January 18, 2022
@MototiqueRacing
Ocala, Florida
Automobiles were becoming more common, and the sport of automobile racing was gaining nationwide popularity, so the track operators decided to stage an Automobile Speed Carnival at the Fairgrounds racetrack on during the Banner Day celebrations in November 1908.
As part of the Carnival, the promoters included a match motorcycle race between professional racers Russ Smith, and Arthur Redfern. They would ride special five-, and seven-cylinder motorcycles. These special bikes were probably built around modified automobile engines.
On November 7, 1908, Russ Smith, and Arthur Redfern, raced around the one mile for track five laps. Redfern came across the finish line as the winner of New Orleans' first professional motorcycle race. The event received national coverage in the motorcycling press of the day.
In 1909, New Orleans decided to hold the Speed Carnival at the Fairgrounds in conjunction with the annual Mardi Gras celebrations. It does not appear that motorcycles would be included in the Mardi Gras Speed Carnival for 1910, but by November there were plans for a winter professional racing series at the City Park racetrack.
For the 1911, Mardi Gras Speed Carnival, it was announced that two motorcycle races would also be run each day of the carnival. Not only would there be motorcycle racing, but top racers from throughout the country would be competing in the carnival at the Fairgrounds racetrack.
Among the racers entering the races was New Orleans native son, Arthur Mitchell, who would be competing in the carnival at the Fairgrounds racetrack. Mitchell was one of the top races in the South and was making a name for himself riding Flying Merkel racers on dirt, and board tracks around the country. This would be his chance to race in front of a hometown crowd.
Mitchells' chief competitor for the title of Southern Racing Champion, was Robert Stubbs of Birmingham, Alabama. Stubbs was a member of the Indian Motocycle Racing team that set numerous speed records for Indian at the 1909 Ormond Beach, Florida Speed Carnival.
Athur Chapple of Boston, Massachusetts was an established national racing star and a former Indian teammate of Robert Stubbs at the 1909 Ormond Beach Speed Carnival.
Eddie Hasha, a young man from Waco, Texas was an up-and-coming star in the professional motorcycle racing. Known as the "Texas Cyclone", Hasha had defeated Bob Stubbs in a 1910 race in Waco, on a Harley-Davidson racer lent to Hasha by Harley-Davidson co-founder Arthur Davidson.
The upcoming Mardi Gras motorcycle races received plenty of coverage in the local newspapers.
As a young man growing up in the South, I've heard countless tales of drunken debauchery centered around the Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans, Louisiana, affectionately known as "The Big Easy." The Mardi Gras celebrations in the Crescent City go back to the 1730s. So, you might ask, what does that have to do with early motorcycle racing. Turns out it may be more than you think.
It appears from press accounts that the first motorcycle race to be held in New Orleans was scheduled for September 28, 1902, at the Athletic Park Stadium at the intersection Tulane Avenue and Scott Street in the Mid-City District of the City.
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| New Orleans Time-Democrat - September 28, 1902 |
This is very early for an American motorcycle race as Indian Motocycle had only been founded in 1901, and Harley-Davidson would not be founded until 1903. It is unclear if the race took place, as the results were not covered in the local press.
By the early 1908, New Orleans had two one-mile dirt oval horse tracks. One was located in City Park, and the other was located at the Fairgrounds. Both tracks hosted horse racing, and betting on the results was a common occurrence. Over the years, horse racing was seen by many of New Orleans' more devout residents as a corrupting force, full of gamblers, loan sharks, and other unsavory characters. In 1908, the Louisiana Legislature passed the Locke Law banning horse racing in the State for 5 years. With their livelihood threatened, the track operators looked for another use for their facilities.
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Diagram of the New Orleans Fairgrounds Racetrack
On this site since 1852
New Orleans Jazz Fest |
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| The New Orleans, LA. Times-Democrat - November 7, 190 |
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| The Times-Democrat - October 23, 1908 |
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| Motorcycle Illustrated - December 1, 1908 |
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| The Times-Democrat - November 8, 1908 |
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| Bicycling World and Motorcycle Review - November 12, 1910 |
For the 1911, Mardi Gras Speed Carnival, it was announced that two motorcycle races would also be run each day of the carnival. Not only would there be motorcycle racing, but top racers from throughout the country would be competing in the carnival at the Fairgrounds racetrack.
Among the racers entering the races was New Orleans native son, Arthur Mitchell, who would be competing in the carnival at the Fairgrounds racetrack. Mitchell was one of the top races in the South and was making a name for himself riding Flying Merkel racers on dirt, and board tracks around the country. This would be his chance to race in front of a hometown crowd.
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Arthur Mitchell of New Orleans, LA. with his Flying Merkel Racer
Chris Price @ Archive Moto |
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Robert Stubbs - New Orleans, LA. Fairgrounds Racetrack 1911
Chris Price @ Archive Moto |
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Arthur Chapple - Ormond Beach, FL. 1909
Chris Price 2 Archive Moto
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Eddie Hasha, a young man from Waco, Texas was an up-and-coming star in the professional motorcycle racing. Known as the "Texas Cyclone", Hasha had defeated Bob Stubbs in a 1910 race in Waco, on a Harley-Davidson racer lent to Hasha by Harley-Davidson co-founder Arthur Davidson.
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Eddie "The Texas Cyclone" Hasha
Chris Price @ Archive Moto |
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The Times-Democrat - January 1, 1911
New Orleans native son, Arthur Mitchell, was the first of the motorcycle race competitors to have his photo in The Times-Democrat on January 1, 1911. Others soon followed.
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| The Times-Democrat - January 18, 1911 |
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The Times-Democrat - February 6, 1911
The Shreveport, Louisiana Times included an article on the upcoming event at New Orleans Mardi Gras in their February 11, 1911, edition.
The upcoming Mardi Gras races also received coverage in the national motorcycling press. The January 28, 1911, edition of Bicycling World and Motorcycle Review reported Arthur Chapple had sailed from New York to New Orleans with a couple of racing machines.
The February 18, 1911, edition of The Bicycling World and Motorcycle Review reported that the Fairgrounds racetrack had received state of the art timing equipment. The article also featured a photo of New Orleans racer Val Jensen on his Indian racer.
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| The Times-Democrat - February 17, 1911 |
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| New Orleans, LA. Herald - February 23, 1911 |
1912, would bring about the end of professional motorcycle races in the Big Easy. With the competitors reaching 100 miles per hour, just feet from spectators, it was only a matter of time before disaster struck. That happened on September 8, 1912, at the Valisburg Motordrome in Newark, New Jersey, As reported in the New Orleans Times-Democrat the horrendous accident killed Eddie Hasha, and another rider. The motorcycles were hurdled into the crowd killing six spectators and injuring numerous others.
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| Times-Democrat September 9, 1912 |
Less than a year later a similar accident happened during a professional motorcycle race at the Lagoon. Motordrome in Ludlow, Kentucky. In this accident, two riders and eight spectators were killed. Flaming gasoline from one of the motorcycle's ruptured fuel tanks doused the crowd burning thirty-five spectators. While these accidents took place on the circular wooden Motordromes, the dirt oval horse tracks had a seen their share of dead riders and spectators over the years.
The flurry of lawsuits and criminal prosecutions that followed the Newark and Ludlow accidents may have convinced the local promoters that the risk of prosecution and or financial disaster was too great. While an occasional amateur race would take place in New Orleans professional motorcycle racing ceased. The approach of America's involvement in World War One, would cause a near disaster in the American Motorcycle Industry, as their customers were drafted, and new motorcycles and parts went to the war effort. Motorcycle dealers across the country closed their doors, and racing was curtailed.
New Orleans racer Arthur Mitchell went on to become an official of the Federation of American Motorcyclists, which sanctioned amateur and professional motorcycle racing.
For more information on the tragic Newark and Ludlow accidents see Episode # 19 Motordrome Racing's Darkest Days at the link below:
Sources:
Chris Price @Archive Moto
The Bicycling World and Motorcycle Review - Smithsonian Collection
Motocycle Illustrated
New Orleans Herald
New Orleans Jazz Fest
New Orleans Times-Democrat
Newspapers.com
