1966 Article: King of the Flat Tracks Gene Walker - 3-Page Vintage Article

Description

1966 Article: King of the Flat Tracks Gene Walker - 3-Page Vintage Article
Original, vintage magazine article
Page Size: Approx. 8" x 11" (21 cm x 28 cm) each page
Condition: Good
Since the beginning of organized mo-
torcycle competition in the United
States, outstanding performers and great
champions have appeared in all fields, and
most of them were great on the mile and
half-mile dirt tracks too; but on flat
tracks there was one who was immortal.
When the pro riders turned loose real
horsepower on the horse tracks, it sparked
unforgettable duels of daredevil speed —
meets that were epics of two-wheel sport —
and in this savage competition among the
stars of professional racing, Gene Walker
rode out his spectacular career.
In his day Eugene E. “Gene” Walker
knew no peer as a dirt track sprinter. He
outrode the all-time greats on nearly every
major track in the country, and set scores
of national and local records on the cham-
pionship trail. Walker was a dirt track
“specialist” and rarely rode in any other
events, though he did score wins on both
the board auto speedways and road race
courses.
He had a knack of analyzing any track
after a few practice laps, and on a skill-
fully-tuned machine he murdered the op-
position. If the groove was on the inside
he would barrel into the turns with his
head skimming the top rail of the fence;
or perhaps it would be on the straights
that Walker would pour on the coal and
shake off pursuit. Riders who followed him
every foot of the entire circuit never
found his secret. They could have saved
this effort though; there’s no way of fig-
uring out genius.
Gene Walker, a born race rider, first
saw daylight on November 17, 1893, at
Birmingham, Alabama. At 17 he owned
his first belt-driven motorcycle, but soon
traded it for a new Indian machine. In
1912, he found an excuse to be in the
saddle constantly by becoming a Special
Delivery messenger for the Post Office.
When Walker roared up to someone’s door
with popping exhausts and a letter, all the
neighbors knew it; but every bit of this
practice was useful. That same year he en-
tered a 5-mile race at the Alabama State
Fair and won it easily. After that he was
hooked by the speed bug.
One of the south’s largest Indian motor-
cycle dealers, Bob Stubbs, gave him a job,
and being a red-hot race fan, Stubbs
coached Walker and supplied him with a
new 8-valve Indian race job direct from
the factory. Eventually, Gene reached the
professional ranks when he entered a one-
hour race at Birmingham in 1914. On his
first lap he broke the track record, but he
didn’t win the race. Even with his natural
ability, Walker had a lot to learn, and the
Hendee Manufacturing Company, builders
of the famous Indian machines at Spring-
field, Mass., accepted him in their testing
department in 1915, where a liberal educa-
tion in mechanics was given him.
After basic training in how the Indian
race jobs were designed and built, Walker
was picked as the jockey to ride these
steel thoroughbreds in the acid test of rac-
ing competition, where reputations were
won and lost — but the results were terrific
both for Walker and the Indian.
Gene Walker’s career was launched at
an F.A.M. championship meet on July 10,
1915, at Saratoga, New York, where big-
name riders attracted a crowd from all
over New England. The huge throng was
amazed to see rookie Gene take the lead
in the 5-mile National, hotly pursued by
Teddy Carroll (Indian), with Excelsior
stars, Glen Stokes and Bob Perry, right
behind. Walker lost the lead momentarily
but with a sensational burst took over
again and finished on top in 4:28 3/5, the
fastest five miles ever seen on this track.
He scored a second and a third in other
events there.
He was not very active in 1916, and
went into special army ordnance work
when the first World War had to be
fought and won. But in the great racing
boom following the war’s end, Gene soar-
ed to national fame on the nation’s dirt
tracks. In 1919 he won four out of the
nine National Championships, at one, five,
ten and 15 miles, and shattered the mile
circular track record three times.
One of his biggest days was June 8, at
the Lakewood Park mile in Atlanta, Geor-
gia, where he defeated local favorites Nemo
Lancaster and Tex Richards for the South-
ern Dirt Track Championship. So great an
upset was his victory that it had to be re-
run later before the Dixie speed fans
could believe it! For three months the
Georgia motorcycle race fans had been
debating Walker’s upset of their local fa-
vorites, and when the Lakewood Park of-
ficials scheduled another Southern Cham-
pionship meet on September 13, 1919,
over 9000 flocked to the track — some
from points 700 miles distant.
When Walker, Lancaster and Richards
roared into the 5-mile race for the title,
every fan was on his feet and cheering.
Lancaster got away in front and Walker
stalked him for three laps, waiting for the
right spot, and in the home stretch on the
third round he shot ahead with a tremen-
dous burst of speed, directly in front of...
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