Grand Rapids also had its share of league stars including Players of the Year Connie Wisniewski in 1945 and Alma Ziegler in 1950. He was crossed up and broke loose. Belvidere. They played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from 1945 to 1954,[1] winning championships in 1947 and 1953. My boyhood friends and I would stand at the entryway and watch the midgets being hauled in. After all, midgets were racing at Soldier Field in Chicago as well as in other sports venues around the country. about a now-defunct little midget track built on a baseball field in Grand Rapids, Restauracja szybkiej obsugi zajmuje dzi cz terenu. Managed to talk with a farmer who owned & operated the land in the area, and he remembers the fence by the tracks, planes overhead, and primarily motorcycle racing there-but cars at times as well. UARA visited the half-mile dirt oval at the Sandwich
Bigelow Field: Grand Rapids: Birch Run Expo Center: Birch Run: Birch Run Speedway & Event Center: Birch Run: Birmingham: Birmingham: Bob's Family Raceway: Clarksville: . Please feel free to download these images for your own personal use. ), News Release May 1940:"Little Eddie Ostwick, heavy-footed daredevil of the speedways and 1939 racing champion has positively assured W.R.Caine, operator of Bigelow Field that he will be on hand with his new midget for the opening race. The story begins with my discovery of a notebook among my father's records containing a series of letters, news releases, programs and newspaper clippings all relating to Bigelow Field. The corrugated outfield fence stood until just a year or two ago and the site is now a motel and a McDonalds, WaterWinterWonderland.com 2023 Over 63,256,633 Served, Grand Rapids Civic Theatre And School Of Theatre Arts. Grand Rapids History Center. That doesn't surprise With Ed Kirschner handling the
Bob Hope performed here in 1946. Copyright 1995-2023 eBay Inc. All Rights Reserved. of midget racing cars at a given event getting a small percentage of the purse
If I were to talk about midget racers that included stars like Ted Hartley, Art Hartsfeld, Sam Hanks, Paul Russo, Tony Bettenhausen, Cowboy ORouke, Ronnie Householder, Johnny Wohlfiel, Henry Banks, and Duane Carter, you would probably be thinking of perhaps a track such as Motor City Speedway or the Chicago Ampithiatre or the Nutley Veldrome. I know that my dad ran there numerous times. Basketball Stats - NBA - ABA - WNBA/Women's - G-League/D-League - Minor League Basketball - Search With the
rough and dusty oval. Dime Mystery 4/1949-Popular-Skeleton hand strangulation cover-Terror-crime & (#234290305606), Great service and delivery time. The stadium burned down in 1952. Based on later articles, there were still problems with dust from time to time at Bigelow Field. Bigelow Field fire. Hometown papers of well-known drivers like Ray Stauffer, Howard Dauphin and Eddie Ostwick got customized stories featuring each local hero. equipment, the organization enjoyed a highly successful first season. 55, made it two in a row
episodes of his career. Great site! He began to frantically feel of his face for blood but soon found out that the red was just paint off his helmet. Po dugiej, niewielkiej przerwie ligowej w Grand Rapids, West Michigan Whitecaps z Midwest League zaczli gra w Comstock Park w stanie Michigan , tu za Grand Rapids, w 1994 roku. perhaps a track such as Motor City Speedway or the Chicago Amphitheater or the Nutley Unforunately, he has no pictures. midget finally won a UARA feature at Hanson Park on August 8, defeating Zukor
45 to victory in the 25 lap main event on June 20. second and Chick Markle nailed down third. With some skeptics calling UARAs entries junk
Later that day, Scally and his Dicks Auto Repair V8
Hanley won the
This is one of the few tracks I never saw Dad race on.Thanks for building/maintaining a history of race tracks throughout Michigan. Well over 10,000 fans
Built in 1931 by local businessman and baseball enthusiast Clarence Bigelow III, Bigelow Field was also the site of a variety of other civic activities. Tragedy struck several times when midget race drivers were fatally injured at Bigelow Field. That doesnt surprise me. As shown in the program, about 29 cars and drivers were on hand including many of the best racers in the Midwest. Bigelow was the only one that was available to come out within a week and was on par with the best pricing. - Top Rated Plus - opens in a new window or tab, - eBay Money Back Guarantee - opens in a new window or tab. Extend Academy Student Certificate. If so, he fooled a lot of people. midget driver from Chicago, grabbed his first career win at Hanson Park on June
It was also known as Kamp's Speedway. The fastest twelve cars started in single file inverted and the last car in line was black flagged at the end of each lap. There was also the night when Harry King came to Carson Zeiter and told him that the cops might have an arrest warrant and that if Carson saw them he should give Harry a pre-arranged signal in the form of an announcement. $2,882.00 with Zukor setting a new track record of 20.13 seconds during time
Bigelow Field Raceway Midget Auto Race Program 1950-Grand Rapids MI-Ads for Coca-Cola-Hires Root Beer-VG. I'm sitting here now looking at his trophy for winning the Bigelow Field Mid-Season Championship on August 13, 1947. followed by Saylor, Corky Singer and Larry Johnson. Based upon what I have learned, the track was located on the SE corner of 36th & Eastern. Ford Special No.33 V8 to the win. Charley Herman announced from 1951 till the closing in 1953. on September 5. Here we see the view of the grandstand from center field. the 1940 season with "a special speedway oil applied under pressure at We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. Wiswald, Bill
Staff Interface The track always had a good safely crew who would tell the drivers, "If you spin, just pull it out of gear and well pull you off the track. Palmer, Lankheim, Markle and Hanley completed the top 15. I have just sent an ariel view of Bigelow Field in Grand Rapids to the Waterwinterwonderland webmaster. June 04, 2011 at 03:12 PM. Talked with Kamp's Oil personnel, on the same property, and they have heard the stories however are not connected. Images of the coach and a couple of team photos are included. The only clue we have is a line in Dick Lee's story that states, "1940 found a new promoter out of the Indianapolis area who failed to pay some purses and soon vanished." Plans for Kamp Motor Speedway in 2010 As the New Year arrives changes are in the works for us. The following is a list of drivers who competed at Bigelow Field during its tenure as a race track. The grounds were still being used for baseball where the Grand Rapids Jets played. Bigelow Field was a minor league baseball park (GR Jets) that was converted to a race track for a season or two. again, coincidental. Something had certainly happened. street and South Division. . Tom Boscher. With its
He is listed as driving a black #1 in the Bigelow program so this is not the car he was driving when he won the first race of the 1940 season at Bigelow Field. My dad appears to have taken on the job with gusto based on the number of news releases that were issued and the articles that appeared in the Grand Rapids papers prior to the opening of the season. Bigelow Field as the Joliet driver captured the feature in front of over 4,500
For 25 years it hosted some of the greatest names in racing including Art Hartsfeld, Sam Hanks, Paul Russo, Tony Bettenhausen, Cowboy O'Rourke, Ronnie Householder, Johnny Wohlfiel, Henry Banks and Duane Carter. 40 cars in the pits and over 9,000 fans, Zukor bested Lankheim. While the track was very well lighted for night racing, there were also day race programs in 1938. View cart for details. system-owned facility. Under the leadership of Willliam Mabin, a local group of young men and boys form the Colored Giants, the first local team of black players. Noon First Race 2:00 pm, Featuring top
Don and Carson Zeiter then quit promoting midgets at Bigelow Field for Finishing behind Wiswald and his No. Verified Reviews . But despite the reported crowd of 7,000 on August 23, 1938, Don and Carson only promoted the track one more year. These failed to deter the drivers as they raced to new record-breaking marks.". Shewbridge Field: FORT WAYNE DAISIES: 1946 - 1954: Memorial Park: 1945 - 1946: North Side High School Field: 1944: Nicollet Baseball Park (Minneapolis Millerettes) GRAND RAPIDS CHICKS: 1952 - 1954: South High School Football Field: 1950 - 1952: Bigelow Field (Wyoming Township) 1945 - 1949: South High School Football Field: 1944: Borchert Field . We have had some inquiries of leasing the track for a few races this year but at this time we are only interested in selling and not leasing. There was two more weeks of racing on June 4 and then June 18, 1940 and then nothing. V8-60-powered No. For more about Bigelow and the ill-fated 1940 season, read on. The park had a small grandstand, with bleachers only on the 1B side. Russ Jacobson, the son of the legendary Jake Jacobson, didnt get hurt but probably got chewed out by his father, Jake, when he was towing the J-2 and J-3 midgets from Bigelow Field back to Pontiac, MI and went off the road by Ada. shows that year, recently reminisced, The fans would start lining up hours
18, winning the weekly 25 lapper in his Markles V8 No.32. Berlin Raceway began racing in 1951 and is still racing. 17 midget in the inaugural UARA
end on September 30 with Rubright, wheeling the Bob Lockard Willys, winning the
They are presented here for your viewing enjoyment. Johnson, Singer, Simmons and Boscher rounded out the top ten. For over 30 years, the United Auto Racing
Hank Heald was the announcer before moving on to the Grand Rapids Speedrome when it was built in 1950. Grand Rapids had its share of league stars including Players of the Year Connie Wisniewski in 1945[3] and Alma Ziegler in 1950. Johnny Wohfeil also had a scare when he crashed and saw red spots on his windshield. opener. saw Paul Ambrose of Fox Lake win the 25-lap Hanson main event on June 25 for the
He is listed as driving a black #1 in the Bigelow program so this is not the car he was driving when he won the first race of the 1940 season at Bigelow Field. In all, 37 UARA-sanctioned dates took place in
Elliott kept
Someone at CSRA seems to have vouched for him. Bigelow Field fire. From the Collection: Bigelow Field. UARA ventured out of state to Bigelow Field in
The track was rough with some
Other Sports Stats - World TeamTennis Stats - World TeamTennis Search He almost lost it coming off turn four, according to Howard Newland who was sitting next to Ralph in line to qualify. On May 25, 1980, Shawn married Paul Bigelow. Bigelow Field. Grand Rapids History Center. 516 South Pokegama Ave Grand Rapids, MN 55744; 218-327-2001; HIBBING Outpatient Therapy, Psychiatry Office & Outpatient Substance Use Services. A lighted field capable of seating 10,000 stood here. Grand Rapids Jets (1948-1950) Colts z Grand Rapids (1941) Grand Rapids Dodgers (1940) Grand Rapids Tigers (1934) . he ads and stories had been placed for the May 14th opener. Ballparks used in 1945 Negro League Season 1945 Season ParkID Ballpark Name City State AKR01 League Park Akron OH ALT01 Columbia Park Altoona PA ATL04 Ponce de Leon . Delivery times may vary, especially during peak periods. This lasted until one night Ray St. Johns thought he was last and backed off the gas and Charley Messler hit him full bore. Dad was called home December 26, 1990. With local weekly midget racing also taking
Plus, it helps me out bringing. photographing chores, Lankheim, who flipped during the season opener, won the
Additionally, several Chicks made All-Star teams from 1946 to 1954 including Wisniewski, Ziegler, Earp, Haylett, Ruth Lessing, Merle Keagle, Doris Satterfield, Earlene Risinger, Eleanor Moore, and Joyce Ricketts. If you spin, dont accelerate and tear up the infield sod, dont spin your wheels.". He was rushed to the hospital but was soon released. Name City County Date Added; Adrian Fairgrounds: Adrian: Lenawee: 08-28-2003: Adventure Mountain Raceway: Greenland: Ontonagon: 10-05-2007: Air Park Speedway: Fennville After the fire my friends and I played "cowboys" and "army" in the burt out ruins (not with permission of our parents.) The picture was scanned from a National Auto Racing News dated September 8, 1938, and is not very good quality. https://archive.grpl.org/repositories/4/archival_objects/88454 Accessed March 01, 2023. from Hanson Park after difficulties arose over the purse structure for the 100
It was a matter of economics. and added note, the Kamp Motor Speedway in IN was dirt. Night game at Bigelow Field. However you can see that it was also a baseball field. Pinch-hit flagman Wesley DeVol made sure that Howard Dauphin would never forget his victory when Wes accidentally cracked Howard on his helmet with the checkered flag as Howard zoomed under the flagmans stand. Address: 87 N. Park St City: Grand Rapids State: MI Zip: 49544 County: Kent Number of visits to this page: 37957 Disclaimer: Please note that location entries may feature older photos or post card views that may not represent the current appearance or features of the attraction. Some interesting recollections of a couple of greats, from Howard Newland, who raced midgets at Bigelow Field. Clemens Race Track and Me, Frank Lockhart - "The greatest of them all." Over 10,000 fans and 42 cars were on hand for the Hanson Park
Most people in Grand Rapids don't remember Bigelow Field because it was torn down over forty years ago. ranking Class B Drivers, Auspices of
If a driver still didnt make it, he then got a last shot at the feature through a consolation race. With some skeptics calling UARA's entries "junk Big Bill Mitchell, out of Detroit, was one of the flagmen and he had a solid background in racing, having owned big cars as far back as the late 1920s with drivers such as Chet Miller, Cliff Duran and others. So they made the decision to concentrate their promoting efforts at the other tracks. Free to download these images for your own personal use him full bore racing on June 4 then. Out within a week and was on par with the rough and dusty oval of well-known drivers Ray. These failed to deter the drivers as they raced to New record-breaking marks ``... Year arrives changes are in the All-American Girls Professional baseball league from to... Fastest twelve cars started in single file inverted and the last car in line was black flagged the. Lighted Field capable of seating 10,000 stood here 1938, Don and Carson only the... 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