Tom Ige...says he misses us all...
Tom Ige
We had a race in Brawley, in the spring of 1976. Brawley is a small town that isn't far from the Mexican border, we race there in fresh water that is Coloradro River run off from irrigation. Irrigation water has too much salt, so they run it off into the Salton Sea....The whole area is 150 below sea level and as a result, even though Brawley is below sea level, and the lake is tiny, we could always show so very fast speeds there...The lake and area hasn't changed since the first time I went there in 1956...
I'm unloading my D Runabout...no carts for me, (Or anyone else for that matter).. we lifted that "SUCKER"... and a small man introduces himself and I immediately forget his name... He said did I sell any of those props in my trailer??? I said, "Sure." He said he needed "SOME." The word some got my attention. Had had like twenty hanging in my trailer.... He looked at several, aasked prices, then disappeared....
I go back to setting up my boat. A few minutes later he comes back was cash to buy like three props... I say, "This is cool, because those props ain't that great." He says he's going to need more... I say wonderful. He leaves and a few minutes later he comes back with more cash, says, "He wants the rest." This time I ask him what was your name, again... He says, "Tom Ige" and his adds, in his always nice voice, I'm the importer of Yamato Outboards... I say cool and head to the motorhome with my cash...
The club's race chairman's name is Frank Pruess, somehow he puts a class together for these "Tomatoes" (The have red cowlings and some names that sounds like tomato)...
Well, the five minute guns goes off, Tommy has LOADED like four motors out...and they crank them for a full 5 minutes and not one starts. They like sort a like the early Konig's, so my first thought was that the crank pins had slipped and they'd never run...
But Tommy went over and started one, then the next, finally they all were running. I felt sorry for this nice man, I figured by the end of the day he'd have four broken outboard motors...
Mark Pruess, my cousin, John Heggenburger, Richard O'Dell and I don't recall who ran them...on Saturday and Sunday...The motors ran both days, on Sunday EVERYONE gave them back.... As I say the guy (Tommy) leave I thought we'd probably never see him again.
Monday or Tuesday, Farnk Pruess came by as we were working on the 1977 NationalS bid... He said he was foing to buy one...One what??? A Yamato 80, he said they only cost $300. I figured, they'd be about $1,500.
For $300 I knew they had to be JUNK... But we ran a race at Bakersfield, and they ran all weekend, and they guys actaully bought two from Tommy. Tommy said they'd run for ever...we started believing him....Tommy was at every race and by the end of the year, we had maybe 10 guys who has raced the Yamatos and we'd had no engine failures,,,,and if they turned over, Tommy had them running in no time...
In the spring of 1977, I'm Region 12 Chairman and I print $20,000 brochures to promote boat racing...Ron Eisely, a Super J driver prints them at a very good cost to the Region. The boat show is in January, I start passing the brochures out at MY BOOTH (Region 12's, but I got it for free)...and Tom Ige (pronounced EE GAY) has a Yamato booth and he gives out brochures everyday for ten days...
I buy three Yamatoes at $318 each including tax and get the local drivers to make a list. We sell ten new drivers on my "NOVICE" Class...Yamato prop, B hydro boat..
Tommy and I have so much fun we sign up for another boat show...
At the 1977 Nationals we run 20 SS Hydro as we called it, becasue it had 20 Cubic inches... Bakersfield Nationals is a hugh success, thanks in part to Tommy giving away motr parts and buying adds and helping the club...
By the end of 1977 SCOA, our club, has $10,000 in the bank...
The next few years, Stock Outboarding grows...Thanks to Tommy Ige "OUR JAPANES AMERICAN". Tommy was running RB with his Yamato, and at the kilos he blew over and broke his back...
While he was recovering, Tommy was retired military and his wife was from Hawaii...Tommy and his wife decided to sell the Yamato business and return to Hawaii...
I talked to Tommy yesterday...he's well, enjoying Hawaii..he doesn't internet, like he told me the last time I called him...but he says he misses boat racing and the good times we had...
I was looking through an old Speed and Spay magazine, in a letter to the editor, there was a letter by Tom Ige...dated 1952, US. Military APO for an address...He's been a boat racing lover all his life...
Outboard racing owes Tommy a lot, he brought us the Yamato!!!!
Thanks, Tommy...the next time I'm in Maui...I'll stop and see you....
Add; We use to bet heavy on who would win, Tommy or Me....Big bucks...like $5.00 a heat......I always won...always, but Tommy always paid and would bet the next race......
Once at Brawley, I ran fifth the first heat, Tommy came down and wanted to double our bet......considering I'd taken his money all season, I figured, sure we acan double the best.....(I'd run my D Stock Hydro agains the B Alkyies)..sort of a set up, but down...
So, I head for the clock with about 45 seconds left, I drop off plane and idle...these alkies can't idle...all four B Alky guys jump...I win...Tommy CHEERFULLY pays the bet....
Next spring I sell my D Hydro to Jimmy Dawe and start running MOD VP....
I didn't see Tommy much after that!!! I doubt he ever made a dime from selling the motrs, but he enjoed every minute!!!
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