Indianapolis 1909

Here is the on line version of "The Road to Indianapolis" as published in the Knox Motor Car Club newsletter "The Exhaust" in 2015. Additional photos and information may be added as they come to light.

Part One: Off To A Good Start

The 1909 racing season looked promising for the Knox Automobile Company, coming off an impressive list of 1908 competition victories. So impressive in fact that the performance record of their Model M and O cars figured prominently in Knox's advertising campaign, proclaiming "Knox Is Supreme, Read Actual Facts!" Racing, endurance runs and hill climb success sold cars long before "Win on Sunday, sell on Monday" neatly summed it all up.

Knox's two star drivers would also return for 1909. Wilfrid "Billy" Bourque and Albert Denison had strong reputations as skilled and respected drivers. Knox advertising consistently pictured either or both of them, taking full advantage of their clean-cut good looks.





Driver Wilfrid Bourque and Mechanician Harry Holcomb, Knox promotional photo believed to have been taken in Springfield.
(Knox Automobile Company photo, from the John Y. Hess Collection)

Driver Albert Denison and a rather mischievous-looking mechanician Fred Belcher at Crown Point, 1909
(from the The Detroit Public Library Digital Collection)

It was a sports world of well-paid "superstar" jockeys and prize fighters but race car drivers and mechanicians who took far greater risks were paid very little. Maybe it was because no matter how many died there was a never-ending supply lined up for the chance. The Knox team may have been racing heroes in peoples' minds but on the Knox payroll they were just young guys in a manufacturing town making manufacturing wages.

 

First on the schedule were a number of endurance runs including the NY to Boston in March. Then warmer weather brought a full schedule of spectator events, mostly hill climbs and road races. The Knox factory team was typically as follows:

Billy Bourque (driver) and Harry Holcomb (riding mechanician) ran the 38 HP Model O, which was a direct drive car (a rear differential rather than chain drive).

Al Denison (driver) drove with several riding mechanicians in 1909, including Fred Belcher who would eventually be a successful Knox driver and set the lap record in the first Indianapolis 500. Denison's specialty was the big 48 HP chain drive Model M "Knox Giant."

The first big dance of 1909 was the Cobe Trophy Race held in Crown Point, Indiana in June. This event will be covered in more detail in a future article but it is a key event in the run-up to Indianapolis. The race consisted of 17 laps of a 23+ mile circuit over somewhat improved public roads, for a total distance of just over 395 miles. The newspapers called it "a grim and heroic endurance test"  and even that sounds like a gross understatement of what it must have been like. 




Above: Al Denison at the wheel of the Model M at "Knox HQ" for the Crown Point races. Billy Bourque is standing behind the car.
Note the large horseshoe sign hanging over the car.
(from the The Detroit Public Library Digital Collection)

Billy and Harry came through in the Model O, placing second behind Louis Chevrolet's Buick and ahead of George Robertson's Locomobile. Al Denison's Model M had mechanical problems and DNF'd but overall it was a good event for Knox and the boys from Springfield.

It is easy to imagine the Knox team's eager anticipation of the big Indianapolis event in August and the Vanderbilt Cup in October. In the meantime they had more than enough hill climbs and work back at the factory to keep them busy.

By the time August arrived Billy Bourque found himself engaged to be married in September. He had also come to the decision that the Vanderbilt race would be his last. Perhaps his riding mechanician, Harry Holcomb hoped to follow Billy as a Knox race driver, having already earned his stripes as a tester for the company and as a mechanician.

All that would have to wait. The Knox team packed up and headed west to the new Indianapolis Motor Speedway by way of Richfield Springs, New York. Richfield Springs was the home of The Earlington, a posh hotel and sponsor of The Earlington Hill Climb. As was typical of short hill climb events, Billy drove the Knox without a riding mechanician. As was typical for Billy Bourque, he put in a great showing for Knox.



Above: The starting line for the Earlington Hill Climb
(from the The Detroit Public Library Digital Collection)



Above: Billy Bourque accepts trophy from Vice President James Sherman who remarked that Billy was "the most handsome driver of the lot."
(from the The Detroit Public Library Digital Collection)

Hill climbs didn't mean the mechanician got a break, as evidenced by Harry Holcomb's letter home to his mother Elizabeth, mentioning the "pretty good" digs at $6 a day paid by the company, hard work on the car, then closing with a kiss to his little sister Velma:

Courtesy of the Gilbert Family (Harry Holcomb's nephews)

Part Two: This Ain't Gonna Be No Tea Party

On at 4:30 PM on August 7th, 1909 Billy Bourque telegraphed the day's victories at the Earlington back to Knox V.P. William E. Wright at Knox headquarters in Springfield:

 

(From the John Y. Hess Collection)

The free-for-all was the final event of the day. The Knox and Fiat tied so the event was run again, this time the 4-cylinder Knox came in second to the much more powerful Fiat but beating a 6-cylinder Thomas. The approximately one mile course running up Wilder Hill was covered in 0:45 by the Fiat and 0:48 by the Knox.

Billy Bourque and Harry Holcomb left Richfield Springs, NY for Canada. Billy had moved from his birthplace of West Farnham, Quebec to Springfield around 1887 with his parents Olivier and Louise and at least 7 siblings. It is likely the Canada trip was to visit Billy's extended family, with Harry coming along to see more of the world. Al Denison and the rest of the Knox team likely returned to Springfield and the cars were shipped on to Indianapolis.

Meanwhile in Indianapolis Carl Fisher, one of four partners and the driving force behind the new Indianapolis Motor Speedway had his hands full. It had been decided that the track surface would be crushed stone and tariod (aka, asphaltum) over clay, similar to many public road surfaces of the day. Crews were working frantically to have the track in shape to meet the racing schedule that had been announced earlier in the year. To complicate matters further nobody knew for sure how the surface would hold up once racing began.

In a stroke of either luck or genius the first event was the National Championship Balloon Race on June 5th so the state of the track surface didn't matter. Auto races scheduled for July 4 were cancelled. Fisher's new goal was to be ready for the Federation of American Motorcyclists (F.A.M.) convention and races on August 13 and 14.

 

(Wikipedia image, public domain)

 

Jacob "Jake" DeRosier is widely regarded as the top motorcycle racer of his era. As was the case with Billy Bourque, Jake's family came from Canada to Springfield where he worked a stone's throw down State Street from the Knox factory at Indian Motorcycle. DeRosier would leave the factory to ride east on Wilbraham Road, testing on the same Springfield hill used by Knox testers including Billy and Harry. As members of a very small but high profile racing community it is easy to imagine they were well acquainted and had probably discussed the upcoming races in Indianapolis.


Jacob "Jake" DeRosier (public domain image, date unknown)

History doesn't record Jake DeRosier's first reaction to the new Speedway when he arrived from Springfield with the Indian racing team for the motorcycle races that would be the first ever run at the new track. It had to be at least as colorful as his classic observation a few years later at a different event in England where he took one look at the track and proclaimed, "This ain't gonna be no tea party."
By the time the races began on Saturday, August 14th an increasing number of competitors believed the track was unsafe. The sharp edges of the crushed stone posed a serious hazard to tires. As the day progressed the track surface began to deteriorate in many areas. Fewer and fewer drivers showed up at the starting line and by the end of the 4th race F.A.M. officials were ready to cancel the rest of the day due to the condition of the track.

 

Track management decided to scrap the 5th race due to a shortage of participants and instead have a 10-mile "east coast versus west coast" mano a mano race between Jake DeRosier and Ed Lingenfelder from California. Under the circumstances neither could manfully decline so out on the track they went to do what racers do.

 

Left: DeRosier/Indian                   Right: Lingenfelder/N.S.U.
(from the The Detroit Public Library Digital Collection)

It was a short race for Jake. On the 2nd lap as he was exiting Turn 4 onto the main straight the front tire of the Indian blew out after hitting a rut in the track. The shredded tire jammed between the wheel rim and the front fork throwing DeRosier onto the track where he slid another 100 feet or so along the sharp crushed gravel surface, sustaining severe injuries. He got up, staggered toward a ditch by the side of the track and collapsed. The Indian slid into the ditch (note the ditch in photo below, with part of the wheel showing behind the rescuers).

(from the Indianapolis Star)

Lingenfelder finished the race. A few more races were run, F.A.M. cancelled Monday's races entirely and that was that. Some newspapers called the event "a fiasco" but the track was off and running, having been christened on Turn 4 with a generous quantity of Jacob DeRosier's blood. Jake would spend the next 10 days in a hospital in Indianapolis, returning to Springfield on August 25th.

By most accounts Billy Bourque and Harry Holcomb were the busiest driver and mechanician during racing's golden year of 1909. It was said that Knox V.P. William Wright brought  them in for a little fatherly pep talk before the Indy trip telling them there was no shame if they ever wanted to take a break from racing, not to take any unnecessary risks, and stressing the importance that they come home safely. By other accounts Knox management had already decided to exit racing so regardless of what the racers wanted or how they did at Indy the team would be disbanded in September.

On August 15th the New York Times featured photos of Bourque, Strang and Chevrolet as "fastest cars and most daring drivers" while the Knox team began practice sessions in preparation for the first auto races at the Speedway on the 19th and 20th. The quicker practice runs ranged from 2:02 for the Zeingal's Chadwick to 2:15 for Oldfield's National "Old Glory" producing average speeds on the 2.5 mile oval of over 70 mph. Walter Christie took his front wheel drive "freak car" (the name applied to non-stock-based cars built solely for speed) the "Christie VII" up to 90 mph for a short distance. Imagine that kind of speed on 4.5" tires across a crushed gravel surface, in a car with the extremely primitive suspension and steering.

Perhaps Billy and Harry found time to visit Jake DeRosier, pay their respects and get the low-down on the track. On the other hand racers tend to focus strictly on the business of the race at hand. Pre-race press hoopla reported comments by Billy about "breaking the jinx," likely a reference to DeRosier's unhappy experience on Turn 4.

 

Harry Holcomb had to be a very busy man that week. A mechnician's day was long and tiring with practice sessions and everything needed to keep the car going. It is not known how Knox many people comprised the Indy team but it included foreman Thomas E. Crane, a sales agent named George Crane and of course Al Denison and his mechanician.
 

Local manufacturers like Overland turned out large teams but the real racing powerhouse of 1909 was Buick with three star drivers (Bob Burman, Lewis Strang and Louis Chevrolet) and a large support team. Billy Bourque and Harry Holcomb had a history of close races with all of them. The upcoming Indianapolis races would provide a rematch on a grand scale.

 

Bourque, Burman, Strang and Chevrolet weren't the only nationally recognized names among the 65 entrants. Knox teammate Al Denison was there in the Model M "Knox Giant." Ray Harroun, Ralph DePalma, Walter Christie, Charlie Merz, Herbert Lytle, Ralph Mulford and Harry Stutz were there. Barney Oldfield brought the "Blitzen Benz." Conspicuous by his absence was George Robertson who had finished 3rd at the Crown Point races in his Locomobile behind Louis Chevrolet's Buick and Bourque/Holcomb in the Knox.

 

Practice days from the 15th through 18th were brutal thanks to the continual breakdown of the track surface. Cars, drivers and riding mechanicians faced choking dust and flying chunks of gravel thrown up from the track. Cars were so covered with dust that their numbers could not be made out. Any time practice sessions were not being conducted the track crew worked ceaselessly trying to keep up with the growing number of ruts and holes. Drivers and mechanicians returned to the pits with faces bloodied and with goggles shattered by the rain of crushed stone. They were not a happy lot but were assured the surface would be ready for racing on Thursday the 19th.

 

We have no way of knowing what Billy Bourque and Harry Holcomb were thinking on the evening of August 18th as practice sessions wrapped up. Certainly excitement and anticipation, probably a degree of pride in carrying the banner for Knox and Springfield. Billy was a veteran of long-distance events and knew what to expect. Harry had the Crown Point races under his belt so he knew what was ahead. As professionals they probably discussed the track conditions, the competition, and some race strategy.

 

In Granville, Massachusetts the morning of August 19th dawned like a dream over New England farm country. The sweet corn was at its peak, the apple orchards were yielding the first of the harvest and the tomatoes had reached perfection. Work hummed along at the Noble & Cooley drum factory. It is easy to imagine that for the moment life would have been good for Harry Holcomb's parents, Lizzie and Willie, except for an undercurrent of concern for their son so far away, doing such a dangerous thing.

 

In Springfield Harry's brother Walter, a tester and demonstrator, reported to work at Knox where Joan Cuneo, by far the leading female race driver of her day had arrived to take delivery of a new Knox Model M. Hers was called the "Giantess" and had been built to her own specifications. Sadly she was never able to race it in an AAA sanctioned race due to their banishment of women drivers earlier in 1909.

 

In Indianapolis the day began with a short practice session from 8:00 am to 8:30 am, after which work crews again took to the track to make repairs and for further application of oil in an attempt to reduce the blinding dust. Gates opened to the public at 9:00 as work continued, followed by some appropriate festivities.

 

The first race, a 5 mile (2 lap) event for stock chassis under 230 cubic inches, began at noon. It was followed by a 10 mile event for stock chassis 231 to 300 cubes. Event 3 was a 5 miler for stock chassis 301-450 cubes, which brought Billy and Harry to bat in the 4-cylinder, 354 cubic inch Knox Model O.

 

It is unlikely the big 2.5 mile oval and estimated 12,000 spectators intimidated Billy or Harry but it certainly called for a large dose of steel-edged intensity, focus and guts to fire up the Knox and make their way to the start/finish line when the time came. It wasn't gonna be no tea party, yet photographs show both Billy and Harry looking relaxed and smiling at the starting line the way many racers do when skill, focus and anticipation combine with the chemical cocktail served up by a racer's brain as they await the start of a race.

 

The first two events on the first day of racing are said to have been yawners but the Event 3, a 2 lap 5 mile sprint, was truly an exciting, glorious wheel-to-wheel race from start to finish. Nine cars were entered and a flying start was planned but as was the case with the first 2 events, drivers jockeyed for position before the start (some things never change) and the result was sufficiently chaotic that "Pop" Wagner re-started the race from a standing start.

Above: The start of Event 3, with Chevrolet' in #37 and Burman in #35.
(Stereo-Travel photo, 1909)



Bob Burman, nicknamed "Wild Bob" was a 25 year old flat-out-always kind of racer and charged ahead in the white #35 Buick only to find the coffee-colored #6 Bourque/Holcomb Knox alongside and evenly matched for the first lap. Burman gained a half-car edge on the main straight as they headed into Turn 1 for the second time, with the crowd on its feet and cheering wildly.
 

"Wild Bob" Burman
(Wikipedia image, public domain)

Suddenly the fans were being treated to real racing, the vast majority having never seen a race in their lives. Who knows how many were instantly hooked but it must have been quite a thing to see as the Knox and Buick increased their lead over the rest of the field.

 

As the two cars blasted down the back straight they were once again even through Turns 3 and 4. Somehow Bourque must have maintained the greater momentum and/or better line as the 38 hp Knox rounded Turn 4 onto the main straight, under the pedestrian bridge, headed for the finish. The Knox edged forward. According to some press accounts they finished a mere 3 inches ahead of Burman's Buick. What a race!

 

It would be no understatement to say "the crowd went wild." Anybody who had considered leaving now couldn't wait to see the day's main event, the 250 mile Prest-O-Lite trophy race set for later that day.

 

Part Three: The End of the Road

Part Two concluded with Billy and Harry's dramatic win on August 19, 1909 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway over "Wild Bob" Burman's Buick in Event 3. Of the top finishers in the 9 car race Buick took 2nd behind the Knox, 3rd and 5th. The 1909 Buick racing team is still regarded as one of the greatest racing teams of all time but Knox often deprived them of the win.

 

Event 4 was a 16 car, 10 mile handicap race where cars of all displacement were handicapped based on engine size. Small displacement cars left the starting line first, big engines last. The basic idea was to create an exciting, unpredictable race with a close finish as the more powerful cars steadily gained on the smaller displacement early-starters. After the frenzied excitement of Event 3 it was just the thing to keep the crowd on the edge of its seats. Al Denison's #4 Knox Model M, widely known as "the world's fastest production car" having recorded speeds over 90 mph, finished 9th of the 11 cars that completed the 4 lap race. Burman and Chevrolet finished 8th and 4th respectively. The Bourque/Holcomb #3 Knox was not entered in Event 4.

 

Next up was an exhibition in which Barney Oldfield in the "Blitzen Benz" made short order of the world record for the flying mile, knocking it from 48.20 seconds down to 43.10.

 

Event 5, the 250 mile Prest-O-Lite Trophy race would be a grueling ordeal but if Billy Bourque learned anything from Event 3 it was probably that in the 38 hp Knox carrying maximum momentum through the corners onto the long straights would be everything. They would have to get the line right, use the track's corner banking, and exit the turns fast in order to make the most of the Speedway's 5/8 mile long front and back stretches.

 

Bourque already knew from past races with Burman the entire 250 miles would have to be driven all-out. It would come down to three things: skill, durability of the machine and occupants, and luck.

 

The biggest variable would be finding the fastest safe line around the track on a surface that was in a state of constant deterioration. Each turn would be developing its own unique ruts and holes which would in turn take a physical toll on the car, driver and mechanician, as well as reduce speed. The right line on lap 10 might be catastrophic by lap 25, and if so, where was the new fastest line, how long would it hold up, and how fast could you go before something broke or control was lost??? Billy and Harry were there to test the extreme edges of their own endurance and that of the Knox.

The race would be a standing start. The Bourque/Holcomb #3 Knox was in pole position. Others in the front row included Lewis Strang and Bob Burman in the #36 and 35 Buicks as well as Tom Kinkaid and Charlie Merz in the #6  and 7 Nationals. In all, nine cars would start the race.

 

Cars lining up for the start of Event 5, the Prest-O-Lite Trophy race. L-R: #6 National, Tom Kinkaid; #7 National, Charlie Merz; #3 Knox, Bourque/Holcomb

 (photo believed to be New York Times)

Louis Chevrolet's #37 Buick took an early lead but soon Bob Burman's #35 Buick moved up to challenge. Then Lewis Strang joined the fray in the #36 Buick. Buick was dominating the race, with the Knox challenging. Jap Clemens' #61 Stoddard-Dayton and Fred Ellis' #53 Jackson were also in striking distance.

On lap 36 Strang's Buick rounded Turn 4 and gave the crowd a thrill by bursting into flames. Strang rolled into the pits where the fire was extinguished by his crew with the help of other pit crews nearby. As he jumped into the car to head back out officials informed him he was being disqualified for accepting help to extinguish the fire. By the time Strang was able to reverse the decision and join the race he was several laps down.

The Knox pitted for a change of tires. By lap 50 the race was still being led by Chevrolet's Buick, with Burman on his heels and the Bourque/Holcomb Knox close behind.

Tire changes were most quickly accomplished by removing and replacing each rear wheel, tire and brake drum as one unit. This involved removing the single axle nut then the replacement wheel, drum and tire was slid on the axle, the nut was tightened, and the change was done. The final pit stop happened to be captured on film, leading to one of the great red herrings in understanding the terrible events that followed.

Harry (left) and Billy (right) conducting final tire change

(Indianapolis Star)

 

Somewhere around the 140 mile mark, between Turns 1 and 2, fate decided to end Chevrolet's race by delivering a large stone directly into the left lens of his racing goggles. With dirt and glass in his eye he struggled to see the track, as more debris was kicked up by Burman's passing Buick. The blinded and now goggle-less Chevrolet was determined to get to the pits but finally his riding mechanic took control of the car and brought it to a stop in the infield. Chevrolet was taken to the infield hospital where glass, tar and dirt were removed from his eye.

Much of racing is a war of attrition and the misfortunes of Strang and Chevrolet now put our boys in the #3 Knox in second position behind Burman's Buick. The race was taking a toll on all the drivers including Billy Bourque; on the straights Harry would vigorously rub Billy's arms to keep them from getting numb.

They were over 140 miles into an exhausting race but as they passed Chevrolet's Buick on the back stretch and watched it roll to a stop they had to be feeling a renewed surge of hope and determination. They either knew or suspected that Knox would be ending the racing program soon. Their racing future consisted of the remainder of the Indy race and the Vanderbilt Cup. Then it would be over. Billy would marry in September and it would be soon enough that the race driver and mechanician would return to the lives of mere mortals working in an auto factory in Springfield, Massachusetts. But for a shining moment the opportunity to own the 1909 racing season stood in front of them, beckoning.

 

The race was more than half over. The wall of Buicks ahead of them had gone from three, to two, and now to one. They knew they could beat Burman. So they set their sights on the #35 Buick and charged forward.

 

Behind the Knox, Fred Ellis in the #53 Jackson and Jap Clemens in the #61 National had to be thinking similar thoughts. In their minds the next car with a target on it was the #3 Knox.

 

Billy and Harry flew around Turn 3, down the short chute, and into the infamous and troublesome Turn 4, where Jake DeRosier had nearly met his maker the week before. One more time over the worsening bumps, holes and deep ruts, trying to keep up as much speed as possible as they exited Turn 4 onto the long main straight where, if they did everything just right, they'd gain ground on "Wild Bob" Burman. And if they kept on doing things just right lap after lap, they'd either reel him in and pass or his car would break, and they would take a win home to Springfield for Knox. Like every racer in that position, they could feel it in every fiber of their being.

 

What didn't cross their mind was a Knox ad from earlier that year, describing their faithful Knox Model O as having raced, between 1908 and 1909, "1000 miles wide open... a record unequalled by any other individual car." Plus who knows how many testing and practice miles, at the highest speeds over the worst roads. The inescapable fact was that they were at the wheel of one of the most, if not the most hard-raced stock-construction cars in the business, sitting in second place at the toughest track in the country. An amazing feat. And amazingly dangerous.

 

The Knox factory knew racing well enough to disassemble and go through every car in detail after every race and replace parts on a preventative basis. But it was 1909 and the state of metallurgy was primitive at best. Visual inspections were the order of the day. Magnaflux and other more reliable methods simply didn't exist. Large parts like frames and axles were generally thought to be sound until they proved otherwise.

 

Billy and Harry's Model O was long in the tooth and they were about to discover the limit of the car's famed durability. And indeed, of their own.

 

As the Knox rounded Turn 4 onto the long main straight something happened. Exactly what, has been the subject of speculation for over 100 years.

 

Most eye-witness accounts indicate that Billy Bourque glanced back for an instant then quickly looked forward. This would have been considered a risky move on the straight where a 180 degree head turn would have been required, but because he was exiting Turn 4 he may have known that a quicker, partial head-turn of perhaps 90 degrees might give him a quick read on any car on Turns 3 and 4 that might be challenging their position. One witness claimed to have seen Harry Holcomb look back first, then indicate something to Bourque. Then they both looked quickly back then forward again.

 

Racers have the ability to take in a lot of information in a very quick glance and it is not hard to imagine that some drivers took the risk when they wanted to size up the situation themselves, especially if it didn't require a 180 degree head-turn, which was universally considered an unwise risk, especially when it's the riding mechanic's job to do that for the driver.

 

Because some accounts place the car well down the main straight (which it was not) when Billy looked back, the incorrect assumption was that he made a "rookie mistake" by turning completely around to look backwards toward Turn 4. That was not the case, as we'll prove later.

 

Some witnesses reported that Bourque and Holcomb looked back simultaneously "as if they heard something break."

 

Accounts seem to generally agree that just as Billy spun his head back to look forward the car "shot across" toward the outside of the track. Some accounts say the car went into a skid, others say they thought something broke making it impossible to control the car. One witness reported that the car seemed to be handling about the same as it had on prior trips through Turn 4 right up to that point, with no more bouncing or sliding than usual. Whatever happened, it was sudden and caught Billy by surprise.

 

It's worth noting that most of these witnesses had never watched an automobile race and hardly knew what they were seeing, never mind being able to describe a wreck accurately. Add to that a thick cloud of dust and the result was a wide range of conflicting newspaper accounts that are still confounding people today.

 

Perhaps a wheel caught in a rut or the car slid or something broke. Or a rapid combination of one thing leading to the next. For whatever reason the car departed from Billy's intended driving line and crossed the track. At approximately 75 mph the Knox would have travelled 100 feet in under one second; they reached the edge of the track much sooner. One witness reported seeing Billy Bourque's hands suddenly release the steering wheel and fly up, as if he knew he was about to go airborne (an experience he knew all too well from several hillclimb mishaps).

 

Unfortunately the track construction had not been completed in time for the race. At the edge of the track was a long, deep, wide ditch that had been excavated for the drainage system which also lay along the track in the form of short sections of large, uninstalled concrete culvert pipe.

 

The Knox slammed into the ditch head-first. Billy and Harry were catapulted from their seats as the back of the car flipped up and over the front. The entire car went airborne and slammed down in an upside-down position against a spectator control fence. One witness claimed it flipped multiple times but the proximity of the resting position to the ditch suggests it was a 180 degree end-over-end.

 

Press, spectators, guards and medical personnel flocked to the scene, many having to cross the track as the race went on. No caution flags. It was business as usual for the drivers, other than a few more obstacles in the form of running people to dodge just after Turn 4. Al Denison, Knox's senior driver and Billy Bourque's good friend, ran to see if he could help his fellow team members. The sight was too much. He collapsed to the ground, grief-stricken.

The Knox slammed into the ditch (foreground just out of photo) and flipped airborne over the drainage pipe sections in the foreground. The front axle ripped off the car (right foreground). Two groups are visible tending to Billy Bourque (right) and Harry Holcomb (left). In this photo only one rear wheel is visible, giving rise to the longstanding but incorrect "urban legend" that the accident was caused by a rear wheel coming off the car. This will be disproven in the next issue of The Exhaust.

(John Y. Hess Collection)

 

Newspapers reported the fate of Billy and Harry with all the gory details and many inconsistencies. The end result is the same: they both died almost instantly; Harry from head injuries when he struck a pole to which the wire spectator fence was attached; and Billy of multiple injuries including punctured lungs when the car landed on him. Both were taken to the infield hospital where Louis Chevrolet sadly sat by as his former competitors were pronounced dead.

 

Indianapolis was over for Knox. Sales Manager George Crane made a short statement which the press reported: "We will probably enter no more cars in automobile races. It's simply suicide, that's all it is." Later Knox management would say the decision had been made before the crash at Indianapolis.

 

That evening the race finally ended. Bob Burman won, having led the final 43 laps. Jap Clemens and Charlie Merz were 2nd and 3rd respectively. Billy and Harry placed 7th having completed 58 laps (145 miles) versus Chevrolet's exit earlier on 58 lap and Strang's 36 lap exit.

Crane conveyed the sad news to the Knox factory. The team packed up and headed home leaving a Knox representative to tend to the details of returning Billy, Harry and the #3 Knox home to Springfield.

Today the history books record Billy and Harry as the first of many to lose their lives at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Their names are often misspelled in the endless lists of statistics that now populate cyberspace. Their story is told, often incorrectly, based on newspaper reports of the time written by reporters anxious be the first to give readers an explanation for the sensational event of the day. But on August 19, 1909 Wilfrid Bourque and Harry Holcomb were real people, loved by family and friends, who met their end tragically. We hope The Exhaust has in some small way brought them to life for its readers.

 

Part 4: Analysis of a Crash

For over 100 years there has been a fog of misinformation surrounding the crash of the Bourque/Holcomb Knox. Today the internet makes everything available to everybody but in 1909 each reporter's narrative was the product of how he chose to connect the dots he had. Nobody had all the dots but everybody wanted to tell the story. Or at least "a story." As a result there is no single, accurate version of what happened.

By pulling together information from many conflicting narratives and analyzing photos that have never been seen together before we can create a more accurate picture of what happened, narrow the possibilities, and entirely rule out some of the popular but wrong explanations.

Many accounts have the crash occurring just before the foot bridge, on the main straight, or in front of the grandstand. In fact the crash occurred just as the Knox was exiting Turn 4 onto the main straight, well before the bridge and grandstand. This is proven by three key photos:

(From the Detroit Public Library Digital Collection)

Now consider a magnification of the photo above, showing how close the tree in question is to the exit of Turn 4, then examine the third photo taken after the crash showing the Knox in the foreground and an exact mirror image of the same tree in the background. This places the crash somewhere around the exit of turn four and the beginning of the front straight.






Magnification of Turn 4 and the area where the Knox landed
(about mid-way between the two trees on the left).
(from the Detroit Public Library Digital Collection)

 






Photo showing the Knox positioned just off the track, before the tree shown in the first two photos.
(From the John Y. Hess Collection)

As can be seen from the photos, the Knox lost control around the exit of Turn 4, crossed the track, hit the ditch and flipped end over end coming to rest upside down. This sequence of events took a considerable distance at about 75 mph. Photographic evidence supports the crash sequence beginning at the exit of Turn 4 and disproves accounts that place the crash just before the bridge, in front of the grandstand, or just past the grandstand (all of those incorrect points having been reported in newspaper accounts).

The photo immediately above, along with the pit stop photo in Part 3 have long been a source of one of the most prevalent but wrong explanations of the crash. The photo above was taken well after the crash; parts of the Knox have been gathered up and placed with the car. Earlier photos (see below) show the front axle and wheel in their original resting positions. Because these and similar photos were taken from a dramatic angle from which the car is recognizable they were used in many newspaper accounts.

Photo showing the location of front axle and rim/tire before they were gathered and placed alongside the Knox. Groups to right and left of the car are attending to critically injured driver and mechanician.
(from the John Y. Hess Collection)

To a reporter who may not have seen the wreck personally but is writing a story to go with the photos at hand, it may look like one rear wheel is missing. Connecting that incorrect dot to the pit stop photo, and to witness accounts that Billy suddenly looked back, some creative reporter started a story that a rear wheel must have come off due to an axle nut not being tightened. In other words, an oversight by either Billy or Harry led to the crash and their deaths. Let's take a look at that Indy urban legend from a different angle (literally).



(from the John Y. Hess Collection)

Here is the photo that vindicates Billy and Harry after more than 100 years. The rear axle is securely attached to the springs and both rear wheels are securely attached to the axle. Blowing up several crash photos indicates the axle nuts are in place. A rear wheel was not lost. It was just bad reporting that has been repeated for all these years.

Note in the photo that the lower wheel's (left rear when the car is upright) wooden spokes have been broken on the lower side of the wheel, probably when the car slammed to the ground upside down, hitting the ground on that side first.

Let's dismiss a few other incorrect accounts. Both axles did not fly off the car. It probably did not flip three times. There is no photographic evidence that an axle shaft broke. With the loss of control occurring at the exit of Turn 4 if Billy glanced back it could have been a very quick partial head turn to look across Turns 3 and 4, a bit more than it takes to look in a side mirror today. It would not have caused a driver of his experience to crash.

Unfortunately there do not appear to be any driver or mechanician accounts of the accident from the car running in third at the time (Jap Clemens in a National). It is also unknown how close Clemens was to the #3 Knox. On a 2.5 mile long track with fewer than 9 cars running at the time there would be a considerable distance between most of the cars for most of the race.

The most consistent thread in eyewitness accounts is that Billy glanced back or to his side and looked forward just before the car crossed the track. It is an indisputable fact that Turn 4 was in terrible condition and getting worse; some accounts say the largest rut was nearly 2 feet deep and almost a foot wide.
 So here comes Billy and Harry around Turn 4 at full tilt in what the Knox advertisements acknowledged to be the hardest driven automobile in racing, unmodified for that purpose other than removal of parts to lighten the stock configuration. They are running on skinny low-tech tires mounted on wood-spoke wheels, over an absolutely terrible surface at about 75 mph, and have been doing it lap after lap for well over 100 miles.

Some witnesses said "something broke" and others said the car skidded. Maybe one led to the other. Let's look at the Knox's front axle first, which completely tore away on both sides where the axle mounted to the leaf springs.

The Knox Model O design is unusual because it has a "tall" mounting plate bracket (see photo at left, from the Detroit Public Library Digital Collection) between the axle and the leaf spring, rather than the axle beam mounting directly to the leaf spring. This appears to be because of the Model O's tubular axle (versus the more conventional forged axle used on the Model M).

The Model O's axle attachment brackets could be more prone to stress cracks and in fact the brackets appear to have sheared off at some point during the crash. If one side had started to let go somewhere in Turn 4 the result would have been a sudden steering of the car in that direction. Logic indicates the outer (right) bracket taking the greatest stress (on a track of left hand corners) would have given first, followed quickly by the other side. The kick-back through the steering wheel would have been extremely forceful and the driver would have had to released the steering wheel. The car would veer off the track as the axle broke entirely away.

During coroner John Blackwell's inquest Carl Fisher, one of the track founders, testified that he had inspected the Knox after the crash and it was his opinion one of the front axle mounts (aka, axle plates) had crystallized (Fisher's description) and broken while the car was at speed, triggering the crash. Presumably he was suggesting that constant flexing had led to the failure of the pedestal-type axle mounting brackets between the axle and leaf spring.

We have been unable to obtain a copy of the coroner's report but Fisher would have had a motive to distract attention away from his own decision not to postpone the event until the track was completed and the surface made reasonably safe. Pointing the finger at a mechanical failure would accomplish that. On the other hand Fisher did zero in on what may have been a weakness in the Knox design. If an axle mount had crystallized that would point to a repetitive stress failure versus a clean shearing away from one extreme event (a wheel dropping into the rut on Turn 4 or the axle slamming into the ditch along the side of the track). Or the axle mount(s) were weakened but still functional and the rut or ditch delivered the coup de gras.


A similar crash sequence could have been triggered had the right front wheel failed as the Knox hammered through the holes and ruts in Turn 4. Collapse of the wheel jerks the car toward the outside of the track, the steering kickback forces the driver to release the steering wheel, the car drops onto the axle which then shears away as the car hits the ditch at the side of the track, and the front wheel and rim roll down the track.

Close-up of the front axle laying next to the car. It had been moved here

from a location closer to the ditch. Note hubs and remains of spokes still attached

There is some evidence to support a broken front wheel theory. Newspapers incorrectly reported that a rear wheel was recovered 100 feet down the track from where the car came to rest. There are two things wrong with this statement. First, both rear wheels were still attached to rear axle and the car. Second, the rims and tires of both front wheels broke away from the hubs and spokes which remained attached to the front axle (see photo above) so only a front rim and tire would have rolled down the track and been recovered, not an intact wheel and certainly not a rear wheel.

 

The statement that a "wheel" (actually a tire and rim)  was found far down the track is also supported by the fact that when the parts nearby the wreck were collected and placed with the car there is only one front tire and rim, resting against the wreck (as shown in wreck photo earlier in this article). The rear wheels, front axle with hubs and spokes, and one front tire and rim are with the car so the missing front tire and rim would have been far enough away to have not been gathered up with the other parts. That missing front wheel and rim would  be the misidentified "rear wheel" that travelled down the track after it broke away from the front hub.
 

The apparent fact that it was found on the track rather than past the ditch with the car, front axle and other front tire and rim, suggests it may have broken and come off while the car was still on the track and before it hit the ditch. A broken front wheel may have been hard for witnesses to spot given the dust the car would have been kicking up and the speed with which it all happened. A broken right front wheel would have shot the car across the track out of control and  would have ripped the steering wheel from Billy Bourque's hands.

One curious fact is that all four tires were undamaged, according to a report by a Fisk representative at the track who inspected the car. If the front axle was still attached to the car when it slammed into the ditch with such force that the axle was torn away, the front wheels shattered, and the car flipped end over end, it is amazing that both front tires and rims would have survived undamaged. So the question is, did one or both front rims and tires break away before the car hit the ditch and if so was a front wheel failure the real cause of the crash? This theory is quite possible; wheel failures were a common problem.

Now for the rear axle theory. Some reports speculated that Billy looked back "as if" he heard something break or a wheel came off. It is clear that a rear wheel did not come off or break. A broken axle shaft is likely to have allowed the broken shaft, wheel and brake drum to leave the axle housing. The broken axle shaft theory is weak unless there is something inherent in the Knox design that would have kept the broken axle from sliding out (this writer doesn't know the answer).

That leaves the differential. A failure in the differential (keeping in mind that chain drive was still more common at the time) could have caused drive power to suddenly shift to only one rear wheel, which under full power would push the car to one side and/or initiate a skid. Billy might have heard a "bang" and turned, or he felt something, but this seems unlikely considering the engine noise and that some witnesses reported Harry glancing back, then Billy glancing back. That suggests it was a calculated glance, not a reflexive reaction.

Billy and Harry's Knox was a test platform for the relatively new Knox differential design and no other car had as many hard miles as theirs so the differential theory is possible. However the consequences of a differential failure (or a broken axle shaft if the broken axle just free-wheels and doesn't leave the car) could have been manageable for a driver of Bourque's experience. Nor does this theory explain his sudden release of the steering wheel.

There is the possibility that something seized in the rear axle but there is no evidence to suggest that happened.

The condition of the track was certainly a major factor, especially on Turn 4 with its deep wheel-grabbing ruts and suspension-smashing holes. The deeper the holes and ruts got, the more the crushed stone provided the "marbles" on the track's surface for the Knox to slide on, much like the bits of tire-rubber that make the outside of speedway turns treacherous today. Some drivers said they stayed to the inside of Turn 4 where there were fewer hazards, and in doing so giving up the faster line through the turn.

Finally there is that broadest category called a "racing accident." It's when a combination of small things you can't quite put your finger on conspire to turn into a big thing. A little extra power, a little lapse in attention, a small turn of the wheel, a rut is deeper than expected, something in the car doesn't do exactly what it is supposed to do. The list is endless. It explains a lot of things by just saying "stuff happens."

Whether the Knox was finally pounded to the breaking point at Indianapolis or it was just a racing accident we will never know. What we do know is that the Indianapolis coroner recommended that a grand jury investigate the Speedway's responsibility for Billy and Harry's deaths and be held liable for civil damages. The District Attorney ignored the recommendation. The track was paved with bricks a few months later.

One is left to wonder what would have happened had the ditch on the side of the track not been there, and the car careened into the row of spectators standing along the fence and sitting in their vehicles.

The Knox was shipped back to the factory where it was inspected and found to be in surprisingly good condition other than the obvious front end and body damage. There is no known record of mechanical flaws being identified or any confirmation of Fisher's statement about the front axle mounts. With both Harry and Billy's brothers, Walter Holcomb and Napoleon "Pit" Bourque, working at Knox it is hard to imagine the company would have tried to conceal an obvious mechanical issue with the car (such as a rear axle failure). In fact nearly 50 years later Pit Bourque maintained the opinion that there had been a real axle failure. Having been at Knox when the wreck came back, his opinion deserves particular credence.

In the end it's the living who write the history books and more than a few people were willing to close this sad chapter and move on. The fate of the Knox is unknown but presumably it was an unhappy reminder and scrapped.

The Knox company formalized it's announcement that it would end its racing program but it continued to support privateers in the years that followed, some of whom were Knox employees.

Part Five: Coming Home
Part Four concluded with analysis of the tragic crash of Billy Bourque and Harry Holcomb's Knox at the first auto races held at the new Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Difficult days followed......

Speedway hospital staff with 1909 Premier ambulance provided by

local undertaker A.M. Ragsdale

(from Detroit Public Library Digital Collection)

Thursday, August 19, 1909, After the Crash:

Indianapolis: The Automobile Association of America (AAA), the sanctioning organization for the event, informed Carl Fisher the track was unsafe and the remainder of the event would be cancelled if the track was not repaired. Fisher put crews to work on the track all night.

Springfield, Ma.: A telegram from Knox Sales Manager George Crane would have arrived at the Knox factory before closing time. Knox employee Walter Holcomb, Harry's brother, was probably informed immediately and provided with a car, making his way to nearby Granville where he informed his parents, William and Elizabeth, of Harry's death. Granville had no phone or electrical service at that time.

A telegram may have been sent to Noble & Cooley where Harry's father worked but it is more likely Walter delivered the news in person.

Billy Bourque's brother Napoleon was working at Knox as an assembler and tester. Like Walter Holcomb, he was probably informed at the factory and carried the sad news home to the Bourque family.

Friday, August 20, 1909:

Indianapolis: AAA declared that all that could be done to repair the track had been done; the track was good enough to race on. Attendance increased substantially after news reports of Thursday's death toll. As the day progressed the track once again broke up.

Newspapers across the country reported on Thursday's deaths at the Speedway. Most accounts were inaccurate and gave rise to a narrative that persists to this day. The New York Times account was typical, attributing the accident "probably" to the loss of a rear wheel that was not sufficiently tightened during a pit stop prior to the accident. We have conclusively proven that account to be wrong.

Undertaker A.M. Ragsdale released the bodies of Billy and Harry for transported by train back to Springfield.



(From the John Y. Hess Collection and Bourque family documents)

Springfield, Ma.:  Telegrams began arriving at the Knox factory from racing teams, manufacturers, dealers, suppliers, friends, and even hotel owners who had come to know and respect the Knox team.



(from the John Y. Hess Collection)

(from the John Y. Hess Collection)

Springfield and Granville, Ma.: The families of Billy and Harry made preparations for the funerals. Billy would be buried in Springfield not far from the Knox factory and Harry would be buried in Westfield where he had attended high school and learned his trade.

The Indianapolis News declared the auto racing initiation of the new Speedway to be a success. There were congratulations all around.

Saturday, August 21, 1909:

Springfield, Ma.: The bodies of Wilfrid Bourque and Harry Holcomb arrived in Springfield, where local lore has it the caskets were placed on an open trolley car in West Springfield then conveyed across the Connecticut River on the wooden Memorial Bridge near the house at 97 Old Bridge Street where Billy had lived with his parents and siblings.

 

Harry's father William had the sad duty of making a deposit on Harry's grave site at Pine Hill Cemetery in Westfield:

Image courtesy of Noble & Cooley Center for Historic Preservation (NCCHP.org) and the Gilbert Family.

On Saturday evening the bodies of Harry and Billy arrived at the train station, just under 2 miles away from the Knox factory, where they were met by a crowd of more than 5000 mourners including 300 Knox employees.

Unfortunately all records and documents were destroyed when the Knox Automobile Company closed. We may never know what transpired on the evening of August 21 so will just have to imagine 5000 people gathered along the route to, and at, what is now the Springfield Amtrak station.

In Indianapolis a racer and two spectators were added to the death toll.

Sunday, August 22, 1909:

Springfield, Ma.: The Springfield Republican reported on a double wedding ceremony planned for September 14th between Billy Bourque and his fiancee Alexina Boivin, and another couple who were also to be married. The report claims Billy planned to give up racing after the Vanderbilt Cup in October. After Billy's death Alexina Boivin never married but remained close to the Bourque family, with Billy's nephews and nieces referring to her as "Aunty."

Granville and Westfield, Ma.: Harry Holcomb's funeral was held at the Methodist church in Granville. The pallbearers were primarily Harry's Westfield school friends, all in their late teens to mid-20's. It must have been a sad sight to see the young people carrying the casket of their good friend.

 

(courtesy of Thomas and Michael Gilbert, Harry's nephews)

News accounts describe a crowded church and many flowers including those from the Knox company. One article was sub-titled "Mother of Victim of Auto Race Too Ill To Attend- Her Condition Critical." It went on to explain that her illness was "the result of shock and grief, and grave fears are entertained that she may not recover."

Harry was buried at the Holcomb plot in Pine Hill Cemetery, Westfield.

 

Headstone for the Holcomb family: William and Elizabeth, their sons Harry and Walter, and daughter Velma.
(photo copyright Knox Car Club and R.L. Rowley)

Harry's mother Elizabeth, whose father had died during the Civil War at the notorious Andersonville prisoner of war camp when she was only 3 years old, eventually recovered from the loss of her son. She passed away in 1948 at the age of 87, leaving behind photos and letters from Harry but no clippings or keepsakes related to his racing.

Monday, August 23, 1909:

Springfield, Ma.: Billy Bourque's funeral was held at St. Michael's cathedral on State Street. Due to the cathedral's proximity to the Knox factory and Billy's fame as a race driver the church was filled past capacity. He was buried in nearby St. Michael's cemetery (St. Benedict C, lot 116, 42.12284, -72.53766) not far from the grave of Jake DeRosier.

(copyright Knox Car Club and R.L. Rowley)

 

Meanwhile newspapers were reporting a story that had materialized seemingly out of nowhere proclaiming that Knox had insured the lives of Holcomb and Bourque for $25,000 each to benefit their families. Supposedly the families had not been told about the insurance, creating the impression of a caring and generous support system for racers' families. The Holcomb family never received life insurance proceeds. It is not known whether the Bourque family received anything but that is doubtful. After the crash story blew over so did the life insurance story. Life, and racing, went on.

 

Wednesday, August 25, 1909:

 

Indianapolis: Coroner Blackwell released a scathing report on the crash, stating he would ask for a grand jury investigation. Blame was placed squarely with the inadequate track surface which had already proven to be hazardous during the motorcycle races a few weeks earlier. Specific blame for the fatalities was placed with the 20" wide and 2' feet trackside ditch that had flipped the car end over end. For some unknown reason the grand jury investigation never happened and no further action was taken. The story was over.

 

Tuesday, September 14, 1909:

 

Alexina and Billy's planned wedding date arrived uncelebrated and underscoring the sadness of Billy's death less than a month earlier.

 

Monday, September 20, 1909:

 

A brick track surface was announced for the Speedway, intended to solve the problems of the recent races "which ended so disastrously." Other improvements included a 300' structure for housing dirigibles.

 

Saturday, October 23, 1909:

 

Track co-founder Carl Fisher married socialite Jane Watts. Within 3 years Fisher was hit with the first "palimony" suit when singer Gertrude Hassler demanded $500,000 for investing 6 years of her life leading up to the Fisher/Watts marriage, claiming he had promised to marry Hassler right up to the Watts marriage which came as a surprise to Hassler. The case settled for $25,000.

 

Fisher went on to be instrumental in the creation of the Lincoln Highway, development of Miami and Montauk, and various other ventures. His fortune was essentially wiped out after the Miami hurricane of 1926 and the crash of 1929. He died in 1939 at the age of 65. His life was later chronicled in a PBS episode of The American Experience titled "Mr. Miami Beach."

 

Friday, October 30, 1909:

 

Harry Grant (driver) and Frank Lee (mechanician) won the Vanderbilt Cup in a 6-cylinder Alco. It would have been Billy Bourque's last race, if you happen to believe race drivers when they say they're giving it up. By all accounts Billy was a man of his word. As for the winning Alco, "The Black Beast" lived on, returning to Indianapolis in 2011 for the 100th anniversary of the first Indianapolis 500. In the end she outlived them all.

Wednesday, December 15, 1909:

 
William Holcomb made the final payment on his son's grave site.

 

Saturday, April 8, 1916:

 

Bob Burman, Billy and Harry's arch rival on that fateful day in 1909, died during a race in Corona, Ca. His car flipped as he was trying to catch and overtake the race leader. He was only 31 years old. The inscription on his headstone reads:

"A Buick race driver without peer,

On the track he knew no fear."

 

Thursday, May 22, 1958:

 

Napoleon "Pit" Bourque was quoted in a Springfield Daily News article, saying "something happened to an axle" to explain the crash. Whether his recollection came from press accounts or from knowledge based on his employment at Knox we will never know. The car was returned to the factory after the crash and logic suggests he would have been more than a little anxious to inspect the car. Pit Bourque went on to successfully race a Knox after 1909. He died in 1963 at the age of 78.

 

Thursday, March 30, 2016:

 

Today many "authoritative" sources perpetuate wrong information about the Knox's crash at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Knox Motor Car Club's research into the events of August 19, 1909 will help to correct many of these errors, especially the mistaken belief that Billy or Harry failed to secure a rear wheel after their last pit stop.

 

Rest in peace, all you Knox racers.



"Racers At Speed" by William Harndon Foster, 1917