ca. 1914. This is possibly H. Staley and his unidentified "mechanician" aboard car #21, believed to be a Studebaker, preparing for the Montamara Festo races in early July of 1914. Driver Staley captured 4th place and $150 in the Inter-City Century, a 100-mile race held at the Tacoma Speedway on July 3rd. (TDL 7-4-14, p. 5-list of drivers; Tacoma Sunday Ledger 7-5-14, p. 16-results)

Tacoma Speedway (Lakewood); Racetracks--Lakewood--1910-1920; Automobile racing--Lakewood--1910-1920; Racing automobiles--1910-1920; Automobile racing drivers;

In September of 1914, racing fever over miniature racers and their junior drivers took Tacoma by storm. The "cycle cars" were in town for Labor Day races scheduled at the Tacoma Speedway. Most of the cars and drivers were from California, although Tacoma boys Joe Rovegno, Clarence Healy, Phil "Babe" Sullivan and "Swift" were scheduled to race. All the boys were feted by Tacomans and felt that the city "sure did treat a fellow fine." Six of the cars and drivers are pictured on A Street. At the left rear is the Park Hotel, at 802 A St. The building at the front left may be the J.F. Hickey Motor Car Co., at 812-14 A St., and a Seattle-Tacoma interurban car provides the background. In the front row are: (l to r) veteran junior driver Mott Haynes in his Mercer and novice driver Walter Gossman in his Red Devil. In the center are Homer Loudenclos, in either the Peugeot or the Hudson he designed, and Al Bruce in his National. In the rear are an unidentified car and Shirley Williams in a Theim. The cars were designed and built, in most cases, by the drivers themselves. They were in some cases backed by the motor companies whose names they carried. It was common for companies to bankroll race cars as advertising.

Tacoma Speedway (Lakewood); Racetracks--Lakewood--1910-1920; Automobile racing--Lakewood--1910-1920; Racing automobiles--1910-1920; Haynes, Mott; Gossman, Walter; Loudenclos, Homer; Bruce, Al;

ca. 1915. Cars in pit area at Tacoma Speedway circa 1915. Grandstands are sparsely filled indicating that the occasion might have been practice time for the racers who had entered in the three races composing part of the Montamara Festo circa 1915. Pit area is still dirt although the track itself was built of split boards consisting of 2 x 4 Washington fir. Filling in the spaces between the planks was 2500 cubic yards of gravel and sand. Over this was poured 500 barrels of hot Richmond road oil after which 400 cubic yards of sand was spread on top of the oil. (information on track construction provided by Standard Oil Bulletin, Vol. 3, ca. 1915)

Tacoma Speedway (Lakewood); Racetracks--Lakewood--1910-1920; Automobile racing--Lakewood--1910-1920; Grandstands--Lakewood;

Ray Ritters of Los Angeles poses in his cycle car, #2, a Velie, at the Tacoma Speedway. The Velie autos and trucks were manufactured by Velie Motors Corp. of Moline, Ill., from 1902-1928. In September of 1914, the small race cars and their junior drivers took Tacoma by storm. Each day the newspapers were filled with stories about the boys who, for the most part, designed and built, as well as raced, their own cars. The cars were usually powered by motorcycle engines and could travel at 35-50 mph. Ritters had raced many times in the South, but had never finished in the money. He arrived early in Tacoma and rebuilt his car here, making many changes, including mounting the engine on the side. He never got to show off his improved vehicle in Tacoma, both the Labor Day race and the rescheduled race were called due to rain. (T. Tribune 9/13/1914, pg. 2B, plus preceding dates in Sept. 1914)

Tacoma Speedway (Lakewood); Racetracks--Lakewood--1910-1920; Automobile racing--Lakewood--1910-1920; Ritters, Ray; Racing automobiles--1910-1920;

ca. 1919. Smiling Ralph Mulford, early race car driver, was not smiling in 1911 when many felt that he won the first Indianapolis 500 by a lap instead of credited winner Ray Harroun. Mulford still managed to garner enough points to become the 1911 National Driving Champion, a feat that he repeated seven years later in 1918. In 1919, he won Tacoma Speedway's 40 mile race with a time of 24:02 and 100.2 mph, outracing Frontenac teammate Louis Chevrolet and Cliff Durant. Returning in 1920 for the 225 mile Tacoma Classic, he finished second in his Monroe racing car, numbered "3." Ralph Mulford retired from speed racing after 1922 but continued to compete in hill climbs. At one time, he held the record for climbing both Mount Washington and Pikes Peak. Mulford lived to a ripe old age, a rare feat for the early drivers; born in 1884, he died October 23, 1973. (www.hickoksports.com; TNT 7-3-19, p. 1; 6/29/1920) G52.1-027, Speedway 096, BOLAND-B2010

Tacoma Speedway (Lakewood); Racetracks--Lakewood--1910-1920; Automobile racing--Lakewood--1910-1920; Mulford, Ralph; Racing automobile drivers;

Monty's Independents (Garagemen) were an all-black baseball team in the newly formed 9-member "Community" league in 1931. The Community League played a 16-game season. The league was notable for having not only an all-black team, but an all-Italian team headed by Al Greco, an all-Japanese team from Fife, and an all-Slavic team. Other teams in the league were Jack & Jill, the Tacoma Red Men, the 10th Field Artillery, Steilacoom, and McKinley Hill. Monty's opened their season on May 10, 1931, against Steilacoom where they lost 31-3 in a 7-inning game. (TDL 5-10-31, 2-B) TPL-3688; G39.1-173; G53.1-007; G39.1-165;

Baseball players--Tacoma--1930-1940; African American baseball players;