The Origins of Midget Auto Racing -- LA's Gilmore Stadium

Hi folks -- what follows is a short synopsis of the origins of the midgets at Gilmore Stadium beginning in the mid-1930s. Midget racing was very popular to the early 1950s, and not just in California -- for example at the New York Coliseum in the Bronx. My connection with the Midgets goes back to my owning a hand-me-down Cox Thimble-Drome gas racer. I tried and tried to get the thing started, and never got it to run for more than an extended burp. It was blue with a red seat, and visually in great shape. But for what ever the reason -- maybe my own lack of skills in getting the right spark and fuel mixture, I never got that tethered toy to go. I have no idea what happened to it, although looking at ebay now these little cars go for $300 or more. Anyway here is a bit of a write-up on Gilmore Stadium and the midgets, which incidently was used for much more than just midget racing.
John

Gilmore Stadium -- the home of midget racing

Between 1934 and 1950, with the exception of the war years, Gilmore Stadium in LA featured every Thanksgiving evening the annual Midget Grand Prix race. And with the sale of the property in 1950 to CBS for its new Television City, the glory of the facing Midgets came to an end.

Perhaps the sale would not have taken place had Midget Racing maintained its popularity, but after WWII it began to decline. Yet in the 1930s the Midgets were 5th in popularity of all sports. The Gilmore layout proved to be a template for other tracks that followed. IT was a quarter mile dirt oval, and while the Thanksgiving Grand Prix was its marquee event, it hosted weekly traces that drew in the SoCal fan crowd. Its heroes included Bob Swanson, perhaps the greatest midget driver of all time; Billy Vukovich, holder of the 150 lap record made in 1948; and several others.

The list of champions reads as follows:

Bob Swanson -- 1934 and 38

Ted Sizemore -- 1935

Ronnie Householder -- 1936 and 1937

Mel Hanson -- 1939

Roy Russing -- 1940 and 1941

Danny Oaks -- 1945

Perry Grimm -- 1946, 1949

John McDowell -- 1947

Billy Vukovich -- 1948

Bill Zaring -- 1950