Wally Roman, Minneapolis, mn

[Dianar]

i am looking for information or pictures of my dear uncle Bud (Wally roman) he raced hydroplane boats in the 60's and 70's a lot of great memories for me. I went as often as possible and I can still hear the roar in my head he went by. he even gave me ride ifI promised not to tell my Mom, which of course I did not.


Anyone!,,,,

[Bill Van Steenwyk]

i am looking for information or pictures of my dear uncle Bud (Wally roman) he raced hydroplane boats in the 60's and 70's a lot of great memories for me. I went as often as possible and I can still hear the roar in my head he went by. he even gave me ride ifI promised not to tell my Mom, which of course I did not.


Anyone!,,,,



I knew your "Uncle Bud" in the late 60's, but not well. Just knew who he was when I saw him, both in the pits and on the water.

I remember in that time frame at a race at Fort Buhlow Lake in Pineville, Louisiana, Wally was competing in I believe C or D Hydroplane with a Konig engine. I do not remember the lap of the race he was on, but just after crossing the start/finish line a hundred feet or so and right in front of where I was pitted, something broke (cable, hook, clevis?) never knew which, on his steering, and the torque of the motor immediately made it swing hard to the left, looking at it from the back of the boat. The boat immediately turned hard left at top speed, and barrel rolled probably 4 or four or more times. It really rang your Uncle's bell, but I think he was not permanently injured.

I was fortunate enough at the time that my wife was taking Super 8 movies of the race, and she got it all on film, although it happened and was over so quickly that the whole sequence only lasted about 2-3 seconds, and there was so much spray flying that you really could not see him impact the water.

That short sequence was spliced together by me with others of the same kind, to make a kind of "thrills and spills" reel for use in promoting and selling boat races in the midwest area in that time frame. Unfortunately, it no longer exists, as so many folks wanted to see it over and over again while we were showing it for promotional purposes, the sprocket holes in the film were stripped out and could not be repaired, thereby ruining the film for showing purposes.

If you want to know more about him, I suggest you contact a person named Tim Chance, as I seem to remember him saying he knew Wally quite well. I know Tim lived in Minnesota during that time frame and has mentioned him from time to time as someone he raced with and knew. You can probably find Tim in the St. Louis, Missouri phone book, or he is registered and posts here on Boat Racing Facts, and also another boat racing website called "Hydroracer". If you cannot find a phone number for him, register on the Hydroracer site yourself so as to be able to contact him personally by sending him a "private message" thru the web site.

Sorry I am not more help.

[jrome]

I am sure Tim Chance has some pics of Wally.

[Gene East]

Wally was a great guy. I'm sure Tim has some info he would share with you.

I would not be surprized if Tim posts a response in the next day or so.

[Loren Kaus]

i am looking for information or pictures of my dear uncle Bud (Wally roman) he raced hydroplane boats in the 60's and 70's a lot of great memories for me. I went as often as possible and I can still hear the roar in my head he went by. he even gave me ride ifI promised not to tell my Mom, which of course I did not.


Anyone!,,,,

Hello...My brother Dale and I raced with Midwest Power Poat Association back in the mid 50's , 60's and 70's . knew Wally and Marge very well. Spent many weekends up there working on engines and having the famous jucy lucies at the nearby bar. I have a couple pictures. Can give you names of other people that may have pictures. Please call 719-599-4409

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I have attended many driver meetings with Wally as well as been in qualifying and maybe some final heats with him, but I have no memories of any particular races. He quit just about the time I was getting competitive. He was one of the great drivers out of the Midwest Power Boat Association that ran the national circuit. I'm not really sure, but he may have quit when NOA started going down, and didn't make the move to APBA.

A couple of friends are members here and could tell a lot of Wally Roman stories from their early years of racing, but they only look, and never post. Joe Flow and Al Davis moved down from Minneapolis area to Texas in 1969 or 1970, and had many great years of racing the Lone Star circuit. Wally mentored Joe and Al, and they had some funny stories Joe told me not more than three or four months ago. I will give Joe a call in the next few days to see what he has to say.

[Tim Chance]

I will look and see what I have on Wally and get back in a day or two. Wally was a great person and helped a lot of young kids (myself included) get started on their racing careers.

[champhotrod]

check out this thread
http://www.boatracingfacts.com/forums/showthread.php?7712-Minnesota-Boat-Racers

Cooper Jess

[Gene East]

Yep, That's Wally, "By Golly"!

[Tim Chance]

51138This is the text that I wrote in the 1969 Boat Racing Handbook on the page showing Wally as the Class D Hydro Midwest Power Boat Association High Point Champion: "Wally Roman, from Minneapolis, Minnesota, scored an even 3200 points with his hand built Quincy engine and a Soderstrom Hydro. He has the distinction of being one of the better craftsmen on racing engine set-up and builds most of the engines used for competition in this area. He has numerous Championships to his credit; both as a driver and mechanic. He also races Class F and previously has competed in Classes A, B, and C, Another noteworthy item is the vast amount of people who have started racing outboards due to his guidance. It can be honestly said that Wally Roman is a man among men in the sport of boat racing." This photo accompanied the article in the Handbook.