Childhood Memories - Detroit Soap Box Derby
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Terrain rating is due to the fact that this requires you to walk up a steep hill which if wet or snow covered could be challenging. Easier way is to walk around to back or east side of hill for the long but easier walk up.
I used to come here as a kid to watch the racers go down the hill as I grew up just down the road a bit.
All that's left now is the concrete starting ramps.
If you look northeast from atop the hill you'll see the remains of the Detroit Dorais Velodrome. (Bicycle Track).
I remember watching several Olympic hopefuls practicing here and had the pleasure of riding my own bike there.
THE DETROIT SOAP BOX DERBY
The Detroit News signed on as an early sponsor of the Soap Box Derby in Detroit and the first Detroit News Soap Box Derby was run in 1935. The Detroit Chevrolet Dealers Association joined with The News in sponsoring the event, with the winner advancing to the national race in Akron.
Anything that moves on wheels is of interest to Detroit, and the Soap Box Derby was no exception. Public interest was high . More than just a sporting event, it gave boys something worthwhile to do. Building the racers required thought, labor and purpose. The youths were encouraged to build racers that were better than the rest, not unlike what the Motor City itself did on a much larger scale.
Edmund Richardson, Jr. of Royal Oak , the 1936 Detroit News Derby Champion, built his racer entirely of discarded materials.
He found an old metal sign in an alley and shaped it into the body of the car. He turned wheels out of boards from an orange crate and made metal hub caps out of tin cans.
All this junk had to be adapted, detailed and conformed to take advantage of gravity. Commericially built cars were banned from the event.
The derby was originally open to boys ages 6-16, but was later changed to ages 11-15. Entrants could not spend more than $10 on materials and could not have assistance from machine shops, garages or adults.
In addition to competing for the right to represent their communities in Akron, winners received scholarships and merchandise.
Detroit winners flew to Akron in style in "The Early Bird," The Detroit News' airplane.
All cars entered in the local and national derbys had to pass rigid inspection as to specifications and safety.
The participants of the 1935 Derby said half the fun of building their racers was finding the wheels. Wheels were the most important detail in a coasting race. They were taken off wagons, baby carriages or found in second hand stores. In later derbies, new wheels were distributed to the contestants the day before the race.
The Detroit race was run on a special track set up in Rouge Park. A steel ramp was erected at the top of Spinoza Drive to give just the right starting speed down the 615-foot course. The course was laid out with three yellow printed lines on smooth asphalt. Racers coasted down the hill and ramp with no motive power except gravity. In 1956, the Detroit Derby was moved to a new track on Derby Hill on Outer Drive east of Mound Road.
Dolores Korb of Ferndale, attempted to be the first female to enter the Detroit Derby in the 1967 competition. She was ruled ineligible because the rules stipulated that only boys between the ages of 11 and 15 could compete. As a concession, they allowed her to offically open the event.
But four years later, girls were finally admitted. Six girls entered the 34th running of the metro Detroit Soap Box derbies in 1971, and three won their first heats. Denice Terebus of Warren, Roberta Pel of Toledo and Diane Skrzypek proved they could build winning cars. In 1984, a 14 year-old freckle-facedKaren Johnson of Farmington became the first girl to win the suburban championship.
In 1975, Karen Snead, an 11-year-old from Morrisville, Pa., was the first girl to win the All-American Soap Box Derby in Akron with a photo-finish victory.
Scandal rocked the Derby in 1973. It was discovered that the winning car had electromagnets embedded in its fiberglass body, allegedly giving it a starting advantage. It was estimated that $10,000 to $20,000 had been spent building the car. It sent shock waves through the Derby community and started a decline in Derby interest and speeded sponsor withdrawals.
Chevrolet had dropped its national sponsorship following the 1971 race and The Detroit News followed suit shortly after.
The Akron Chamber of Commerce, which ran the Derby, dropped its participation following the scandal but was replaced by the Akron Jaycees.
In Detroit, financial problems forced consolidation of the two local derbys. There was now one race for Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties.
By 1974, the number of entrants in the Detroit-area Derby, now called the Autorama Metro Detroit Soap Box Derby, had dropped to 30, compared to 526 in the 1956 championship.
During this time, the Michigan Hot Rod Association changed the name to Autorama Metro Detroit Soap Box Derby.
The days of baby carriage wheels nailed to a soap box are gone forever. But though today's cars are more High-Tech, the Derby remains a wholesome activity that teaches the value of hard work, craft and honest competition.
THE DETROIT VELODROME
A velodrome is a bicycle racing track.
In 1967 or '68 Mike Walden began the project that would become the Dorais Velodrome located on Outer Drive and Mound Roads. The facility was finished just in time for the '69 Nationals to be held.
In the same time frame when Neil Armstrong stepped onto the Moon, Mike stepped out on the infield of the Dorais Velodrome to return track racing to Detroit, another monumental feat by a determined individual.
The Dorais Track had a useful life of approximately 20 years during which time Mike honed the talents of the many National and World Champions who gleaned the benefits of his cycling knowledge.
By the 90's that track surface had deteriorated to the point it was good only for BMX trick riding. Once again Detroit was without a Velodrome.
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