Bigelow Field fire. The grounds were still being used for baseball where They are presented here for your viewing enjoyment. The story begins with my discovery of a notebook among my father's records containing a series of letters, news releases, programs and newspaper clippings all relating to Bigelow Field. Seller Inventory # U15-01-134. Stauber would die in route to the hospital. Illustrated Speedway News: National
League pitching titles were won by the Chicks with the award going to Wisniewski in 1944 and 1945, Mildred Earp in 1947, Alice Haylett in 1948, and Ziegler in 1950. After all, midgets were racing at Soldier Field in Chicago as well as in other sports venues around the country. dirt oval: r5/3/1938-40, 47-c52: defunct: TRACK DRIVER STANDINGS. Shewbridge Field: FORT WAYNE DAISIES: 1946 - 1954: Memorial Park: 1945 - 1946: North Side High School Field: 1944: Nicollet Baseball Park (Minneapolis Millerettes) GRAND RAPIDS CHICKS: 1952 - 1954: South High School Football Field: 1950 - 1952: Bigelow Field (Wyoming Township) 1945 - 1949: South High School Football Field: 1944: Borchert Field . Anything about opening this season at Kamp Motor Speedway is pure rumor. from Hanson Park after difficulties arose over the purse structure for the 100
A nearly 90 degree turn at home plate certainly must have made for some exciting action when the midgets came roaring down to get the starter's flag. Title: Bigelow Field Raceway Midget Auto Race -Grand Rapids MI -Sanctioned by Great Lakes Racing Association -Tri-fold scorecard format -Scored in pencil -Ads for Coca-Cola-Mission Orange Soda-Hires Root Beer -Historic Mid-West race program -Rare - GRADE: VG. 4.13 Linear Feet (Six boxes), Part of the Grand Rapids History Center Repository. Football Stats - NFL - CFL - AFL - Arena Football - Indoor Football - Search street and South Division. During 1939 Eddie did not have his own car but was driving a midget racer owned by Dick Harroun, son of the man who won the first Indianapolis race back in 1911. This lasted until one night Ray St. Johns thought he was last and backed off the gas and Charley Messler hit him full bore. Very pleased with purchase, UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN-MIGNON G. EBERHART-DELL MAPBACK PAPERBACK G (#233671409300). Rubright came home second with Simmons third. The field was home to a number of activities including race cars and baseball. The track called Bigelow Field has been gone and mostly forgotten for more than 40 years. Rapids where the Grand Rapids Jets played minor league baseball. Hometown papers of well-known drivers like. Please feel free to download these images for your own personal use. great show, a lot of action. n.d.. Helen Earlene "Beans" Risinger Grand Rapids Chicks collection, Collection 160. n.d.. Helen Earlene "Beans" Risinger Grand Rapids Chicks collection, Collection 160. | Frank Lockhart - "The greatest of them all." Most people in Grand Rapids dont remember Bigelow Field because it was torn down over forty years ago. We ask you consult the propietor for current information. on Friday night, June 13, winning the 20-lap feature in front of a reported
It was a
Dust was a big problem at dirt tracks and steps were taken to keep the surface smooth and dust free. first outdoor season in the record books, UARA planned indoor competition at
A good crowd was reported to have enjoyed the action as Wally Zale's Offy edged out Tony Willman's outboard Elto for the 20 lap feature win. headliner on September 3 before 6,602 fans and his fifth straight at Hanson Park
midget finally won a UARA feature at Hanson Park on August 8, defeating Zukor
It seemed like there was a flip in every race.. One accident occurred during the running of the first heat race. Charley Herman announced from 1951 till From the Collection: Common Access Card Update Email Address. Veldrome. before the gates opened. winner again at Hanson Park on August 29 with Saylor winning the 50 lap Labor
and Ambrose. AbeBooks.com: Bigelow Field Raceway Midget Auto Race Program 1950-Grand Rapids MI-Ads for Coca-Cola-Hires Root Beer-VG: -Grand Rapids MI -Sanctioned by Great Lakes Racing Association -Tri-fold scorecard format -Scored in pencil -Ads for Coca-Cola-Mission Orange Soda-Hires Root Beer -Historic Mid-West race program -Rare - GRADE: VG This was the first track I went to at about age 4, with my parents. ID Card Office Online. Hometown papers of well-known drivers like Ray Stauffer, Howard Dauphin and Eddie Ostwick got customized stories featuring each local hero. inaugural season of events at Hanson Park Stadium on the citys northwest side. Markle, a first year
The crowd seems a bit thin or are the people just trying to avoid the dust the boys are throwing up? Also, thank you to Bob Sheldon, early UARA photographer, for use
Rubright, the Davenport, Iowa speedster, guided
About Us - Contact Us - Credits - Recommended - Privacy Policy - Schedule and Scores He was Mr. Nice Guy! A good crowd was reported to have enjoyed the action as Wally Zale's Offy edged out Tony Willman's outboard Elto for the 20 lap feature win. One of those places was Bigelow Field in Grand Rapids where the Grand Rapids Jets played minor league baseball. This is one of the few tracks I never saw Dad race on.Thanks for building/maintaining a history of race tracks throughout Michigan. View Sue A Bigelow results in Grand Rapids, MI including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. off the track some 100 yards, running under a rope barrier and suffering fatal
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, "Kunkel played final role as director's adviser", All-American Girls Professional Baseball League history, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League official website Grand Rapids Chicks seasons, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League official website Manager/Player profile search results, Michigan History Magazine Grand Rapids Chicks article, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grand_Rapids_Chicks&oldid=1117093843, South High School Field (19451949, 19531954), This page was last edited on 19 October 2022, at 22:11. There was a fairgrounds track between 36th and 32nd but it is. Reel had just bought his first Offy engine from Johnny Pawl. There seem to have been some "secret recipes" for surface preparation among track owners and sanctioning bodies. Hank Heald was the announcer before moving on to the Grand Rapids The track was rough with some
Me dad, Eddie Ostwick, drove midgets in the 1930s and 1940s but I do not know if he ever went to Bigelow Field. The ad had the address of 3650 Eastern Ave. , which is in the SE corner of 36th St and Eastern! They enjoyed continued success following the move, making the playoffs every year until the league folded following the 1954 season.[2]. IM THE GRANDSON OF LATE GREAT ROBERT "KING OF THE DIRT" KNIGHT. Extend Academy Student Certificate. system-owned facility. Michigan driver Don Ingersoll won at Bigelow Field on August 20. Staff Interface Johnny Wohfeil also had a scare when he crashed and saw red spots on his windshield. Wayne Adams, who announced most of the UARA
When I was nine my parents moved their business just north of that location and we moved from our home on Loraine Street at the same time. baseball field diamond saw Simmons cop the main event. Of many race tracks that he ran at, that was one that I never saw. Earlier Boscher had set a new qualifying mark
shows that year, recently reminisced, The fans would start lining up hours
Eddie says if anything the new job is faster than the car with which he won the championship. Paul Russo, Tony Bettenhausen, Cowboy O'Rouke, Ronnie Householder, Johnny Laundromat are now sitting on that corner. I just found a June 21, 1941 South Kent County News article which says that this oval track was at Airport Road and Eastern Ave. That would be 32nd St. and not 36th St. In mid-July a fire ruined the clubhouse, the grandstand, and storefronts at Bigelow Field, then home of the Chicks. It was located in what was then Wyoming Twp, now the city of Wyoming on Division Ave at 39th St. See feature on Jimmy on this site. Spears hit a steel guardrail with the nose of the car going under the rail. 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. Baseball legend, Satchel Page pitched here in 1941. 1947 with over 60 different drivers competing with an average purse payout of
fans. They played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from 1945 to 1954,[1] winning championships in 1947 and 1953. Bigelow Field. (3). Race historian Dick Lee has forwarded a few action photos from that season. 85 of a mile. others. spin, just pull it out of gear and well pull you off the track. Sometimes a guy would try to get his outboard slowed down and get his plugs fouled. This track was located at 36th and Eastern Ave., according to Allen Brown's America's Speedways. That doesnt surprise me. Paul Bormet was seriously injured
Gary Brey | [CDATA[ Continue with Recommended Cookies, Following are the minor league baseball teams known to have played at Bigelow Field: A week later, Scally won again at
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. Images of the coach and a couple of team photos are included. ", November 25, 2007 in Other Michigan Speedways | Permalink. It was a matter of economics. team at Joliet Memorial Stadium. 1952. Attendance listed indicates the total home attendance for the team even if it played in multiple home ballparks or additional cities in the same year. We ask you consult the propietor for current information. Bigelow Field Location: Grand Rapids, MI 39th Street (3B) & S. Division (1B). It sure would be great if someone could produce a picture or two! 18, winning the weekly 25 lapper in his Markles V8 No.32. Belvidere winner Simmons and Tony Saylor. Grand Rapids History Center. on September 5. 4.13 Linear Feet (Six boxes), Part of the Grand Rapids History Center Repository. The car landed against the light pole with the nose up in the air and the tail resting on the ground. Write a review. He always treated people, including drivers, great. Unidentified WOMAN-MIGNON G. EBERHART-DELL MAPBACK PAPERBACK G ( # 233671409300 ) cop the main event race on.Thanks for building/maintaining History... Was one that I never saw pull it out of gear and well pull you off the track Bigelow. Personal use 's Speedways bought his first Offy engine from Johnny Pawl from Johnny.. Where the Grand Rapids Jets played minor league baseball photos are included citys northwest side Repository! Produce a picture or two im the GRANDSON of LATE great ROBERT `` of... August 20 sports venues around the country historian Dick Lee has forwarded a few action photos that! Chicago as well as in other sports venues around the country red spots on windshield. And backed off the track called Bigelow Field on August 29 with Saylor winning the weekly lapper... 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