St. Petersburg Evening Independent - June 3, 1971
Posted: June 3, 1971 at 7:35 pm in 1971.
| 1968, the Checkerboard Comet and the “Year that Changed the World” | |
| By David D. Williams | |
2008 marks the 40th Anniversary of the tumultuous summer of 1968. To those of us that lived through it, it was a long hot summer marred by riots, assassinations, political unrest and yes, some darn exciting hydroplane racing. Time magazine calls 1968 “The Year that Changed the World!”
 Billy in the Checkerboard Comet It struck me, that while I viewed the onrushing social change of 1968 from the safety of my living room via a 18” RCA Black and White TV; the “Teeny Bopper” crew of the Miss Bardahl was watching events first hand as they crisscrossed the country chasing the 1968 National Championship. I spoke with Bardahl Crew Member David Smith about that experience. In 1968 Smith, the son of long time Budweiser crew man Burns Smith, was a Senior at the U of W and was starting his fourth year traveling with the Bardahl Crew. David, along with Bardahl Advertising Director Bill Voorhees, had designed the Bardahl’s new distinctive checkerboard paint job, and was looking forward to a competitive season. “To be honest, the 67 season was a bit of a cake walk for us. The cabover boat was a real heavy boat, so we built up a lot of really strong engines for 1966. When we lost the cabover in DC, we had something like 12 motors left over. The yellow (Karelsen) boat was a real light boat and pushed easily, so we had this really light boat and a lot of strong engines, and the rest of the “big boys” were still recovering from their accidents in 66, so we pretty much had things our own way.” By 1968 everyone was back up to strength and Smith and the Bardahl team knew that they would have their work cut out for them. |
Posted: May 18, 2012 at 4:50 pm in 1968.
Bardahl Wins; Gardner Badly Hurt as Eagle Flips
Gold Cup Driver Undergoes 2-Hour Operation
Detroit River, Detroit MI, September 8, 1968
Spokane Daily Chronicle - Sep 10, 1968
DETROIT — (Special) — Warner Gardner today was listed as “extremely critical” following a two-hour operation at the Detroit General Hospital.
Gardner, 52, was injured seriously yesterday when his unlimited-hydroplane, Miss Eagle Electric, exploded on the Detroit River during the Gold Cup race. The hydro suddenly became airborne, flipped on its side and disintegrated as it smacked against the water.
Billy Schumacher of Seattle, who successfully defended his Gold Cup championship driving Miss Bardahl, started to make an effort to help rescue Gardner until he saw a Coast Guard amphibious helicopter swooping in to pluck the unconscious driver from the river.
“I got out of the way in a hurry. I knew they could be of more help to Warner than I could,” Schumacher said.
After a delay for regrouping of boats, the third and championship heat in which Gardner and Schumacher had been dueling was rerun.
Gardner’s son, Warren, Jr., 17, a member of the Eagle Electric pit crew was among the 70,000 spectators who saw the spectacular crash.
It occurred on the opposite side of the river from where Chuck Thompson, veteran Detroit driver, was injured fatally when his boat disintegrated during the 1966 race. Continue Reading…
Posted: May 18, 2012 at 4:50 pm in 1968.
Bardahl Wins Interminable Diamond Cup
Lake Coeur d’Alene, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, August 11, 1968
By Bud Livesley, Times Sports Writer
Ellensburg Daily Record Aug. 12, 1968
COEUR D’ALENE — As a Smirnoff mechanic said, mimicking Gene Miller as he counted down the long, tiresome hours over the public address system: “It is now three days to the five-minute gun.”
It was only a slight exaggeration. It took seven minutes short of eight hours to determine a Diamond Cup hydroplane champion yesterday. It took Billy Schumacher only three seconds longer than 18 minutes to perform the task.
It took hours to piece together a timetable and a race course wrecked by a frustrating southwest wind that turned Lake Coeur d’Alene into a sea of whitecaps and a million “holes.”
In the end, persistence by men and machines outhuffed and outpuffed the wind.
It was dark when Schumacher guided the Miss Bardahl through the grey water to win the final heat and his first Diamond Cup regatta. It was 8:23 p.m. Continue Reading…
Posted: May 18, 2012 at 4:50 pm in 1968.
Bardahl Wins At Madison, Ind.
Ohio River, Madison, Indiana, July 7, 1968
Tri-City Herald July 8, 1968
Billy Schumacher drove the Seattle based Miss Bardahl to victory in the Indiana Governor’s Cup Race for unlimited hydros at Madison, Ind. on July 7. Final point standings were: Miss Barclahl-1,100; Miss Eagle Electric-900; Miss Budweiser-794; Gale’s Roostertail-752; Notre Dame-625; My Gypsy-525; Savair’s Probe-469; Miss U.S.-400; Smirnoff-400; Atlas Van Lines-394; Savair’s Mist-394; Miss Madison-300; Parco O Ring Miss -225; Harrah’s Club-169.
(Reprinted from Yachting, September 1968, p.195) (courtesy www.lesliefield.com)
Posted: May 18, 2012 at 4:50 pm in 1968.
Billy the Kid Strikes Again in Wisconsin
Lake Monona, Madison WI, June, 16, 1968
The Milwaukee Journal June 17, 1968
MADISON, Wis. — (Special) — Billy Schumacher, in his many years of driving speedboats, has become accustomed to winning. It almost became habit-forming last year when Billy The Kid took over as driver of Ole Bardahl’s new unlimited hydroplane. The Kid rode the Bardahl to six victories in eight races and handily won the national championship.
It was back to form yesterday for Billy and the yellow-and-black-checkered hydro from Seattle in the first-time Wisconsin Cup regatta viewed by an estimated 30,000 paying spectators.
Several thousand more “free-loaders” watched the race on Lake Monona from apartment rooftops and terraces of buildings that line this lake just two miles from the state capitol building.
A blown engine and two penalties made Schumacher’s task easy, after scooting the Bardahl to firsts in Heats 1A and 2B. Bill Muncey, also of Seattle, had turned in the fastest qualifying in George Simon’s Detroit-owned Miss U. S. But the U. S. blew an engine on the second lap in the final heat and left the Savair’s Probe to challenge the Bardahl. Continue Reading…
Posted: May 18, 2012 at 4:50 pm in 1968.
Miss Bardahl Wins San Diego Cup
Mission Bay, San Diego, California, September 24, 1967
Tri-City Herald Sept. 24, 1967
Miss Bardahl’s domination on the unlimited circuit continued at the season’s finale on Mission Bay in California, Sept. 24. The national champion outclassed a field of 13 contenders to win the fourth annual San Diego Cup before an estimated crowd of 55,000 with an average speed of 100.062 m.p.h. for the 45 miles.
Young Schumacher posted his sixth win of the eight-race circuit this year with such ease that lie had a margin to spare even after jumping the gun in the final contest. The error cost the 24-year-old driver an extra lap and a perfect heat record in the regatta. Two preliminary heat wins plus a second in the final event gave Miss Bardahl the most impressive record in modern unlimited history.
Fred Alter driving the new Parco-O Ring Miss finished a surprising second in the regatta with Miss US piloted by Bill Muncey taking third. Both boats tied on total points but the California-based O-Ring entry had the nod on total elapsed time.
Billy Schumacher showed his boat’s capabilities in the opening heat. He steered Miss Bardahl into the lead at the start, powered to a record lap speed of 110.15 the first time around, then finished the contest 27.8 seconds ahead of second place Miss Budweiser. Twin hemi-powered Miss Chrysler Crew trailed by 3.5 seconds. Continue Reading…
Posted: May 18, 2012 at 4:50 pm in 1967.
Miss Bardahl Captures Unlimited Hydro Crown
Lake Folsom, Sacramento, California, September 17, 1967
Tri-City Herald Sept. 17, 1967
Sacramento, Calif., Sept. 17 [1967] (AP) — Miss Budweiser won the cup, but Miss Bardahl captured top honors today in the $25,000 Sacramento Cup race for unlimited hydroplanes.
Miss Budweiser gained the cup by winning the final heat. However, Miss Bardahl, with Billy Schumacher at the helm, won the national championship. She averaged 98.79 miles an hour as she took the first two heats and placed second in the final to clinch the crown.
(From the Associated Press)
| Final standings | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | U-40 | Miss Bardahl (5) |
| 2 | U-12 | Miss Budweiser (5) |
| 3 | U-77 | Miss Chrysler Crew |
| 4 | U-2 | Miss U.S. (3) |
| 5 | U-19 | Wayfarer’s Club Lady |
| 6 | U-8 | O-Ring Miss |
| 7 | U-88 | Hilton Hy-Per-Lube |
| 8 | U-10 | Savair’s Mist |
| 9 | U-22 | Atlas Van Lines (1) |
| 10 | U-15 | My Gypsy |
| 11 | U-50 | Savair’s Probe |
| DNF | U-9 | Miss Lapeer |
| DNF | U-21 | Miss Eagle Electric (2) |
(courtesy www.lesliefield.com)
Posted: May 18, 2012 at 4:50 pm in 1967.
Miss Bardahl Wins Gold Cup
Lake Washington, Seattle, Washington, August 6, 1967
by Bob Brinton
Ellensburg Daily Record: Aug. 7, 1967
The 59th race for America’s oldest powerboat trophy, the Gold Cup, went to Miss Bardahl driven by Billy Schumacher, The reported 160,000 spectators around the Lake Washington course in Seattle witnessed a one-sided performance by the winner plus one of powerboating’s most spectacular accidents just six seconds after the starting gun in the initial heat. For her winning effort Miss Bardahl earned $11,250 of the $55,000 purse. Second place Miss Lapeer piloted by Warner Gardner won $7,900. Seeking his 5th Gold Cup victory, Bill Muncey steered Miss U S to third overall and $5,500 in prize money. Most spectacular but near tragic highlight of the 60-mfle event was the destruction of two leading contenders in the opening moments of the first heat. Veteran drivers Jack Regas and Chuck Hickling were hospitalized with serious injuries following the violent accident. Continue Reading…
Posted: May 18, 2012 at 4:50 pm in 1967.
Bardahl, Billy the baker win Atomic Cup
July 24, 1967
By Charlie Van Sickel, Herald sports editor
Modesto Bee July 24, 1967
Billy Schumacher, the brash baker boy from Seattle, is earning a reputation as the brightest thing to hit the unlimited hydroplane racing scene since Mira Slovak defected from Communist Czechoslovakia a decade ago. Schumacher enhanced that reputation here Sunday when he streaked to three straight heat victories and walked off with the second running of the Atomic Cup unlimited hydro regatta.
Crowds estimated at 80,000 by Tri-City Water Follies officials watched Bardahl out-duel Bill Sterett in Miss Chrysler Crew and Jim McCormick in Wayfarer’s Club Lady for the $5,000 first-place prize money.
The victory pushed Schumacher and Bardahl into the lead in national point standings in the American Power Boat Association. Schumacher, who has won three of four races on the 1967 circuit, has 3,625 points to runner-up Jim Ranger’s 3,083. Sterett now is third with 2,852 and McCormick has 2,688.
The crowd record – 20,000 more than last year’s inaugural turnout – wasn’t the only record established in yesterday’s seven-heat program. Continue Reading…
Posted: May 18, 2012 at 4:50 pm in 1967.
At Madison: The Governor’s Cup
Ohio River, Madison, Indiana, July 9, 1967
Tri-City Herald July 10, 1967
There was just enough wind to ruffle the waters of the Ohio River and provide nearly ideal racing conditions for the thunderboats around the 2½ mile course of the Governor’s Cup race at Madison, Ind., on July 9. Ole Bardahl’s Miss Bardahl from Seattle, driven by 24-year-old Billy Schumacher, emerged the winner with 1,100 points.
Going into the final heat Miss Bardahl was tied at 700 points with Detroiter Jim Herrington’s Fifi Lapeer with Warner Gardner, retired Air Force colonel, as her driver. When the starting gun fired for that deciding heat, Fifi Lapeer was drifting down the Ohio River, out with magneto difficulty. The finale quickly settled into a duel between Bardahl and Harrah’s Club, with the veteran Chuck Hickling driving Bill Harrah’s Reno, Nev., entry. Miss Bardahl accelerated faster out of the turns and got away from Harrah’s Club during the third circuit of the six-lap race to win at 94.736 m.p.h. Harrah’s Club finished second to place second in point standing for the Cup, with 925.’ Jim Ranger’s My Gypsy, of Detroit, was third over the line and placed third overall, with 794 points. Bob Fendler’s Wayfarer’s Club Lady, with Jim McCormick at the wheel, finished fourth with a score of 769. Continue Reading…
Posted: May 18, 2012 at 4:50 pm in 1967.
Bill Brow Killed in Tampa Race
Tampa, Florida, June 11, 1967
The Evening Independent - Jun 12, 1967
The 1967 unlimited hydroplane racing season was precisely one minute old when tragedy, the seemingly unshakable spectre that rides the roostertails these days, struck in the circuit opener, the Tampa Suncoast Cup race, June 11. Miss Budweiser, driven by Seattle dairyman Bill Brow, 41, went out of control while in the lead on the first backstretch. Brow was thrown from the boat and despite heroic, swift medical measures, died two hours later without regaining consciousness.
He was the fifth unlimited driver to be killed in nine races dating back to the 1966 season. Some 12,000 spectators gasped as Miss Budweiser, estimated to be running close to 170 m.p.h., became airborne after briefly bouncing over a choppy portion of the course. The boat teetered from left to right a couple of times just before she took off, fluttering like a bird in flight that had been hit with shot and crippled. Bernie Little’s hydro climbed skyward, rolled to the left and came clown on the water with a crash. The racer seemingly hooked, became airborne again as she turned 180 degrees. The boat was breaking up at that point and it was then that Brow was thrown. The second time Miss Budweiser smashed down, she cartwheeled and went to the bottom. Continue Reading…
Posted: May 18, 2012 at 4:50 pm in 1967.
Miss Goodwin Story
by Doug Whitley
APBA Record - 1960
The story of Miss Goodwin begins when I was about 8 yrs old. My first boat ride was in an outboard, which I think was J class runabout. This was on Loon Lake near Spokane, Washington. The owner of the boat was my uncle, my mother’s twin brother, Virgil Fortune. Our family spent most of our summers on an Island owned by my aunt Ruth, my Dads (Jake) sister, near LaConner, Washington. At age 11, I remember running up and down the pier dragging a stick in the water to make a rooster tail. I got so involved watching the water spray, I ran right off the end of the pier. I didn’t know how to swim. Fortunately for me, my sister Pat jumped in and pulled me to safety but, in the process, she ruined a brand new dress she had just a few minutes before, put on for a family dinner party that evening. When I was about twelve years old, my Dad, my brother Duane, and I were working on Dad’s boat on the Snohomish River near our home in Everett. Duane decided I could take the boat out to see if I could make it plain. He was right, it ran pretty well except, neither my Dad, nor my brother told me how to shut it off, not to mention how to dock. So, I just drove the boat up and down the river until it ran out of gas.
In 1950 the Slo Mo IV became the pride of Seattle. Slo Mo won the Gold Cup in Detroit and brought the Cup to Seattle. All throughout the fifties I never missed any unlimited hydroplane race that was televised. Huge crowds would line the shores of Lake Washington and all three Seattle television stations were on hand during what was with out a doubt, the best years of unlimited racing. I remember Bill O’Mara of King TV and Keith Jackson when he was with Komo TV. Great Drivers like Bill Muncey, Lou Fagael, Joe Taggart, and Mira Slovak, just to mention a few, all made the sport very colorful. I don’t wish to take anything away from present day unlimited racing, the sport just continued to evolve. But, there was just something special about the roar of the Allison and Rolls engines. Not to mention the ongoing disputes between Seattle and Detroit drivers and owners. Continue Reading…
Posted: May 18, 2012 at 4:50 pm in 1960.