Vanderbilt Cup Races

From Wayne Carroll Petersen

Thanks to Howard Kroplick http://www.vanderbiltcupraces.com for Keeping my Great Uncle Barney Oldfield, Master Driver of the World & America’s Legendary Speed King Legacy Alive! American Automotive Racing History at its Best!

From Book Reviews: The Master Driver of the World- The 1914 Cactus Derby

That’s the iconic Polo Grounds in upper Manhattan, NYC. Remembered mainly as the home of the NY Giants baseball team, it also served (at various times) as the home field for the NY Football Giants, NY Highlanders (later NY Yankees), NY Titans (jets), and NY Mets. The track was a portable wood board track. It was used by midget racers (sometimes called sprint cars). I believe the date of the photo is 1948. The track was designed to be portable by Lionel Levy and consisted of 2200 separate pieces weighing a total of 325 tons and needing 30 semi trucks for transport. It took a team of 200 workers about 14 hours to set it up using aluminum supports with stainless steel fittings.

From Mystery Friday Foto #8 Solved; Midget Racing at the Polo Grounds & The Marty Himes Collection

The Polo Grounds at155th Street and 8th Avenue,Manhattan, home of the New York Giants.  (also used at various times by NY Yankees, NY Mets, Titans-Jets) torn down in 1964. Only remains are staircase from Cogan’s Bluff.                                                  Track is banked wood board track for ARCD (American Racing Care Drivers) piloting Offenhauser type midget racers
First race on board track June 8th 1948, Due to low attendance only 2 races took place of the scheduled 15.( previous earlier races on the warning track tore-up part of the baseball field)
Track was 1-1/2” tongue n groove board on aluminum frame with metal fittings, 30 semi trucks of materials, set up and then dismantled in 14 hours by a crew of 200 men.

From Mystery Friday Foto #8 Solved; Midget Racing at the Polo Grounds & The Marty Himes Collection

NY Giants (baseball) Polo Grounds . Manhattan NY
Year 1948
midget race car driving. Very popular at the time.
Horace Stoneman ,2nd generation owner of the team ,Needed some extra pocket money. Same man who moved Giants to west coast (SF) after 57 season, after Dodgers also announced relocation to La La land.

From Mystery Friday Foto #8 Solved; Midget Racing at the Polo Grounds & The Marty Himes Collection

I believe this is the Coogan’s Bluff Ballpark- The Polo Grounds

Home of the NY (baseball) Giants

The Mets played here their first two years I believe,

If this helps

From Mystery Friday Foto #8 Solved; Midget Racing at the Polo Grounds & The Marty Himes Collection

Polo Grounds
Home of the NY Giants (baseball),
also the Metsies for a while before Shea was built

From Mystery Friday Foto #8 Solved; Midget Racing at the Polo Grounds & The Marty Himes Collection

Congratulations to the you for the wonderful tribute I will stop by soon

From Damianos Realty Group pays tribute to the Long Island Motor Parkway and the Vanderbilt Cup Races

Back in 1962 1 attended my first ever Met game at this stadium.

From Mystery Friday Foto #8 Solved; Midget Racing at the Polo Grounds & The Marty Himes Collection

It’s the Polo Grounds, of course. But then, again, I’m 75 y/o and my father took me there in the ‘50s and I went to see the Mets w/one or more of my friends when they had to use the field starting in ‘62 before Shea was completed in ‘64.
I recognize the midget cars. And the track was probably made of wood. But to discern the exact year is hard. First, night baseball started to be used in 1935 during the Depression. And the event might have been held during the War. But It just seems to outlandish for me that the event would have been held during either of these eras. So, my conclusion is that the races were done after the War. However, I don’t know how they would have been run during the baseball season. I imagine that they would have been run either shortly before or shortly after the baseball season. When?  I haven’t a clue. However, I was born in ‘48 and I started to read at four; my closest aunt was a school teacher. But I didn’t start to read newspapers regularly until I was in 2nd grade at PS 162 in Bayside where each parent had to buy a student subscription to the old NY Herald Tribune. And I never heard it mentioned on the radio. So, the way I figure it, the races must have been between the end of the War in ‘45 and ‘53.

From Mystery Friday Foto #8 Solved; Midget Racing at the Polo Grounds & The Marty Himes Collection

1958 Stock car racing at the Polo Grounds. I think the track was made of wooden boards.

From Mystery Friday Foto #8 Solved; Midget Racing at the Polo Grounds & The Marty Himes Collection

Love this and look forward to seeing it, especially that “racer” reception desk!

From Damianos Realty Group pays tribute to the Long Island Motor Parkway and the Vanderbilt Cup Races

Really enjoyed this article. Glad to see a local business keeping the history alive. Especially liked the old panels from Newsday.

From Damianos Realty Group pays tribute to the Long Island Motor Parkway and the Vanderbilt Cup Races

Amazing tribute. Any relationship to Bethpage Lodge keepers Ida and Louis Damiano

From Damianos Realty Group pays tribute to the Long Island Motor Parkway and the Vanderbilt Cup Races

It’s the Polo Grounds, home of the N.Y. Giants baseball team, and later, the Mets.

I’m more of a baseball fan than a racing fan, but I’ll guess that those are midget racers and the track is made out of wood.

From Mystery Friday Foto #8 Solved; Midget Racing at the Polo Grounds & The Marty Himes Collection

Gram, I also have a short article on the Autocar Hotel bus that Mr. Clark wrote for a local newspaper many years ago. I would be glad to share if it is of interest.

From VanderbiltCupRaces.com Exclusive: Unpublished Long Island Automotive Museum Photos from 1958 to 1962 Part 3

Wow! thanks Lee Irwin. we did not come across that post card in our collection (or researching online) anywhere! great to see that Austin Clark had one made for his Bugatti. thanks for sharing!

From VanderbiltCupRaces.com Exclusive: Unpublished Long Island Automotive Museum Photos from 1958 to 1962 Part 3

The stadium is the Polo Grounds, home of the New York Giants
The type of track (and how it was constructed) was “1-1/2 inch thick tongue and groove pine boards of varying widths created the track surface secured by cleats to the pre-engineered aluminum stringers with stainless steel fittings.”
The type of racing was board track midget racing
The year was 1948
Answers about the track and its construction are from Kevin Triplett’s Racing History: https://triplettracehistory.blogspot.com/2016/10/post-war-midget-board-track-racing-this.html

From Mystery Friday Foto #8 Solved; Midget Racing at the Polo Grounds & The Marty Himes Collection

    Polo Grounds, New York

From Mystery Friday Foto #8 Solved; Midget Racing at the Polo Grounds & The Marty Himes Collection

This is the Polo Grounds where the NY Giants played.  This is a “board track” where midget/sprint race cars competed.  The year of the picture is 1958.

From Mystery Friday Foto #8 Solved; Midget Racing at the Polo Grounds & The Marty Himes Collection

Great historical Motor Parkway shots Al Kleiner, taken from newspaper clippings at the time! Likely Westbury Av over the trolley line, or could be the crossing over Rt 110 with trolley as well. The busy environment points towards Rt 110.

From Kleiner's Korner: A 1909 Motor Parkway Construction Update