1946 50-Mile Pacific Coast TT Championship Box Springs Race Track, Riverside, California December 8, 1946
Program for the twice-delayed Pacific Coast TT Championship race at the Box Springs track in Riverside. It was very close to the later location of the Riverside International Raceway. Floyd Emde Archive / Don Emde Collection
There were two Pacific Coast Championship races in 1946, one for Flat Track and one for TT. Floyd originally wanted to win both and since switching to the Harley-Davidson WRTT, he was running well enough to do that. But sometimes things happen that you can’t plan for. Like the Flat Track Championship at Dixon in October where his day ended early after taking a big rock in the face at 70 miles an hour. So now he had only the TT championship to try to win at Box Springs, but the other top west coast riders that Floyd had battled with all year wanted the same thing. That included Ed Kretz, of Ed Kretz was leading Floyd at this point of the race. Ed has his left hand off the handlebars as course. Floyd had beaten Ed a few times earlier that season, but he changes a gear on his hand-shift Indian Scout. Floyd Emde Archive / Don Emde Collection only in some inconsequential races here and there. The races Ed took seriously were what earned him the nickname of “Iron Man.” Those were the long-distance events like Daytona, Langhorne, Laconia…and the 50-miler on the Box Springs TT track that required not only speed, but physical stamina to muscle his heavy handshift, Indian 84 times around the twisty 6/10th-mile course. The other top Southern California riders were also entered, including Chuck Basney, Bruce Pearson, Kelly Myers and Ted Evans. Plus, Floyd expected some of the Northern California stars would be there too. As it turned out, it rained on November 11th and the race was postponed to the 24th. But it rained again that day and the race was rescheduled again to December 8th. Mother Nature finally cooperated that day and the big race was on. The uncertainty caused by the two weather cancellations cut into the attendance that day, but 8,000 still turned out. The format, like many were in those years, was that all AMA licensed riders—Novice, Amateur or Expert—could enter the event. Referee Royal Carroll then divided all of the entries up evenly into four groups for 5-lap qualifying Heat races. The first four finishers Look closely in front of the handlebars to see Ed’s front brake lever dangling with in each Heat went straight to the Main event, the rest were divided only the cable holding it. The lever bracket was broken in his crash early in the race. into two 5-lap Semis. The first four in the Semis went to the Main Floyd Emde Archive / Don Emde Collection with the balance to a 20-lap Consolation race. lead position for a short while, only to lose it to Bud Jorgensen, who led until he A classic Indian versus Harley-Davidson battle was about to begin. Floyd, Ed Kretz, Bud Jorgensen from Fresno, and Fred Ford from San developed some motor trouble, and Kretz re-took the lead. From that moment on Diego won their respective Heat races. The 24 riders were then lined for the it was a Tweedledum and Tweedledee race between Emde and Kretz as they swung Main event in eight rows of three. Of the motorcycles qualified for the Final, around the track. It was confusing enough that it was difficult to tell who was in only 3 were British. The other 21 were either Harleys or Indians. Kretz had the the lead much of the time.” According to the Riverside Daily Press, Floyd kept the pressure on and fastest Heat race time on his Indian Scout and would start on the pole position. was right on Kretz’s tail until the 30th lap when Ed fell going into one of the Floyd had the second fastest Heat race and would start alongside him. At 2:55 p.m., the official starter, Stan Irons, waved the white flag and the turns. Floyd sped past, while Kretz quickly remounted and got back into the race was underway. As reported in the January 1947 issue of Motorcyclist, the chase. Kretz was back about 20 seconds at this point, and now without the race began like this: “Ed Kretz was from the start the man out front, but close use of his front brake. The lever on the left handlebar was broken in his fall on his heels came Floyd Emde, and in nice form passed Kretz. Emde held the and he now had only the use of the rear brake.
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Photographer Bob Austin captured this shot of the back-and-forth battle between Floyd and his long-time friend and mentor, Ed Kretz. American Motorcycling wrote: “The lead changed so many times it was doubtful who really was in the first spot.” Floyd Emde Archive / Don Emde Collection
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Memorial Day Weekend May 31-June 1, 1947 Strawberry Hill Fairgrounds – Richmond, Virginia Ten Mile National Championship Saturday, May 31, 1947
Floyd’s notes pretty much explained how everything went for him at the AMA National race at Richmond, Virginia. He wrote in his notebook that he set the fastest qualifying time—which was also a national record for a half-mile track. He also added “Sad Story,” which explained how the rest of the day went. Floyd Emde Archive / Don Emde Collection
Following their successful road trip from San Diego to Richmond, Floyd was ready to go on Saturday morning with a crowd estimated at 5,000 on hand at the new ½-mile oval at the Atlantic Rural Exposition grounds in the historic Strawberry Hill area of Richmond, Virginia. With only a few laps of practice to figure out the best gear ratio to run, Floyd set not only the fastest qualifying time, but broke the national record for a ½-mile dirt track with a time of 27.83 seconds. Leo Anthony, who had just won the 5-Mile National at Montgomery, Alabama the week before, was 2nd fastest, followed by other fellow Harley “team” riders, Jimmy Chann, Buck Brigance, Billy Huber and the rest of the field. Floyd’s impressive introduction to the fans of Virginia continued for the first five laps of his 6-lap Heat race. He had led right from the start until a frame rail by his rear wheel broke. The wheel became very unstable, causing him to slow dramatically. He was passed by Brigance and Chann, but he was able to finish the race in 3rd and qualified for the Main event. Luckily another rider had welding equipment with him, and a fast welding and brazing job got the frame all back in one piece for the 20-lap National. Leo Anthony took the lead off the start of the National and began to build a big lead at the front. Meanwhile, as noted in the local newspaper then next day, “The thrill of the race was furnished by Floyd Emde, West Coast Champion from San Diego, Calif.” Floyd got a terrible start and was at the rear of the field for first eight laps. He then began passing riders, about one each lap. With just a few laps to go, he came up behind 4th place rider Buck Brigance. It took Floyd a few laps to make the pass and on the final lap he was closing on 3rd place rider Billy Huber. Floyd gave it all he had, apparently too much, and ended up spinning out in the final turn. The final results showed Anthony taking the win, with Chann runner up and Huber in third. Floyd was able get his bike restarted and rode it across the line to finish the race at the back of the field. He was very disappointed, though, with the way his first National dirt track race of the season ended after starting the day so well. In his notebook he simply wrote: “Sad story.” Floyd won $60 in prize money that day (value of approximately $850 today).
The 8-page program for the Memorial Day double-headers included details for the 10-Mile National race on Saturday as well as a 2-Star AMA race on Sunday. Floyd Emde Archive / Don Emde Collection 202 FLYING FLOYD / The Motorcycling Life of Floyd Emde
Two Star Motorcycle Races Sunday, June 1, 1947 The next day, some, but not all, of the same competitors were back in action for an AMA Two Star event on the Atlantic Rural Exposition Fairgrounds track. Floyd was eager to race, obviously hoping for a better result than the day before. The riders competed in two rounds of Heat races to determine who went to the Main event, with Floyd winning both of his Heats. In the Main, Floyd and two other riders had a great battle the whole way. At the finish, Indian rider Wally Akins from Jacksonville, Florida nosed Floyd out by half a wheel to take the win, with Buck Brigance only two lengths back in third place. Akins’ time for the ten laps was 4 minutes, 44.47 seconds, which broke Billy Huber’s national record for a 5-mile race by 12.43 seconds. Floyd won another $110 that day, giving him $170 for the weekend in Richmond (value of $2,400 today).
The photo on the left shows Florence (left) visiting with an unidentified lady with her two children. She was likely the wife of another racer there at Richmond. In the photo on the right, Leo Anthony holds the winner’s trophy after his victory. Floyd Emde Archive / Don Emde Collection
This clipping from the Richmond, Virginia newspaper explained not only about Leo Anthony’s winning ride, but also how Floyd provided the “thrill of the race” as he methodically overcame a bad start to work his way up through the field. After overtaking Buck Brigance to move into 4th place, Floyd tried a little too hard to catch and pass Billy Huber for 3rd place and spun out. Floyd Emde Archive / Don Emde Collection On the right is a clipping of Floyd’s track record on Harley-Davidson’s race win poster from the 1947 Richmond National race. Floyd Emde Archive / Don Emde Collection
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On to Laconia 29th Annual 100-Mile National Championship Road Race Belknap Mountain Recreational Area Laconia / Gilford, New Hampshire – June 17-19, 1949 After three weeks on the road, it was finally time for Floyd and Florence to head to Laconia, New Hampshire for one of the most coveted and prestigious races of the year, the 100-mile National Championship Road Race at the Belknap Mountain Recreational Area. Laconia was both physically and mechanically one of the most challenging races of the year, with 100 laps around the 1-mile asphalt racecourse which featured both left and right hand turns that required continuous gear shifting in energy-sapping June heat and humidity.
The event was very “fan friendly” especially with AMA riders and clubs. Attendance just on Sunday for the three-day event was reported to be 18,000, with 10,000 motorcycles parked around the track. As noted previously, Floyd carried two motorcycles in his race trailer, a WR for Flat Track races and a WRTT set up with front and rear brakes, a 3 ¼ gallon gas tank and other needs for longer distance TT and Road Race events. The WRTT was the same motorcycle that he raced at Daytona, and the 100-mile Laconia race would be the first and only race on this trip that it would be used. Harley-Davidson went all out for Laconia that year, not only looking for a victory, but for total domination. When it was all said and done, no one would have argued that they didn’t achieve their goal with nine of the top 10 finishers (including the top 8 finishers). They also had the lion’s share of the entries in the Expert class with 25 riding Harley WRTTs, compared to 15 Indians, 4 Nortons, 2 Triumphs and 1 BSA. Continued on page 336...
Like many items shown throughout the book, this Mechanic Pass and Official Program were brought back by Floyd and Florence from the 1949 Laconia National races. Floyd Emde Archive / Don Emde Collection
Floyd got a great start off the line with Dick Klamfoth alongside on his left. In the background, the people on the stage are the scorers and the numbers represent the laps. The standings were posted there as the race proceeded. Floyd Emde Archive / Don Emde Collection 334 FLYING FLOYD / The Motorcycling Life of Floyd Emde
Another view of the start. Riders had drawn for their starting positions with Jimmy Chann’s brother Steve Chann (42), Ray Angstadt (49), Floyd Emde (7) and Dick Klamfoth (14) on the front row. Emde and Klamfoth battled for the lead in the early laps, but Klamfoth soon crashed out and Floyd’s brakes failed completely. Floyd Emde Archive / Don Emde Collection FLYING FLOYD / The Motorcycling Life of Floyd Emde 335