GRIT (Full Length) - The History of Motorcycle Board Track Racing
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- Опубліковано 6 лют 2025
- Archive Moto presents *GRIT*, the full and uncut documentary exploring the history of one of America’s most infamous and sensational sports, motorcycle *Board Track Racing*.
For six action packed years the American motordrome captivated the nation, but in a flash they were all but gone. A multitude of factors led to the eventual decline of the venues; maintenance issues and expenses, weather interference, mounting safety concerns, decreasing factory interest, increased preference for dirt track and long distance racing, and the highly emphasized public distaste for what was often times a brutal and violent sport.
In all, 26 timber saucers, America’s infamous board track motordromes were erected between 1909 and 1914 following Jack Prince’s initial experiment of the concept Clifton in 1908. Though the tumultuous age of the American motordrome had its share of heartache and tragedy, the sport made fortunes for a few, provided good livings for countless more and their families, and entertained thousands. Moreover, the motordrome helped define a new America, an industrious and daring nation, a little rough around the edges but never lacking in Grit.
Enjoy GRIT and check out ArchiveMoto.com for more on this remarkable history.
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This documentary is a companion to the articles detailing the history of American motorcycle culture, published exclusively at ArchiveMoto.com.
PATREON
Support this history, consider becoming a Patron at the new Archive Moto Patreon page at / thearchivemoto .
Read more about motorcycle board track racing, and countless aspects of motorcycle culture now, only at ArchiveMoto.com.
PATREON
Support this history, consider becoming a Patron at the new Archive Moto Patreon page at / thearchivemoto .
Written, Narrated, Edited, and Produced by Chris Price, Archive Moto.
Music: The Road Less Traveled - Christoffer Moe Ditlevsen
This Delicate Place - Silver Maple
Brooklyn Burgers - Golden Age Radio
Sunny Side Up - Golden Age Radio
The Orchard - Jakob Ahlbom
Dismantle - Peter Sandberg
Nocturnal Waltz - Johannes Bornlof
Exile - Lo Mimieux
Awake - Megan Wofford
September Days - Franz Gordon
Le Papillon Solitaire - Franz Gordon
I Want You To Stay - Victor Lundberg
Candlelight Theme - Trevor Kowalski
Rain - Valter Nowak
Who We Once Were - Gavin Luke
Shadow Play - Anna Landstrom
HTTP://ARCHIVEMOTO.COM
An excellent doc. You should be proud. 👍
Thanks for the encouragement, I appreciate it.
It's about time a proper documentary about motordromes was made. Very nice job here. Thank you.
I appreciate the good words!
The background music is annoying and distracting and it drowns out the narrative.
Golden age of both motorcycling and America.
We will never see the likes of that again.
Excellent documentary.
I appreciate it.
Us mere mortals can but barely find a couple o pics of these early racers.. yet you have somehow come up with an entire storyline production of its complete history. Your time and efforts are duly noted, what an appreciated accomplishment. AA+++ and thanks 🙏 a ton, wow!
It is a curiosity that got the better of me for the past few years but it is so interesting its hard to not to keep digging. Thanks for such kind words, I appreciate it and am happy it is finding the right people here on youtube that are enjoying it.
👍👍🙏👋
I stupidly let a book go that had a ton of advertisements of older Motorbikes - similar to what we see in this video - I suspect that as part of the 'built in obsolescence' many older pictures of original motorbikes and motorcars are purposefully evaporated - also you'd think there would be more motorbikes left over from those times so they were crushed and scraped as well - sad
@@TotalFreedomTTT-pk9strock that tin hat!!
@@Jordan-sy7my Please explain the lack of old motorbikes then smartass - they were produced in millions - where are they ? scrap yards and regulated out of existence -so I have a tin foil hat and you have a dunce hat
At 8:35 the bike racer is Barney Oldfield is on the inside lane. He is one of the first great bike racing heroes, went on to motorcycles, then became the most famous auto racer. He missed racing at Indy, because of a bad reputation. The old saying - Who do you think you are - Barney Oldfield? comes from him.
He was a founding father of speed no doubt!
Funny thing is he never had driven ANY car before he left Salt Lake to go back and look at Mr. Ford's two racers!
My biggest takeaway from this is that I don't think you could have a better name for a racing organization than the League of American Wheelmen.
At 63 you finally put a timeline of the car and motorcycle in society that made sense to me thanks!
Thanks for the kind words, Im happy to hear you enjoyed it.
Incredibly well done. I first learned of board track racing several years ago while visiting the motorcycle and car museum at Barber Motor Speedway. The museum has a great display showing recreations of board track and the racers. Thanks for making this piece of American history come to life.
Thanks for the kind words. And Barber is an incredible place, Im looking forward to a trip back down soon.
@@ArchiveMotowhere is barber?
Excellent documentary of an all but forgotten yet utterly compelling era of motorsport. Writing, narration, editing, even the music- all first rate.
Thanks so much, I really appreciate the kind words and am happy you enjoyed it
One of the finest videos I've ever watched on UA-cam - so good that I actually sat and watched it through a second time after my first viewing! Thank you for all the hard work you put into this, it's shining a light on a part of the sport's history that was gradually being left to slide into being forgotten completely.
Wow, thank you! I greatly appreciate your kind words and am happy you enjoyed it.
At last a professional documentary which captures the time and mood of the sport, first class, ended to soon, that’s the sign l will be looking for a sequel 👌
Much appreciated, and much more to come, the next video will feature some original film from races at the larger wooden speedways of the 1920s.
A terrific documentary of the early development and history of two wheeling on the boardtracks. Nice to see Major Taylor who won the world cycling championship in 1899. A statue for him stands at the Worcester Public LIbrary. Great to see all those brave boardtrack racers and the history of the sport. You do such a fine job with this video I am wondering if you would be able to do a similar history of American flat track racing. While not as dangerous as boardtrack racing it is dangerous and thrilling to watch. The flat track racers are also pushing the limits of motorcycle technology and human capabilities as did the boardtrack racers over a century ago.
Thanks! My first series was called A Brief History of Speed and explored the progression from the dirt, to the boards, to the speedways, to the hills, and to the flat tracks. Just look through my videos for part 6 on flat tracks, or the whole documentary is also available, though I will definitely be digging into the sport in future videos. Stay tuned!
@@ArchiveMotoBack in the early '70s, my parents and l would go to the flat track motorcycle races in the 8th. Wonder in the World- The Houston Astrodome AKA Harris County Domed Stadium.
Went consequentive years from 71-79.
Missed '80-81,for we moved up to Wichita FallsTX. then Dallas area.
Came back to Houston metro and again went in 82-84.
By then interest changed from motorsickles and racing to chasing females.
Just a red blooded Texican doing what comes natural!
@@carywest9256a photographer friend (and fellow Mx racer) was at the first Astro dome flat track. He got some great photos from trackside in the infield. I asked how he got that kind of access. He said he got business cards printed, and faked a letter from a non existent magazine stating he was their official photographer. Nobody checked.
Here in the UK we never had anything like these wooden tracks, our big bike and car racing oval being Brooklands, and of course the French had Montlhery near Paris, both paved on solid earth banks. Very interesting and fabulous documentary, thank you.
Thanks for the kind words.
This is an excellent look into a very unique and mostly-forgotten era of motorcycling.
Thank you kindly
@ArchiveMoto brother I was enthralled, kept rewinding to show my lady some of the crazy pictures. 10/10
I grew up just West of Newark, NJ in the 1960s. The track at Vailsburg is now a small park with a baseball field. There is a School nearby just to the North called Speedway School
Few folks from Vailsburg popping up in the comments. With its infamous history I imagine that is one of the few places where the tales of the old board track still turn up. I lived in Atlanta most of my
life and had never heard a peep about the track there, it is what started my interest
Thank you very much from Germany, One of the best documentarties about vintage and antique motorcycles ever!
An uncle rode a late 1929 JD in the races after 1945. the bike is not here anymore, to sorry...
Old Harleys and Indians were very common in the years after 1945, the "Daredevils" use them still nowadays in the "Wall of Death".
They are everywhere, big show, spectacular!
My maternal grandmother (born 1898)was from Long Island and told me of these races and the tracks which she and her friends called "Murder dromes".
There we go
An astonishing piece of work!. I knew a (very) rough history of the boardtracks, but I had no idea of the prehistory & origins of the sport. I am deeply impressed by both the breadth and depth of the research needed to put this fine documentary together, both factual and visual. Bravo! Sub well earned!
Cheers... G
Thank you for your kind words and support, I have been researching and writing on the early history of motorcycling in America for about a decade now, and if you are interested I have published hundreds of articles and photos on my website ArchiveMoto.com. Thanks again.
I'd give just about anything to go back into that era, & experience it. What a fabulous time!
It would be exhilarating
@@ArchiveMoto I haven't gotten past the first 10 minutes because I keep stopping and staring at the stills. Lawyers/insurance companies would never let this series exist nowadays
Thank you for all the work you put into this clip it was extremely informative and well done.
Much appreciated Warren.
My grandfather used to race flat track motorcycles and was also a champion ice racer in cars, hes still the toughest guy i know
Takes a little something special to race, much less on ice!
Great narration, informative, not repetitive and not ridiculously overexcited.
Thanks so much, happy folks are enjoying it.
Fascinating story. Music is stunning and adds to the ambience and emotional journey.
Thanks David, I appreciate it
Holy crap, I’m into bikes and go to the TT most years but I had no idea this was a thing! Balls of steel
Those TT folks are just as crazy, if not significantly more so.
I've heard many versions of MSgt Benavides story. And I knew hearing this one from the Fat Electrician would be the best. Thanks for sharing his clip at the end.
You are the equivalent of silky toned Fred Kiger who is the narrator of the American Civil War on you-tube.. Let’s hope you find many more chapters to do on you-tube. You bring the history of motorcycling alive.
Happy nu year,
NZ.
Thank you for such kind words and a humbling comparison… there is plenty more to come!
Wonderful doc! Having grown up in west/central Indiana in the 60’s the old racetracks have always been fascinating to me. We routinely drove past Jungle Park near Bloomingdale and my imagination and curiosity peaked every time. Sadly, it was closed in 1955 but the outline of the track and some of the grandstands still remain. I appreciate your hard work in producing this video. I’ll be checking out more of your work in the future.
Thanks so much for the kind words and encouragement
Fabulous documentary. As a bicycle and motorcycle enthusiast I found it fascinating.
I appreciate it
Suprised and happy by the accuracy of this well written and historically correct collection.excellently presented.
Thank you for the kind words, I'm happy folks are enjoying it.
I'm glad I stopped and watched this documentary! Outstanding! Can't wait for more!
Thank you, Im happy folks like you are enjoying these videos and can’t wait to share more.
That Documentary was fantastic.!!
Well done..👍
Have enjoyed Flattrack Racing all my life..
Its important history to some of Us..
Thank you..
Thank you, so happy to hear folks are enjoying it.
Excellent documentary! Well done.
Much appreciated, glad you enjoyed it!
many thx filled in my major gaps of the board tracks--- priceless-------------ive been on harleys 55 yrs
Right on, happy you liked it, happy riding!
The professionalism of your research, writing, and presentation is a true credit to you. This was thoroughly enjoyable. Subscribed
I really appreciate such kind words, thank you I am haply folks are enjoying these videos
This was extremely well made and interesting. I hope you do more.
Thanks so much, I am happy you enjoyed it and definitely have more to come
This deserves so many more views, i wish more people knew about this sport! I got goosebumps several times during this doc 😅
Thanks for the kind words, happy you liked it.
That was very well done and super interesting. It's definitely a part of history that not a lot of people are familiar with, and I greatly enjoyed watching!
Thanks, happy you enjoyed it
The largest tracks were actually 2 miles long. One of them being in Tacoma, WA. Thank you for your efforts in compiling such a complete book of information chronicalling this extraordinary period of racing.
Glad you liked it and your are quite right about the big tracks, though history has blended all board tracks together with the term motordrome, the larger ones were technically speedways and a totally different beast. My newest video covers one such speedway in LA with original film footage of a race in 1921. Perhaps a similar complete doc on the speedways is in order.
Excellent documentary on the forgotten beginnings of motorcycles and motorcycling. You even pegged the beginning which most ignore--to the bicycle--which was hugely important to our culture in its day.
Thanks so much, Im happy you enjoyed it.
Terrific documentary, thank you for sharing, creating this masterpiece.
Boardtrack should have never stopped, was a very fascinating type of racing.
Thank you
I love this show. I was a pretty new rider when it came out but at 80 I’m still riding.
Great to hear you enjoyed it and are still getting out in the wind!
Its interesting learning about motorcycle history, and board track racing.
Thanks again, glad you are enjoying the videos
One can only say, that was a brilliant view of the past. and a great documentry many thanks
I appreciate your kind words and am happy folks are enjoying it. More to come
Outstanding documentary, watched it with "Why We Ride" Thank you.
High praise and great company, thank you kindly
Commenting to support the algorithm
Big thanks for that my friend!
I visited the wheels thought time Motorcycle museum. They have @20 of these machines from pristine to bare patina.
Amazing.
I encourage anyone who enjoys motorcycles to visit Maggie Valley and the smoky mountain park area to ride the roads give yourself a week to explore you will not regert. The people are very welcoming. 😊
That place is a Shangri-La to me and I am fortunate to count the folks there among friends. It truly is a special place and Dale played a big role in my interest and development of this whole project. I second and third your encouragement for anyone so interested or able to give the fine folks in Maggie Valley a visit as soon as they are able.
Excellent look back to board track and early motorcycling ; thanks from old New Orleans 😎
Happy to hear you enjoyed it
that was excellent. I really appreciated this history lesson and that's an outstanding compilation of photos. I could probably watch this a dozen times.
So happy you enjoyed it, thank you
ya i agree best documentary on board track racing i've seen nice thank you
Thanks so much, I'm happy folks are enjoying it.
I am loving this. Brilliantly put together.
I really appreciate it!
A Fantastic production and many thanks for taking so much time to make this. Excellent. When Jake de Rosier came to the UK, he did not return empty handed. He was seen as the fasted rider in Practice at the TT and went on to set a new lap record from a standing start in the race. Mechanical issues stopped a Win. After, at Brooklands he beat the best the UK could put up against him and shortly after that, again at Brooklands he broke Henri Cissac's 1905 outright motorcycle world speed record. Jake was officially the fastest in the World! So I would say not empty handed, but his hands were full upon his return home. Many thanks Chris for this superb film. Best regards Paul.
Thanks so much, DeRosier is such a wonderful character from the past, I will certainly be doing biographies of the pioneer racers and he is at the top of the list. Thanks again
@@ArchiveMoto Happy to help you with the UK part of his history
Absolutely awesome. Thank you
Thanks again, happy you enjoyed it.
Excellent documentary, keep it up!
Thank you kindly, I appreciate the kind words
This was great, really enjoyed it, so.... Thank you very much
Glad you enjoyed it!Much appreciated
What an in-depth documentary, and very well done too. Instantly subscribed.
Thank you, I really appreciate your kind words and support
AWESOME JOB.!! 😉😉😉🤔🤔🙂🥇
Thanks so much
These men had no fear. Wish they still had these races. Maybe they do but I don’t know about them. Great video by the way
They really do seem like a whole different breed back then. Billy Lane’s Sons of Speed is a great glimpse at a few aspects of what racing was in that era, but I cant imagine a true scale event being possible these days.
A priceless doco on bicicle and motor bike raceing very well detaled good times and sad congratulations on this well done story your voice is fantastic ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤😢😢😢❤❤😢😢❤❤😢😢
Many thanks!
This doc is broadcast quality IMO. Mahalo for ULing! 👍 Aloha from Hawaii. 😊🤙
Wow, thank you for such kind words, happy you enjoyed it!
Idk how I haven’t seen you before keep up the crazy amazing work 😊
I appreciate it, this channel is a new endeavor having grown out of the articles I write on my website archivemoto.com, so there is a lot more to come.
Outstanding production!!!
Much appreciated!
This was thoroughly entertaining/interesting. I was shocked to see you only had 4.7K subscribers - must be a young channel. Thank you for producing this, it was great!
What a fabulous video. Nicely done. Thank you
Thanks so much
Wow great stuff....many thanks
Happy to hear folks are enjoying it.
This is brilliant. Thanks
Thanks so much
🏁Great vid, really enjoyed!!!!!!!🏁 🤜🤛
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it
Awesome!! I knew about the motordromes, but never understood what happened.
Happy you enjoyed it.
@@ArchiveMoto it's amazing!
Left out was one motorcycle manufacturer. and that was Henderson motorcycles. they were one of the first motorcycles. that incorporated multiple cylinder engines.
many of the board track racers didn't survive the sport. it was a very dangerous sport.
it was a glorious time to be alive.
even with today's technology, it will never be as brave a time as it was back then. but instead it made people sissies.
Right on, Henderson is a personal favorite as well, but not in motordrome racing. There have been a few mentions of Hendersons running on the board track speedways, in Chicago in 1915, Beverly Hills in 1921, and Wells Bennett's 24 record run at Tacoma in 1922. Perhaps I should do a series breaking down the dozens of early American motorcycle manufacturers.
@@ArchiveMoto Maybe, because I watched three documentaries. and Henderson motorcycles wasn't mentioned in any of them.
The history of early manufacturers is on the list, don't worry, so far my videos have only focused on the beginnings of racing. Henderson history is coming, as it Merkel, Emblem, Pierce, Reading-Standard, Ace, Emblem, Jefferson, Cyclone, and so many more. Stay tuned. @@HarryRenner-h9q
Very well done and informative, thanks!
Thanks so much
They all knew the risks and were adults. If they wanted to go fast and risk their lives I have no problem with it. I wouldn't give it a second thought who died. Just protect the the spectators .
Don’t the “spectators” also understand the risk and accept and share in them?
I largely agree with your sentiment, but lines must be drawn somewhere otherwise we reinstate gladiators who kill for the enjoyment of the audience. Many of the gladiators were treated very well and willingly entered the arena to obtain fame and fortune. Was that ok?
This was very well presented,
I appreciate it Scott!
Amazing doc. Thank you from Portugal.
Thanks for watching!
Bravo! Great video and an outstanding catalog of stunning photographs!
Thanks, I appreciate it
Great video Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for watching! happy folks are enjoying it
Great film. Thankyou
I really appreciate it
Well done the music was tasteful And not overbearing. My dat told me stories of going to the board tracks. He was 10
So happy to hear folks are enjoying it, I would have loved to hear some stories from folks who were there first hand.
Great documentary , there is a excellent museum in Newburg NY called Motorcyclepedia that has every model year Indian and a huge selection & history of the board track racers . I purchased a book called " The Legend of Fireball Flemming " from there that is an excellent fictional read of this era of racing.
Motorcyclepedia is phenomenal, I stopped by on a research trip to Springfield years ago. One if my favorites and home to one of my favorite machines, Lou Litchva’s white Ace
@ Dream25. My biggest takeaway other than the great amount of info here is the fact that the bicycles were drafting. It took jr Johnson to stumble on that to change nascar 40++ yrs later. Guess there wasn’t any info to bring that up at the time. Or no one ever researched racing early on. Surprising considering the amount of physics and aero they were actually using even then. You would think that smthn they brought back from WW2 and airplane aero they used when they got back changed everything. Waddell Wilson even talks about the drivers tossing drinks out the window and how he used the streaks to see airflo before access to wind tunnel.
Betting on the riders, like horse racing today isn't mentioned. Gambling was a BIG part of it. " Motorcycle Racing Is Dangerous", Sign Here.
For certain it was, especially on the dealership side of the game where dealers would back the up and coming riders and place their side bets. Very lucrative all the way around
Excellent video!!
Thank you very much!
@@ArchiveMoto truly an excellent historical fim of the men who paved the way for us!! Thank you
Amazing documentary!!
Thanks so much, happy you enjoyed it.
Beautifully done, thank you. Subscribed!
Thanks, I appreciate it.
The site of the Vailsburg track can still be seen. Today it is Vailsburg Park, just off the Garden State Parkway south of East Orange. It’s easy to make out the shape of the track. I never drive by without thinking of Hasha and the others. Didn’t know a out the track in Clifton though. There was quite a lot of board track action in NJ between bikes and cars, with the tracks in south Jersey in Amitol (the outline of which can still be seen in the woods on google earth), the track in Woodbridge, and the Nutley Velodrome. Sadly they all took their share of lives. I think Nutley was the last to go in 1942.
That area was a hotbed in the earliest days for sure.
Thank you .
EXCELLENT HISTORY LESSON
Gives me goose bumps..✳️
while we no longer have board track racing we still have high speed oval racing provided be NASCAR and INDY /CART today ,still fast n exciting but not dangerous at least to the fans.
We can only imagine how those early races were to see back when .
Kudos. Great work.
Many thanks
very interesting, great job - Thank you
Thank you, happy you enjoyed it
Thanks for the video, this is a great piece of racing history history you've put together here. I looked for history on Wandamere Motordrome in SLC but it seems like Wandanere Park doesn't exist anymore. Nibley Park golf course is on Wandamere Ave, anybody know if that's where it was?
Thank you for the kind words, you are right on the money, Wandamere Park eventually turned into the Nibley Park Golf Course.
@@ArchiveMotoI wonder how they'd feel if I went down there & did a couple of laps for old time sake!
Superb film.
Thanks Anton!
I found out about board track racing through my love for Miller racing cars.
That led me to the bikes, and Id long been enamoured by Indian motorcycles after seeing a pair on methanol and open pipes on a wall of death as a kid.
Magical images and music and a super accurate in depth history.
I loved it.
@@AntonHoward-mx9sb Millers are fascinating a that ear of auto racing equally as gripping as the motordrome, several of which were raced by former professional motorcycle racers too.
These men had no fear. Wish they still had these races. Maybe they do but I don’t know about them. Great video by the way👍
No wooden track races anymore but The Sons of Speed races capture a bit of the spirit and are well worth checking out if you haven't already.
Thanks for this long format video, excellent. The music is appropriately pleasing too.🥂
Love the video-excellent composition. Do you know if the Federation of American Motorcyclists mentioned throughout the video was the counterpart or the same as the modern day American Federation of Motorcyclists? Thank you.
So the FAM was the original sanctioning body for racing in America and helped establish clubs throughout the country beginning in New York in 1903. They fizzled and morphed into the Motorcycle & Allied Trades Association around the time of WWI, which then formed the modern day American Motorcyclists Association in 1924. The AFM was formed in the 1950s as a separate organization from the AMA.
Thank you!!!!! Cars killed this sport and it was a damn shame
Well done!!!
Thanks so much
Well done!
Much appreciated
We need a modern version of this, on paved oval tracks using modern Harley-Davidson and Indian motorcycles. Flat track always has track issues with the dirt tracks. Road racing has issues with being able to view the whole track, and before King of the Baggers, it was only foreign brands. I think a paved oval, American brand only, series could do well.
I’d definitely buy a ticket, would be some wild speeds with modern hardware. You should check out Billy Lane’s Sons of Speed if you haven’t yet, a marriage of the old and the new that sounds right up your alley.
Yeah, I went last Spring. It’s pretty cool and we enjoyed it a lot. I’d just like to see a more sustainable professional races series.
@@jbradkilpatrickRiders would have to have a death wish nowadays the speeds would be so high that crashes with so many riders in a draft would be fatal almost every time. Dirt track takes more talent to slide and harness the horsepower anyway.
Nice production!
Thanks, Im happy folks are enjoying it.
great job, thanks
Thanks for watching!