Historic Treasure of the Week - October 11, 1992
By Cindy Weir and Tim Weir
Vigo County Historical Society
Historic Treasure of the Week - October 11, 1992
By Cindy Weir and Tim Weir
Vigo County Historical Society
It’s August 4, 1912
The Terre Haute Fairgrounds is the site of the second annual 100 Mile Motorcycle Championship Race. The race begins at 1 p.m. with an admission charge of 25 cents per person. A crowd of 3,500 people is expected to fill the bleachers.
Six local riders will participate in the race of daredevils. Among the locals are Arch Ferguson, Adin Lee, Warner Hutchinson, "Wild Bill" Rogers and Vernon McMillan, along with Frank Houff. Other riders come from all over Indiana as well as Illinois and Kentucky.
Prizes for the race are displayed at Swope-Neff Jewelry Store. Included are a diamond stud and $100 in merchandise for first place. The Swope-Neff Co. has offered to award a gold medal to the first local man who finished the race of 200 laps.
Erwin Baker, the Indian Flyer from the capitol city, has been given an edge over the field because of his victory last year.
Members of the Terre Haute Motorcycle Club are sponsors of the event. They took practice on Friday and Saturday afternoons, and laps were clipped off at the fantastic speeds of 39-40 second.
Houff had the fastest laps during practice. Constable, one of the best riders in the state, hurtled his Harley around the track with breakneck speed, as did Ferguson on his Excelsior. McMillan had a close shave when his Indian blew a tire. He was out for the rest of the afternoon.
Judging from the times made in the trials on Saturday, the record set last year surely will fall. This race won’t be easy, as the best riders will run the entire race without a single stop. This Century Race surely will prove to be the most exciting event in the entire midwest.
This might well have been a story accompanying the historical treasure of the week, a photograph of an exciting, early motorcycle race. The photo and much of the research for the story were provided by Mary Alice Flesher, niece of Arch Ferguson, one of the riders in the race.
As it worked out, Frank Houff won the race and the prizes. He made the 200 laps in two hours, 14 minutes and 42 seconds.
Houff was advised to take it easy the last 10 miles and play it safe since he had a three-lap lead. Thus doing so, the record was not broken. The riders were traveling at a breakneck speed of 46 miles an hour.
The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.