INDEPENDENCE DAY RACES
Friday – July 4,
1913
Cowley County Fairgrounds
Winfield, Kansas
The Buicks
The photograph above was taken by Peter J. Brask in front of the Hutchinson-Richardson Auto Company at 217-219 East Ninth Street in Winfield on the evening of July 3, 1913.
According to an article on page 8 of the June 27, 1913 issue of the Winfield Daily Free Press, the car on the far left in this photo was not a racing car and was not entered in these races at Winfield. It was a Buick that had been stripped down and then painted with advertising for both Buick and for these races. It had been used by E. F. Eastman6 and Will Caton7 of Winfield, to travel around the area in a caravan with other automobiles advertising these upcoming races.
The second car from the left in the photo above is a 1909 Buick Model 17 owned and driven by Glenn M. Breed of Emporia, Kansas. Note the gap between the back of the hood and the cowl (a.k.a. firewall) of this car. That would indicate that this may have been what later became known as a “Marquette-Buick” developed by the Buick factory racing team as a stock appearing but, in actuality, a hybrid racing car. That is Breed seated behind the steering wheel.
The car second from the right is a Buick Model 10 “Bear Cat” owned and driven by W. W. Brown of Kansas City, Missouri and he can be seen seated behind the steering wheel in his car as well. The wire wheels visible on this car were state-of-the-art racing equipment at that time. Even the Buick factory racing team was not using wire wheels yet, in 1913.
The car at right in this photo is a Buick driven by Nels Blondefield of Lyons, Kansas. Note the metal fabricated rock guard protecting the radiator. Also note that the wheels on the back of this car were smaller than the ones on the front. Using the smaller diameter wheels lowered the gear racial of the car. Finally, note that all four of the automobiles in this photo were right-hand drive two-man cars.
Paul Hutchinson was the proprietor of the Hutchinson-Richardson Auto Company at this time. On the back of the Darrah print of the photo above is written: “Auto racers and drivers which ran on track at Winfield, Kansas July 4th 1913, in front of Hutchinson Auto Co. Compliments of Paul Hutchinson.”
The building at left in this photo later became the Nile movie theater but none of these buildings exist today. If you know anything more about this photograph or about the cars or people depicted, please contact Bob Lawrence at: sprintguy @ cox.net – Photograph from the private collection of Michael A. Darrah. Please do not reproduce without his permission
Arkansas City Daily News
Tuesday, July 1, 1913 – Page 4
THE FOURTH AT WINFIELD
League Baseball Game and Automobile Races
That Day
Winfield will celebrate the 4th of July with a baseball game between the Winfield and Ponca City clubs of the Kansas-Oklahoma League at League Park and automobile and motorcycle races at the Cowley County Fairgrounds as the chief attractions. There will also be miscellaneous attractions at Island and Hyatt parks and Winfield expects a good celebration crowd this 4th of July.
Iola Resister
Wednesday, July 2, 1913 – Page 6
BARBER IN WINFIELD RACE
Ford Racer Will Hustle Buicks There on July 4th
B. T. Barber and a helper, start for Winfield tomorrow morning in the Ford racer to be on hand for the races there on July 4th. Barber has entered his car in a purse race against two Buicks, one owned by a Mr. Brown of Kansas City, and the other by a Mr. Breed of Emporia. The celebration committee has offered a cash purse which will be divided in three parts so that the last man will probably make expenses.
It has been reported about town that Barber would race here and at Savonburg (Kansas) on the Fourth, but he stated this morning that he has not considered either plan for some time and has been billed for the race at Winfield for weeks.
Winfield Daily Courier
Thursday, July 3, 1913 – Page
6
FAST RACES TOMORROW
Fastest Drivers in Kansas Will Appear in
Cars on Winfield Track Tomorrow
Sharing the program will be motorcycle and horse racing. The cars will run five-mile races, best two out of three. Entered are:
|
W. W. Brown1 |
Buick |
St. Louis, Missouri |
|
Glenn M. Breed2 |
Buick |
Emporia, Kansas |
|
B. T. Barber |
Ford |
Iola, Kansas |
This is an incomplete list but it is the one put out on Wednesday evening.
Winfield Daily Courier
Friday, July 4, 1913 – Front
Page
MOTOR RACERS ARRIVED
Came Thursday to Get Ready for Speed
Contests
Breed of Emporia Brings Favorite Buick
Two of the autoists who are going to contest in the races Friday afternoon are in the city tuning up their cars. Others will arrive later.
Glenn Breed, who is the local favorite, came in Thursday morning about three o’clock. He lives at Emporia and left that city Wednesday evening traveling through the night, stopping at Wichita for a short time. He says that he has been working hard on his car and has it in better shape than ever and expects to win the races. He was the winner of all the races last year and expects to duplicate the feat Friday. He will race the same Buick that he had while he lived in this city and is well known here. He knows this track well having raced on it several times.
W. W. Brown, of St. Louis, Mo., came in Thursday at noon. He left Kansas City at 9:00 A.M. Wednesday and made the trip in about twenty-four hours. He made the trip on eleven and a half gallons of gasoline which is very economical. Brown has the same car that he used last year in the races. It is a Buick of about the same build as that driven by Breed. He has one new feature on his car that has never been seen in this city before, using wire wheels on his car which makes it lighter and ride better. He raced in the races last year with Breed but was beaten both races. He was having considerable trouble with his transmission at the time and says that he can do considerable better than he did at that time. Just before the race began last year, he ripped his transmission badly and did not have time to get his car in shape before the races began. He says that he expects to win the races Friday and will show that he has a better machine than people were made to believe last year.
B. T. Barber, of Iola, who will race with a Ford, had not arrived in the city at noon Thursday but he has notified the management that he will be here all right. Nothing is known of his racing ability but it is very (un)likely that he would have entered in these races, knowing that the other two men were entered, had he not had a good car.
The fact that the three mentioned above are going to race means that it will be a good race and will be well worth seeing.
Winfield Daily Courier
Saturday, July 5, 1913 - Front Page
FAST RACES AT FAIRGROUNDS
Everything Went Off According to Program With No Accidents
Autos Made Good Time
In spite of the hot day Friday, the races held at the Fair Grounds were very fast. Each race was very exciting and most of them were very close. No serious accidents happened during the races which is very fortunate considering the time that was made in some of power races.
By actual count, there were 224 autos on the grounds Friday at one time and it is estimated that there were between 60 and 75 motorcycles. Cars were there with banners showing that they were from Wellington (Kansas), Ponca City (Oklahoma), Arkansas City (Kansas), and many other places.
The auto race was won by Glenn M. Breed of Emporia. He had no trouble winning this race and was not pushed hard at any time of the race. The race was run in five heats of three miles each, Breed winning the first three. Second place was won by W. W. Brown of St. Louis, and B. T. Barber, of Iola, won third with a Ford. First and second places were won by Buicks. T. N. Blondefield, of Lyons, driving a Buick, claimed a foul from the Ford (in the first heat race) and refused to race while Barber was on the track.
(Webmaster’s Note: Blondefield claimed that the Ford had tried to “hub him” but the claimed “foul” appears to have been a ruse. The other two Buicks and the Ford entered in these races were under contract with the Collinson Motor Co. to appear whereas Blondefield just showed up in Winfield on July 3rd. It appears that he was allowed to start the first race to help boost the appearance of the field of cars but only if he would pull off the racetrack shortly thereafter. The “foul” was just what the public was told.)
Breed had been counted on to win this race on account of the way in which he raced last year. He was Bob Burman’s5 mechanic for three years and knows all about racing.
There was considerable feeling in the race as it was for the championship of Kansas and Missouri with Kansas winning. Breed is the champion of Kansas and Brown of Missouri.
The crowd seemed to be very pleased with the races offered and no criticisms were offered. Some trouble was experienced in keeping the people off the track during the races but no one was hurt so that the management feels very fortunate. The management is to be congratulated upon the way which the races were handled.
Race Results – Best three out of five races. All races from a
standing start:
|
First Heat Race – 3 miles (6 laps) – Time: 4:13.0 |
|
|||
|
PLACE DRIVER |
FROM |
CAR |
FINISH |
|
|
1. Glenn Breed2 |
Emporia, Kansas |
Buick |
1 |
|
|
2. W. W. Brown1 |
St. Louis, Missouri |
Buick |
2 |
|
|
3. B. T. Barber |
Iola, Kansas |
Ford |
3 |
|
|
4. T. N. Blondefield3 |
Lyons, Kansas |
Buick |
4 |
|
|
Second Heat Race – 3 miles (6 laps) – Time: 4:13.75 |
W. W. Brown |
|||
|
PLACE DRIVER |
FROM |
CAR |
FINISH |
|
|
1. Glenn Breed2 |
Emporia, Kansas |
Buick |
1 |
|
|
2. W. W. Brown1 |
St. Louis, Missouri |
Buick |
2 |
|
|
3. B. T. Barber |
Iola, Kansas |
Ford |
3 |
|
|
– T. N. Blondefield3 |
Lyons, Kansas |
Buick |
Did Not Start |
|
|
Third Heat Race – 3 miles (6 laps) – Time: 4:12.0 |
|
|
||
|
PLACE DRIVER |
FROM |
CAR |
FINISH |
|
|
1. Glenn Breed2 |
Emporia, Kansas |
Buick |
1 |
|
|
2. W. W. Brown1 |
St. Louis, Missouri |
Buick |
2 |
|
|
3. B. T. Barber |
Iola, Kansas |
Ford |
3 |
|
|
– T. N. Blondefield3 |
Lyons, Kansas |
Buick |
Did Not Start |
|
(Webmaster’s note: The races this day were organized by the Collinson Auto Co. which was the Buick dealership in Winfield. They were billed as contests between two Buicks and the Ford of B. T. Barber. Barber had tried to arrange a match race with the owner of a different race car for this date in Iola, Kansas but those plans did not materialize so Barber agreed to compete in these races.
Breed took the lead at the start of each race and was never headed. According to witnesses, he drove each lap never lifting the throttle.
Winfield Daily Courier
Saturday, July 5, 1913 - Front Page
MADE RECORD TIME
Breed Drove to Arkansas City in Fourteen Minutes
A record that will probably stand for several years was made Friday night when Glenn M. Breed, winner of the auto race Friday afternoon, drove to Arkansas City in fourteen minutes. He had as passenger, Phil Dautschmann4 and one other man. He made the trip in the same car that he drove in the race. This is a little better than sixty miles an hour as it is a little more than fourteen miles to Arkansas City. This would make it necessary for him to make considerable more than sixty miles an hour on the long stretches as he would have to slow down for the corners.
W. W. Brown, who won second in the race Friday afternoon, also drove down after the races and, when he returned, said that he could not keep in sight of Breed.
|
1 William Wayne Brown (c1886-1958) was nicknamed "Cockeyed" Brown although he most commonly went by his initials "W. W.” Brown. He was born in Dodge City and resided in Kansas City, Missouri despite being touted as being from St. Louis in the Winfield newspaper. He was a noted car owner and engine builder as well as being a driver. He attempted to qualify a DuChesneau for the Indianapolis "500" in 1915 but failed to make the race. He returned to Indianapolis in 1919, qualified 17th but finished in 32nd place. Just 13 days after competing in this race at Winfield, Brown drove his 1910 Model 10 Buick "Bear Cat" racer to the top of Pikes Peak in Colorado. The Model 10 Buick which had a 92 inch wheelbase and a 165 cu. in. 4 cylinder engine that developed 22½ horsepower, sold new for $1,000.
6 Edgar Frank “E. F.” Eastman, Jr. (1897-1981)
7 William Newton Caton (1895-1993) was a life-long resident of Winfield, Kansas. |
Arkansas City Daily Traveler Monday, July 7, 1913 |
The First Heat Race
This is a copy of a photograph in the Cowley County Historical Society Museum in Winfield, Kansas. It was taken just after the start of the first six-lap heat race at the Cowley County Fairgrounds on July 4, 1913. Note that there are four cars in this race and four cars only started in the first heat race. Only three cars started in the second and third heat races.
The car in the lead is the 1909 Buick Model 17 driven by Glenn Breed of Emporia, Kansas.
The car in second place by the inside rail is the Buick Model 10 “Bear Cat” driven by W. W. Brown of Kansas City, Missouri.
The car at left in third place is believed to have been the Buick driven by Nels Blondefield of Lyons, Kansas.
The car in fourth place is believed to have been the Ford driven by Basil T. Barton of Iola, Kansas. (Note that all three of the Buicks competing that day were right-hand drive two-man cars. The car in fourth place is a left-hand drive car and Barton’s Ford was known to have been a left-hand drive car.) Barton‘s car is so close behind Blondefield’s in this photo that at first Barton appears to be a passenger in Blondefield’s car.
Note that although each of these cars was a two-man car, none of the drivers chose to have a mechanic ride along with them.
Breed won each of the three races run on this afternoon in the same car that he had won with at Winfield one year earlier.
Zoom in on just the race cars above.
Zoom in on Blondefield’s car at left above.
Zoom in on the grandstand at left above.
Zoom in on the horses and cars on the infield of the racetrack at right above.
Zoom in on the
automobile on the extreme right in the infield.
Return to
page one of the history of auto racing at Winfield website.
