Today we travel to Civic Stadium in Buffalo, NY, for a 50 mile race on a quarter mile paved track. I am assuming (hopefully correctly) that this track resembles the well known Bowman Gray facility which is also part of a stadium. In any event, 20 convertibles made the trip to race that 50 mile distance.

Joe Weatherly put the Pete DePaolo Ford on the pole with Dan Oldenberg's Buick starting second.Larry Odo would start third and Curtis Turner fourth. Fifth place starter was Glen Wood. Joe would lead the first 20 laps but then his teammate and the real hot shoe at the time, Curtis Turner, would go flying by to take the lead. Turner would lead until lap 197 of the 200 lap race and was, in fact, three laps ahead of Weatherly with a lap to the white flag. It was at that point Turner had a tire go down and had to pit which allow Little Joe to make up the three lap arrearage to take the checkered flag. No comment in my records of what Turner may have said when the race was over but it does appear he was robbed of that one. This was the first win in convertibles for Weatherly who had been playing the proverbial "second fiddle" to Turner most of the season. It seems victory had eluded the former motorcycle racing champion throughout the season for a variety of reasons.

There were 7,893 fans on hand to witness the Weatherly victory at an average speed of 45.708 mph. Bob Welborn, points leader coming into the event in Buffalo, left the stadium with a 246 point lead over second place Larry Odo.

Top five finishers were:

1. Joe Weatherly, Pete DePaolo Ford, winning $600.00

2. Glen Wood, Wood Brothers Ford, winning $475.00

3. Larry Odo, Odo Chevrolet, winning $350.00

4. Bob Welborn, Welborn Chevrolet, winning $270.00 **

5. Curtis Turner, Pete DePaolo Ford, winning $240.00

** Bob Welborn actually crashed on the last lap and did not compete the 200 laps but was credited with fourth place.

Remaining finishers, in order, were: Larry Frank, Art Binkley, Don Oldenberg, Jimmy Massey, Mel Larson, Danny Letner, Bill Lutz, Jimmy Lewallen, Ken Warrington, Tom Pistone, Gene Blair, Bill Brown, Dick Walters, Norman Shihl, and Cannonball Brown.

We should make note here that the 1956 season was one in which Tiger Tom Pistone was becoming a NASCAR star in the convertible division and would go on to become an important part of the growth of NASCAR's Grand National Division.

Honor the past, embrace the present, dream for the future.

Tim, do you know if this was an 'open stadium'? It could've been a enclosed stadium like some races of today - Chili Bowl...but I doubt that they had the ceiling mounted exhaust fans in 1956

It was definitely an "open" stadium. When I was growing up in Richmond, the Buffalo stadium (renamed War Memorial Stadium in 1960) was home to the Buffalo Bisons AAA baseball team and our Richmond Virginians team played them in that stadium.

Below is a YouTube video of 1950s stock car racing at Buffalo's Civic Stadium, with a little C.N.E. Toronto racing at the end.

The Buffalo Bills pro football team began playing in the stadium, nicknamed the Ole Rockpile, in 1960. Aerial photo from site

http://rockpile.buffalonet.org/

This info appears on the Western New York Racing Legends site:

Buffalo Civic Stadium

By Thom Randolph

In the 1940's and 1950's a number of stadiums were home to auto racing at a time when midget race cars were enjoying tremendous popularity across the United States. Western New York, Pennsylvania and southern Ontario were caught up in the craze and were fortunate to have Civic Stadium as a venue for the smaller cars.

Civic Stadium, also known the Rockpile was built between 1935 and 1938 as part of a federal make work program, under the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt. The stadium was built on the corner of Best and Masten Streets. It was originally named Roesch Memorial Stadium after Charles E. Roesch, the city's mayor prior to the start of construction.

Racing at Civic Stadium started in 1948 and featured the Midgets, which were well suited for the racing action on the tight quarter mile oval. The cars had motorcycle engines for power and because they were extremely light they could get around the track very quickly.

Weekly shows at the stadium included 8 events, 3 qualifying heats, two semis, two consolation races and a 25-lap feature.

Joe Russo was one of the top Midget drivers at the track, along with Al Keller, Eddie Lenz, and Bill Schlinder. Art Clark, who spent over 50 years competing on a long list of tracks throughout the area, was another hot shoe who honed his skills at the Rockpile. Other drivers of note who raced at Civic Stadium were Bobby Sund, Billy Rafter and Dick Hurd.

Over the years, Civic Stadium hosted some big events including the New York State Championship for the Midgets with the top 30 drivers from the region competing in a 50-lap race.

In addition, the track hosted the Eastern Division Late Model Championship in August of 1953. The race had cars that were 1949-1953 stock showroom cars and featured NASCAR star Marvin Panch among a number of Midwestern racers. The drivers battled though six races followed by a 100-lap feature and it was won by Larry Marx.

In the 1950's, the Midgets were joined by full sized stock cars, when they began to grow in popularity. The stock cars ran a couple of big events including the Eastern Division Late Model Championship in August 1953, which was won by Larry Marx and a NASCAR Grand National race which was won by Jim Reed.

Racing at the track was halted after the 1959 season to make room for the Buffalo Bisons baseball team and for the Buffalo Bills football team. The team was home to the Bills until 1972 when their current home at Ralph Wilson Stadium opened with state of the art amenities.

A book review from The Vintage Racer web site about a 2006 book titled Daredevils of the Frontier that captured the racing memories of Buffalo Civic Stadium:

From a 2012 post by RR member Jim Wilmore:

The Merrittville Speedway web site notes 33,000 attendees at a 1956 weekly stock car show and also notes that future NASCAR executive Ed Otto promoted races at the Buffalo Civic Stadium:

CIVIC STADIUM

BUFFALO, N.Y.

1933 - 1959THE ROCK PILE
FROM MIDGETS TO STOCKCARS

First, a bit of background. Originally Roesch Memorial Stadium, named after Buffalos Mayor, Charles E. Roesch from 1930-34, was built over a 3 year period at the intersection of Best Street & Masten Ave. across the street from the 106th Armory, a federal work project during the Depression, under the guidance of the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration.

In 1938 the name was changed to Civic Stadium and again to War Memorial Stadium in 1960 by Mayor Frank Sedita. After partial demolition of the old complex it was rebuilt for amateur sports and renamed the Johnnie B. Wiley Amateur Athletic Sports Pavilion in 1997. Automobiles raced at Civic Stadium until 1959 before becoming home to the Buffalo Bills until they moved to Orchard Park in 1972, where they play NFL football today.

After World War 2, Midget racing was growing in popularity. For example, in 1948-the races were promoted by Ed Otto, later of NASCAR, under the supervision of the Race Committee, headed by Fred H. McLaren. The midget races were sponsored by The Buffalo Drum Corps of the American Legion, with A.C. Elberson as President, which was made up of over 50 prominent members from the Buffalo business community. The Corps sponsored races since 1947 and was established in 1927. Please remember that Civic Stadium, later War Memorial Stadium was just that, a war Memorial.

The evenings racing program consisted of 8 events; 3 qualifying heats, 2 semis, 2 cons's and a 25 lap feature. The mighty midgets were suited to 1/4 mile ovals, both dirt and pavement, and competed at many stadiums all over the U.S. long before regular ovals were built for racing. In 1948, Midget Engine Spec's Harley Davidson or Indian Motorcycle engine chain drive as long as it was covered by a guard, Offenhauser (baby) & Ford v-8 -60.

The cars using motorcycle engines weighed less than 600 lbs. and developed 70-85 h.p. The Offy & Fords weighed 800lbs and developed 75-90 h.p. Most cars ran on high test fuel with a special alcohol base for cooling. Top midget drivers included the following; Art Cross-East Rutherford, N.J.; Al Keller Rochester,N.Y.; Eddie Lenz-Cheektowaga N.Y.; Mike Nazaruk-East Meadow N.Y.;Joe Russo- Lackawanna N.Y.;THE GREAT BILL SCHINDLER-Freeport N.Y.;(who was the famous 1-legged driver who was A.R.D.C. champion in 1947, driving the famed Caruso Offy midget to over 54 feature wins that year.)

The USAC organization did not start until 1955. Joe Russo, from Western New York, originally of Scranton Pa. was labeled the Grand pappy of auto racing at Civic Stadium. In 1931 he drove his first race in Big Cars, until 1937, against the nation's best including Wilbur Shaw & Lou Meyer. Both Indy 500 winners on multiple occasions. From 1938 on, Joe would drive midgets & jalopy-stockcars at Civic Stadium. During the 1950's the United Stockcar Racing Drivers Association hosted races on Tuesdays and Saturdays, with a later move to Sunday afternoons,

Bill Schindler

Admission for the races was $1.25 for Adults & 0.60 for children. You could have any seat in the grandstand as long as you did not sit in the first five rows for safety reasons. The most popular car was the 1937-39 Ford coupe, flathead Ford, however some drivers such as Joe Russo drove 1937 Hudsons with a 51 Hudson Hornet engine. Once a year Civic stadium would host a New York State Championship for a 1/4 mile track, 50laps, including the 30 best drivers from all over N.Y. State & Canada.

To end the season in October of 1952, the 30 high point cars would race a 25 lap event for a $1,500.00 purse. Some of the top drivers were #65 Bobby Sund , #11 Larry Marx, #84 Lenny Justa, #119 Eddie Lenz, #8 Ben Lalomia, #99 Joe Russo, #9 Tony Occhino, #35 Hugh Darragh, #90 Gene Blair, and #47 Ken Warmington ALL of the Buffalo-Western New York Area. Canadian drivers who competed at Civic Stadium on a regular Basis included #6 Norm Schild of Ft. Erie; #44 Elmo Pring of Ridgeway, Ont.; #114 Howard Hearst of Ft.Erie, Ont.; #120 Dan Daniels of Kitchener, Ont.; and #187 Emerson Clemenhage.

Many of these drivers would go on to become regular competitors when Merrittville Speedway would open. The Feature Winner & Champion that year would be, #65 Bobby Sund of Buffalo N.Y. While both midgets & stock cars continued to race weekly at Civic Stadium, special touring events for full sized, new-style stockcars would be held. One such event was scheduled for Aug.15, 1953, called the Eastern Division Late Model Championship. Dewey Michaels was the promoter and Robert A. Smith was the Civic Stadium racing Director along with the S.A.F.E. (Society of Auto-sport Fellowship and Education) sanctioning body headed by President Charles Scharf. The automobiles had to be stock-showroom from 1949-1953. Many of the S.A.F.E. drivers hailed from the mid-west U.S. such as Stu Joyce, Indianapolis, Ind.-1953 Ford; Jack Harrison -1952 Ford; Pat Kirkwood, Ft.Worth Texas.-1953 OldsNational CHAMPION-1952; Marvin Panch -Richmond California (NASCAR); as well as many other Midwestern stars.

The race program consisted of 6 races scheduled with the feature starting 30 cars in a 100 lap event. Can you picture 30 full sized American stockcars racing for position on a 1/4 mile track! It must have been a race of endurance. The local competitors consisting of Joe Russo, Larry Marx, Lenny Justa, Ben Lalomia, Ken Warmington, brothers Billy & Bob Rafter, and Joe Sykes, all of the Buffalo -Western New York Area had new cars and the experience to handle the tight confines of Civic Stadium. When the checkered fell it was #11 Larry Marx- in a '51 Ford , then #84 Len Justa from Kenmore N.Y. with 3rd going to Rex Fordice in a '51 Ford from Indianapolis, Indiana.

The young Rafter brothers would place in the top 20. While auto racing in Southern Ontario flourished with the construction of 1/4 mile ovals such as Merrittville Speedway, racing would continue at Civic Stadium until 1959. As for drivers such as Bill Rafter they would go on to many Championships, with Bill becoming the 1964 Modified Champion at Merrittville Speedway. Drivers such as Cam Gagliardi and Chuck Boos would start their careers at Civic Stadium, before moving onto Merrittville in the late 1950's.

In its heyday, Civic Stadium would pack in over 12,000 people with a record 13,026 on hand for the Great Lakes Championship on July 4, 1953. According to Merrittville co-founder John Marino, the idea for Merrittville Speedway came while attending the races with Orville Kelley, who would go on to become Merrittville's first track Champion. Merrittville Speedway can trace it's roots to the glory days from 1948-53, at Civic Stadium, for planting the seed with John Marino and George Cullen for a Speedway in Southern Ontario, way back in 1951.

While the 1940s were the era of midgets, the 1950's had to be the era of stockcars. During 1952-59 Civic Stadium hosted weekly stockcar races and even featured a NASCAR convertible race with the likes of Joe Weatherly. The real appeal were the jalopy and stockcar-sportsmen classes. As many as 80-90 cars would show up to race and many of the cars had to be pitted at the Masten Armory and driven down Jefferson Street to race, entering the stadium. Mid 50's stars included Roy Campbell, 1951 Champion Dick Hurd, 1957 & 58 NASCAR Champion Bill Rafter. Every year, racers such as Ted Hogan would travel from CNE Toronto to Civic Stadium and to Rochester to race, but the whose who of stock car racing would come to race at Civic Stadium once a year for the special Langhorn Pa. qualifier. Dick Hurd would win this event both in 1957 & 58.

For the regulars at Civic Stadium once you were setup to the track it was fun but taking a car setup for banked ovals was torture. You see, the track at Civic stadium was a 1/4 mile flat oval with a concrete wall all around the outside and rail road ties placed perpendicular in the infield to keep the cars off of the football field. Part of the success at this track according to Hurd, was a handling chassis and great brakes. He was the first to use a quick change rear end that gave his car extra acceleration off of the tight corners.

During Hurd's career the all time attendance record was set when 33,000 fans showed up on a special Buffalo Police Fun-O -Rama night in 1956. Dick Hurd would win the 50 lap feature that night. (Capacity was for 44,000 fans) In 1959 a young Bill Torrisi from North Tonawanda won the last race held at Civic Stadium, with Bobby Sund 2nd, Bill Rafter 3rd, and Larry Marx 4th.

The racers were very disappointed that Civic Stadium was closing and it was announced in the September 21, 1959 edition of the Buffalo Evening News that the city was tearing up the track to make a Ball diamond and football field for the Bisons & Bills. The Bill's hosted NFL Football games at the "Rock pile until 1972.

Many a local driver mourned the demise of auto racing at the greatest local track, but Bill Torrisi, Chuck Boos, Bill Rafter, and Cam Gagliardi would all graduate to become champions at other ovals in the area such as Lancaster & Merrittville Speedway.

Sincerely, Rick Kavanagh

Dave!!! Dude, you really went into overdrive with this "Minute". You have really added a great deal to a very small report. Again, to everyone who contributes here, thank you! I am very, very proud, on behalf of RacersReunion, of what we all are working together to build here. This site WILL be the historic record of the sport as no other has ever been.

From Buffalo Courier Express

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