- Erwin Baker
Erwin George "Cannon Ball" Baker (
March 12 ,1882 -May 10 ,1960 ) was amotorcycle andautomobile racing driver and organizer in the first half of the 20th century. Baker began his public career as avaudeville performer, but turned to driving and racing after winning a dirt-track motorcycle race inCrawfordsville, Indiana in about 1904.Baker was also famous for his record-setting point-to-point drives, in which he was paid to promote the products of various motorcycle and automobile manufacturers. In all, he made 143 cross-country motorcycle speed runs totaling about 5,500,000 miles.
In 1908, Baker purchased an Indian motorcycle and began entering and winning local races. His most famous victory came in 1909 at the first race ever held at the newly built
Indianapolis Motor Speedway . Baker also raced at the1922 Indianapolis 500 , placing 11th in a Frontenac. He later became the first commissioner ofNASCAR . Baker was inducted into theAmerican Motorcyclist Association Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.Life
Baker was born in
Dearborn County, Indiana , in 1882. After a record-setting transcontinental drive in 1914, he received his nickname "Cannon Ball" from a New York newspaper writer who compared him to the "Cannonball" train of theIllinois Central made famous byCasey Jones . [ [http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/hofbiopage.asp?id=15 Motorcycle Hall of Fame.] Retrieved on2006 -02-22 ] Baker died in 1960 inIndianapolis, Indiana , and is buried there inCrown Hill Cemetery .Records
Baker set 143 driving records from the 1910s through the 1930s. His first was set in 1914, riding coast to coast on an Indian motorcycle in 11 days. He normally rode to sponsor manufacturers, guaranteeing them "no record, no money".
In 1915, Baker drove from
Los Angeles toNew York City in 11 days, 7 hours and fifteen minutes in aStutz Bearcat , and the following year drove aCadillac 8 roadster from Los Angeles toTimes Square in seven days, eleven hours and fifty-two minutes while accompanied by anIndianapolis newspaper reporter. In 1926 he drove a loaded two-ton truck from New York to San Francisco in a record five days, seventeen hours and thirty minutes, and in 1928, he beat the20th Century Limited train from New York toChicago . Also in 1928, he competed in theMount Washington Hillclimb Auto Race , and set a record time of 14:49.6 seconds, driving aFranklin . [ [http://www.climbtotheclouds.com/history.html The Climb to the Clouds Vintage Hillclimb at the Mt. Washington Auto Road at the base of Mt. Washington, Pinkham Notch New Hampshire ] ]His best-remembered drive was a 1933
New York City toLos Angeles trek in aGraham-Paige model 57 Blue Streak 8, setting a 53.5 hour record that stood for nearly 40 years. This drive inspired the laterCannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash , better known as the "Cannonball Run ", which itself inspired at least five movies and a television series. In 1941, he drove a newCrosley Covered Wagon across the nation in a troublefree 6,517-mile run to prove the economy and reliability characteristics of Crosley automobiles. Other record and near-record transcontinental trips were made in Model T Fords, Chrysler Imperials, Marmons, Falcon-Knights and Columbia Tigers, among others.Indy 500 results
References
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External links
* [http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/hofbiopage.asp?id=15 Motorcycle Hall of Fame]
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=1431 Find a Grave entry]
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