOLroy, stopped his boat and dived in after the stricken Slovak.
“He was floating with his head back, cut and choking. He didn’t talk, but he appeared to be conscious,” Larsen said.
“I dived in after him and held his head up. About that time; the helicopter came over and the skin diver dropped out.”
The diver was Tom Regan, of the King County sheriff’s department, a member of the three-man crew in the Coast Guard’s rescue helicopter.
In the first “final” heat, Miss Burien’s driver, Chuck Hickling, rounded the turn, saw Miss U. S. burning and rescued Wilson. He had tumbled, groggily, over the side, escaping flames in the cockpit.
The U. S. had rounded the turn when purple flames shot from the engine well with a loud explosion.
Wilson was not visible through the flames until he tumbled over the side.
“I reached over the bow of my boat and held him up in the water,” Hickling said.
“He was in real pain. He kept saying, ‘Chuck, I’m burned! I’m burned!’ “I held him as gently as I could. Then I helped put him on a rubber raft until the helicopter came.”
Chutists Thrill Crowd
While the ’copter hovered overhead, Regan jumped in for his second rescue of the day.
Kirkpatrick was in the second of two flights of stunt parachutists.
Three men tumbled out — Kirkpatrick, Ron Sewell and Ron Hertzog. Sewell and Hertzog “free-fell” thousands of feet before they tripped their ’chutes.
Kirkpatrick opened his ’chute immediately, floated for several minutes, then cut if free. After a long free-fall, he opened a second ’chute.
Seconds later, Kirkpatrick unexpectedly left his harness and began his frightening fall.
A Coast Guard patrol boat rescued him.
Tumbling out of a hydro at more than 100 miles an hour wasn’t new to Schleeh. He has taken several similar tumbles. And once, as an Air Force test pilot, he survived a shattering take-off crash of the famed Flying Wing.
As the big, 34-foot hydro raced up the back straightaway, her engine belched fire into the cockpit.
Schleeh immediately went over the left side and cartwheeled in her wake.
Two divers, Jim Vey and Bill Mertz, put Schleeh into the basket for the ’copter ride.
--- August 8, 1960 8za
* * *
Trophy Race Accidents Suspend Final Heat Due Today
In the final heat the flaring rockets halted, the contest three seconds before the surprising Miss Spokane, with the almost unknown Rex Manchester, at the wheel, had come thundering across the finish line, an apparent winner.
Every eye turned down course, where a burst of orange flame and smoke was pouring out of the gallant Miss U. S. 1, victor in two previous heats. Through their binoculars they could see her driver, dashing Don Wilson, struggling in the water.
The ever-ready Coast Guard chopper, true to its Semper Paratus motto, descended upon the flaming wreck, whisked the seriously burned pilot to the waiting ambulance on shore.
They called the hydros back to the pits and fueled up for another rerun.
This time Bill Muncey was making a runaway race of it. It looked like his saucy orange and white Miss Thriftway had it in the bag when again the warning signal spelled trouble.
It was the intrepid Russ Schleeh and the ponderous Thriftway Too. The fans could see the driver’s orange crash helmet bobbing in the water like a cork. For the third time, the thrilling helicopter rescue was enacted before the tense and rigid crowd, just like in the TV scripts.
The indomitable flying colonel, little the worst for his ducking, walked off the float as good as new.
By this time the bright sunny day had turned to twilight and twilight into night.
After rumors had named the doughty Miss Spokane, then Miss Thriftway and finally the battered Miss U. S. as the winner, the official announcement came:
No contest; rerun set for Monday.
Getting back to the boat racing, the Eastern entry from Detroit had it all by himself in heat 1-A, with Thriftway Too, KOLroy I and Miss Burien following, but not very close.
It was Miss Seattle Too which led all the way in 1-B. Dallas Sartz gave her a fine ride, besting second-place Breathless, with Spokane, Everett, and KOLroy finishing in that order. This was the race in which the indestructible Slovak met his fate as his craft spun and flipped.
Miss Thriftway had a breeze in 1-C, leaving $ Bill and Tool Crib far in her foamy wake.
Then it was the Spokane speedster turn to electrify the applauding crowd by outracing both Breathless and Muncey’s Thrifty in heat 2-A. KOLroy I, Seattle Too and $ Bill finished in that order.
With Don Wilson closing with a rush and a roar, U. S. 1 made a shambles of 2-B after Schleeh in Thriftway Too had brought the crowd to its feet with a hair-raising start. Miss Burien came on to take second behind the Detroiter, with Thriftway, Tool Crib and Everett ranking in. that procession.
It was at this stage that the ship from Michigan with the red, white and blue tail was robbed of possible victory by her fifth-lap explosion and fire. As it developed, the doughty little thunderboat from Spokane, running strong in first place, 200 yards ahead of Muncey, would have fallen proud heir to the Seafair cup had the accident to Wilson been delayed three seconds. But, following the rules of the game, the officials stopped it when Miss U. S. met with disaster.
Then, after the third mishap of the regatta had burned Colonel Schleeh’s mount and caused more fireworks from the barge, the re-start of the final heat was again halted.
It was at this juncture the exasperated officials threw up their hands and decided to try it again on the morrow.
The all-deciding final heat, barring wreckage, fire, earthquake or tidal wave, will find seven entries hitting the chute.
The reshuffle finds Spokane and Miss Thriftway leading on points, with 625 each, followed by Roger Murphy's Breathless II with 600. Miss Seattle Too is still in the running with 527 points. The others are Miss Burien, 469; Miss Tool Crib, 394, and the indefatigable Bob Gilliam in KOLroy I.
This should decide it. But just in case, the committee has put in a new stock of red flares,
— August 8, 1960 8a
* * *
'Miss U. S. 1 Should Have Been Declared Winner':
Simon Hits Race Ruling
George Simon, owner of the ill-fated Miss U. S. 1, said last night before boarding a plane for Detroit, that his boat should have been declared the Seafair Trophy winner and challenged race officials on their ruling to extend the race into a second day.
“There is nothing in the book which substantiates their (the officials) rulings for two final heat re-runs and then a third on a second day.
“This is unprecedented in unlimited racing,” he claimed.
“We had 800 points at the time the Coast Guard stopped the heat. The entire race should have been stopped at this point and Miss U. S. declared the winner.
“Your officials did this very same thing here in 1951 when Quicksilver sank,” continued Simon, “and the Chelan race last year was declared a complete race after two heats because of the weather.
“As for Miss Spokane missing victory by the margin of a few hundred yards, this is unfortunate, and I am sympathetic. However, it was legally called.
“And further, if Spokane’s protest is upheld, I most certainly will lodge a protest. And I say this with the feeling that the people, of Seattle have been awfully good to me and my crew and have always treated us wonderfully.
“However, I don’t believe the people of Seattle want to see this kind of racing and I want the folks out here to know just exactly how we feel about the whole thing.”
Simon said his badly-burned driver, Don Wilson, probably would be hospitalized here for at least a week.
— August 8, 1960 8m
* * *
Owners and drivers of hydroplanes: competing in yesterday’s Seafair Trophy Race energetically discuss the pros and cons of postponing the last heat until today.
The middle two are Ole Bardahl, owner of the Miss Bardahl, and Bob Larsen, driver of KOLroy. Similar discussions were numerous in the pit area.
--- (Post-intelligencer Photo by Tom Brownell)
--- Post-Intelligencer, August 8, 1960) 8s
* * *
Hanging Out The Monday Morning Wash
ITEM—Boat racing takes second place to the carnage on Lake Washington course.
COMMENT—No question about it. They ought to award the Seafair Trophy to the Coast Guard helicopter. But in what other sport can you get six and a half heats of racing, three thrilling whirly-bird rescues and a parachute exhibition, all for free? As for the competition in the racing lanes, the hard luck kid is Rex Manchester and Miss Spokane. If the Spoke doesn’t win today, I’d chip in a dollar to buy a duplicate trophy for the pilot and boat the experts forgot. Here’s the way it was yesterday—The community-owned beauty from the Inland Empire came hurtling down to the finish line with Bill Muncey and Thriftway eating his flying spray. The man with the checkered flag was about to give the victory signal when they started shooting the fireworks all over the premises. With the ill-fated Miss U. S. a dead boat, the astonishing Manchester appeared a certain winner. When the folks from over the hump got the bad news, they protested bitterly. But rules are rules, and referee Stan Donogh’s decision stands. See you 'at the pits this afternoon. You bring the sandwiches and I’ll take along an armful of red flares.
— August 8, 1960 8t
* * *
Boeing Calls It Quits
‘This Is It’
By Cliff Harrison
Wahoo goes the way that all good unlimited hydroplanes seemingly must go—to the graveyard.
And there will be no more Wahoos.
William E. Boeing Jr., her owner, retired as of 2:30 p: m. Sunday.
It is presumed that Mira Slovak, her injured driver, also is through. He said this was his last year and, like Wahoo’s last year, it ended prematurely when the big hydro dug into a wave, did a flip and injured the colorful Czech. He’ll drive no more this year for sure.
He grinned sheepishly Sunday afternoon as he took my hand in the room at Virginia Mason Hospital. Nobody was asking him questions. Fact is, I shouldn’t have been in there according to the sign on the door. But big Bill pulled the inside where he and his sweet wife, Marcie, were sitting anxiously with Mira.
“This is it,” Boeing said. “I never did intend going past this year. But Mira and I had hoped maybe our luck would be good and we could bring, or help bring the Gold Cup back. It wasn’t to be.
“Even if my mind wasn’t made up to quit, to repair the boat would be plain foolishness. You can’t tell what has happened to the innards when strain like that is put on. It would mean a new boat. And that is out.’’
All Mira said was, “she dug in and things happened”.
The boat due to a wave kicked up by Miss Seattle Too, which was out in front. The pressure pulled the stern up and, it is believed, she went completely over.
Mira is banged up internally, but Dr. Randolph Pillow, his good friend, believes he is in, good shape and is hopeful that there will be no complications. No bones are broken, but there are numerous bruises. The boy took a bad beating when his mount dug into Lake Washington’s “hard water.” It is hard, indeed, when you hit at those speeds.
With Bill Boeing out of the picture the original Seattle hydroplane family completely has changed.
The late Stanley S. Sayres was the father, first with Slo-mo-shun IV, “The Old Lady,” who died that day in 1956 on the Detroit River.
Boeing, along with Bill Waggoner of Phoenix, bought three hulls and entered the picture in 1955. Boeing named his boat Miss Wahoo. Waggoner named his Shanty I. The third hull was to be used if an accident happened. None did and eventually it was sold to the Spokane syndicate and is now Miss Spokane. Later Waggoner bought Rebel, Suh, and renamed her Maverick.
Sayres was through when 'The Old Lady” was wrecked, injuring Joe Taggart seriously. Sayres died shortly afterwards.
Waggoner went on until last year when he had his biggest year with Bill Stead driving Maverick. Then Waggoner, too, due to illness, and the wrecking of the boat, retired.
Now, Bill Boeing joins the fraternity of ex-hydroplane owners.
— August 8, 1960 8v
* * *
Wahoo Won’t Be Repaired
Bill Boeing, Jr., today said his hydroplane, Wahoo, will be retired even though it is probably repairable.”
The Wahoo suffered extensive damage when she flipped in the north turn on the first lap of Heat 1B yesterday.
“If we rebuilt and had another accident, the odds would stack up against us,” Boeing said. “People would say, ‘I told you so.’
“I haven’t told Miro about this yet,” Boeing added. Miro Slovak, the Wahoo driver, is in Virginia Mason Hospital, along with two other drivers injured in yesterday’s race.
Boeing entered hydroplane racing in 1955. He retired without realizing his ambition to win the Gold Cup.
— August 8, 1960 8zi
* * *
Seafair Race ‘Casualties’
Miss Bardahl — Threw propeller, breaking crankshaft and cracking supporting strut (Heat 1-A). Engine “blew” in later test run due to over-revving which occurred when prop tore loose earlier.
Coral Reef — Overload in manifold pressure blew blower section loose from engine housing. (Heat 1-A.)
Wahoo — Suffered major hull damage to topside of bow, left fuselage, cockpit, tail and stern. (Heat 1-B.)
KOLroy — Water pickup plugged. (Heat 1-B restart.)
Miss Seattle — Blew engine. (Heat 1-C.)
Miss U. S. 1—Right rear exhaust stack melted, allowing flame to escape and envelop cockpit. Engine beyond repair, cockpit heavily damaged. (Heat 3.)
Thriftway Too—Blew engine and stacks, flame entering cockpit. No hull damage. (Heat 3-restart.)
--- August 8, 1960 8zm
MISCellaneous
Boat's-Eye View: Drinkside Seat
Business Booms
By Don Page
It was a big day for the paying customers at the Seafair Trophy Race.
Out along the boom — ringside, so to speak —- where Sunday mariners pay $12 to $35 and up to tie their boats, it was a sun-drenched, thrill-drenched; water-drenched day. From the early hours when the boats started rolling in until the roostertails turned purple in the twilight it was a royal Seafair day.
While shoreside fans were draping their blankets along the beach and on the neighbors’ front lawns, 701 boat operators paid more than $15,000 into the Seafair kitty for the privilege of parking along the boom.
The boats ranged from outboards and barges to plush yachts. There were canoes and a foldboat, a Coast Guard cutter and at least one rickety plywood raft. Some boomers dangled their feet in the water or dived in to cool off. Others mixed their water with the sort of chemicals' that once inspired Emmett Watson to label the spectator boom:
“The longest bar in the world.”
Six patrol captains and 70 patrol boats under Log Boom Committee co-chairmen Russ Gibson and Phil Duryea helped usher the boats into the boom and patrol the course.
Atop the log boom control tower, communication chief Dick Adams sweated out the long, hot day on-mike, shaded only by his Farmer-Brown-style straw hat.
Yesterday’s boom boat turnout was enthusiastic—but comparatively sparse. Last year 1,096 boats squeezed in along the boom.
Co-chairman Gibson estimated 10 spectators per boat. The per-boat average has come down, Gibson said, since little outboards have taken such a hold on John Public’s fancy. By Gibson’s estimate, the 701 boats on the boom must have held about 7,000 spectators. .
Next to the hydros, the craft probably roused the most comment was a big, green ship anchored just off the boom.
She was a Canadian corvette, in case you’re still wondering, and her passengers included Seafair Queen Mary Jo Erickson. King Neptune Ben Bowling and Prime Minister Sid Campbell, incidentally, were among VIP guests of H. W. McCurday on McCurdy’s yacht Blue Peter, parked along the boom.
There were more medical calls than usual among boom spectators yesterday.
At least two boatmen cut their arms open in falls through windshields, a 14-year-old girl had to be taken to the pits after a fall. Then there was the rush call that took Hungarian refugee Dr. Istevn Borocz on a run down the boom. He returned with the explanation:
“Drunk girl fall in water.”
It was a particularly big day along the boom for two honey-blonde, brown-eyed program salesmen.
They were Eoline Bradley and Nanci Gill—both 17, both Roosevelt seniors next year. Trim in a brown swimsuit and a yellow suit, Eoline and Nanci sold 200 programs from their bouncy outboard boat. They also garnered whistles, shouts and a unique tribute from a gentleman who barked like a dog. Capsule comment from the 17-year- old viewpoint:
“Who are the nicest people here? They’re on the Coast Guard cutter. That’s the boat where they can’t drink.”
--- August 8, 1960 8y
* * *
Might Be Seen as a Warning Flag: Red Shirt Doffed
By Proud Reporter
A reporter took his seat on the press barge yesterday wearing a bright red shirt.
He was proud as could be of the shirt. He had it made specially for the occasion. Suddenly, the voice of Howie Clifford, announcer, came blaring over the loudspeaker:
“Persons wearing red on the press barge are asked to either remove the red clothing or get off the barge.
“The red can be misinterpreted as a warning flag. Please, no red shirts.”
The reporter changed it for a dark blue shirt — a borrowed one.
On the subject of clothing, the television men apparently feel they must be in uniform.
Every TV station has its men decked out in various colored shirts, making them look like they’d been stamped out with the same cookie cutter. The newsmen wore whatever was the handiest when they got up in the morning:
There are more refrigerators on the barge than you can find in an appliance store. The photographers first got the refrigerators full of refreshments squared away, then got their cameras aboard.
The crowd this year is not as large as the crowd of last year. The log boom which was filled to capacity last year, was two-thirds full at the start of the race.
On the shore side, brown grass could be seen. The mass of shoulder-to-shoulder crowds was absent. About a half-mile north of the press barge, the beach was practically vacant.
How to count a crowd always has been a mystery. The enthusiastic counters estimated there were 500,000 people here at one time. This year’s estimate is down to 200,000 people—still a good-sized crowd to draw to your store.
Add to this, the 200,000 people who watched it on Channel 5, Channel 7 and Channel 4 and you have 600,000 people. Now add to this another 600,000 who listened to it on radio and you have more people attending the race than you can get into the City of Seattle.
Although the results of the hydroplane races were unpredictable as usual, human health, frail and unpredictable, too, followed the course to be expected in a large crowd.
The day was warm as the Red Cross first aid trailer, north of Stanley Sayres Memorial Park, did a flourishing business.
Dr. Wayne Lowe, Seattle physician who volunteered his services, said he and his staff were kept busy with a series of heat prostration cases.
As the day wore on, the high temperature affected more and more persons.
The biggest complaint of Dr. Lowe and the nurse assigned to the trailer, Ernesta van der Heyden, was the number of foot-cut cases they had to treat. Most of them, the two said, were caused by swimmers, mostly children, stepping on broken beer bottles as they played in the water close to shore.
The smallest crowd during his years at the hydroplane races was viewed gloomily by Jim Centoni, who was selling hot dogs just south of Mount Baker bathing beach.
Centoni said he expected to sell only about two-thirds as many hot dogs as he did before and that most of the race watchers appeared to have brought their own lunches with them;
The crowd along, the lake shore, though somewhat sparser than in years before, was all the more energetic at seizing vantage points close to the water. At the start of each heat, enthusiastic fans would push toward the lake shore with such gusto that on dozens of occasions those nearest the shore rolled into the water. The day was so hot, however, that an impromptu bath was hardly to be objected to.
Between the heats, radio broadcasters had their usual difficulties in finding something to talk about. The problem of too much time to say too little resulted in conversations much like this:
“Well, Jim, what do you think of the race?”
“Well, Bill, I’m sure all the boys are going to run their best possible race.”
"Well, Jim, it wouldn’t be a boat race if they didn’t.
In the rainbow of colors worn at the race, there was a lot of blue— police blue.
More than 100 policemen from the Patrol Division and 75 from Traffic “worked” the race.
Tourists commented on the politeness of the hardworking cops. The only ones who objected were those who tried to get into restricted areas without the proper badge.
Maybe it’s the heat and then again maybe it’s the excitement but people take different shapes and forms at the race if you are to believe the names on the badges.
John Vallentyne, P-I photographer, who stands better than six foot seven, was on hand at the pits (at least according to the badge) and he’d shrunk to five feet three inches in height.
Fred Zavaterro, photographer for United Press International, who can walk underneath you if you have your arms spread out, grew a healthy eight inches and was sporting a heavy red beard.
Sol Haas, a television executive, was wearing a yellow dress and had hair that was beautifully curled. Mrs. Sol Haas had changed her hair from black to red and had shrunk at least three inches if you were to believe the badge.
Jim Roberts of KING-Radio looked an awful lot like Mike Rhodes of KING-Radio. Buzz Lawrence, whose hair has been thinning out, looked like he was wearing a heavy mattress over the top of his head. He’d also grown an additional three inches.
Dick Lyall, the day city editor of The P-I, whose eyes in normal times are keen and sharp, was wearing glasses which indicated that his vision was not much better then 10-10.
Best of all were the badges reading “official.” The young people were wearing them. All they have to do a hundred years from now (if they live that long) is to tear off the label reading, “official” and they could get into the Oregon Centennial. These were surplus badges from last year’s turkey which is not scheduled to run for another 99 years.
--- August 8, 1960 8zj
* * *
Confusion Added To The Fun: Crowd Put On Own Show In Hydros' Wake
By Barry Farrell
Before dawn broke yesterday, the crowd was there. By noon it had reached proportions unknown elsewhere in sports. And by sundown, when the confusion of near-winners and counterprotests had become almost imponderable to the human mind, the crowd of 200,000 who saw the hydroplane races had. once again proved itself to be the strangest, most colorful fan club imaginable.
The sight of it, the sound of it, its powerful moods and its colossal piles of debris were everywhere, rimming Lake Washington from the Floating Bridge southward.
And over its own huge noise, the metallic voices of dozens of radio speakers could be heard all along the beach. The fact that hydroplane races simply cannot be understood without expert help did not deter anyone from milling closer to the water’s edge in order, perhaps, to confirm by eyesight the fantastic news that came from the radios.
“These boats make so much noise you can’t hear yourself think,” a squinting, freckled young girl whined in her boyfriend’s ear as the boats roared by in the twilight.
“What’s there to think about?” the boyfriend said, giving weight to the suspicion that in the races’ last hour, the complications of the rule book had befuddled many minds.
Between heats, when the spectators scratched for a little shade, a place to rest the head, the crowd created its own intramural entertainment that—for all but the excitement—was as good as the race itself.
Vendors, some of whom had business licenses pinned to their shirts, did brisk business in chameleons, hot dogs, double balloons with rabbits inside, ice cream, soda, Confederate flags, buttons of every sort, souvenir pennants and programs and coolie hats.
The coolie hats—green straw affairs—were an enormous success, giving the crowd a roof-of-the-jungle look from any elevated spot. And if there was something faintly ridiculous about 65-year-old men in dress shirts and coolie hats, what is to be said of five-year-old girls wearing badges proclaiming them “Officials?”
The girls seemed to be dressed somewhat more scantily than ever before, as did the “muscle beach” element among the boys. But the boulevard’s madrona trees provided hardly enough shade from the 90-degree sun, making immodesty as forgivable as the urge to jump into the lake— an impulse hundreds couldn’t resist, to the deep annoyance of race officials.
The fans’ reaction to the races themselves was more enthusiastic than ever. As the afternoon wore on and accident and injury washed sentimental favorites out if competition, new favorites appeared so that there was always someone left to cheer for.
Miss Spokane’s magnificent performance in the first of the two canceled “final” heats won such approval that when the drivers met in the pits and announced that Spokane’s driver Rex Manchester was their highly unofficial choice, the day’s loudest ovation was heard.
That it should all have come to nothing, making a final runoff this afternoon necessary, was an unpopular turn of events along the shore.
“All right, all right, I’m cured,” Civic Ice Arena Manager and outspoken hydro buff Ralph Geele said at day’s end. “Once the race has been won, a run-over is ridiculous.”
But Geele’s words, for better or worse, were countered by the emergency plans that thousands undoubtedly made on the spot to come to the lake again for today’s last race.
“They’ll all be out here tomorrow,” a tired policeman said. “Can you beat it? Have you ever heard the like?"
--- August 8, 1960 8zk