Oldfield Scrapbook - Miscellaneous

These files are a mix of events from different points in Barney Oldfield's career.

Oldfield, Christie, De Palma Barnstorm

The primary article in this collection reports on a 1908 Minneapolis-St. Paul track race. This covers the results of a contest which is described in another article on firstsuperspeedway. The featured drivers were Barney Oldfield, Walter Christie and a young upstart by the name of Ralph De Palma. In 1908 the popular notion was that stock car racing was the only meaningful speed contest as it provided more meaningful insight to the speed and durability the public could actually purchase.
Oldfield, "Senator" William Morgan, 1909-10

This collection of articles is from 1910 & 1909. On the first page, far left column is an article written by "Senator" William J. Morgan, the man who conceived the original Ormond-Daytona Beach time trials from 1903 through 1910. Morgan's article promotes another proposed attraction that would pit four marketable drivers in a contest that he obviously believed could be billed as a major championship.
Oldfield's Antics & Driving Whipple's Stearns

In yet another example of the general messiness of the Barney Oldfield scrapbook, this collection mingles articles from 1904 and 1908. The first article on the left of the first page is about what the unnamed newspaper claims is the first auto race in San Diego. Who knows if it is true, but because it mentions Oldfield on the Winton Motor Carriage Company Bullet No.3. Another article is the most amusing in that it describes Oldfield getting into a fight with some "liquored-up drunks" who were riding in a wagon pulled by a horse.
Barney Oldfield Wins Cactus Derby

The great Los Angeles-to-Phoenix off-road races prior to World War I were wonderful entertainment. I like to think of these events as akin to the Dakar Rallies or Baja 500s of later years. In 1914 Barney Oldfield entered his Stutz Indy Car that he drove to fifth place in that year's Indianapolis 500. Many thought he was crazy to attempt such terrain with a low-slung racer designed specifically for the Brickyard.
Christie Defeats Oldfield, De Palma

This collection offers two partial articles (the jumps are missing) on the 1908 Minneapolis - St. Paul race meet discussed elsewhere on this site. This is very early in Ralph De Palma's career as he is driving the car (Allen - Kingston) that was his first big break in auto racing. Barney Oldfield and J. Walter Christie staged several barnstorming events in 1908.
Oldfield Takes Manufacturer's Challenge Cup

This is a must read article for historians of early auto racing.
 
Oldfield Scuffles with Taxi Cab Driver

This articles offers a personal insight into Barney Oldfield. It is a story of how Oldfield, while visiting New York, got into a scuffle with a taxi cab driver who hurled a monkey wrench at him and struck his knee.