Piedmont Park, Atlanta's Early Racetracks - Episode #23

March 2, 2014

By: David L. Morrill
@MototiqueRacing

Sylacauga, Alabama

Piedmont Park Racetrack - 1903
Atlanta History Center Collection

As one strolls the manicured fields in Atlanta's Piedmont Park today, you would find few traces of the old Piedmont Park Racetrack, which once occupied the site. Local history buffs will tell you that in the early 1900s, this was the site of the first Auburn vs Georgia football games, and the first Atlanta Crackers baseball games. However, no one knows the early Georgia motorcycle history that took place at the site. It's now time to share that significant piece of Atlanta racing history.

The story of the Piedmont Park Racetrack begins in1887, when the Gentleman's Driving Club purchased land about a mile and a half northeast of downtown Atlanta from a local farmer. The Driving Club built a half mile oval dirt track for horse racing named Piedmont Park. The track was built at the base of a hill on the property forming a natural amphitheater.

Atlanta Constitution - August 28, 1887

Gentleman's Driving Club Racetrack - 1892
Atlanta Daughters of the American Revolution Collection

In 1895, the property surrounding the racetrack was developed for the Cotton States Exhibition & International Exhibition. Several permanent buildings including a Coliseum, were added to the site for the exhibition.

Piedmont Park Plan - 1895
Piedmont Park Conservancy Collection

The first Motorcycle events held in Piedmont Park were not actually motorcycle races. Bicycle racing had become the rage in the late 1800s. In 1897, a retired English bicycle racer named Jack Prince built a banked wooden velodrome bicycle track inside the Piedmont Park Coliseum and began holding bicycle races.

Jack Prince
Daniel J. Statnekov Collection

Atlanta Constitution - April 13, 1897

Bicycle racing became hugely popular in Atlanta, and a former Atlanta bicycle messenger named Bobby Walthour, was making a name for himself throughout the south.  By 1899, early motorcycles were being used to pacer top bicycle racers, who would closely follow the pacing motorcycle.

Orient Tandem Pacer
Daniel J. Statnekov Collection

This early example of slip streaming allowed the bicycle racers of the day to reach higher speeds. In October 1899, Swedish rider John Lawson arrived in Atlanta, with his tandem pacing motorcycle, for a series of races with Walthour, and the other top riders. Walthour had already arranged with Gus Castle to have an Orient Tandem Pacer delivered to Atlanta and was training with it. This was the first appearance of a motorcycle in the state of Georgia.

Bobby Walthour, Sr. paced by motorcycle - 1908
United States Bicycling Hall of Fame Collection

Atlanta Constitution - October 14, 1899

Atlanta Constitution - October 21, 1899

On October 22, 1899, motorcycles made their first appearance on the half mile horse track. A crowd of spectators, estimated at between five and six thousand forced the promoters to move the event from the Velodrome on the inside of the coliseum to the outside horse track.

Atlanta Constitution - October 23, 1899

By 1902, Bobby Walthour had returned to Atlanta from Europe as one of the top riders in the world. He was training and competing in motorcycle paced bicycle events at the Coliseum track.  October 11, 1902, was declared Bobby Walthour Day at the Interstate Fair taking place in Piedmont Park. A series of competitions featuring Walthour, were scheduled at the Piedmont Park.

Atlanta Constitution - October 10, 1902

Among the competitions was a ten-mile race between Walthour, with his pacing motorcycle, against five fast trotting horses. Once again, Atlanta's unpredictable weather made a mess of the horse track, and the race was delayed until October 17th.  Walthour won the race, which was run as a relay with each of the five trotters doing two laps. The race took place in front of a crowd of some fifteen thousand enthusiastic fans. Part of the enthusiasm may have been based on the fact that wagers were taken on the outcome of races at the coliseum, and horse track.

Atlanta Constitution - October 18, 1902

Walthour continued to race at the Piedmont Park track until he had a nasty fall in mid November, and broke his collarbone.

Atlanta Constitution - November 6, 1911

Atlanta Constitution - November 12, 1902

Piedmont Park was used as a fairground until 1904, but the property had fallen into disrepair. The City of Atlanta agreed to purchase the property for a city park. In 1909, the city hired brothers Carey and Frederick Olmsted Jr. to create a master plan for Piedmont Park. They were the sons of Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed New York's Central Park. Improvements were made to the park, but an economic slowdown delayed the completion of the project until 1912.

Olmsted Piedmont Park Plan
Piedmont Park Conservancy Collection

In May 1912, the Atlanta Motorcycle Club met at the Transportation Club. The purpose of the meeting was to promote motorcycling, and motorcycle competitions in Atlanta. The club was aligned with the Federation of American Motorcyclists (F.A.M.) which was the sanctioning body for professional motorcycle competitions throughout the country.

Atlanta Constitution - May 3, 1912

By October, the Atlanta Motorcycle Club, which had previously sanctioned motorcycle races at Asa Candler's Atlanta Speedway, decided to sanction their first motorcycle race at the Piedmont Park horse track. An announcement for the October 19 race, appeared in the Atlanta Constitution.

Atlanta Constitution - October 7, 1912

The competition would have classes for both amateur and professional racers. A detailed article on the seven scheduled races appeared in the Constitution the following day.

Atlanta Constitution - October 18, 1912.

Heavy rains the night before, forced the cancellation of the race. The unpredictable nature of weather in Atlanta was a constant problem for race promoters.

Atlanta Constitution - October 20, 1912

The race took place on Saturday, October 26, 1912, and drew a crowd of three thousand spectators. The results were published in the Constitution.

Atlanta Constitution - October 27, 1912

Shortly before the 6-horsepower race, Harry Glenn's twin cylinder Excelsior motorcycle caught fire on the track and was heavily damaged. Glenn, who was also the Manager of Atlanta Indian dealer, switched to his Indian racer for the remaining races. The professional class races were both won by seventeen-year-old Atlanta racer, Ollie Roberts, riding a Thor motorcycle. This was Roberts third motorcycle race, and the first time he beat the much more experienced Glenn, who finished second. Glenn did manage to set the track record lapping the half mile track in 38 seconds at 47.3 miles per hour.

Harry Glenn - Stewart Avenue Hill Climb - Atlanta 1914
Atlanta Constitution - May 12, 1914

With their first event a rousing success, the Atlanta Motorcycle Club scheduled another event at the park.

Atlanta Constitution - November 23, 1912

It is unclear, if this race took place. The Constitution did not report the results, and there was not cancellation notice in the paper. The Constitution did report that Atlanta's earliest known snowfall blanketed the city just a couple days later.

In early 1913, Jack Prince returned to Atlanta. Prince announced he would be building a steeply banked circular board track less than a mile from Piedmont Park. The track was designed specifically for motorcycle racing and was named the Atlanta Motordrome. The Atlanta Motorcycle Club announced they were supporting the construction of the Motordrome, and several club members participated in the test of the newly completed Motordrome.  It appears no further races were scheduled for at Piedmont Park, for the next couple of years.

Atlanta Constitution - May 19, 1913

In late January 1915, Atlanta motorcyclists met at the Southern Motorcycle Company to organize a race at Piedmont Park.

Atlanta Constitution - October 26, 1915

There is no further mention of the race in the Atlanta Constitution. As America entered World War l, Atlanta Motorcyclists met at Piedmont Park in 1917 to form a volunteer military motorcycle unit known as the Atlanta Motorcycle Minute Men.

Atlanta Constitution - April 24, 1917

Atlanta Constitution - April 25, 1917

Eventually, several Atlanta motorcyclists, were drafted into the Army serving as dispatch riders, or motorcycle mechanics. The next chapter of Motorcycle racing in Atlanta, would begin with the opening of the Atlanta Motordrome.

Piedmont Park has become one of Atlanta's most popular City Parks. The site of the Piedmont Park Racetrack has been redeveloped into ball fields.

Racetrack Site - Piedmont Park, Atlanta, GA.

Piedmont Park Active Oval Sports Fields
Piedmont Park Conservancy Collection

This article is part of a four-part series on Atlanta's early racetracks. It started with the Atlanta Speedway, and continues with Piedmont Park, the Atlanta Motordrome, and the Lakewood Speedway. Click on the links below to read those stories:

Atlanta Speedway - Atlanta's Early Racetracks - Part 1

Atlanta Motordrome - Atlanta's Early Racetracks Part 3

Lakewood Speedway - Atlanta's Early Racetrack Part 4


Sources:

Atlanta Constitution

Daughters of the American Revolution - Atlanta Chapter

AtlantaHistoryCenter.com

Andrew M. Homan - Life in the Slipstream: The Legend of Bobby Walthour Sr.


Daniel K. Statnekov Collection

Newspapers.com

Piedmont Park Conservancy

United States Bicycling Hall of Fame: Bobby Walthour Sr.

Wikipedia.org: Piedmont Park

Atlanta's, Ed Wilcox - Episode #11

April 7, 2013

Updated - APRIL 16, 2015

By: David L. Morrill

@MototiqueRacing

Sylacauga, Alabama

Atlanta's Ed Wilcox
1915

The idea for this story, like many, came to me while researching another story. I was scanning through a online copy of a 1917 issue of Motorcycle and Bicycle Illustrated, I ran across a report of the death of racer Ed Wilcox at the Lakewood Speedway in Atlanta. I had not heard of Ed Wilcox and decided to see what I could find.

Edward Lewis Wilcox was born in Springfield, Illinois in 1879, and grew up in Brooks, Iowa. In 1903, he married Emma Lawrence, and in 1908 they moved to Loveland, Colorado. Wilcox went to work for the Indian Motorcycle Company.

 In 1912, they moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where he became the manager of Harry Glenn's Indian Motorcycle dealership. Glenn was an accomplished professional motorcycle racer, who regularly raced at the Atlanta Motordrome board track. Glenn also sponsored talented local riders, who raced Indian motorcycles.

Indian Motorcycles

Atlanta, GA.

Wilcox was becoming an accomplished amateur motorcycle racer on his Indian motorcycle.  Harry Glenn mentored his employee Wilcox, in the racing game.  As an amateur racer, Wilcox did not compete in the races at the Atlanta Motordrome. Board track racing was a dangerous affair, and was left to contracted professional racers, like Glenn.

In May 1913, Wilcox entered the professional motorcycle class at the annual Hill Climb race held on Stewart Avenue outside Atlanta. The race featured regular production motorcycles and was not open to special racing models.  Prior to the race, Harry Glenn made an exhibition run up the hill climb course in 48 seconds on the special Indian board track racer he used at the Motordrome.

Atlanta Constitution - August 25, 1913
Terry Griffith Collection

G. L. Singleton won the amateur event, and Ed Wilcox won the professional class, with a run of 57.4 seconds. Harry Glenn finished second to Wilcox.

Atlanta Constitution May - 1913

Later that year, Wilcox competed with some of the best riders in the country in the 1913 Savannah 300 American Classic Road Races. These grueling 5-hour races consisted of 27 laps of an 11.25-mile course made up of public roadways in Savannah, Georgia. The races attracted top factory riders representing most of the major motorcycle companies. Wilcox was not among the top finishers in the 1913 race, but apparently attracted attention with his ride.

In July 1914, Wilcox was a member of the Indian Factory Team that competed in the Southern Championship Endurance Race run between Birmingham, Alabama and Atlanta, Georgia. At the end of the three-day 860-mile event, Wilcox was one of six Indian riders that completed the race with a perfect score.

The pre-race report for the November 1914 Savannah 300 Road Race in Bicycling World and Motorcycle Review mentioned Wilcox among the returning crack competitors:

The Savannah Motorcycle Club determined the 32 entrants for the 1914 Thanksgiving Day race would be started in groups of five, with their overall starting position determined by drawing lots. Wilcox drew the number two starting position and started in the first group of five riders. At the end of the first lap, Wilcox on an Indian was second behind Savannah Harley-Davidson rider Zeddie Kelly. They were closely followed by Excelsior factory rider Joe Wolters.

1914 Savannah 300 American Classic

On the third lap Indian rider Gray Sloop left the course in a high-speed turn, struck a tree, and was killed instantly. The accident took place in full view of a large crowd of spectators. An ambulance pulled onto the track slowing the riders and jumbling the lead positions. When the track was clear, Wilcox's Indian was unable to match the speed of the factory prepared racers, and he had faded from the lead pack. On the 19th lap, Savannah rider Zeddie Kelly, who was in second at the time, crashed heavily, and was transported to the local hospital. 

 Indian 8 Valve Racer

Barber Museum Collection

Mechanical problems forced Wilcox to retire from the race on lap 24. Indian rider Lee Taylor won the race, after leader Joe Wolters slowed with a flat tire, and finished second. Wilcox was scored in 17th place. The following day Zeddie Kelly, died of his injuries. Despite the fact the 1914 race drew the largest crowd ever for an American motorcycle race, the fatalities proved too much for the City Fathers, and this was the final American Classic motorcycle race.

Wilcox started off the 1915 season in February, with a demonstration run on a sidecar equipped 1914 Indian up Georgia's Stone Mountain with Atlanta racer Harry Glenn.

Atlanta Constitution - February 28, 1915

On February 23,1915, The Atlanta Constitution reported the Wilcox won for races at the Augusta, Georgia Fairgrounds.



Atlanta Constitution - February 22, 1915

In April, 1915, Wilcox again competed in the Atlanta/Birmingham Endurance Run. He was among 22 riders, who finished the first day's run, with a perfect score. The overall race was won by W.E. DeGroat of Birmingham, Al. on a Harley-Davidson. No other results of that event are available.

Atlanta Constitution - April 5, 1915

On May 27, 1915, Wilcox set a new one-mile track record, and won the 25 Mile Race held at the track in Fitzgerald, GA.

Atlanta Constitution - May 28, 1915

On February 22, 1916, Harry Glenn, and Ed Wilcox traveled to Augusta, GA. Glenn won the 3-, 5-, and 15-mile races, and Wilcox finished second in each of the three races. Wilcox did beat Glenn in the Australian Pursuit Race.

Atlanta Constitution - February 23, 1916

In November 1916, Ed Wilcox dominated the races held during the Mecklenburg, North Carolina Fair.

Motorcycle Illustrated - November 16, 1916

On July 4th, 1917, the new Lakewood Speedway opened south of Atlanta. The 1-mile dirt oval known as the Indy of the South, hosted motorcycle races as part of their opening events.

Lakewood Speedway

A pre-race article in the Atlanta Constitution, mentioned that Ed Wilcox and M. Wise were being assisted by Harry Glenn

Gene Walker of Birmingham won both the 5-, and 10-Mile races on a Harley-Davidson. Wilcox's Indian teammate Nemo Lancaster finished second, and Wilcox third in both races.

Ed Wilcox returned to Lakewood Speedway on September 3, 1917, for the Labor Day races. Once again, he would compete with some of the best riders in the South, Including Gene Walker, and Tex Richards.

Atlanta Constitution - August 26, 1917

Wilcox lined up, with six other riders, for the start of the five-mile motorcycle race. As the race started, Wilcox was on the outside of the pack going into the first turn. Wilcox's Indian struck the wooden fence on the outside of the turn, and he sustained fatal injuries. This was the Speedway's first fatality. Wilcox's wife and young daughter were among the large crowd watching the race.

Atlanta Constitution - September 4, 1917

Adams County Free Press - September 5, 1917

It was originally thought Wilcox blew a tire, causing the accident. A later investigation revealed that both tires on Wilcox's Indian had air in them after the accident.

Atlanta Constitution - September 9, 1917

Wilcox's wife Emma, and her two children, accompanied Wilcox's body back to Iowa. 

Atlanta Constitution - September 6, 1917

Wilcox, who was 38 at the time of his death, was buried in the Walnut Grove Cemetery in Corning, Iowa.

Edward L. Wilcox's Obituary
Adams County Free Press - September 8, 1917

Edward & Emma Wilcox Headstone

Walnut Grove Cemetery
Cindy Baldogo Collection



Author's Note:

In 1979 and 1981, Dale Singleton won the Daytona 200 motorcycle race for Yamaha. He was the grandson of G. L. Singleton, who won the 1913 Stewart Avenue Hill Climb in Atlanta for Pope. Dale was tragically killed in a private plane crash in 1985, while traveling to a NASCAR event. For more information on Dale's career, clink on AMA Hall of Fame link below:

Dale Singleton - American Motorcyclist Association Hall of Fame

Dale Singleton - AMA Hall of Fame

 Sources:

Adams County Free Press

American Motorcyclist Association Hall of Fame

Atlanta Constitution

Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum Collection

Bicycling World and Motorcycle Review

Cindy Baldogo Collection

Motorcycle Illustrated

Terry Griffith Collection

Wikipedia.org