Ted May Boat Racer, Mentor to Many!

[Ron Hill]

---

The old Hell Cat, Ted May. Ted joined the Navy, December 1st, 1941... Spent 5 years and seven months on a Navy ship in the War Zone of the Pacific....at least that's what he said...I do know he was in the Navy in the Pacific... I do know he came back from the war and played football for the Navy's team.


I do know that he played quarterback for Manual Arts High for 7 years... they won the state Championships 7 years in a row, but in 1941, California passed a law you couldn't be over 21 and play high school football, so in '41, after his 21st birthday he joined the Navy..

He started boat racing the same year I did, 1955, I was 11, Ted was 34, we got along like brothers always. Ted was a teacher!!!

This picture hangs on Bill Curtis's wall. it is signed The Hellcat 54 Ted May.

This is Ted's old Molinari...many people in Southern California believed that Ted's trailer was welded to his truck, because you never saw the truck and boat separated...He was seen all the time going down the FREEWAYS...

Ted's belief, if you did 90 per cent of your boating NOT racing, you only had a 10% chance of breaking in the race...
Ted would co-drive with me at Parker, maybe run two hours, when the race was over and I got some prize money, I'd pay Ted by the hour...He loved it!!!!