1953 President's Cup
Potomac River, Washington, DC, September 20, 1953
Slo-Mo-Shun V Wins President’s Cup Heat
WASHINGTON, Sept. 19, [1953]—For the benefit of Eastern skeptics who may not have been convinced. Seattle’s Slo-mo-shun V justified all advance praise on the Potomac today.
In the first heat for the President’s Cup, speed boat race inaugurated in Calvin Coolidge’s day, Slo-mo, driven for owner Stanley Sayres by the Ohio sportsman, Lou Fageol, just about swept the river.
The final two heats will be held tomorrow.
In a nine-boat event, the largest entry ever assembled here, and on a choppy, rough river today, Slo-mo, powered like all the others with mammoth Allison aircraft engines, built once for bombers and converted for boats, felt out the field for the first three laps of the 5-lap, 15-mile feature.
On the fourth, Fageol steered her around the leading Miss Great Lakes, piloted by Danny Foster, and at the finish the Seattle craft was 600 yards in front of Albin Fallon’s boat.
Gale II Finishes Third
Third was Lee Schoenith’s Gale II of Detroit, winner on Labor Day of the Silver Cup. In fourth and fifth places was Jack Schafer’s fleet, with the double Allison-powered Such Crust III, driven by Chuck Thompson, ahead of Such Crust V, with lead-footed Bill Cantrell behind the wheel.
Sixth was a newcomer to unlimited class speed boat competition, George Simon’s Miss United States [Miss U.S. (1)], ahead of Doc Terry driving Miss Wayne (1), once the late Herbert Mendelson’s Notre Dame. Eighth was Guy Lombardo’s Tempo VI, navigated today in the band leader’s absence by Phil Maresca of Freeport, L.I.
The ninth starter, Horace Dodge’s new [My?] Sweetie (3) in her first race and with Walter Kade driving, lasted for nearly four laps before dropping out of competition. [NOTE: One school of thought says that this was the only race in which this boat ran under the name My Sweetie; from 1954-56 it ran as Dora My Sweetie (or My Sweetie Dora, depending on your historical preference) and the boat named My Sweetie running from 1954-56 was My Sweetie (2), built in 1951; the other view is that THIS was the boat that also ran as My Sweetie for 1954-56 and that Dora My Sweetie and John Francis My Sweetie (again, alternately with name inversions) both first appeared in 1954. Any feedback on this issue would be most welcome. —LF]
Slo-mo’s time for the fifteen miles was 9:51 1/5 and her speed was reported as 91.338 miles an hour. On far-from-perfect water the fastest of the five 3-mile laps was the 103.115 m. p. h. which Miss Great Lakes performed on the third of the circuits.
Gil Petermann of Malvern, L.I., former national Class A champion, captured his favorite outboard racing division in straight heats.
James Campbell, Danville, Pa., was second in both heats with William Gardberg of Valley Stream, L. I., the other contestant in the speedboat races.
Petermann registered a perfect score of 800 points to 600 for Campbell and 450 for Gardberg. The winning time in the first heat was 8:54 2/3 and 8:48 2/5 in the second.
Zuback Has 800 Points
Ronald Zuback, last year’s national Class BU titleholder, who is 17, captured the Class AU event with a perfect score of 800 and seemed headed for a double in the EU contest. He easily won his qualifying heat over Larry Reber of Reading, Pa., but in the final Zuback became a victim of a spill and Reber went on to take this event on points.
Zuback, of Morgan, N. J., added some fancy rescue work and heroism to his afternoon accomplishments. In his winning Class BU heat he saw Tommy Smith of Westfield, N. J., flip out of his craft which, instead of coming to a halt when the safety throttle was released, became a runaway boat when the throttle stuck.
Smith tried to swim toward his circling little ship but, burdened by his cumbersome life jacket, couldn’t overtake it. Like a trick bronco rider in a rodeo, Zuback, after winning the heat, drove alongside the errant boat to close its throttle, took the boat in tow and then steered to rescue Smith, some yards away, helping him into his own cockpit.
Despite gray clouds and a brisk breeze the racing water and weather conditions were not so ominous as they looked. Instead of bucking, an upstream wind paralleled the flooding tide. This served to flatten what might otherwise have been rolling, surging seas.
Except for some "lumpy" spots, especially on the down stream turn where the fragile pancakes had to skirt close to the buoy, to negotiate the 180-degree turn, the racing oval was reasonably navigable early in the afternoon but roughened when slack water set in later.
The program was only a few minutes old when Norman Rand of Washington in a Class A hydroplane flipped. He was to be followed by a fleet of later capsizings, many of them on the so-called "suicide corner," where the south turn was roughened.
After winning the Class A event Peterman entered the Class B ranks. But in the first B heat he did a barrel turn, flipping overboard.
In the popular and numerically crowded stock runabout classes more spills were seen by the throngs, all along the Hain’s Point seawall.
Brewington Boat Flips
Norman Brewington, a 17-year- old from Colonial Beach, Va., capsized while running a close second in the Class A stock event on a patch of water in front of the Coast Guard Cutter, Marion, serving as committee boat, that seemed smooth enough for a child’s marine pram. He held on for dear life to the bow of his craft still sticking out of the Potomac but sinking fast until a patrol boat went to his rescue, tossed him a line to haul him on board and tow his boat upside down to the pits.
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THE SUMMARIES PRESIDENT’S CUP RACE FIRST HEAT: 1. Slo-Mo-Shun V, Lou Fageol; 2. Miss Great Lakes, Danny Foster; 3. Gale II, Lee Schoenith; 4. Such Crust [III (2)], Chuck Thompson: 5. Such Crust V, W. J. Cantrell; 6. Miss United States, George Simon; 7. Miss Wayne, Doc Terry; 8. Tempo VI, Phil Maresca. Time — 9:51 1/5. Speed — 91.338 m.p.h. Sweetie, Walter Kade, d.n.f. CLASS A OUTBOARD HYDROPLANES FIRST HEAT: 1. Gil Petermann, Malverne, N. Y.; 2. James Campbell, Danville, Pa.; 3. William Gardberg, Valley Stream, L.I. Time—8:54 2/5. Speed—33.682 m.p.h. SECOND HEAT: 1. Petermann; 2. Campbell; 3. Gardberg. Time—8:48 2/5. Speed—34.065 m.p.h. POINT SCORE—Petermann 800, Campbell 600, Gardberg 950. CLASS B OUTBOARD HYDROPLANES FIRST HEAT: 1. Chet Webb, Niagara Falls, N. Y.; 2, Ai Harjes, Bronx; 3. Warren Kenny, Jericho, L. I. Time—7:45 1/5. Speed—38.6934 m.p.h. Petermann d.n.f. SECOND HEAT: 1. Harjes; 2, Webb; 3. Joseph Stager, Flushing, Queens. Time—6:52 2/5. Speed—43.646 m.p.h. Kenny d.n.f. POINT SCORE—Harjes 700, Webb 700, Kenny 225, Stager 225. Harjes won event on faster time. CLASS C OUTBOARD HYDROPLANES FIRST HEAT: 1. Emil Mayer Jr., College Point, L.I.; 2. Vic Scott, North Bellmore, L.I.; 3. James Baden, Washington; 4. Dean Worcester, Manchester, N.H. Time—7:15 3/5. Speed—41.322 m.p.h. Byron Shannon, Audubon, N. J.; George H. Andrews, Matawan, N.J., and Bill Wark, Audubon, N.J., d.n.f. SECOND HEAT: 1. Baden; 2. Mayer; 3. Scott. Time—8:58 3/5 Speed—43.00 m.p.h. Worcester, d.n.f. POINT SCORE: Mayer 700, Baden 625, Scott 525, Worcester 169. CLASS AU STOCK RUNABOUTS FIRST QUALIFYING HEAT: 1. Roland Zuback, Morgan. N.J. 2. Richard J. Rees, Pottstown. Pa.; 3. Henry Blakeley, WellesIey Hills, Mass.; 4. Nick Marcetti, Bristol, Pa.; 5. Ronnie Smith, Mount Holly, N. J. Time—8:39 1/5. Speed—34.668 m.p.h. SECOND QUALIFYING HEAT: 1, Richard O’Dea, Paterson, N.J.; 2. Scott Strauss, Severna Park, Md.; 3. Albert T. Drum, Nanuet, N.Y.; 4. James E. Parrish Jr., Norfolk. N.Y.; 5, Stanley Markovich, Oakland. N.J.: 6. Buddy Fleming, Annapolis, Md.; 7. Craig T. Dewald, Philadelphia. Time—9:04 2/5. Speed—33.063 m. p. h. FINAL HEAT: 1, Zuback; 2. O’Dea; 3. Blakeley; 4. Rees; 5. Smith; 6. Marcetti; 7. Drum; 8. Thomas Williamson, Norfolk, Va.; 9. Strauss; 10. Dewald; 11. Fleming. Time—8:31. 3/5. Speed—35.184 m.p.h. POINT SCORE—Zuback 600, O’Dea 700, Rees 469, Blakeley 450. CLASS BU STOCK RUNABOUTS FIRST QUALIFYING HEAT: 1. John Wehrle, Hackensack; 2. Joseph P. Cook, Lexington Park, Md.; 3. Louis Wingo, Baltimore; 4. Robert C. McMurdock, Washington; 5. Edward W. Murphy, McLean. Va.; 6. Mil Berger, Levittown, Pa.: 7. Bill Hyatt. Virginia Beach, Va. 8, Donald F. Linke, North Bergen. N. Time—8:01 4/5. Speed—37.438 m.p.h. Jeff Howie, Norfolk; Ronnie Hopkins, Greenville, S. C., and Paul Sclipf, Lake Hopatcong, N.J., d.n.f. SECOND QUALIFYING HEAT: 1. Zuback: 2. Larry Reber, Reading. Pa.; 3. Rees; 4. A. A. Jefferson, Norfolk; 5. Nick Chapman, East Moriches, L.I.; 6. Richard Ellis, Falls Church, Va.; 7. S. C. Thomas, Fredericksburg, Va.; 8. Robert Jones, Richmond; 9, Paul Rothenberger, Reading, Pa. Time—7:47 1/5. Speed—38.527 m.p.h. FINAL HEAT—1. Reber; 2. Rees; 3. Chapman; 4. McMurdock; 5. Wingo. Time—7:58 3/5. Speed—37.688 m.p.h. POINT SCORE—Reber 700, Rees 525, Zuback 400, Kelly 400. Zuback won third on better time. CLASS CU STOCK RUNABOUTS FIRST HEAT: 1. E. Y. Ford Jr., Richmond; 2. E. H. Hornberger, Pleasantville. N.J.; 3. David Barrett Jr., Lusby. Md.; 4. Donald A. Bowen. Huntington, Md.; 5, George A. Wahl, Washington; 6. J. Bernard Abrams. Wilmington, N. C. Time—9:19 4/5. Speed—32.153 m. p. h. SECOND HEAT—1. Hornberger; 2. Ford; 3. Barrett; 4, Wahl; 5. Bowen. Time—9:07 1/5. Speed—32.894 m. p. h. POINT SCORE—Hornberger 700, Ford 700, Barrett 450. Hornberger won on faster time. |
[Reprinted from the New York Times, September 20, 1953]
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