The Race of 1925
Before we get to the racing - an advertisement from the Middletown Times Herald that appeared on July 3, 1925. This was before the days of rock & roll, before swing, big bands, crooners, and hip hop. If you enjoyed the music of John Phillip Sousa, the State Theater was the place to be! Of course, the big event of the year was only a month away...
Middletown Times Herald Thursday, August 20, 1925
Text of the Times Herald article:
When the greatest collection of racing drivers and automobiles take the track on the Orange County Fair grounds Saturday, one car in particular will receive the lion's share of attention from the spectators. That car belongs to Norman K. Batten. It is a Miller special and one in which Tommy Milton made a mile at the rate of 156 miles an hour a California beach speedway.
He is out to defeat Ira Vail and his special which, until now, has been acclaimed as the fastest automobile in the world over a half mile track. Ira, by the way, is proud and asserts it. Tuesday his wife presented him with a baby Stamford, Conn. Sanitarium.
Horace P. Murphy, racing secretary, said today that he has 21 entries, and that Fred J. Wagner, official starter of the National A.A.A. will be on hand to start the races here. He left Los Angeles, Calif., at 2:30 Monday afternoon and is scheduled to reach this city Friday night.
The races have been sanctioned by the American Automobile Association, the governing body of the sport in this country. They will be started at 2:00 p.m.
From "The Hard Clay," by Ray Martin:
"The date was August 22 and the races were held on a Friday afternoon as superb driving and hilarity took over.
Batten, who was now quite famous, returned to Orange County. He had run at Indy several times but never quite made the winner's circle. But he was good. Vail was also scheduled to return that year and the local papers picked up on an Orange County feud between the two top drivers. All week long they had short stories about Vail with the fastest auto in the world over a dirt track. Fans of Batten were heartened by the news that he was bringing Tommy Milton's Miller Special to Middletown and put Ira in second place. Milton, the winner at Indianapolis in 1921, had recently driven the car at 156 mph on a beach in California…
Ten thousand fans streamed into the area to see the heralded race. The next day the paper told the story on the front page with the following:
Thousands See Vail Lose At Fair!
Batten Takes Lead & Wins 8 Mile Event!
And it was true. Norman had won. But he also had a hairy experience after winning the 8 miler. During a later 5 mile event he came charging down the backstretch when the steering wheel broke in his hands! This didn't bother the Brooklynite one bit. Instead of pulling into the pits, he kept going and as he passed the grandstand wide open, he threw the broken part of the wheel into the infield. The fans yipped with joy at the feat as Norman continued in the race and finished 3rd, broken steering wheel and all.
Batten would continue racing for the next three years, running the "500" in 1926, 1927, and 1928. But, like many race drivers, a non-racing accident waited to claim him."
This has nothing to do with racing. It is an advertisement from the Middletown Times Herald that appeared on July 3, 1925. This was before the days of rock & roll, before swing, big bands, crooners, and hip hop. If you enjoyed the music of John Phillip Sousa, the State Theater was the place to be! Of course, the big event of the year was only a month away...