Put-in-Bay Car Races

From Isolated Splendor by Robert J. Dodge, 1975, pg 42, all rights reserved by *LEIHS.
Mouse over the photos to learn more about the Put-in-Bay Car Races.

     Although the waters around Put-in-Bay have been the site for sailboat races for one hundred years, a twentieth-century sport was introduced to the island scene in 1952 when sport car races were held in September. The small, two-seat, open roadster-type of vehicle, usually of foreign make, became popular in the United States after World War II, and various types of races were devised to test the skill of the driver and the quality of the car. An estimated 2,000 persons came to Put-in-Bay for the 1952 event. Unfortunately rain caused the cancellation of the races after only four laps of the first race. Thirty cars were registered for the four scheduled races.
  Better weather prevailed the next year when the races were held in June. The rectangular three-mile course followed four connecting roads on the island with the start-finish line in front of the Crescent Hotel on Delaware Avenue. From there the racers made a right turn on to Toledo Avenue, a turn to the right on Langram Road, a right turn on to Meechen Road at the airport, another sharp right at Crown Hill cemetery down Catawba Avenue, and a right turn to the Delaware Avenue finish line.
  Various makes and sizes of sports cars competed in the races. A few of the well-known makes entered were the English M.G., Siata, Lotus, Saab, Fiat-Abarth, Sprite, Turner, Morris, Elva, Porsche, Lester, Morgan, Triumph and Arnolt-Bristol. Entries were limited to one hundred cars in this, the last remaining true, United States road race in which the racers sped over regular streets through inhabited areas. The event was conceived by vacationing members of the Cleveland Sports Car Club.
  An estimated 15,000 people attended the 1959 race. Then no races were held for the next four years, for the state legislature passed a law aimed at those persons who drove at excessive speeds on state highways and the law could be applied to such well-regulated affairs as the Put-in-Bay road races. A new law was passed restoring the races to the island. Although the start-finish line was moved to Concord Avenue eliminating the leg of the race that ran through the business district, the two-and-one-half mile course was still a true road race.
  The new races were under the sponsorship of the Central Ohio and Put-in-Bay Road Enterprises, Incorporated. The event held on  October 5, 1963 was the last sports car race on the island.
  The Sport Car Club of America officials wanted the entire course to be fenced off, with no front yard spectators and they also wanted trees and utility poles adjacent to the course removed. The Chamber of Commerce felt that such demands could not be met.

Race Results

*The Lake Erie Islands Historical Society owns all the rights to Isolated Splendor by Robert J. Dodge, 1975. Excerpts from this book may not be used without written permission of the Lake Erie Islands Historical Society.