Expressions
“What’s in a word?” can be changed to “What’s in a phrase?” and also be as suggestive, if not more. One word, one phrase can set a mind to thinking about a world of images, memories, or whatnot. Now, that’s power!
A Civil War-era expression sets my mind to thinking about speedsters, of all things. Coined in an era full of expletives, it was stated as a substitute for the actual cuss itself, and the story traces back to the time of the Kings of Israel, wherein one particular king was very reverential of Yahweh, also written as YHWH (in deference to The Diety). King Jehosaphat is said to have jumped for joy whenever he came across a religious scholar.
And thus became the expression “Great Jumpin’ Jehosaphat!”
Jumpin’ Speedsters
There are only a few events that offer opportunities to jump a car in competition:
hillclimbs
road racing, endurance racing, or modern “rallycross”
obstacle racing such as ‘bigwheel” competitions
The earliest competitions held during the infancy of the automobile centered around hillclimbs, road courses, endurance runs, and enclosed tracks. Of these, the first two were most amenable to getting “all four” off the ground. The first generation of speedsters (1904-1915) were no slouches in this regard.
Below are a few photos from that era. Our first example is an anonymous photo from a hillclimb.
Somebody’s having fun!
Despite the car being nigh unidentifiable, there are several details worth noting:
the radiator badge is an elongated diamond
it’s a single-seat speedster with a cowl around the driver that drops off after him
the straight front axle is suspended with leaf springs that appear to come out of the frame
the front wheels show the traditional amount of positive camber to help them track straight
there’s a fair amount of twist in the frame as it leaps! **********************************************************
Our second speedster is a Stutz photo from the 1913 Elgin National Trophy Race, which appeared in Stutz’s 1914 catalog. This was a part of a series of races held each year in Elgin, Illinois from 1910 to 1915.
Stutz at 1913 Elgin that appeared in the 1914 catalog
Chief sponsor was the Elgin Watch Company, known in 1910 as having the world’s largest watch-making factory. At that time Elgin also maintained a two-story observatory that used the stars to keep world time accurate to one hundredth of a second.
Chicagolandautoracing.com provides us with a description of the race setting:
Watching from specially setup grandstands or from some farmer’s field, spectators could watch national racing champions rip around what was a then-rugged route on the west side of the Fox River and what now is Larkin Avenue, McLean Boulevard, Highland Avenue and Coombs Road, competing for the coveted Elgin National Watch Company Trophy.
Of the several cups or trophies offered to winners of these events on this road course (all held at the same time), the most desired trophy was the Elgin, which Gil Anderson won on August 13, 1913, completing 8 laps over a distance of 302 miles at a speed of 71.5 mph. All done in an open-cockpit Bearcat speedster!
Anderson was a team driver for the Indianapolis-based Stutz Automobile Company and would again win this coveted trophy in 1915, along with Earl Cooper, also a team driver for Stutz.
Stutz would exploit its racing heritage for years.
Stutz would burnish their shield for years by using these early race wins in a series of ads. And, when Stutz sales lagged in various periods during the 1920s, the company would bring back the famous Bearcat name to adorn another set of models, all sport-bodied speedsters by the 1920s. Too few were made of any particular issue, and thus all Bearcats of any era are coveted unto this day. Racing has a way of making a impression… marketing at its best!
1931 ad. Still drawing on its heritage…
****************************************************************
Our third set of photos highlights a famous early racer and a storied brand from New England. Fred W. Belcher was a native of Springfield, Massachusetts who worked as a machinist for the Knox Automobile Company of Springfield.
Although a short-lived firm (1899-1914), Knox figured big in the early racing scene around New England and the Midwest. It produced several well-known competitive speedsters and won laurels and notoriety in the first decade of the 20th century.
Knox at the 1908 Vanderbilt as seen on their catalog.
Drivers such as Barney Oldfield, June Cuneo, and Fred Belcher drove and won handily in Knox Raceabouts.
Knox Raceabouts from 1910 catalog.
Belcher served as a Knox team driver at the first Indianapolis 500-Mile Sweepstakes in 1911, placing 9th in the No. 15 Knox racer. He also participated in at least 36 races from 1909-1911, winning in 14, placing in 10, and showing for four. He competed in Pennsylvania’s oldest annual hillclimb, Giant’s Despair, in 1910 and 1911.
Belcher exiting garage in Poland Springs, Maine.
Better known for its bottled spring water, Poland, Maine had also sponsored a well-known annual hillclimb. Seen here in two photos from 1911, Fred Belcher is in his No. 15 Knox 60 hp and exiting a garage in Poland in preparation for his runs up the hill.
In the second photo Belcher can be seen leaping the crest of the hill with all four off the ground. At a time when seat belts had not yet been invented, the best way to stay in an open cockpit was to hang on to the seat!
Belcher putting his speedster to work. Note that his left hand is holding him onto the seat!
Jumpin’ Jehosaphat, Leapin’ Lizards, what have you…
A classic speedster flying through the air is a beautiful sight!