Location & Hours Bigelow Fields 624 Kennebago Road Eustis Me, 04982 Phone: 207-246-2177 Get directions You are always welcome to view the herd from the road, keep in mind during the winter they are not as close to the road as in the summer. 50-lap semi. Based on later articles, there were still problems with dust from time to time at Bigelow Field. View cart for details. organizational meeting, Scally was quoted as saying, We supply 90% of the cars Basketball Stats - NBA - ABA - WNBA/Women's - G-League/D-League - Minor League Basketball - Search Bigelow was the only one that was available to come out within a week and was on par with the best pricing. Stauber would die in route to the hospital. cars on hand with the Badger Midget Auto Racing Association left to sanction the Wczesne zespoy Grand Rapids gray w Recreation Park w dni powszednie oraz w Alger Park nad Reeds Lake w weekendy. Grand Rapids History Center. 2310 NW 3rd St Grand Rapids, MN 55744; 218-327-2001; GRAND RAPIDS Outpatient Substance Use Services. Bob Muhlke of Evanston, Illinois, clicked wheels with Carl Forberg, causing him to flip with the car rolling over once. 85 of a mile. https://archive.grpl.org/repositories/4/archival_objects/88454 Accessed March 01, 2023. Twitter Here is info I found. If so, he fooled a lot of people. Palmer, Lankheim, Markle and Hanley completed the top 15. This 1938 clipping shows the Bigelow track from the air. Plans for Kamp Motor Speedway in 2010 As the New Year arrives changes are in the works for us. Detective Tales Pulp July 1945- Chloroform cover- Day Keene (#233260434102). Race historian Dick Lee has forwarded a few action photos from that season. Something had certainly happened. (See "It's 1932 and Detroit has a New Speedway.). of his photos and his recollections of the early days of UARA racing. 55, made it two in a row 1901 Grand Rapids Lambs play in the Western Association and receive 10% of the purse.. 1/4 mi. He wiped out Jakes International pickup truck and did considerable damage to the race cars. So, now to the mystery. The field was home to a number of activities including race cars and baseball. Howard tells it this way. The track sat on the northwest corner of 39th street and South Division. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. In the words of the article shown here "The second feature went to Tony Willman, who started in second place and overcame Duke Nalon on the 18th lap to win a spectacular duel that saw the drivers bouncing around the track like jumping jacks as huge holes were torn in various parts of the track. 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. 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. episodes of his career. Grand Rapids History Center. Clemens Race Track and Me, Frank Lockhart - "The greatest of them all." In May of 47, the following ad appeared in Main Sometimes a guy would try to get his outboard slowed down and get his plugs fouled. Jim Williams, the owner and promoter of the facility called a press conference and with tears in his eyes stated, "Im afraid that its all over, Im going to tear it down.". For more about Bigelow and the ill-fated 1940 season, read on. Wiswald, Bill great show, a lot of action. Three photos in the collection document the fire at Bigelow Fields where the Chicks played, in 1952. Soccer Stats - MLS - Women's - Division II & III - NASL - MASL - MISL - Search At least, they are mysterious to me. After all, midgets were racing at Soldier Field in Chicago as well as in other sports venues around the country. arrival of the Kurtis Kraft, Offenhauser engine-powered midget, a whole variety during time trials, running around the tricky 1/5-mile dirt oval around the Grand Haven River Road Track raced jalopies from 1946 to 1948. . In any event, the guy in the suit has only hay bales to protect him. View Larger Map The park had a small grandstand, with bleachers only on the 1B side. This photo of Art Hartsfeld appeared in the opening day program along with Jimmy Brock in his #25 midget below. It was also known as Kamp's Speedway. Fedel. It was certainly common to have promoters run off with the purse after a night of racing in those days but this promoter seemed to be legitimate. A group of unidentified drivers inspects the clay that had been trucked in to form the racing surface. A night at the races was just 40 cents in 1938 and from this ad it appears the Zeiters anticipated a brisk business with buses running from a downtown hotel to the track every 15 minutes. Shawn was born March 16, 1961 in Kittanning, PA to the late Leslie Sr. and Betty (Black) Bowser. Don and Carson Zeiter then quit promoting midgets at Bigelow Field for Of many race tracks that he ran at, that was one that I never saw. 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. racing was booming in the late 1930's and new tracks were springing up All of these images are copyrighted and commercial reproduction either electronic or printed is prohibited. 2729 E Beltline Hibbing, MN 55746; 218 . Other featured drivers included Art Hartsfeld, Roy Duby, George Witzman, Jake Jacobson, Carl Forberg and the 1939 midget champion Eddie Ostwick. That was the end of the crack-the-whip. Night game at Bigelow Field. Bigelow Field was a minor league baseball park (GR Jets) that was converted to a race track for a season or two. Elliott, out of Joliet, Name City County Date Added; Adrian Fairgrounds: Adrian: Lenawee: 08-28-2003: Adventure Mountain Raceway: Greenland: Ontonagon: 10-05-2007: Air Park Speedway: Fennville There was two more weeks of racing on June 4 and then June 18, 1940 and then nothing. Dates. 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. spin, just pull it out of gear and well pull you off the track. 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. 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. first outdoor season in the record books, UARA planned indoor competition at Prior to the start of the 1947 racing season in 100 lap Championship race over Simmons, Saylor and Elliott. UARA actually had its roots in the City of Chicago, holding the majority of its V8-60-powered No. The picture was scanned from a National Auto Racing News dated September 8, 1938, and is not very good quality. There was two more weeks of racing on June 4 and then June 18, 1940 and then nothing. Racing historian Dick Lee has written a wonderful article on Bigelow Field and I will let his words begin our story: "If I were to talk about Capacity: 3,000 (1940); 4,500 (1941); 12,000 (1949); 8,000 (1950) Dimensions (Left, Center, Right): 298-530-298 The catcher faced west. He drove mostly at Motor City in Detroit and Ft. Miami in Toledo. A driver lost his life there when he drove into a dugout. equipment, the organization enjoyed a highly successful first season. With the Talked with Kamp's Oil personnel, on the same property, and they have heard the stories however are not connected. Elliott kept We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. 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 fairgrounds on October 5 with Ambrose winning the 12-lap main. Johnny Wohfeil also had a scare when he crashed and saw red spots on his windshield. The grounds were still being used for baseball where the Grand Rapids Jets played. 40 cars in the pits and over 9,000 fans, Zukor bested Lankheim. 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. The track was rough with some of these cars taken away large portions of the posted purse. 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. Cecil Clees was driving the Jake Jacobson J-3 when his fatality occurred. Ballparks used in 1942 Negro League Season 1942 Season ParkID Ballpark Name City State AKR01 League Park Akron OH ALT02 Cricket Field Altoona PA ATL04 Ponce de Leon Park Atlanta GA BAL10 Terrapin Park Baltimore MD BAL14 Bugle Field Baltimore MD BEL01 Belleville Athletic Field Belleville IL BEL02 Belmar Memorial Field Belmar NJ BIR01 Rickwood Field Birmingham AL BOG01 Bogalusa LA BOS07 Fenway . The ads and stories had been placed for the May 14th opener. Here is a sample news release promoting the 1940 season opener at Bigelow Field. They finally opened up the outside pit gate with the bomber using the city street to gather sufficient speed to complete the stunt. If you spin, dont accelerate and tear up the infield sod, dont spin your wheels.". The following story chronicles UARAs first season1947. "It looked to me like Ralph got angry at himself when he almost lost it and just kept his foot down on it and when he approached turn three the tail of his car made contact with the wall, pulled the front end to the right and he just shot straight forward through the hay bales and into the ball team dugout. midget finally won a UARA feature at Hanson Park on August 8, defeating Zukor More Info. the Grand Rapids Jets played. Other Sports Stats - World TeamTennis Stats - World TeamTennis Search Starter Bill Mitchell - Racing Giant | Association (UARA) was regarded as one of the premiere midget racing groups in second and Chick Markle nailed down third. 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 . rough and dusty oval. called Bigelow Field. Price: US $54.25 Bigelow Field Raceway Midget Auto Race Program 1950-Grand Rapids MI-Ads for C. Sign in to check outCheck out as guest Adding to your cart The next night saw Saylor end Elliotts reign at winner again at Hanson Park on August 29 with Saylor winning the 50 lap Labor 1952. win of the campaign, winning the Mid Season Title race at Bigelow Field in his She was also preceded in death by her sister, and best friend, Cindy Silva. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. He began to frantically feel of his face for blood but soon found out that the red was just paint off his helmet. Earlier Boscher had set a new qualifying mark Unforunately, he has no pictures. View Sue A Bigelow results in Grand Rapids, MI including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. Jake Jacobson, who always had his lit cigar clamped between his teeth while racing, lost his cigar down his shirt once and nearly lost control when it burned him. The neighbors living near Bigelow Field at that time will never forget when promoter Jim Williams booked the Ward Beam Thrill Show. These failed to deter the drivers as they raced to new record-breaking marks.". was fatally injured during the semi final. This decision is from health reasons both here and in Paducah Kentucky. On May 25, 1980, Shawn married Paul Bigelow. With regard to the field being torn down, that came a few years after a fire that pretty much destroyed the site. I know that my dad ran there numerous times. 35 midgets on hand for the competition at the Chicago Public Schools See one of them below. Tom Boscher. Football Stats - NFL - CFL - AFL - Arena Football - Indoor Football - Search on September 5. in his eyes stated, "I'm afraid that its all over, I'm going to tear it Bigelow Appliance Repair states they offer major appliance services Products & Services This company offers repair of Whirlpool manufactured major appliances including freezers, stoves,. (3). dirt oval: r5/3/1938-40, 47-c52: defunct: TRACK DRIVER STANDINGS. The financial and equipment losses hurt the Chicks for the rest of the season. Ben Zukor guided his Reichenbach Brothers-built The track called Bigelow Field has been gone and mostly forgotten for more than 40 years. Seller Rating. as the Michigan representative both for the the national auto racing weekly, the, 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. feature event was fellow UARA organizer, Scally. A lighted field capable of seating 10,000 stood here. He never flipped a race car and went on to win the National Championship and the 1957 Indianapolis 500. We are saddened to announce that we will not be opening the track for the 2010 season. Not all accidents ended up badly. One of the more interesting aspects of racing at Bigelow Field was that in later years they ran a crack-the-whip race. ", Stock cars ran briefly for one season at Bigelow Field in 1952 and then in 1953 a fire wiped out the grandstands. (photo by Ace). [2] History [ edit] The franchise originated in 1944 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as the Milwaukee Chicks. The pits were located near third base and the clay track was usually good and sticky, never dusty. I remember one time a car was qualifying and spun in turn three, went into the infield grass and kept running in circles, apparently the driver was unconscious. Average attendance is based on half the team's total games being played at home.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'statscrew_com-banner-1','ezslot_6',158,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-statscrew_com-banner-1-0');if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'statscrew_com-banner-1','ezslot_7',158,'0','1'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-statscrew_com-banner-1-0_1'); .banner-1-multi-158{border:none !important;display:block !important;float:none !important;line-height:0px;margin-bottom:7px !important;margin-left:auto !important;margin-right:auto !important;margin-top:7px !important;max-width:100% !important;min-height:250px;padding:0;text-align:center !important;}, Baseball Stats - AL - NL - AAGPBL - Minor League Baseball - Search Racing at Hanson Park pretty much came to an If and when the track sells we will make that announcement. June 16 1941 Article Lansing State Journal. On the 18th, only 11 cars are listed as competing with Joe Allan winning the feature. They enjoyed continued success following the move, making the playoffs every year until the league folded following the 1954 season.[2]. in his columns and race reports which appeared in Illustrated Speedway // San Diego Flight Path Noise Map, Aortic Stenosis Death Spiral, Moss Funeral Home Obituaries Cullman, Al, Articles B