Apperson Cobe Trophy Team

This image was published in the June 17, 1909 Indianapolis Star and featured the drivers and riding mechanics for the Apperson team out of Kokomo, Indiana that were entered in the Cobe Trophy race in the northwest corner of the Hoosier state. It was the first major auto race organized in Indiana. From left to right are: Harris Hanshue (mechanic); Joe Seymour (driver); Bates (Joe, Bitts? mechanic) and Herb Lytle (driver). Hanshue went on in life to found Western Air Express in 1928.
 
The much anticipated Cobe Trophy was months in the making and the Indianapolis newspapers reflected the enthusiasm of the age for all things automobile oriented. The Cobe Trophy and its support race, the Indiana Trophy, were held on a public roads circuit through and around the Indiana cities of Crown Point and Lowell as well as a lot of countryside in the northwest corner of the state near Chicago. These were the first major races held in the mid-western United States and for more background on their significance the steps taken to make them a reality see extensive coverage elsewhere on First Super Speedway.
 
For the world's largest collection of Cobe Trophy primary research and analysis check out this First Super Speedway library. In the end, it was the indomitable Louis Chevrolet and his crippled Buick that prevailed, stumbling over the finish line with only three of four cylinders still blasting their power to the wheels.
 
Learn, too, about earlier Apperson history, with one of the greatest drivers of the age, George Robertson - elsewhere on First Super Speedway.