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Q: 1952/3 Daytona 200 motorcycle rider! ( Answered 5 out of 5 stars,   0 Comments )
Question  
Subject: 1952/3 Daytona 200 motorcycle rider!
Category: Sports and Recreation > Automotive
Asked by: leapingtiger-ga
List Price: $50.00
Posted: 10 Apr 2004 17:48 PDT
Expires: 10 May 2004 17:48 PDT
Question ID: 328279
Trying to find any info on 'Hugh McAfee' and his Triumph T100
Motorcycle, who finished second overall at Daytona beach race 1952/3.
Race results/programs and especially reviews of races he was in!

Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 10 Apr 2004 19:49 PDT
I've found a number of brief reviews of the 200 mile Daytona race in
March of 1953, but as might be expected, they focus on the winner of
the race, and the setting of a new speed record, along with the
unusual number of accidents that occured.

Of McAfee, the following write-up is typical:

"Hugh McAfee, San Pablo, Calif. placed second today, one minute and
six seconds behind Goldsmith.  He was on an English Triumph."

There are also listings of race results that provide the top twenty
finishers in the race, along with the name of the rider, and the make
of the motorcycle they were riding...no times are provided, however.

Is this the type of information you're looking for?  If so, I can
summarize two or three newspaper articles that covered McAfee's race.

Clarification of Question by leapingtiger-ga on 11 Apr 2004 03:21 PDT
The newspaper articles summarizing McAfee's race would be good! Also
Information/reviews on any 'other' races 'McAfee' competed in!
Did the riders 'ride' for teams or were privateers?? Did McAfee ride
for a team? - His bike appears to be prepared by 'Johnson Motors Inc',
California.
Answer  
Subject: Re: 1952/3 Daytona 200 motorcycle rider!
Answered By: pafalafa-ga on 11 Apr 2004 08:29 PDT
Rated:5 out of 5 stars
 
Hello leapingtiger-ga,

As I mentioned earlier, there is not a great amount of detail on Hugh
McAfee's performance at the Daytona races, since he was not the top
finisher.  However, I did come across a few articles that mentioned
McAfee's second-place finish in the 1953 race, as well as his entry in
the 1955 Daytona.  I've included the most relevant excerpts below.

I've also included links that will allow you to view most of the
newspaper articles in full, should you so desire (I cannot reproduce
the articles in their entirety here, since they are protected by
copyright).

There was nothing to suggest McAffee was riding with a team, though
that certainly remains a possibility.  I'm afraid there's just not
enough detail in the old newspaper articles to come to a conclusion on
that particular point.

I hope this information meets your needs.  If anything here is
unclear, please let me know before rating this answer.  Just post a
Request for Clarification, and I'll be happy to assist you further.

pafalafa-ga

==========



The LA Times of March 16, 1953 had a nice write-up of the race on page C4:

2 Killed in Cycle Race At Daytona

March 15 -- Paul Goldsmith drove a Harley-Davidson to a new record
today in the American Motorcycle Association 200-mile expert race
which was marred by accidents killing two and injuring six persons.

Only 39 of 113 starters finished the 48-lap grind around the 4.1-mile
beach and road course.  Thirteen thousand spectators lined the
route...

...Hugh McAfee, San Pablo, Cal., placed second today, one minute and
six seconds behind Goldsmith.  He was on an English Triumph.


=====

The Maryland Denton Journal for 3/20/53 published the results of the
race on page 5.  The top 15 finishers were:


1.  Paul Goldsmith, St. Clair, Mich......Harley Davidson
2.  Hugh McAfee, San Pablo, Calif........Triumph
3.  Milt Lassiter, Milwaukee, Wis........Norton
4.  Bill Tuman, Rockford, Ill............Norton
5.  Warren Sherwood, Cornwall, N. Y......BSA
6.  Alvin Shaffer, Columbus, O...........Triumph
7.  Buck Brigance, Charlotte, N. C.......Harley Davidson
8.  John Haskell, Jacksonville, Fla......BSA
9.  Gene Thiessen, Eugene, Ore...........BSA
10. Charles Roeder, Monroevilie, O.......Harley Davidson
11. Bob Boutwell, Baltimore, Md..........Triumph
12. Kelly Myers, Rivera, Calif...........Triumph
13. Jim Gregory, Croydon,Pa..............Triumph
14. Bob Michael, Pomona, Calif...........Norton
l5. Trevor Deeley, Vancouver, B. C.......BSA

=====

An article from the 3/16/53 Frederick Post (Maryland) -- Goldsmith in
Racing Record (page 5) -- included a description of the most serious
accident at the race:

"An accident on the 11th lap killed Cliford (Red) Farwell, veteran
driver from Puyallup, Wash., and a spectator, Charles
Gerrard...Eyewitnesses said Gerrard walked onto the course just as
Farwell roared up at better than 100 miles an hour."

"Farwell's cycle went straight up in the air, landed and kept going,
hitting Joseph Stahle...Stahle was one of three persons critically
injured."



=====

According to an LA Times article (page C4) dated 3/14/1955, McAfee
also ran the Daytona that year as well:

 
San Diegan Breaks Record in Cycle Win

March 13 -- Bradley Andres of San Diego, riding a Harley-Davidson, won
the 200-mile American Motorcycle Association national expert race...

...Finishing behind the front three, in order, were Mike
Dottley...Hugh McAfee, Redwood City, Cal...

=====

A 3/14/55 Bridgeport Telegram (Connecticut) article -- Bradley Andres
Wins Daytona 'Cycle Race -- on page 14, adds the detail that McAfee
was riding a Norton.  Apparently he not only changed cities (from San
Pablo to Redwood City), but changed bikes as well.

  
==========

If you want to have a look at some of the original articles that I
cited above, you can access images of the actual newspaper pages at:

http://www.newspaperarchive.com

This is a wonderful service that houses newspaper records going back,
in some cases, more than 200 years.  You can search their database at
no charge, but you'll have to subscribe to the service to actually
view the newspaper pages.

If you search for:

"hugh mcafee" motorcycle

it should return the articles I cited above (other than the LA Times,
which is a separate archive).


The LA Times online archives can be accessed here:


http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/search.html


but for some reason they only extend back to 1985!  To get to the
earlier archives that I accessed, you'll have to use the instiutional
archive services that are available thorugh many public libraries.


Once again, if you have any question, just let me know.

All the best...

pafalafa-ga
leapingtiger-ga rated this answer:5 out of 5 stars
Great answers, on a hard to find subject. It's difficult to know where
to start, but these will definetly help further research!!

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