About
The six Vanderbilt Cup Races held on Long Island from 1904 to 1910 were the greatest sporting events of their day, and the first international automobile road races held in the United States. The races had a far-reaching impact on the development of American automobiles and parkways. This site provides comprehensive information on the races, the Long Island Motor Parkway and current Long Island automotive events, car shows and news.
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Co-Founder and Writer: Howard Kroplick
Co-Founder: Dana Kroplick
Website by Eric Miller Design
Site maintained by Hop Studios
Recent Comments
Ariejan - A quick search on the site here produced a comment of yours, almost 10 yrs ago. You were aware of Pietro Bordino back then, too. You’re an excellent researcher : )
From Mystery Friday Foto #20 Solved: Ralph DePalma in the 1914 Vanderbilt Cup Race and the 1908 American Grand Prize
I found a list of drivers and mechanicians in the 26 November 1908 issue of Motor Age. All Fiat mechanicians appeared to be Italian, as was the case with the Itala participants. Which made sense of course. DePalma’s mechanician was Bordino, who would become a famous racing driver himself.
From Mystery Friday Foto #20 Solved: Ralph DePalma in the 1914 Vanderbilt Cup Race and the 1908 American Grand Prize
Know Mystery Foto #2 is solved, but below is a few images of Ralph DePalma for comparison. Absolutely him, but no luck with his passenger/mechanician.
From Mystery Friday Foto #20 Solved: Ralph DePalma in the 1914 Vanderbilt Cup Race and the 1908 American Grand Prize
The first photo was the most straightforward: it shows on the left the winning Mercedes with Ralph DePalma at the wheel during the 1914 Vanderbilt Cup (Santa Monica, 26 February). On the right the Mercer of Barney Oldfield, who would end up in second place.
The other photo was slightly more complicated, but shows Ralph DePalma during the 1908 American Grand Prize (Savannah, 26 November), where he would finish on 9th place in a Fiat. The uploaded photo shows that the head gear and goggles of both driver and mechanician are identical. Wagner would win the race on another Fiat.
From Mystery Friday Foto #20 Solved: Ralph DePalma in the 1914 Vanderbilt Cup Race and the 1908 American Grand Prize
... wonderful photos this week!
From Mystery Friday Foto #20 Solved: Ralph DePalma in the 1914 Vanderbilt Cup Race and the 1908 American Grand Prize
In foto number 1, the #12 car is a Mercedes driven by Ralph DePalma in the process of winning the 1914 Vanderbilt Cup Race on Thursday, February 26, 1914 in Santa Monica, CA. The car on the right is a Mercer, driven by Barney Oldfield, who finished second behind DePalma.
From Mystery Friday Foto #20 Solved: Ralph DePalma in the 1914 Vanderbilt Cup Race and the 1908 American Grand Prize
Bonus mystery photo #2: My only guess for this picture is that if this is Ralph Depalma, it’s when he was part of the Fiat team for the “American Grand Prize Race” in Savannah Georgia held on November 26th, 1908. He finished 9th.
From Mystery Friday Foto #20 Solved: Ralph DePalma in the 1914 Vanderbilt Cup Race and the 1908 American Grand Prize
This is Ralph DePalma driving a Mercedes in the Vanderbilt Cup Race in Santa Monica California on February 26, 1914. Ralph finished first in the race. The location here specifically looks like the infamous “death curve”. The car on the right is a Mercer driven by Barney Oldfield.
From Mystery Friday Foto #20 Solved: Ralph DePalma in the 1914 Vanderbilt Cup Race and the 1908 American Grand Prize
Howard. Thanks for having us to the Waterfront. As always, a great presentation of rare automobiles. I appreciate your gracious hospitality.
From The Jaguar Drivers Club of Long Island Visits the Waterfront at Roslyn
Hi Howard Thank you very much for the hospitality you showed to the Jaguar Drivers Club of Long Island. Our visit to your collection plus the Roslyn Grist Mill was very interesting and enjoyable. A great time was had by all.
From Upcoming automotive events on Long Island
Congratulations to Jim Donnelly for this outstanding accomplishment. Also to Crankshaft magazine for having this in their FIRST ISSUE! and to my good friend Publisher /Editor Richard Lentinello.
Issue #6 of Crankshaft is out and delivered to long island as of this past week. It is a quarterly magazine of 144 pages for those of you who have not seen a copy yet.
From Greg O's Garage; Jim Donnelly Wins Prestigious Purdy Award for his Crankshaft Tucker 1044 Article
Me, Howard’s goupie, at the Greenwich Concours d’Elegant, back in 2015. Will there today in Kings Point.
From Upcoming automotive events on Long Island
Count me in Greg and I’m sure Steve Lucas will join us too. Looking forward to it!
From Kleiner's Korner: A Return to the Long Island Motor Parkway (Part 2)
Art- We’ll speak when it gets closer and I’ll formally organize something on the site.
From Kleiner's Korner: A Return to the Long Island Motor Parkway (Part 2)
The story of père Gavois and his Panhard is of course an incredible one, certainly taking into account the distance which had been travelled with it. Most cars of that era probably did not even come close to this distance, but at least one other car of almost equal age made a serious attempt. In 1895 a Mr. Koosen from England bought a German Lutzmann, another make with a Benz-like appearance, and in 1905, still having this car, he stated in an article in The Car Illustrated that he had travelled at least 100,000 Miles with it and that it was ‘still in going order’!
From Greg O's Garage: From the Peter Helck Collection- The Priest and "The Oldest of Them All"- An 1891 Panhard & Levassor
Thank you, Greg, for a Great story! Wish autos today could be bought with the knowledge they’d drive 150,000, plus. My Dad’s Buick Regals’ odometers clocked over 200,000 with early and regular oil changes he did (as I’m sure Father Gavois did) while he was commuting a lot of miles as a schoolteacher, and when retired and traveling New York to Florida—
From Greg O's Garage: From the Peter Helck Collection- The Priest and "The Oldest of Them All"- An 1891 Panhard & Levassor
Car: Locomobile Driver: George Robertson City: Bridgeport, CT
Date: November 9, 1908 celebration of the team winning the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race.
A banquest was held at the Stratfield Hotel.
From Mystery Friday Foto #19 Solved; Old 16 Locomobile celebrating the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race victory in Bridgeport
Great story Greg! It’s incredible that the car traveled 150,000 miles even with the best of care.
From Greg O's Garage: From the Peter Helck Collection- The Priest and "The Oldest of Them All"- An 1891 Panhard & Levassor
Ariejan-
I have no reason to doubt you as you have proven to be correct countless times. The book, online info, and the hand-written captions on the back of the original photos all call the car a Benz. If all of it came from Bradley himself, I would assume he’s the source of the misinformation.
From Greg O's Garage: From the Peter Helck Collection- The Priest and "The Oldest of Them All"- An 1891 Panhard & Levassor
P.S. Where I write “What is missing on the steering wheel, is not clear.”, I of course intended to say “What is missing on top of the steering column, ...”
From Greg O's Garage: From the Peter Helck Collection- The Priest and "The Oldest of Them All"- An 1891 Panhard & Levassor
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