I was recently reading Rickenbacker: An Autobiography by top American World War I ace Eddie Rickenbacker.
Before Rickenbacker became an ace, he was a successful race car driver, having driven at Indianapolis from 1911-1916. He won a number of races on the circuit (but not Indy) and had a reputation as “fast Eddie.” His book describes his first major win of 1914 at Sioux City Iowa on pages 58-61, except the account appears to have been garbled.
To start with it says it was 1913 (there was no race in 1913), then it recounts they were at the race with Duesenbergs (which would have been 1914), then they describe that his teammates were Tom Alley and Ralph Mulford. Tom Alley was his teammate in 1914 with the Duesenberg team while Ralph Mulford was his teammate in 1915 with the Maxwell team. It then describes the race, including his encounter with and the fatal crash of “T. C. Cox.” This crash occurred in the 1915 race and the driver killed was Charles C. Cox.
He then wins the race in a Duesenberg, which would have been in 1914. He won the race in 1915 in a Maxwell. He does have his mechanic Eddie O’Donnell knocked out by a chunk of the dirt track during the race. Eddie O’Donnell was his mechanic in 1914, and was a driver in the 1915 for the Duesenberg team and placed second. He then has Tom Alley, his teammate in 1914, coming in 3rd (Tom Alley came in 5th in 1914, but came in 3rd in 1915, still in a Duesenberg but was not longer his teammate).
It does appear that the writer garbled the two accounts of his win in 1914 and his subsequent win there in 1915. I gather this account was supposed to be the 1914 race. Perhaps Eddie Rickenbacker confused the two races he won, but as he was involved in a fatal crash in 1915, I find it hard to believe that he would.
It is a very well written 443-page book for a guy who did not complete 7th grade. I do wonder if he had to hire a ghostwriter or if his editor took a heavy hand to the early chapters. In the front of the book he does thank Booton Herndon for his editorial assistance. There is no indication that a ghost writer was used.
Some links to the Indy Car results:
1. 1914 Sioux City: https://www.racing-reference.info/race/1914_Sioux_City_Race/UO
2. 1915 Sioux City: https://www.racing-reference.info/race/1915_Sioux_City_Race/UO
He had 2 autobiography. With the second, Rickenbacker: An Autobiography, Eddie sat down several times a week for a year with his ghostwriter Bootes Herndon
Ghost writer of 1st wasn’t clear.
source: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/5/140525-rickenbacker-ross-enduring-courage-books-hero-history
You will need to google and then read the cached version
Thanks. Interesting. So the original source material was 7,000 pages which were then edited down to 443 pages. I can see how this account got garbled. It is clear the editor/ghost writer Booton Herndon mixed the two races together.
Of course, if I am only 59 pages into the book and find that the account got garbled, then how many other accounts in the book are garbled, especially those that are not so easy to check.
Actually, it appears the “author/editor” blended the 1913-1915 seasons together.
In the 1913, the Mason Motor team (sponsored by businessman Edward R. Mason) ran Duesenbergs. There drivers from July 1913 on were Eddie Rickenbacher and Ralph Mulford and later Billy Chandler and Willie Haupt. Mulford won one race.
During 1914 they started as Mason Motor/Dueseberg but lost their sponsor during the season (by May 1914). The drivers were Eddie Rickenbacher and Tom Alley although Billy Carlson drove the Mason/Duesebergs out in California in Feb. 1914 and Willi Haupt drove at Indy and “Mason Motors (George Mason)” ran a Dueseberg at Indy and Sioux City for George Mason, and a Mulford/Duesenberg was run at Indy and Sioux City for Billy Chandler. A Deusenberg was run for Billy Chandler (sponsored by Braender Bulldog) for one race at Galveston and two races at Elgin. For the last four races of the season Eddie O’Donnell (Rickenbacher’s mechanic at Sioux City in 1914) drove instead of Rickenbacher (did he leave the team?). At Galesburg and St. Paul, Ralph Mulford also drove for Duesenberg (in addition to Alley and O’Donnell). The season ended in California with Tom Alley, Eddie O’Donnell and Jack Callaghan driving. Rickenbacher won one race that season (Sioux City). Mulford also won one races that season driving for Duesenberg and three races driving for Peugeot. Tom Alley won one race that season.
In 1915, Tom Alley and Eddie O’Donnell continued as the main Duesenberg drivers, with Eddie O’Donnell taking over running the team. Also running for Duesenberg for two races in California was Jack Callaghan and later three races by Ralph Mulford and one race by Billy Chandler, four races by Willie Haupt and one race with the Mulford/Duesenberg for Ralph Mulford, five by Pete Henderson, one by Bruno Lombardi, one by Jack LeCain, and one by William Bolden). Eddie O’Donnell won three races that season, Bob Berman won one race that season and Ralph Mulford won one race that season driving Duesenbergs.
Meanwhile Eddie Rickenbacher went to Peugeot, where he partnered with Fred McCarthy, Bob Berman. Rickenbacher then went to Maxwell early in the season where he partnered with Barney Oldfield, Billy Carlson and Tom Orr and Eddie Pullen. Barney Oldfield won two races that season. Eddie Rickenbacher won three races that season (including Sioux City, beating out Eddie O’Donnell, Tom Alley and Billy Chandler all driving Duesenbergs).