In memory of racers no longer with us:

[Bill Van Steenwyk]

FRED W. (TODD SR.) BRINKMAN
9-27-35 / 1-18-11

Todd Sr. as he was known to most of his boat racing friends was actually born Fred W. Brinkman in Springfield, Illinois, September 27, 1935. As his mother was recovering from his birth in the first minutes after the event, and unable to name him herself, his Father, Fred, did the honors by naming him Fred also. According to Todd Michael, his eldest son, his mother was not at all happy with that choice and subsequently called him Todd from that point onward. The reason for Todd is unknown, but evidently she did not like the name Fred for him, so Todd it was.

Todd started racing at age 11 in 1946 right after the conclusion of WWII, in the C-Service Runabout and Hydro classes with equipment owned by his Father ( Fred) and eventually graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University where he majored in Physics and Mathematics. He established B&B Electric in 1962, the family business which Todd Jr. and other family members own and operate today, and he retired from the business in 1991 to fishing, golf, and watching a goodly number of the male members of his family enjoy the sport of boat racing which he himself had excelled in earlier in life. Some of his accomplishments in the sport are listed below.

In 1959, at the age of 24 he won his first NOA World Championships in C-1 Hydro and then repeated as champion in C-1 Runabout, on his home course at Lake Springfield, Illinois. He then proceeded to repeat those same accomplishments at Lake McCallister in McCallister, Ok. the next year, 1960. By winning these two class championships in succeeding years, he became the first driver to ever win two World Championships two years in a row, and was honored by having his picture and a short article about the accomplishment published in the column “Faces in the Crowd” in the November 7, 1960 issue of Sports Illustrated magazine. The next year (1961) he made it a “three-peat” by racing to Championships in both classes in the NOA WC’s held in St. Paul, Minn. These championships were won with DeSilva Runabouts and both Neal and Sid Craft Hydroplanes. The motors were built by several of the top names in the sport at the time including Tommy Newton, Stan McDonald, and John Toprahanian. His props were always by R. Allen (Poppa) Smith. He retired from racing (for the first time) at the top of his game in 1964 to spend more time building his business, B&B Electric, and with his growing family.

In 1972, having B&B Electric on solid ground and growing, he decided to get back into racing again. He proved again to be at the top of his game by winning the C-1 Hydro APBA National Championship in 1974 at DePue, Illinois. During his racing career he competed and won Championships against some of the legends of the sport, including Homer Kincaid, Billy Seebold, Bud Cowdry, Bill Seebold Sr., Stan Leavendusky Sr., Stan Leavendusky Jr., and many more competitive drivers, including many other World and National Champions. His last race as a driver was at Alexandria, La. in 1976. It was a memorable event in C-1 Runabout, as fully 80% or more of the field ended upside down in the first turn. Todd escaped serious injury, with the only visible signs of trouble a chunk chopped out of his helmet by someone else’s propeller. At this point at the strong urging of his wife DeLee, he retired from driving for the final time. He had already decided to present Todd Jr. with the number one motor, boats and props, so he hung it up for good and let Todd Jr., and later Tommy, carry the B&B Electric banner at the races. One of his last races in 1976 at the Eastern Divisionals in Gadsen, Alabama was one he was most proud of as Todd Jr. finished first winning the Divisional Championship just in front of him. After his retirement from driving, his two sons, Todd Jr., and Tom, along with grandsons Tim Brinkman and Matt Hilby later on, carried on the family tradition of winning with many National Championships to their credit, three Hall of Champions inductions, and two ZAK Awards. All total over the years approximately 40 National Championships and 15 records set from the B&B trailer and the Brinkman family.

Because he was not in a boat anymore did not end his involvement in the sport. He along with Kay Harrison, Tim Chance, Tim Butts, and others, was the driving force in getting the US Title Series off the ground and running smoothly, so as to promote a professional PRO Racing program with good prize money and the drivers and equipment professionally presented . The purpose being the first really professionally promoted boat race/show by PRO category only drivers that could be sold to potential sponsors as an event they would be proud to have on their premises. In addition to the behind the scenes work getting USTS up and running, he also acted as Race Director and Assistant Referee at many of the USTS and Nationals events from the mid-80’s to the early to mid-90’s. He was also the VP of USTS for a time, and served the whole PRO Category and Region 7 as a PRO Commissioner in the mid 70’s to early 80’s. He always was one of the scorers and judges favorite officials to work with on the judges stand, as his scotch “cocktail hour” started promptly at 5:00 PM, and they could always count on him to move the program along efficiently so as to finish the days racing program on time.

Last but far from least, he was my very good friend, and I will miss him, as I am sure many others will also.

The second photo is Todd and his father Fred.