Eddie Brinck/Board Racing

[chunky]

Here's something that some of you (particularly iris123) may find interesting...

Board-track racing (huge steeply-banked ovals - and sometimes circles - constructed from wood) was huge in the US from 1910 until the 1920's, and is considered one of the forerunners of speedway on this side of the pond. The Playa del Rey track in California opened in 1910, and was followed by dozens of others around the country. In fact, we had a couple here in the Cincinnati area, with one in Sharonville (a couple of miles from where I work), and the Lagoon Raceway in over the river in Ludlow, Kentucky. The tracks soon became known as "Murderdromes" due to the amount of fatalities, which included several of the leading riders. Worse than that, a number of spectators were to lose their lives, with a major tragedy occurring at the Lagoon Raceway in July, 1913, when Odin Johnson was killed, along with seven spectators.

One of the biggest names in the sport was Eddie Brinck. Sadly, Brinck was to lose his life in August 1927, during a race in Springfield, Massachusetts. Last week, I finally got around to visiting the AMA Hall of Fame inductee's grave up in Dayton.

 

[Guest compost]

Very interesting Chunky.

Out of interest, why did Board Racing stop (I suspect it was either cost or casualties) ?  Not something I know that much about although the old Cyril May book 'Ride it: Speedway' had a bit in it on Board Racing along with some pictures (scary!)

[steve roberts]

54 minutes ago, compost said:

Very interesting Chunky.

Out of interest, why did Board Racing stop (I suspect it was either cost or casualties) ?  Not something I know that much about although the old Cyril May book 'Ride it: Speedway' had a bit in it on Board Racing along with some pictures (scary!)

I recall reading about it in Cyril May's book and was there talk that this form of racing was the origin of speedway and not the generally accepted date of 1923 in Australia?

[iris123]

Eddie Brinck was one of the early US dirt track riders who also toured Australia. Think he had just returned to the States when he died

I posted some evidence on a thread here that the broadsiding technique originated in the US. At least one Aussie newspaper said as much and illustrated the technique 

Edited April 21, 2021 by iris123

[chunky]

3 hours ago, compost said:

Very interesting Chunky.

Out of interest, why did Board Racing stop (I suspect it was either cost or casualties) ?  Not something I know that much about although the old Cyril May book 'Ride it: Speedway' had a bit in it on Board Racing along with some pictures (scary!)

That's actually where I first read about it too!

While the tracks were relatively cheap to set up, can you imagine how much wood you need for a mile-long track - and many were longer than that! The main issue was durability, particularly as they weren't just for bikes, but for cars. The life of a surface was only about five years. Outside of major refurbishment, the tracks needed constant attention, and were often repaired from underneath while racing was going on!

Advancements in technology meant that racing became too predictable, as races were invariably won by the fastest machinery. Now, where have we heard that before? So, they began to switch to the more unpredictable dirt-tracks, often using trotting tracks.

I never understood why they started out with the massive undertaking of building huge motordromes when it was easier and cheaper to use a field...

[norbold]

4 hours ago, iris123 said:

Eddie Brinck was one of the early US dirt track riders who also toured Australia. Think he had just returned to the States when he died

I posted some evidence on a thread here that the broadsiding technique originated in the US. At least one Aussie newspaper said as much and illustrated the technique 

In the early 1920s, Eddie Brinck, along with Maldwyn Jones, was said to have "invented" the pendulum skid, the basis of the speedway sliding technique used to such good effect by the early star Australian riders such as Vic Huxley and Frank Arthur and which led to the sport of speedway as we know it. But there is evidence of sliding being in use before the First World War with riders such as Don Johns and Albert "Shrimp" Burns.

[chunky]

38 minutes ago, norbold said:

But there is evidence of sliding being in use before the First World War with riders such as Don Johns and Albert "Shrimp" Burns.

Burns died after crashing at Toledo in 1921.

[andout]

Thought you may be interested in this photo.

Dates 1910 San Francisco.

 

 

Edited April 30, 2021 by andout