Astor Cup (auto race)

Astor Cup (auto race)

The Astor Cup was an American auto racing event first run in 1915 at the Sheepshead Bay Speedway at Sheepshead Bay, New York. The winners trophy was donated by Vincent Astor whose name and connections ensured the attendance of members of New York City's fashionable and wealthy elite. Owned by a group of Wall Street and other business investors including Carl G. Fisher of Indianapolis, the Sheepshead Bay Speedway Corporation acquired the defunct horse racing facility known as the Sheepshead Bay Race Track owned by William Kissam Vanderbilt and Leonard Jerome's Coney Island Jockey Club. The purchase was completed in April 1915 and the first Astor Cup race was held on October 2nd that year.

Run over a two-mile (3 km) banked oval dirt track, the convert|350|mi|km|sing=on race was marred by the death of Harry Grant who died when his vehicle crashed during a practice run. Won by Gil Anderson in a Stutz, the first Astor Cup drew the top drivers from across the United States and Europe such as Ralph DePalma, Barney Oldfield, Eddie Rickenbacker, Dario Resta, and Howdy Wilcox.

The race ceased to exist after two years when the Sheepshead Bay Speedway Corporation ran into financial difficulties in 1917 and the property was sold for residential real estate development.

External links

* [http://www.rumbledrome.com/index.html Website for the 1915 Astor Cup race & Sheepshead Bay race details] (Site contains newspaper articles and an excellent collection of photos)


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Astor Cup — The Astor Cup was awarded by members of the Astor family in the United States in two different sports: * Astor Cup auto race, run in New York in 1915 and 1916 with the trophy donated by Vincent Astor * Astor Cup in yachting, first held in Newport …   Wikipedia

  • Sheepshead Bay Race Track — Location Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York, United States Owned by Coney Island Jockey Club Date opened June 19, 1880[1] Course type Fl …   Wikipedia

  • Enzo Fiermonte — (July 17, 1908 – March, 1993), sometimes credited as William Bird, was a boxer and actor. Fiermonte was born on July 17, 1908 in Bari, Puglia, Italy. He married Madeleine Astor on November 27, 1933 in New York City, but was divorced on June 11,… …   Wikipedia

  • List of firsts — This is a list of the first man/woman/object etc., to do something or the first occurrence of an event.GovernmentLaws and Constitution*First law written in cuneiform by Urukagina 2350 BC *First written Constitution the oldest modern, national,… …   Wikipedia

  • Nathanael Greene Herreshoff — I Born March 18, 1848 (1848 03 18) Bristol, Rhode Island Died June 2, 1938(1938 …   Wikipedia

  • 1964 — This article is about the year 1964. For other uses, see 1964 (disambiguation). Millennium: 2nd millennium Centuries: 19th century – 20th century – 21st century Decades: 1930s  1940s  1950s  – 1 …   Wikipedia

  • Chevrolet Chevelle — 1964 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS Convertible Manufacturer Chevrolet Division of General Motors Production 1963–1977 …   Wikipedia

  • Preston M. Burch — Horseracing personalities infobox name = Preston Burch caption = occupation = Trainer birthplace = Augusta, Georgia, U.S. birth date = August 25, 1884 death date = April 8, 1978 career wins = 1,236 race = Excelsior Handicap (1918) Yorktown… …   Wikipedia

  • 1977 — This article is about the year 1977. For other uses, see 1977 (disambiguation). Millennium: 2nd millennium Centuries: 19th century – 20th century – 21st century Decades: 1940s  1950s  1960s  – 1970s –   …   Wikipedia

  • Argentina — /ahr jeuhn tee neuh/; Sp. /ahrdd hen tee nah/, n. a republic in S South America. 35,797,536; 1,084,120 sq. mi. (2,807,870 sq. km). Cap.: Buenos Aires. Also called the Argentine. Official name, Argentine Republic. * * * Argentina Introduction… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”