23 replies to this topic

[Comrade Jim]

Map I put together showing Board Track locations...

[Bill from NH]

The track shown for Salem, NH, is a horse track.

What's this map supposed to show us?

[Pablo]

Pretty cool... I can see my house right there in the middle of the Black Hole.

Playa del Rey raceway is only 1.25 miles away... yeeehawwwww!

WHAT!? No tracks in Mexico???

[Larry Mattingly]

John,

You missed perhaps the most famous board track... the Altoona Speedway. Actual location was in Tipton, PA.

LM

[Comrade Jim]

The track shown for Salem, NH is a horse track.

Formerly a board track from 1925 to 1927. Probably before your time.

[Comrade Jim]

You missed perhaps the most famous board track... the Altoona Speedway. Actual location was in Tipton, PA.

Good catch Larry - Altoona Speedway board track in Tipton, PA, which was in operation from 1923 through 1929.

Thanks .

[Mopar Rob]

I thought there was a board track set up at Soldier Field in Chicago at one time?

[Comrade Jim]

WHAT!? No tracks in Mexico???

Pablo -

Sorry don't kow of any - but I do have an early aluminum racer made in Mexico - it's the only one I have ever seen - about 12" long.

Enjoy.

[Comrade Jim]

I thought there was a board track set up at Soldier Field in Chicago at one time?

They ran Midgets and larger cars @ Soldier Field- I could be mistaken but I think the Board track was on the property where Hines Hospital currently resides

See Soldier Field pixs below

[chaparrAL]

Soldier Field never had a board track. I regret I never made a race there as in the '60s it tapered off. Don Oldenberg won a lot there, and was from my neck of the woods.

The Maywood track was on the site of what is now the horse track, right down the street from the famous Johnny's Hot Dogs, and around the corner from Rube's, which I hear is gone now. Betcha M. Swiss knows those joints well!

I attended Triton college which is in that neighborhood.

[Mopar Rob]

Do you mean Johnny's Beefs in Elmwood ParK? If so they're GOOOOOOD. One of my favorites is the Harlo Grill (25th & North Ave) for a good old school cheeseburger.

I do think there was a board track set up before the dirt track at soldier field. I remember my grandfather telling me about it. I'll try Googling it later to see what if anything comes up?

[Larry Mattingly]

Not positive about a board track st Soldiers Field, but I know that the Polo Grounds in New York had a portable board track for midget racing...

I'm pretty sure several stadiums utilized 'portable' board tracks, adapted from the bicycle racing velodromes of the era, to race midgets.

Another board track that didn't make the list was the infamous high-banked Nutley Velodrome, which was utilised for midget racing. The place is known for horror stories... like the night a driver was decapitated by the cables surrounding the track, and his head rolled down the banking.

The late Crocky Wright authored a great book about the place...

LM

[chaparrAL]

Hey Rob, Theres only one Johnnys!

And there was also a track in Hammond, IN, possibly in the '20s that may have been wood.

[Mopar Rob]

Just came home from a trip to China Town for a late lunch. Anyway did some Googling. It did have one, but only for a short time

Some Soldier Field Auto Racing History

NFL Wiki

Mainly thought of as the long-time home of the NFL's Chicago Bears, the 100,000-seat stadium on the shores of Lake Michigan hosted the Jack Dempsey-Gene Tunney championship fight in 1927, track and field competitions and several major college football games, including Army-Navy and Notre Dame-USC.

The stadium was the site of numerous races. A 1/4 mile board track was built, and the first two midget car races at the track in 1939 were won by Sam Hanks.^[1] The track was also used for motorcycle races. The board track was removed and it was changed to a half-mile dirt oval track. In 1956, NASCAR swung through for its only race at Soldier Field. Twenty-five cars started the 200-lapper, with Fireball Roberts averaging 61.037 mph to win $850. The racetrack was torn out in 1970.

In 1984, Soldier Field was listed in the National Register of Historic Places program managed by the National Park Service, and it was later designated a National Historic Landmark.

[TSR]

You forgot Culver City, CA... where the Millers ran.

The cast aluminum car looks furiously like an Indy Miller-Ford V8...

[Larry Mattingly]

If you have an interest in the board track era, Dick Wallen did a fabulous book on the subject... 'Board Track ... Guts, Gold & Glory'.

In all, there were 24 board tracks tracks constructed of a half-mile or longer. There were also numerous smaller 'bicycle velodromes' that featured midget racing.

Speaking of Chicago board tracks...

A two mile board track... Speedway Park (corner of 9th Ave. and 12th St. in the suburb of Maywood) was constructed in 1914 to the tune of 1.5 million dollars.

In 1915 Speedway park hosted a 500-mile race that drew more than 85,000 fans and grossed more than $400,000... more than the Indy 500 that year!

LM

[Comrade Jim]

Interesting list of Board tracks for all forms of racing - Auto - Midget - Motor Cycle

http://forums.sohc4....topic=42844.100

Los Angeles, CA; Coliseum Motordrome; 63rd & Main; 3&1/2-laps to the mile; 1909-
Los Angeles, CA; Stadium Motordrome; 35th & Hooper St., 1/3-mile; circular board track; 1912-
Los Angeles, CA; Playa Del Rey; Culver and Jefferson Blvd., 1-mile oval; 20 degrees, first track built by Prince, 1910-1913
Beverly Hills, CA; 1&1/4-miles; 1920-1924
Oakland (Elmhurst), CA; 1/2-mile circle; 40 degree, 1911-1912
Culver City, CA; 1&1/4-miles; 1924-1927
Fresno, CA; 1-mile; 1920-1927
San Carlos, CA; 1&1/4-miles; 1921-1922
Cotati, CA; 1&1/4-miles; 1921-1922
Salt Lake City, UT;
Denver, CO; Lakeside Park,
Springfield, MASS; 1/3-mile; 1909-
Omaha, NB; 1&1/4-miles; 1915-1917
Des Moines, Iowa; 1-mile; 40 degree, 1915-1917 Iowa link
St. Louis MO;
Kansas City, MO, 95th & Holmes Rd., 1&1/4-miles; 35 degrees, 1922-1924
Chicago, IL; Riverview (adjacent to Exposition Park); 1/3-mile circular; 1911-
Chicago (Maywood) NW, IL; 9th Ave. & 12th St., 2-mile; 17 degrees, 1915-1918
Detroit, MI;
Cincinnati, (Sharonville)OH; built by Harry Hake, 2-mile oval; 17 degrees, 1916-1919 Cincinnati link
Akron/Cleveland, OH; built by Paul Turtin, 1/2-mile oval; 45 degrees, 1926-1930
Columbus, OH;
Philadelphia PA, Point Breeze,
Altoona, PA; 1&1/4-miles; 32 degrees, 1923-1931 Atoona link
Uniontown, PA; 1&1/8-miles; 34 degrees, 1916-1922
Bridgeville, PA; 1/2-mile; 35 degrees, built by Paul Tustin,1927-1930
Brooklyn, NY; (Sheepshead Bay) 2-miles; 1915-1919
Atlantic City, N.J.; 1&1/2-miles; 45 degrees, 1926-1928 Atlantic Speedway web site link
Newark, NJ; ?-miles; Great Electric Park, Vailsburg; July 4,1912- September, 1912
Woodbridge, N.J.; Woodbridge High school, 1/2-mile; 38 degrees,1928-1931
Salem, New Hampshire;(Rockingham)1&1/4-mile; 38 degrees, 1925-1928
Laurel, Maryland; 1&1/8-miles; 48 degrees, 1925-1926
Charlotte, North Carolina;(Pineville)1&1/4-miles; 40 degrees, 1924-1927
Atlanta, Georgia;
Fulford, Florida;(Miami-Biscayne Bay)1&1/4-miles; 50 degrees, 1926. Destroyed by hurricane same yr. Stood six months. built by Carl F. Fisher
Omaha, Ne; 1&1/4 mile oval, 41 degrees, 1915-1917

Pics - Chicago Speedway 1915 & DePalma at Chicago Speedway 1916

[Steve Deiters]

Wasn't there a converted velodrome in Nutley, NJ, that was also used for board track racing?

[Larry Mattingly]

Mentioned that one in an earlier post, Steve...

Raced midgets on it, a former bicycle track I believe.

Scarey place... Some horrendous crashes.

The late Crocky Wright did a great book on the place.

LM

[John Streisguth]

I was going to mention the Atlantic City track, which seems to have been the largest one ever built. You can still see the outline using satellite images of the area.

[Comrade Jim]

Wasn't there a converted velodrome in Nutley, NJ, that was also used for board track racing?

Nutley Velodrome - Nutley, NJ

The 1/7-mile, 45 degrees-banked wood oval was built in 1933 by Joe Miele, and opened for bicycle racing.

It closed in 1937 after interest in bicycle racing dropped off.

It was reopened on the 3rd April 1938 for motor-racing by Jack Kochman, and continued through until August 26, 1939, when it was shut after a series of fatalities. (See the New York World - Telegraph April 4, 1939.)

Paul Russo was the first auto race winner. Eddie Staneck was the 1938 AAA track champion, Johnny Ritter was the 1939 AAA track champion.

Three drivers were killed in 60 race dates before it was demolished in February of 1942.

Nutley built a park and playground on the site in 1950, named after Father Glotzbach, a priest who worked with troubled children.

[Larry Mattingly]

I thought there was a board track set up at Soldier Field in Chicago at one time?

This weeks edition of National Speed Sport News confirms that a quarter-mile board track was,indeed,constructed inside Soldier Field for midget racing in 1939 at a cost of $25,000...

LM

[Comrade Jim]

I thought there was a board track set up at Soldier Field in Chicago at one time?

Mainly thought of as the long-time home of the NFL's Chicago Bears, the 100,000-seat stadium on the shores of Lake Michigan hosted the Jack Dempsey-Gene Tunney championship fight in 1927, track and field competitions and several major college football games, including Army-Navy and Notre Dame-USC.

The stadium was the site of numerous races. A 1/4 mile board track was built, and the first two midget car races at the track in 1939 were won by Sam Hanks.^[1] The track was also used for motorcycle races. The board track was removed and it was changed to a half-mile dirt oval track. In 1956, NASCAR swung through for its only race at Soldier Field. Twenty-five cars started the 200-lapper, with Fireball Roberts averaging 61.037 mph to win $850. The racetrack was torn out in 1970.

In 1984, Soldier Field was listed in the National Register of Historic Places program managed by the National Park Service, and it was later designated a National Historic Landmark.

http://nfl.wikia.com...i/Soldier_Field

[Phil Smith]

Here's a pretty neat board track video: http://vids.myspace....videoid=5561686