Hello - interested in pre 1932 racing

[StephCon1]

Hi everyone,
I'm interested in information about Gordon "Gordy" Condon - a race car driver from Altoona PA in the 20's and early 30s and the races of that era. I think I have compiled about every newspaper article I could hope to find (over 200) and with the memorabilia my husband has (Gordy was his grandfather) I've been able to put together a nice scrapbook of stuff, but I would love to compile a book about his life and career, so I'm outlining that and have some gaps to fill.

Off the top of my head, I'm searching for his car number for the June 20, 1931, Langhorne race so if anyone happens to have a program, please let me know.

Thanks!
Stephanie

[MonteCristo]

Hi Stephanie!

Any thoughts @Michael Ferner?

[Michael Ferner]

Welcome Stephanie! Another relative of a driver from 'my era'

Here's what I wrote about Gordy some time ago (https://forums.autosport.com/topic/1483 ... try5232805)

Gordon J. "Gordy" Condon began racing in 1921, reportedly, but didn't make any headlines until competing in the first of five "semi-pro" races at the board track in his hometown, Altoona Speedway. On June 11 in 1927, twelve semi-professional racing drivers on dirt track cars started in a 50-mile race just before the National Championship 200-miler in the afternoon, for a purse of nearly $2,000. The rules were strict, as Jimmy Gleason found out, who had been entered in a Touring Car support race for the 200-mile National Championship race at Atlantic City five weeks earlier, and taken a few practice spins in a championship car there. After qualifying the former Tommy Milton LSR Miller for the 5th starting position at Altoona, he was barred from the race because of his earlier appearance as a "professional driver", and handed the car to Tommy Dawson, who promptly won the race. Condon started from the front row in a Frontenac special and finished 3rd, but was the last man running, many laps in arrears. He came back on Labor Day, to qualify the (Dewey) Closson/Dodge 15th and retire early in another 50-miler, won by Henry Turgeon in his Turgeon/Frontenac. Other Altoona "semi-pro" winners would be Earl Johnson (50 miles on Sep 3, 1928), Oliver Kley (20 miles on Oct 11, 1930) and Tony Willman (25 miles on July 4, 1931).

Meanwhile, Condon had become a "professional driver" himself, mainly as a result of the sinking of the SS Vestris in November of 1928! Frank Cramer, another resident of the speedway town of Altoona, and the owner of the Miller driven to 2nd place in that year's Indy 500 by Earl Devore, subsequently killed in the Vestris disaster, offered the car to Gordy for the 1929 running of the Indianapolis classic, only for Speed Gardner to "buy the ride" from under him. Three months later, Condon himself had found a backer to sponsor an entry at Altoona in the Miller formerly driven by Norm Batten, another Vestris victim. Gordy did very well with the Miller, and for the next two years became a regular in the AAA board and dirt track races, scoring at least four second place finishes at Woodbridge Speedway and many other top finishes, but apparently no wins, despite leading a number of main events. In 1931, he finally got his chance at the Brickyard in Ed Yagle's two-man car, fitted with the engine of the 1929 winner, but the little Miller was no longer competitive against other entries of almost four times the engine capacity, and Condon withdrew after completing only 3 qualifying laps. Three weeks later, he was very seriously injured at Langhorne Speedway, threatening to end his career, if not his life. But the tough Pennsylvanian was back at the circular track for the opening of the 1932 season, leading the eight-car team (!) of the Ambler Brothers from Germantown, a Philadelphia suburb. John and Bill Ambler had been building and running a number of Big Cars locally, mostly converted Fords, but in the early thirties they began turning out a series of "Hissos", Big Cars with converted WW1 surplus Hispano-Suiza aircraft engines. Condon's #1 "Ambler Special" may have been the very first Ambler/Hispano-Suiza, in any case he finished 6th in his comeback drive, laying to rest the "ghosts of Langhorne". He continued to impress until that fateful accident at Hollidaysburg, on a track that was not suited for racing cars.

I'll see if I can find something about that Langhorne race.

[Michael Ferner]

As for Langhorne June 1931, I don't have an official entry list, but his car was described as the ex-Albertson/Greco Duesenberg owned by Oscar Mason, which is consistent with what he drove at Woodbridge in May and June, and which likely still carried #12. This was (as far as I can make out) one of the original eight-cylinder cars, built in 1919 and sold the following year to Ira Vail, who rebodied it and raced it very successfully for several years, then to Charles Ganung (1924) and Bill Albertson (1926), who both did also rather well with it. After Albertson's death in another car, Sam Greco raced it briefly, maybe in co-ownership with Oscar Mason, then Condon until his accident at Langhorne.

[StephCon1]

Wow, that is amazing!!! Thanks so much for all of that info, it's awesome to find someone interested in this era of racing and even more so someone so knowledgeable!! I recently saw the press photo of the 12 & 14 cars wrecked at Langhorne and I wasn't sure which was his, but sounds like it was most likely the 12. I haven't run across anything about him driving either of those numbers, so I truly appreciate your help and these names will give me another avenue to start researching. The more I learn the more easily I'm able to start recognizing some of the people and cars in the photos, but I'm still very much a newb.

We actually have the Ambler contract that he signed along with a letter from John Ambler where they invited Gordy to a meeting and they mention Larry Beals, Freddie Winnai, Frank Farmer, Johnny Moretti, Harold Wright, and Malcolm Fox. They mention 2 letters that he wrote to them - what I wouldn't give to come across those somewhere.

I've run across the Billy Winn name of course - are you related? Gordy had a matchbook with his picture on it - attaching it here. I believe he was as much of a fan as he was a racer. He had a lot of photos of other drivers - press photos, postcards, and the like.