Seeking stories or pics of Lee Richter/Team Adair

Hello,

Lee Richter, the original "MrBadwrench" of Port Lavaca, TX was my great uncle. (His sister Gertrude was my paternal grandmother.)

I know Lee was a driver for Red Adair & god knows who else, and some of his WWII history but that's about it. (I can confirm the Bay of Pigs story but that's about it.) I would like to hear from any of you guys who knew Lee or raced with him. Pictures of Lee or his boats are particularly appreciated.

I really only got to know Lee later on in his life. I know he was a high octane, hell-raiser sort of guy back in the day. My original interest was generated when I heard of his war service. I was always into military history & that has sort of morphed into family history now... Lee had 79 bombing missions in Africa, Sicily, Sardinia, and Italy with the 34th bombardment squadron of the 17th (later 12th) Bomb Group. My understanding was the required number of missions was 30 (later reduced to 25 for morale reasons) and Lee (eventually, as squadron commander) kept fudging the mission board so he could keep flying. I directly asked him about the high number of missions & he replied "I just liked killin' Kraut's" with a little twinkle in his eye. That was about the extent of his political-correctness. With Lee such strait talk was endearing cuz you knew he had walked the walk so he had a right to talk the talk. I also asked if he ever came close to cashing in his chips. He said only once (which was a stretch cuz I know he'd crash landed at least one B-26 which was all kinds of FUBAR) but he, with a troubled tone related the story of switching missions at the last minute with a fellow commander who as it turned out received a direct flak burst. The post-war Bay of Pigs story is fairly well known. Lee was approached to tow a mysterious shot-to-hell boat to Miami shortly after Bay of Pigs. I hear Lee undertook the tow, but declined further employment with "the company". I think he was done with "authority types" by that time.

Anyway, anything you guys can help dig up would be invaluable to our family.


- Ray Lankford

My old racing partner Clayton Elmer raced with Lee at Parker or Havasu in the very early days of OPC. I'll have to call Clayton to get more details. Lee was right there during the days of Red Adair racing, and there are a couple of stories I had heard when I first started racing, but I'm not sure which is legend and which is fact.

Lee was one of the top drivers in the Lone Star Boat Racing Association circuit, and had many wins. He was one of the ones to beat, and believe me....Lone Star had some of the best drivers and mechanics in the U.S.

I had heard his name mentioned as I came up in the ranks, starting in 1966, but I never met him. I later discovered that he was right there among us in the pits while I raced. The old timers at the races and my partner Clayton and Jack Chance knew him, but like most WWII Vets, they never said much.

I liked to watch the History Channel when we could get it, and around 2005 I saw a documentary about pilots in the European Theater and bombing missions. Anyone familiar with the way the History Channel presented their story was that they had five or six actual witnesses to the events and have them tell their stories in between actual war footage and contemporary correspondence. They show what was filmed and reported at the time, then cut back to the people that were part of the story. It was a crucial bombing target I think I was watching when Lee Richter and his name appeared on screen. I thought to myself "this has to be the famous Lee Richter from our Lone Star racing." At some point they do an interview of the guys that are not a part of the piece with just a question and answer session. That's when I knew he was the "real" Lee Richter....boat racer. I felt very proud of this Texan boat racer.

Only a year or so later, Ray Yates was talked into putting on the last Lone Star Boat Racing Association Reunion. That was in 2006. There was such a big push to get all the old boat racers together for one last time, it drew out many stock, modified, alky and OPC racers from many years past. Ron Hill came from California, Joe Flow came from Colorado, Craig Lawrence came from North Carolina, and many came from across Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma.

Lee was one that was local and he showed up. That's where I met him for the first time, and had a good talk with him. I took pictures with him and a lot of the guys he raced with who came to the reunion as well. Many of them I knew, and that's when I found out that he came to the races often, but did not say anything about his past racing. Seems he loved to talk about it, but would not put it out there unless someone asked.

I lost many pictures in a computer crash some years back and the ones from the Reunion are part of that. Joe Rome took some too, and he may have some of Lee. I have one computer I haven't started up in a long time that had some pictures on it that I will check, but they are only pictures of the reunion and no racing. I can say that I am proud to have met your Great Uncle, and I will post anything I happen to come across. Hope you have more to add yourself.

Somebody drove Red's Mandella right through my DeSilva Sled at the Parker 9 Hour, 1967. The Sled was on the trailer, out of the race when Red's boat broke a steering and drove through my boat. http://www.fireworld.com/Archives/ta...air-Lives.aspx

That was Richard Hatteburg, Ron. We first met Richard at the boat races. My Dad already knew Red from the fires and blowouts in South Texas. Whenever there was a blowout that Red was called in on, the first thing he had his people do was line up Halliburton and Alice Specialty. Baldy bought a Continental marathon boat from Red with a Chevy L-88 engine with Weber carbs and a V-Drive. Richard Hatteburg delivered it. Richard fought fires with Red, and also raced SK's and Marathon boats with him.

Richard told us that his rudder snapped off when he was going past the pits and the boat turned to the shoreline. There happened to be an empty boat trailer right there that his boat got up on. Richard said "....then it was just like on a roller skate. I went down through the pits mowing everybody and everything down until I stuck into a boat." He said the couple of people he hit were glancing blows. He also stated that only he and his dry cleaners knew how scared he was.

Thanks for the replies thus far guys. It helps to inform my line of questioning a bit...

If you had to make a guess -- what stretch of time would that put Lee's boat racing career? And where were the races typically held? Were these exclusively sprints or were there endurance races as well? Maybe just a little more flavor on "the early days of OPC"... I'm wondering if it was something returning soldiers cooked up to scratch their "need for speed" or was OPC a going enterprise prior to the war?

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Originally Posted by MrBadwrench

Thanks for the replies thus far guys. It helps to inform my line of questioning a bit...

If you had to make a guess -- what stretch of time would that put Lee's boat racing career? And where were the races typically held? Were these exclusively sprints or were there endurance races as well? Maybe just a little more flavor on "the early days of OPC"... I'm wondering if it was something returning soldiers cooked up to scratch their "need for speed" or was OPC a going enterprise prior to the war?

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You asked if OPC racing had a future??? In 1967, I made $7,200 A YEAR TEACHING SCHOOL. at HAVASU THAT YEAR I won $8,500 AND A $4,500 LOT THAT I LATER SOLD FOR $9,000.

I PROMOTED THE 1969, 1970 AND 1971 WINTERNATIONALS. I WON TWO LOTS AT THESE WINTERNATIONALS, and at the 1971 Winternationals my share of the prize money was close to $9,000. (Our club made MORE THAN $19,000 ON THE 1971 AS I CHARGED THE PROMOTERS $10,000 TO PUT THE RACE ON).

In 1970, Jimbo and I won Berlin a 6 hour endurance race. My prize was a trophy and my sponsor Jim Briggs sent me a Lawn Boy lawn mower.

In May, 1971, the Galveston 250 sponsored by Red Adair. First up was single engine outboards. Jimbo won while all the spectators sun bathed and took naps. Next up was about 25 twin and triple engine outboards.

When the Single engine lined up no one cared. But when the twins and triples lined up the spectators kncj over the snow fencing. They wanted to touch these "MONSTERS"

Jimmy Mertens dominated the race with a triple engine Jones. My 20 foot Jones was fast but nit as fast a Merten's 22 foot triple.

When the raced ended the fans were going crazy as they had just seen one hell of a boat race.

As I walked up to the snack bar, i think I finshed fourth, maybe third. I over heard Gary Garbrecht and Charlie Strange saying, "OK, we have a deal. Single engine from now one." My thoughts then and now: WOW! You just saw the greatest twin and triple engine outboard race in the history of the world...and you want o race single engines??? Didn't either one of you see what the spectators thought of single engines???? (Single engines bored the spectators....multi engines drove the spectators into a frenzy)...

Just and FYI!

I call this day the day Boat Racing died....