Grandpa was a Midget Racer

[familymopar]

Recently I went to visit my grandmother in Florida, my dad's mom.  While I was there she showed me a scrapbook from my grandpa's racing days and I snapped some photos of the photos.  I think they are awesome enough to share.  So here they are, my grandpa and my namesake, Chuck Greenlee.

[familymopar]

More pics...

[familymopar]

Still more...

[familymopar]

Last ones.... "The New Champ"!

[Mytur Binsdirti]

Cool, but I ws expecting something more like this....

[familymopar]

I guess I should have seen that coming!

[charge69]

Awesome pictures, Chuck of your Grandfather's "Glory Days" racing a REAL racecar! It took a real man to drive those things around a dirt track and it looks like he loved it!  Must have been something to see those cars racing around the track.

A lot of the "old racers" of big-time racing cut their teeth racing on a local dirt track running midgets.  Must have been something to see!

[JB400]

Thanks for sharing    

[tan top]

      ,  great stuff  , thanks for sharing  (FM ) 

[familymopar]

Awesome pictures, Chuck of your Grandfather's "Glory Days" racing a REAL racecar! It took a real man to drive those things around a dirt track and it looks like he loved it!  Must have been something to see those cars racing around the track.

A lot of the "old racers" of big-time racing cut their teeth racing on a local dirt track running midgets.  Must have been something to see!

Thanks Carl!  He was a tough guy, that's for sure!  And he did very well at the races.  Both these ads seem to be from Bigelow field in Grand Rapids but he traveled all over from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, and others to race.  Quite the guy.  Story goes that after a few close calls, some serious wrecks for Grandpa, and some deaths of friends on the track, Grandma gave the ol' "get off the track" speech and Grandpa loved Grandma more than he loved racing.  Which is good.  Especially for us who did not exist yet!

Thanks for sharing  

Thank you for looking!  The way I look at it as putting this stuff out there makes him live on.

[familymopar]

If anyone is curious about Bigelow Field, here is a link with some good info.


http://alblixtracinghistory.typepad.com/al_blixt_auto_racing_hist/2007/11/the-story-of-bi.html

[moparnation74]

Awesome! Thank you, for sharing the pictures!

[Indygenerallee]

Very cool, those guys had some balls to race those cars, one bad roll over and they were dead.

[Aero426]

There was good money to be made in the travelling midget circuit.    The cars were very popular just before and took off again after WW2. 

If you are interested, there is a nice vintage midget page on Facebook.   It may yield more photos or info.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/681001231955661/

[familymopar]

There was good money to be made in the travelling midget circuit.    The cars were very popular just before and took off again after WW2. 

If you are interested, there is a nice vintage midget page on Facebook.   It may yield more photos or info.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/681001231955661/

Thanks for the info!  I joined the page and when it is accepted I will probably post some of these photos there as well. 

I have a number of articles and track standings also, but mainly just stuff I have found on the internet.  He apparently held the 1/4 mile midget time at some track in Pennsylvania for many many years (that's from Grandma, I haven't found it yet and don't know the track).  I know he raced Bigelow Field a lot, Kokomo Speedway in Indiana, Heidelberg Raceway in Pittsburg, among many others.  He raced a lot with Bernie Jacobson, who he called one of his "best friends" and Swede Carpenter, both of whom are remembered a bit more than Chuck Greenlee.  And he is listed as a registered purchaser of an Offenhauser motor, serial number 277, 94.88 cubic inches, and ordered as a "special low block", as listed in "Offenhauser: The Legendary Racing Engine and the Men Who Built It".

I am close to exhausting now everything I know on the subject.

[TUFCAT]

WOW!!  That's awesome.  Like others have said... that's when men were MEN. Some real hardcore racing there!  Virtually no safety, and horrible conditions. Regarding the danger aspect....those cars weren't just "unsafe" ....they were death traps!     Your gramps had balls that's for sure.    

I wonder how long it took to get clean after a race?  I'm guessing he found dirt, grease, and grime in some unusual places.  

[Ghoste]

That's awesome man, and yeah, balls of steel.

[Aero426]

This one appears to be an Offy.    That is a pro built car, post war.   Could be a Kurtis.   The guys on the FB page will probably be able to tell you all about it.

[troy.70R/T]

cool you should get some copies and have some 8X10's made and hang in your house or garage.

[familymopar]

cool you should get some copies and have some 8X10's made and hang in your house or garage.

That is the plan!  Some of those, namely the one that says Chuck Greenlee under the photo, are large color (not color photos) programs for the races.  I would love to have them but copies will have to do.  I am not near close enough in the family to hope to ever actually get any of it.  Which is ok too.  Boy I'd love to have them though!

[familymopar]

This one appears to be an Offy.    That is a pro built car, post war.   Could be a Kurtis.   The guys on the FB page will probably be able to tell you all about it.

I can't wait to learn more.  That number 4 car was definitely his car that he loved and drove the most.  It is what he is driving in a number of those track photos.  Grandma swore he only drove Ford motors, but I know that he at least bought the one Offy.  And I certainly don't know much about any of it, but the notion of my grandpa having a pro built car, or anything of the sort, is tough for me to swallow.  I don't think he ever had a pro built anything, nor could he afford to do so.  Unless of course you asked him, then it was all pro built, and he was the pro.  i figured he had chiseled it together out of an oak tree.

Best bet is that he traded it for work to one of the other guys on the circuit and that is how he got it.  No telling now.

[familymopar]

This one appears to be an Offy.    That is a pro built car, post war.   Could be a Kurtis.   The guys on the FB page will probably be able to tell you all about it.

Alright, I threw it all out there on the FB midget page.  We will see if anyone knows anything about him or the cars.  I would love more info!

[TUFCAT]

Cool, but I ws expecting something more like this....

I didn't know those folks were racers.....!  

[Ghoste]

And where did they find that car?

[Back N Black]

That is very cool! 

[Aero426]

but the notion of my grandpa having a pro built car, or anything of the sort, is tough for me to swallow.  I don't think he ever had a pro built anything, nor could he afford to do so.  Unless of course you asked him, then it was all pro built, and he was the pro.  i figured he had chiseled it together out of an oak tree.

Best bet is that he traded it for work to one of the other guys on the circuit and that is how he got it.  No telling now.

Could be that he got it second hand.     Let's just say that the metal work on that car wasn't done as a DIY job.    Someone knew what they were doing.   Compare that car to how crude the car in the early photos are.    The early car looks like a home build.     

[TUFCAT]

i figured he had chiseled it together out of an oak tree.

[odcics2]

And where did they find that car?

Toys -R- Us ?  

Cool stuff - thanks for posting it!!   

[troy.70R/T]

hey familymopar maybe one u get some of them made and hung up up could take some pics and let your relative see that you appreciate them. you never know you might get a couple of them

[RallyeMike]

These are really neat. Now if you could find one of his old cars! 

[rt green]

the fun that guy must have had.

[familymopar]

hey familymopar maybe one u get some of them made and hung up up could take some pics and let your relative see that you appreciate them. you never know you might get a couple of them

That is not a bad suggestion, but in my case that would never work.  My dad was the one who moved away and so I never really knew any of them.  My dad had three sisters.  I met one for the first time in 2010, one in 2013, and the other in 2014.  So I was well in to my 30's before I ever met any of his sisters.  There are lots of cousins too.  So far I have met 2, both in 2014.  There are many, many more that I have not met.  And most of them have kids too.  I always thought we just weren't a close family, but I think it was actually just us.  So anyway, al that stuff will trickle down to them.  And that's ok.

These are really neat. Now if you could find one of his old cars! 

That is the dream.  I don't know how I would ID any of them, but if I were to find one, I would own it.  I don't even know how or where to look for one of those midgets, but I've got some feelers out.  The pic in my avatar is my dad's 68.  Have been looking for it too.  It is the only car I never found a vin for so I am counting on finding someone who knows the title history and seeing my dad's name.  Not likely, but always looking.

I did look up Offenhausers once to see if I could maybe find that s/n 277.  But people must REALLY like those.  The ones I saw were going for nearly as much as my house. Would I still buy it?  Yes.  But I'd have some pretty unhappy people around here.

Anyone ever sees a midget that looks like my grandad's let me know.  I won't hold my breath though.

[djfasdkjf]

Recently I went to visit my grandmother in Florida, my dad's mom.  While I was there she showed me a scrapbook from my grandpa's racing days and I snapped some photos of the photos.  I think they are awesome enough to share.  So here they are, my grandpa and my namesake, Chuck Greenlee.

I know this an old thread, but I wanted to say thank you for posting.  I haven't seen any of these in at least 35 years and it was nice to stumble across them.