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More Velie race results Perhaps John Deere’s obsessive commitment to quality and knack for building businesses rubbed off on his youngest grandson Willard Velie.
After graduating from Yale in 1888, Willard began manufacturing buggies and carriages in 1902. So it was no surprise when he started producing the horseless carriage in 1908. This was also the year he was elected vice-president of Deere & Company under William Butterworth. For the next two decades, Velie would play an important role in the management of Deere while running his own successful manufacturing business at the same time. The Velie Motor Vehicle Company (also briefly known as the Velie Motor Car Co.) became infamous not for quantity, but quality at a reasonable price. Still, production peaked at 9,000 automobiles by 1920 just as the buggy business was phased out. In all, Velie’s factory built 250,000 to 300,000 motor vehicles during the two decades the factory was in operation. Many of these machines were sold through Deere dealers and branch houses across the country. Obviously, quality was critical to Velie as he chose "The Name Insures the Quality" as his company slogan. One quote from a piece of 1911 literature reads: "Of equal importance with the superiority of the car itself, is the Velie interpretation of the Velie guarantee, as a foundation of the phenomenal success of Velie Motor Cars. Every owner will attest to the fair and liberal treatment received and our permanency insures its continuance." Despite these strong statements, the Velie automobile business ground to a halt after two decades at the top. The legacy of the Velie line continues today with more than 200 cars logged in the Official Velie Register.
Let’s look at a few more stories of race results… Velie wins with his Velie Tom Velie, son of Stephen H. Velie, Jr. (older brother of Willard), brought his Velie H1 Racytype to the Elm Ridge race course in Kansas City, Missouri on July 4, 1911. The prize for the five-mile stock race was the "Buick Trophy" presented by R.H. Collins, manager of the local Buick dealer. Tom Velie, the car’s owner, told driver Jack McLain that if he won the Buick Trophy race, the car could be his. McLain managed to win both the trophy and the car, but turned the car over twice while racing for the Board of Trade Trophy later that day. Still, the sterling silver trophy (which sold at auction for $3,000 in 2000) was engraved "Tom A. Velie, July 4, 1911." So despite the fact that McLain won the car by winning the trophy, his name wasn’t even engraved on it! According to a Kansas City newspaper report, "McLain won the car, only to have it damaged in the next race by throwing a tire. It is being repaired, however, and he will try to break the record time between Topeka and Kansas City in a few days with the Velie car." Defending his trophy at the races in 1912, McLain’s Velie car had engine trouble that caused him to be lapped and lose the race.
An ad later said the Velie was the "only strictly stock car on the Elm Ridge track July 4th in the free-for-all race open to privately owned cars. The Velie outdistanced his nearest rival by three-quarters of a mile in the five-mile event, winning the big silver trophy. At Trinidad, Colorado yesterday, a Velie stock car won the Hill Climb against a field of 12 competitors. Remember, these victories are won by stock cars, not specially built cars. In other words, this same exceptional power, speed and endurance are found in every Velie." Beating Barney On September 10, 1910, at the Minnesota State Fair, the eighth event of the day was a five-mile free-for-all in which a stock Velie 40 car took the first-place prize with driver N.M. Harford. The car was owned by the Deere & Webber (John Deere branch office) in Minneapolis. A newspaper report stated: "The stock Velie 40 car surprised spectators with its great work against such drivers as (Barney) Oldfield in his Knox." Twelve cars could not keep up with the Velie who won easily in 5:57. From gallant to gravel Over the July 4th holiday in 1914, Naquin raced a Velie in an 84-mile course in Prescott, Arizona. According to a newspaper report of the race, "Naquin’s young daughter rose from her seat and kissed her hand to her daddy. The gallant act brought forth a demonstration from the crowd. Soon after, gravel thrown by Hartwell’s Buick broke Naquin’s glasses and hurt his eye, so riding mechanic Tom "Red" Brewer took over the driving." Apparently, the Velie suffered radiator and rear end trouble during the event but still managed to come in third out of nine cars with a time of just under two hours. The race goes on The first Velie racing season ended December 1909 with a perfect score in the Texas Endurance road race. The 1910 race season started off well with another perfect score in the California 24-hour Endurance road race on January 1. Later that year, the Velie again won this race of 1,137 miles.
Also in 1910, the third annual Los Angeles to Phoenix Road Race had 14 cars entered, including one Velie owned by E.R. Stearns and driven by John Stickney. The cars left LA just before midnight on Nov. 5, made a control stop in Ehrenberg, and arrived at the Phoenix fairgrounds on Nov. 7 for the Territorial Fair (two years before Arizona became a state). The Velie clocked in at just under 20 hours, which was good enough for fifth place in the 418-mile race. On October 29, 1911, Arthur Gibbons drove a Velie 900 miles from Chicago, Illinois, through Indiana and Ohio, to Detroit, Michigan, earning a first-place finish and perfect score. Also in Ohio, John Stickney raced in an eight-day Reliability Run covering 500 miles with just one point taken off his score. Between 1912 and 1913, few records of race results exist. A few events in the Southwest saw Mel Naquin place well. In 1915, racing seemed to catch on out west with several Velies competing on dirt oval tracks in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. Drivers Fred Barsby and Rea Lentz turned in impressive first-place finishes in several races ranging from five to 10 miles long. On November 6, 1915, at the Tucson (Arizona) Fair, a 100-mile race against 10 cars found a Velie in second place. Travis Bailey of Silver City, New Mexico, drove the car and was just three minutes shy of winning the $1,000 purse. Third place was a former Velie mechanic and driver "Red" Brewer of Globe, Arizona, who raced in another brand of car. The Velie race saga will continue!
Text © 2002 Brenda Kruse. Photos by Brenda Kruse unless otherwise noted. |
