Los Angeles Speedboat ***'n - The Finish Line

[racingfan1]

I will start posting these with the April 1961 newsletter.

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I posted the 1961 edition just to get this thread started and because there was some pretty neat history in it. I went through and sorted the editions I have , ranging from this October 1955 newsletter to 1969 , and will try to post them in the right order. Sorry if this is chopped off a little but it was printed on legal size paper and it barely fit on my scanner. As I was sorting through these I realized that most of this was done long before I was brought into this world.

[racingfan1]

Here is the July 1956 edition.

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Here is the January 1957 edition , all 4 pages of it.

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Here is the April 1958 newsletter.

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[Ron Hill]

My dad never joined LASA after they kicked The Damn Mercury's out of LASA. But, it looks like my brother did join. He was in the Army from September 1953, till June 1955.

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Here is the July 1958 edition.

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Here is the September 1958 edition. Results of the Western Divisions are in the edition.

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Here is the December 1958 edition.

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Here is the January 1959 edition of the Finish Line

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Here is the February 1959 edition of the Finish Line.

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Here is the March 1959 edition

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Here is the April 1959 issue. It is a little hard to read at times as the ink is fading and there is a little bleed through from the opposite page.

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It has been awhile so it is time to get back to these , here is the May 1959 edition. Interesting note , page 5 , Ollie and Annette Hyde going to Alaska in their VW bus. I was watching the Barett Jackson car auction from Scottsdale last night and the 23 window buses were routinely going for 100k and over , I wonder if the Hyde's bus survived and what would it bring today ???

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[Ron Hill]

See, my dad became a Mercury dealer in early 1952. He never had a retail shop, but kept his dealership til he died in 1997. Mercury would not transfer his dealership to me. Mercury Marine people had no idea why my dad was dealer #1 in California.

My dad promoted the first APBA race in California, actually, Parker, Arizona.

By 1954 LASA had as many DAMN Mercury racers as "REAL" racers.

The LASA had a meeting at my dad's house, in Bellflower. They voted to kick the DAMN Mercury's out of the club. My dad was LASA's Race Chairman. He resigned on the spot. The few DAMN Mercury owners that had attended the meeting started The United Speedboat Association st my dad's house, after the LASA meeting.

So, by 1959, none of the Hills were LASA members. My brother may have joined a year or two...after he got out of the Army.

In Worchester, Massachusetts, 1957, I saw hydros with no bottom fin and full length air traps. My brother had bought a Big Bee Swift and a 30-H at a race in San Diego, that fall. So, in the spring of 1958, I took control of the Big Bee, as I had raced it in A Alky Hydro in the fall of 1957, and won.

At the 1958 Divisionals, I won AU, and made the fastest A Hydro qualifying speed. But while leading the finals, a piston pin came out and scored my block, I ran last. My dad, felt I was getting too big for A and i didn't qualify A Hydro. So, he decided not to go to the Florida Stock Nationals.

The fall of 1958, we sold all my A stuff and we had a 30-H, Lee Morehouse gave me a boat. So, for 1959, I was going to be racing C Runabout.

My dad put a "D" Quicksilver gearcase on my brother Six Stud Evinrude, "C". And I put full length air traps on his boat, took off the bottom fin and added a sponson fin. I'll add this, my brother had won as lot of races before he went in the Army, 1953. But by the spring of 1959, I don't think he had had A FIRST PLACE TROPHY.

So, we decide to go to this new lake in Hanford, speed limit if still, today, 55 with a trailer in California. Russ had just gotten his license back, so he wasn't going to speed. We we got to Hanford, way behind schedule and most had been there since Saturday.

Russ hurried down and registered. The black flag was out. But Russ asked Henry Wagner if, he could make a couple of quick laps? Well, Russ had never made a turn with a sponson fin or had never gone so fast. Add: Henry had said ONE LAP. Russ comes roaring down to the corner and full bore turns it. Bottom fins don't through water but sponon fins do. Russ made the turn with a 15 foot high spray. H e ran two laps.

At the driver's meeting Henry said, "Hill, I said one lap and then you made two. If you are that far out of control in the race, I'll beach you."

Russ won straight heats. Those C Hydro guys had never seen anything go that fast or turn that well.

Now, when you read the article about Hanford, you will know the rest of the story!

[Master Oil Racing Team]

That is very interesting Ron. That's what I like is to read the real story and in between the lines that you can't get anywhere else.

[racingfan1]

Here is the June 1959 edition.

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July 59 was a pretty small edition , i imagine in the middle of the racing season there wasn't much time to send in information.

[Ron Hill]

Well, it looks like my brother won C Hydro at Long Beach, 1959. I don't recall Russ winning many races after he got out of the Army, in 1955.

In August, 1965, I bought Stan Armstrong's new D Hydro Sid Craft. My dad runabout had had serious damage in a car accident getting to Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, but my dad and I repaired it, sort of, I raced it and sold it. So we had room on the trailer to bring this new Sid home...(Two races only). Stan was leading his qualifying heat and missed a buoy. I told my dad, that that boat needed an extended steering wheel and a larger fin.

I race the new Sid at Blythe, in the fall of 1965. I brought a couple of friends to the race and then made them work. Their names were "Tubby and Wink", they were from New York and the funniest two guys I ever knew. Tubbie supported the Vietnam War and lost his life there. Wink went on to run his family funeral business in NY.

My old Sid Craft went right on 70 MPH, the new one went 74 MPH. I won D Hydro both days. My brother was now with a wife and two kids and was discussing quitting.
So, for the 1966, I had my brother run the "NEw" SID, I RAN HIS SID AND SOLD MINE.

Russ won 9 straight that year and declined to go t the Nationals in Prineville, Oregon. I took the new Sid, and got second.

When I got home, my brother said he was quitting with a prefect 9 racing winning streak. I was home from college and going to start teaching. Jimbo moved in with us.

The times, they were a changing.

I see I was third in C Racing Runabout, I'm betting this was my C Stock Runabout, as I saw a "Want Ad" from the guy that ran 4th.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Ron was Craig Spencer related to Mel and Mark? And if so ...how?

[Ron Hill]

This is only coming from me, but Craig Spencer only raced M Hydro in an era when Boots Morphy won most M Hydro Races.

Craig actually got his M going pretty fast but many thought he should move out of the "Woman's" class. In '59 he did move to A Hydro!

I only remember Craig smoking a pipe and that Pep Hubbell's daughter, "Pinky" at 13 yera old, or something like that, beat him at the Nationals in 1956, I was 12.

I guess, I really never knew Craig.

Mark was always a gentleman around me and treated me with respect.

It was an era where people lived within their means....

Mel Spencer, once loaned me his A Hydro Konig propeller, at Lake Carl Pleasant, Phoenix, to run on my C Konig, as the lake was 4,300 feet and all my props were too big. I won C Hydro with Mel's A Hydro prop.

I am pretty sure Mel Spencer was no relation to Craig and Mark.

[racingfan1]

Here is the Sept 59 issue , It includes results from the 59 Nationals,

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Here is the December 1959 edition.

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Here is the February 1960 edition

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I came across this North vs South story and it looked like a good fit for this thread.

[Ron Hill]

Lee Morehouse, graduated USC and went into business with three guys named Hanna, Barbarra, and Disney. Rumor had it, that Lee quit Disney after Lee "MADE" DONALD DUCK AND WALT WANTED IT CALLED A "DISNEY" PRODUCTION.

Lee was Donald Duck in real life. He built this 19-C for me and then contacted Disney to come an film me. I was on Mickey Mouse Club Newsreel like 17 times.

Hanna and Barbarra went on to make their own name in the cartoon business.

The tall skinny guy, to the right in the middle picture is my brother, Russ Hill, Jr. We had so much fun at these North South races. Look at the deck of my A Runabout, a Rebel flag!

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Been away from these for a while so lets get back to them. Here is the April 1960 edition.

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Been away from the west coast for a while so it is time to get back to these. Enjoy the May 1960 LASA edition

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Here is the edition

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The July 1960 edition.

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Here is the August 1960 edition

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Here is the September 1960 edition

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The October 1960 newsletter has a nice recap of the 1960 Alky Nationals from Bakersfield.

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Here is the November newsletter

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November continued

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I really enjoy reading these LASA publications Dale. I know a lot of these people and there are many I never met, but know the names. One of the names mentioned in your latest post is Orville Brisbane. Orville and a friend of his drove out to visit my Dad around 1980. Debbie had graduated from Texas Women's University in 1979 with a master's degree in nutrition. We moved in with my Dad back in my old room across the carport while we were building our house near the 4th turn of our race course. We had a wonderful time. My Dad, of course, cooked a fabulous meal, and it seemed like Orville and his friend had known us forever. It was great to hear boat racing stories about the West Coast drivers, and we knew quite a few. Orville also told Debbie and I about a fabulous wine that wasn't too expensive. Louis M Martini Cabernet Sauvignon. We bought this wine for many years and then it finally got it's recognition for what it was and the price went up. I have fond memories of Orville.

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Here is the December 1960 newsletter

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Here the April 1961 edition.

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Here is the May 1961 edition

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So it would appear I miss filed the March 1961 edition so we have to take a 2 month step backward, Here is the March 1961 edition.

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Here is the June-July 1961 edition

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Looks like we will be skipping ahead a few months as the next issue I have is this November 1961.

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Here is the January 1962 edition

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So it seems I misfiled another edition, I thought I had them all in order, so we go back and pick up the February 1961 Finish Line edition.

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Here is the March 1962 edition of the Finish Line

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Here is the rather long May edition.

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Here is the June 1962 newsletter

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contiued - last set

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Here is the September 1962 edition

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Here is the March 1963 edition of the Finish Line. Time has taken a toll on the next couple I have, and pages have bled through to others. Tried to touch them up but it didn't really help. You are going to have scroll through to read this in order as I could not get it in order, it just kept moving pages around as I uploaded them.

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Here is the April 1963 edition of the Finish Line

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Here is the May 1963 edition of The Finish Line. It may be hard to read as time as taken its toll on the ink.

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Set #2

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