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racingfan1
05-27-2017, 01:55 PM
Here are the 1973 Propeller issues.

racingfan1
05-27-2017, 02:24 PM
Here are pages 1-10 of the January 1973 edition. Thanks Wayne

racingfan1
05-27-2017, 02:27 PM
Pages 11-20

racingfan1
05-30-2017, 05:08 AM
Here are pages 1-8

racingfan1
05-30-2017, 05:10 AM
Pages 9-16

racingfan1
06-01-2017, 04:27 PM
Here are pages 1-10 of the April 1973 edition

racingfan1
06-01-2017, 04:30 PM
Page 11-20

racingfan1
06-01-2017, 04:34 PM
While reading through this edition I see that even in 1973 the cost of " Alky " racing was becoming a factor in boat counts , as the comments by William Fales in the Outboard News on page 7 indicates.

Master Oil Racing Team
06-02-2017, 06:39 AM
The Konig engines were becoming more popular Dale and I can't recall if the exchange rate was a factor this time or not, but yes costs were going up. However, as Bill Fales mentioned, people needed to organize their vacations way in advance because travel was a real big factor in costs. OPEC had just recently put up and embargo on oil coming to the U.S., and as a result there was a huge gasoline shortage. Prices went up, but also many gas stations shut down on weekends, or whenever they ran out of gasoline. The biggest problem with supply though was that rather than let fuel suppliers control distribution, the Nixon administration did, and governments cannot do this like private enterprise. The result was plentiful gasoline in areas where it was not needed, but rampant shortages all across the nation. Local gas stations off the Interstate would sell only to local customers. In order to get out of state drivers to come to Lakeland, Walt Blankenstein had a local friendly gas station owner agree to provide gasoline to out-of-state drivers so they could get back home. Most people carried gasoline cans in addition to methanol fuel to be sure they could get to Lakeland and back.

The first Lakeland race was blown out, and we had to travel back to Texas. On the way home we ran into much cold, and hail when we got to Houston. We missed the rare snowfall in South Texas while we were at Lakeland. It had melted before we got home.

racingfan1
06-04-2017, 05:39 AM
Here are pages 1-10 of the May 1973 edition.

racingfan1
06-04-2017, 05:42 AM
Pages 11-20

Master Oil Racing Team
06-04-2017, 01:31 PM
A few comments regarding this issue. In the previous issue and in this one, Bill Fales urged everyone to attend the Nationals at DePue, and the APBA/UIM World Championships in Alexandria, Louisiana the following weekend. This was the first APBA and UIM race held at Alexandria. Charlie Strang told my Dad that under UIM rules the U.S. could run runabout world championships.

The NOA was in it's death throes and Baldy had contacted Carl Rylee to go through APBA to put on races. Carl always liked to put on the top show to go along with "The fastest water in the world" at Lake Buhlow, and as such wanted a world championship race. Baldy submitted application through APBA to host OA,OB,OC,OD, and OF World Championships at Alex in 1973. I think the UIM was both surprised and pleased at the request. As a result, the U.S. was awarded OA, OD, and OF.

Bill Fales also mentioned two drivers working hard to put on some quality racing on the same date and to support the races. Me and Neil Rose were mentioned. First of all, it was Baldy who was the prime mover in the 1973 Waldman Memorial. The first event where Jerry was killed was put together by my Dad, Jerry Waldman, Marshall Grant, Harry Bartolomei and Lee Sutter. This event held on the same weekend as the Eastern Nationals was a very sore spot with Baldy, even before the actual race date. As my Dad predicted, especially with huge jumps in gasoline prices and an unknowing supply of it, attendance at both races was down. We didn't know that the Eastern Divisionals applied for that date and I'm sure Neil didn't know about us either. But APBA offices sure did, and should have not allowed it. We were running around the same time as the year before, but the Eastern Divisionals were a little earlier than normal and should have been put off a couple of weeks. This was part of the reason Baldy ran for the APBA Council later on in the year and was elected.

racingfan1
06-05-2017, 12:30 PM
Late August and September region 7 races at Lacon and Chillicothe Illinois would have been on the Illinois River ? I imagine Chuck Davis would have had a hand in these races ?

racingfan1
06-06-2017, 03:06 PM
Here is the June edition pages 1-10

racingfan1
06-06-2017, 03:09 PM
Pages 11-20

Master Oil Racing Team
06-06-2017, 06:04 PM
Notice in this issue Dale that it was announced that APBA could hold World Championship races for all APBA classes. This was not what my Dad Baldy was interested in, although APBA and UIM were all for it. I have the letter from Charlie Strang that I mentioned earlier regarding this. Baldy believed this was diluting the real deal. You can't have World Championships in every class in every country, and they did not want this either. It was basically an apple to promoters in the U.S. (Carl Rylee, and Baldy Baldwin) to get more APBA/UIM sanctions going. Runabouts have always been allowed to run with hydros in world championship races, but nobody did in the modern era. They hoped to continue the NOA tradition of the World Championship races at Alex with separate classes. Baldy didn't bite, and neither did Carl. So nothing ever became of this, because no one in the U.S. ever filed for any U.S. APBA/UIM World Championships after Alexandria in 1973.

Ron Hill
06-07-2017, 07:10 PM
I am sometimes amazed of how much boat racing "TIME" the Hills put in in their life time. My dad, Russ Hill, was listed as Inspector at the 9 Hour. I think I was listed twice as something...Racing "S" Class at San Diego. Where did we find the time, energy and money to race this much?

Dave_E71
06-08-2017, 05:26 AM
Ron, we were talking about exactly the same thing last weekend. My dad was saying that the season started in late April with a race every weekend and finished up in Elizabeth City, NC (fast water there...) the first weekend in October. Racing some weekends in a different place Sunday than you were Saturday. Hell, even in '73, the Region 3 & 4 schedule is still pretty full.
It pales in comparison to some but, 2018 will be 60 unbroken years for us and 4 generations.
In my own opinion, if we had all the time and money spent on boat racing, yeah, we'd have A LOT more time and money but we'd be poorer for the experiences we missed and the real friends we didn't make.

Not sure why but the next issue is my all time favorite Propeller ;)

racingfan1
06-08-2017, 08:44 AM
Ron, we were talking about exactly the same thing last weekend. My dad was saying that the season started in late April with a race every weekend and finished up in Elizabeth City, NC (fast water there...) the first weekend in October. Racing some weekends in a different place Sunday than you were Saturday. Hell, even in '73, the Region 3 & 4 schedule is still pretty full.
It pales in comparison to some but, 2018 will be 60 unbroken years for us and 4 generations.
In my own opinion, if we had all the time and money spent on boat racing, yeah, we'd have A LOT more time and money but we'd be poorer for the experiences we missed and the real friends we didn't make.

Not sure why but the next issue is my all time favorite Propeller ;)

I believe I know why and it may just have to do with a certain picture in a certain place,

Dave_E71
06-08-2017, 04:03 PM
I believe I know why and it may just have to do with a certain picture in a certain place,

And I believe you are correct sir :cool:

Ron Hill
06-08-2017, 04:58 PM
This picture was on the cover of the Propeller: It said, Referee, Forest Miller, Region 11 Chairman, Henry Wagner, Outboard Vice President, William Fales and Bud Davis. It should have said, Bud David for whom the kilos were named and for whom the Memorial Time Trials are named.

Henry is seated with the short black hair.

Bud used to run the scanner for the kilos, he always told me he got my engine going into the kilo and the bow coming out. I often wondered if 26 feet really made a difference. (13 feet each way, actually.) I do know he missed my *** many times, when I thought I had made a "PERFECT" RUN. They'd announce, "Sorry Ron, we missed you. You can go back and give it another try."

racingfan1
06-08-2017, 06:55 PM
Ron, we were talking about exactly the same thing last weekend. My dad was saying that the season started in late April with a race every weekend and finished up in Elizabeth City, NC (fast water there...) the first weekend in October. Racing some weekends in a different place Sunday than you were Saturday. Hell, even in '73, the Region 3 & 4 schedule is still pretty full.
It pales in comparison to some but, 2018 will be 60 unbroken years for us and 4 generations.
In my own opinion, if we had all the time and money spent on boat racing, yeah, we'd have A LOT more time and money but we'd be poorer for the experiences we missed and the real friends we didn't make.

Not sure why but the next issue is my all time favorite Propeller ;)

Dave and Ron , back then school was over for the summer and with it school sports as well. However , now , there is club volleyball and ASA softball and AAU basketball and 7 on 7 football that keeps kids and families busy all summer. If you miss a town league game it may not have been an issue , but miss one these organized events and you may lose a spot on a team. My family was no different. It takes a lot of time and money , all summer long , to get kids to practice and weekend tournaments. Many parents feel if their child is able to get a college scholarship than that time is well spent. So families that may have , in years past, attended boats races now may have to pick and choose races to attend based on their kids schedules. I am not saying it is right or wrong , just a shift in times.

racingfan1
06-08-2017, 07:00 PM
Here is the July 1973 edition pages 1-10.

racingfan1
06-08-2017, 07:03 PM
July Issue pages 11-20

racingfan1
06-09-2017, 06:03 AM
One of the reasons I enjoy the BRF website is the history that can be found on its pages. It is important to preserve as much of it as we can so future generations of racers and fans can go back and look at the history of the sport. So if something in these editions of Propeller jogs a memory please feel free to share it as Wayne and Ron have.

One thing that stands out to me as I have read through the 1973 editions is how dominant , perhaps to strong a word , Tommy Hooten was in the hydro classes. He had plenty of wins but also numerous top 3's.

Master Oil Racing Team
06-10-2017, 08:26 PM
You're right Dale. Tommy was a great competitor. We had a lot of good races together. Sometimes he would win, sometimes I would win. Sometimes someone else would, but unless someone broke down or jumped the gun, we would always be right up there. Tommy did some long haul trucking of cattle. One time in the 1970's he came down to South Texas and on the way to the Rio Grande Valley he stopped in to see me and my Dad Baldy.

racingfan1
06-12-2017, 04:13 AM
Here is the August 1973 edition , pages 1-10

racingfan1
06-12-2017, 04:17 AM
Pages 11-20

racingfan1
06-13-2017, 02:25 PM
Here is the September 1973 edition pages 1-10 , inside you will find the recap of the Outboard Nationals from DePue and the Inboard Nationals from Dayton Ohio.

racingfan1
06-13-2017, 02:29 PM
Pages 11-20

racingfan1
06-17-2017, 04:28 AM
Here is the October 1973 edition , inside you will find the results from the Mod Nationals held in Decatur Al and the UIM Worlds from Alexanderia LA. Here are pages 1-10.

racingfan1
06-17-2017, 04:31 AM
Here are pages 11-20

racingfan1
06-24-2017, 04:39 AM
Here are pages 1-10 of the November 1973 edition which contains the recap of the Stock Nationals which were held at Willard Utah.

racingfan1
06-24-2017, 04:42 AM
Pages 11-20

Master Oil Racing Team
06-24-2017, 01:42 PM
As I had mentioned in an earlier post, my Dad Baldy had talked Carl Rylee into getting an APBA sanction for Alex, including three UIM World Championships....OA, OD and OF. There were possibly some outboard UIM races held in the 50's or earlier, but in the modern post war era when engines and boats were rapidly gaining horsepower and speed, this was the first UIM Outboard World Championship races to be held in the United States. We wanted everything to go smoothly so we had to get to Alex early to help Carl. There was no way we could race at the Nationals at DePue and then get back to Alex in time, so we didn't make DePue in 1973.

A funny side note: Notice Baldy's real first name on the back page of the November issue...Eval. His name was Eual, but the way he wrote, the U came out like V a lot of the time. Baldy did not type, nor did he do cursive. He printed out his letters longhand, mostly on legal paper. The faster he wrote the harder it was to read his writing. Only myself and a couple of secretaries could decipher the hard to read stuff. Eval was most likely from his handwritten APBA membership form. Somehow, that's the same name the IRS used. Eval E. Baldwin. My Dad always got a kick out of this, because somewhere in the IRS his name was correct, but Eval is what they used in their correspondence and he never tried to correct them. He liked it that way. He would tell people,"I want them to think I'm Eval (evil)", and then he would laugh.

racingfan1
06-26-2017, 05:39 PM
Here is the Decemeber 1973 issue which will be split in 3 different post , here are pages 1-8.

racingfan1
06-26-2017, 05:42 PM
Pages 9-16

racingfan1
06-26-2017, 05:44 PM
Pages 17-24

racingfan1
06-26-2017, 06:04 PM
HHHMMMMM , page 23 middle column middle of the page . Marshall Grant selling B,C and D motors , I wonder how long they stayed on the market ??

Master Oil Racing Team
06-26-2017, 08:03 PM
More or less half a year Dale. Don't know who got the B. Steve Ketzer, Sr. got "Ring of Fire", last one, and I believe at least one C Service motor. Steve Jr. can tell us about that. The boats, the twin 500 Konig F motor or the double rotary valve F were not in the ad. Sometime between this ad and the 1974 season Marshall had decided he had to make a clean break. If he had any alky stuff left, he would buy something else to work on to make it faster. After Billy Seebold left to drive full time in the OPC division, he had Jerry Simison drive his runabout stuff at Alex, and Billy Hulgan from Alabama drive his hydros. Charlie Bailey had driven for him at Lakeland, Florida earlier in the year, and Dan Kirts drove Marshall's equipment at the Jerry Waldman Memorial race at Hot Springs, also earlier in the year.

Jack Chance and I stopped to visit with Marshall and Etta on the way to the Eastern Divisionals at Winona, Minnesota in 1974. We picked up the very fast D, which is the subject of "An Amazing Story" here on BRF and the double rotary valve F motor. Dan Kirts ended up with the 8 cylinder F Konig and the Butt's experimental boat we called "Hondo" that Baldy gave to Marshall.

I never looked at the ads, but I well check the upcoming editions to see if Marshall added to the list. Marshall and Baldy talked all the time, so they may have come to a deal apart from the ad. I know the D and F were extremely fast, but I don't remember anything about the C, so maybe that's why Baldy wanted just these two. No interest in the 8 cylinder. Was just too much to work with.

ADD: Been busy going to semi arid Texas and back today, & got to thinking. I didn't look back at Steve Ketzer's posts from a couple of years ago, but I think I was probably wrong. Think Steve will chime in soon and correct us. They may have bought Ring of Fire, Jr. And I think Marshall told Joe and I that he sold a lot of his C Service stuff to the Johnson's---Jim, Walt and Duke. They were close, and Marshall helped them.

ADD AGAIN: I didn't have a lot of time to spend, but I went back to see if I could find mention of Marshall's stuff and there is too much to look at to skim. I know Steve told me, but I think he also posted it. Nevertheless, I am going to go back and read the Ketzer Racing Team thread again from beginning to end. It is one of the finest threads here complete with stories, photos and lots of history regarding friends, pit crews, etc. Anyone who has not read this thread is missing a great trip through some of the finest outboard racing history that has been posted. Steve is a gifted writer and puts you back in the pits with memories of those days, plus the family history of his Dad Steve, SR. and his WWII and other flying experiences. It is an excellent story told by a kid who grew up into boat racing at a very exciting time.