Thanks Thanks:  0
Likes Likes:  0
Page 2 of 3 FirstFirst 123 LastLast
Results 11 to 20 of 23

Thread: Midwest Loses Another Racer

  1. #11
    Team Member Master Oil Racing Team's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Sandia, Texas
    Posts
    3,831
    Post Thanks / Like

    Default

    That's a good story Gene. Phils was not handicapped. When his right arm was steamed, and he got to the point to where he was stabilized and the doctors were able to save his hand they told him it would not be like it was before. No fingers, but he would still have a hand. Phil asked them if they could shape it into a ball. They said they could. Phil did not want to have to quit racing.

    I always had my steering as tight as I could get it....especially with D and F. No matter how tight it was...it always wanted to turn right when I grabbed for another position to make a left turn. It tends to muscle up your shoulders. I never asked Phil about how he was able to drive so well. When I first met him, he was winning or finishing in the upper tier. He had to do all that without being able to get a more advantageous grip on the wheel. It must have taken him some time to figure out placement for his cup. I don't know how long it took him to regain his competitive position because I never asked. It was something no one ever talked about. We just saw Phil at the races and shook hands left handed and went out and raced.

    I have some pictures of when Phil almost blew over at the Eastern Divisionals at Winona, but I never posted them because it was such a quick and sudden rise, that I couldn't focus quickly enough. The hydro came back down and Phil hit the throttle again. No...Phil was not handicapped. He just had to learn a more difficult way to turn the steering wheel. And he learned very well.



  2. #12
    Team Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Posts
    559
    Post Thanks / Like

    Default

    The accident that left Phil with a "ball" for a right hand occurred before I got to know him well, I think in the very early 70's, perhaps as early as 1969. He discussed it with us one time several years after I ended up in the hospital from the accident mentioned earlier, and it happened with a "sheet press" in his laundry. The press was constructed of a series of rollers that ran touching each other with room for one layer of a bed sheet to pass between them and the rollers had steam inside them to provide the heat for both drying and pressing the sheets.

    The press had lots of maintenance required to keep it running smoothly, and Phil would have to climb up on the press rollers and straighten or pull sheets out from between the rollers if they started going through in an incorrect manner. Long story short, the press got turned back on while he was on the rollers, and his right hand was caught between several hot rollers and subsequently both crushed and burned quite badly.

    When he was brought to the hospital, he was insistent with the Doctor as he was being taken to surgery, before he even knew how badly he was hurt, or what could be done to heal his hand, that if any of it had to be removed he be left with "something" he could turn a steering wheel with. Phil was a fan of a driver of midgets and sprint cars here in the midwest, and one of the drivers (don't remember his name now but he was a top flight driver) also competed at Indy several times. This driver had lost his hand and part of one arm in an accident in a midget or sprint car and had been fitted with a prothsesis that had a pin on the end that fit into a socket on his steering wheel that was put in the cars he was driving, so Phil knew that is was possible to continue his Boat Racing career as long as he was left with something that could be used to someway move the steering wheel in his boat,and he was very forcefull with the Doctor that something be done with whatever was left of his hand, that would allow him to do the same thing and he got a commitment from the Doctor before he would allow anything to be done.

    His hand was removed about halfway between the knuckles and wrist, leaving him with that much to work with. The Doctor then made an incision in the flesh of his stomach, slid what was left of his hand into the incision, an sewed it back closed. It was then allowed to heal for a number of weeks, with what was left of his hand inside and underneath the skin on his stomach. After a certain time had elapsed, (some weeks) what was left of his hand, and a large flap of skin was cut from his stomach that was six to eight inches longer than what was left of the hand, and then that flap was folded over and sutured to what was left of his palm. Then skin grafts were taken from his leg to cover the large place on his stomach where the skin was that was now formed into a ball on his hand.

    After many months of therapy, healing, exercise, etc., a "socket" or cup was made from steel, lined with leather and foam rubber, clamped on the wheel, and that is where he placed what was now a ball that would allow him to turn the wheel in his boat. Even though he was now able to move the wheel, it was still very difficult to drive in this manner, because as we all know, with a hydro at speed, you get tossed and thrown around quite a bit, so just try to imagine how it must have been trying to drive while having to lean forward with all your weight so as to keep your "stump" in the cup, and then be able to turn the boat without any fingers to grasp the wheel with. He exercised every day for years, and his forearm on the right was like steel. You did not want to try to arm wrestle him, as he would put you down in a second, even though he had no fingers to grasp your hand with.

    I always admired Phil from the first time I met him, for several reasons. Firstly, he NEVER indicated in any way that he was 'handicapped" insofar as driving his boat. (see Gene East's post re his wifes comments when he was called that by a PA announcer) He never complained, or came in from a heat that he did not run out front in by saying "if I just had my hand back, I would have smoked them". That was the deck he was dealt, and he played it like it was, with no complaints and no bitching. Many times I witnessed his "ball"
    bleeding when he would finish for the day, but he never cried about it, just competed at a very high level for another 15 years after his accident until he stopped driving at about age 55 in the mid 80's. We remained close friends with him, along with Jim Trimble, who was his trailer/racing partner when we first met he and Jeanie.

    I had the opportunity to "test" his hydro one day at a race in Iowa, just because I wanted to see what he was faced with every time he went out and competed. After about three laps my arm was about to fall off, my knuckles were bloody, and I came back with a renewed appreciation to just what lengths a person will go to to be able to continue to do something that means so much to them that they won't quit when life deals them something like Phil had happen to him.

    A great person, an intense competitor, and a really good friend and racing partner. You can't be more fortunate than to have someone like that in your life, as Eileen and I were for 40 years.

    ADD: Thanks to Gene East for remembering Unionville, Mo. as the place where Jeanie helped the PA announcer out with his description of Phil's driving ability. This race and the time frame for it adds more authenticity to the time frame when Phil had his accident as that race was late 60's or very early 70's. This was a very nice facility, a waterworks lake for the town, and the race was very well attended by the Midwest PRO drivers, but unfortunately it was very windy race day and the course was like the ocean with large waves and rollers. I seem to remember Jim Schouch (SP?) won almost all the runabout classes with a C/D runabout with a two cylinder flathead for power, as you just could not hold the throttle on with the larger motors and the motors at the time had a tendency to load up if still equipped with magneto ignition instead of CD which was starting to become popular for that reason..

    The race was promoted by Butch Leavendusky and I for the Kansas City Speedboat Association and for some reason we never went back.

  3. #13
    Team Member Gene East's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Quincy, IL
    Posts
    593
    Post Thanks / Like

    Default

    Bill,

    The race was at Unionville,MO. I'm not sure of the date.

    Thanks for detailing Phil's injury and the ordeal he endured to remain an active and successful driver. We can only imagine the pain Phil experienced.

    I've often wondered how he could pull himself forward when the boat got light in the bow, but I don't remember ever seeing him go over backwards.

    As you also mentioned, gripping the steering wheel with your fingers also decreases the stress of keeping your arm extended.

    Phil was a strong man, both physically and emotionally. He was an inspiration to all of us who were fortunate enough to call him a friend!

  4. #14
    Team Member Master Oil Racing Team's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Sandia, Texas
    Posts
    3,831
    Post Thanks / Like

    Default

    Thanks for the info Bill Van. I had forgotten that he had to have his hand inserted into his body. He did truly have a very strong arm. Popeye would have met his match with Phil. And you're right about him not flipping Gene. I never saw him flip. I guess I'll dig out those out of focus photos and post them. It was the closest I ever saw him to flipping. I don't know how me managed to pull it off and still keep going when he came down.



  5. #15
    Team Member Frank Volker's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Washington, MO
    Posts
    67
    Post Thanks / Like

    Default

    This is sad news indeed. It was always a pleasure to talk with Phil at the races and during his visits to Quincy Welding. Anyone who thought Phil was handicapped was probably never on a race course with him. He was a fierce competitor and a class act in every sense.

  6. #16
    Team Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Posts
    559
    Post Thanks / Like

    Default

    There were only two things that really attracted Phil's attention other than Jeanie, their business, and "PJ Jr" their small white poodle they had when we first met. One was racing (of various kinds and I will elaborate when I get the pictures I need for that post) and the other was a good meal, preferably steak, potatoes (did not matter if mashed or baked) and a good salad. When Phil, Jeanie, Eileen and I made the annual trek to Lakeland in the spring to escape the cold mid-west winter, we had a favorite place to eat in Lakeland, that most born prior to 1960 and appreciated a great meal would be familiar with north of town called "Foxfire".The food was delicious and the salad bar had all kinds of goodies including fresh boiled shrimp, so if you went hungry it was your own fault.

    At the funeral service I was reminded of Phil's appetite when reading his "autobiography", which was written when he was in the 6th grade, I assume for some type class project. He started at the beginning (at his birth) and it was very well written and detailed, especially for someone of 11-12 years old which he probably was in 6th grade. The last several paragraphs were very telling and informative, as they covered the two things he was most interested in at the time, and stayed so for many years. He stated that "I loved racing from the time I built my first soapbox derby car and raced it, but the only thing I liked better was food", end quote. I thought that was very accurate, and reflected Phil's taste's (no pun intended) for most of the rest of his life.

    One particular year Phil and Jeanie were not able to break away from the business come Lakeland time and were unable to make the trip. During a phone conversation prior to Eileen and I leaving for the race, he made the comment to be sure to have a steak at the Foxfire for him as they were not making the trip. Eileen and I made the visit with another couple (don't remember who now but it is not important to the story) and had the usual big meal that was served there with the portions bigger than most folks could eat in a sitting.
    I have already mentioned Phil's quite large appetite, and one of the things he used to do while waiting for everyone else at the table to finish was watch closely to see if you were going to finish your plate, and if he noticed hesitation like you were full and there was still a nice piece of steak left, he would say "are you going to finish that", and when you said no his fork would appear over your plate, the leftover steak would find it's way to his, and it would be gone very shortly. This happened with most unfinished portions of the meal by the others at his table, and I can truthfully say I never knew anyone that could put it away like he could and remain without any excess weight for his height.

    Since Phil was not present we all thought he would be appreciative of a gift from us all, that would indicate we were thinking of him and missed his ability to not waste any food. When we all finished our dinner we requested a "Phil" bag for all that was left, found a box suitable for shipping, and sent it "slow mail" to Phil at the cleaner' office. About 6-7 days later the local mail delivery person came into the shop with the box, holding it at arms length because of the smell, and made the delivery. I got an immediate phone call regards the meal, and we all had a good chuckle about it for many years after, but his appetite never diminished much up to the last time we had dinner with him which was a couple of years ago.

  7. #17
    Team Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Wildwood Missouri
    Posts
    0
    Post Thanks / Like

    Default

    Bill.. Sounds like he was a tough competitor as well as a man who dealt with a terrific obsticle. I just cant imagine the effort it took to drive in that condition. Hats off to him!

    If I remember correctly, that Midget Car racer with a similar situation was Mel Kenyon. I could be wrong, but was also was a guy who "made do"..


    Pitboss 77

  8. #18
    Team Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Posts
    559
    Post Thanks / Like

    Default

    Pitboss:

    It was indeed Mel Kenyon who was Phil's hero. I had forgotten his name as it had been many years since I had heard it. He was quite a race car driver in his own right, midget, sprint car, and Indy cars.

    And you are correct, he (Phil) was a very strong individual, in many ways. One of, if not the toughest individuals I have ever met.

  9. #19
    Team Member Danny Pigott's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Moncks Corner SC
    Posts
    297
    Post Thanks / Like

    Default

    I never knew Phil personaly but I saw him at a few races . I always admired him for still racing after what happened to him. A lot of people will quit the first time they get hurt in a boat. His desire to still race under those conditions were really something. There was a guy named Fred Mason that raced SEBA that only had one leg. I can remember seeing him in those days , George Tayor may remember more about him.

  10. #20
    Allen J. Lang
    Guest

    Default

    Dan, did Fred run a Johnson SR on a old Neal hydro in SEBA?

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •