RETrott Posted October 31, 2010 Report Share Posted October 31, 2010 Hello Jimmy Griswold Elliot, Do you have any names from those pictures? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txtom Posted November 1, 2010 Report Share Posted November 1, 2010 Don't know if anyone is interested, but here is a link to a reproduction poster advertising Midget races at Playland in 1952: Midget Poster For you 2 wheel guys, here is one for you from Sportsdrome Speedway in the Dallas area from 1963: Bike Poster I have ordered twice from this place, both times were top notch. Although Playland was before my time, I still have this poster framed on a wall in my "man-cave". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budman Posted November 1, 2010 Report Share Posted November 1, 2010 C'mon people, let's get some names with those faces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griswold Posted November 2, 2010 Report Share Posted November 2, 2010 Hello Jimmy Griswold Elliot, Do you have any names from those pictures? IF U R REFERRING TO THE POST # 99. here are the names from top left wild willie williams, bill childer, george nash, ??, ??, bill blumrick, norman pierce, ??. bottom row left. billy wade, cecil elliott, ?? billy griswold, ??, buddy rackley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midget 85 Posted November 2, 2010 Report Share Posted November 2, 2010 More Playland Photos moved to the thread 1951 Playland Park with Ray Steffens (Left) winner of the passenger car race, M.J. Burton (Center) winner of the modified race and promoter Ray Lavely (Right). MJ Burton - Don Burton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RETrott Posted November 7, 2010 Report Share Posted November 7, 2010 Jimmy, RE: Post #92, is that Buddy Rackley in the #56 Midget? Or if not, who? RE: Post #96, is that #7 Midget a little long? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txtom Posted November 7, 2010 Report Share Posted November 7, 2010 Hello Jimmy Griswold Elliot, Do you have any names from those pictures? IF U R REFERRING TO THE POST # 99. here are the names from top left wild willie williams, bill childer, george nash, ??, ??, bill blumrick, norman pierce, ??. bottom row left. billy wade, cecil elliott, ?? billy griswold, ??, buddy rackley. The guy that is standing 5th from the left in the back row sure looks like Jud Larson to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budman Posted November 7, 2010 Report Share Posted November 7, 2010 Yep Tom, pretty sure that's Jud. Bottom row, far left is Billy Wade, far right is Buddy Rackley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griswold Posted November 7, 2010 Report Share Posted November 7, 2010 Jimmy, RE: Post #92, is that Buddy Rackley in the #56 Midget? Or if not, who? RE: Post #96, is that #7 Midget a little long? i don't know if thats buddy or not. i do know it belonged to ebb rose. he owned 5 or 6 at that time. i don't know if buddy drove for him . i don't think he did regularly. yes it looked long to me too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midget 85 Posted November 8, 2010 Report Share Posted November 8, 2010 Larry, Jimmy, Didn't MJ Burton drive number 56 at Playland? I know he flipped one somewhere but not sure the car number.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RETrott Posted November 8, 2010 Report Share Posted November 8, 2010 He raced a modified '32 Ford Coupe Modified/Supermodified #56, white, in '57 and possibly before that. As for the Midget crash, Denny probably has the correct info, but I believe there is, somewhere a picture of the start of the incident. I believe it happened at PanAmerican 1/San Antonio, not sure about the car #. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midget 85 Posted November 8, 2010 Report Share Posted November 8, 2010 Think you are right again and believe he tangled with Rackley? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klavely Posted November 14, 2010 Report Share Posted November 14, 2010 Thanks everyone for your work on this forum. The picture below is awesome... Ray Lavely is my Dad. I've found some pictures from days before I was alive and its great to see. Thanks! More Playland Photos moved to the thread 1951 Playland Park with Ray Steffens (Left) winner of the passenger car race, M.J. Burton (Center) winner of the modified race and promoter Ray Lavely (Right). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midget 85 Posted November 16, 2010 Report Share Posted November 16, 2010 Playland Park Amusement Rides If you google Playland Park you will find several postings. I thought It would be sorta fun to post a link showing the fun side we had as kids at the amusement rides of Playland Park Houston. Remember, there were several Playland Park Amusement Parks across the country and different time eras. After viewing the many videos I can assure that the link below is the Houston Playland Park located at 9200 South Main in Houston, Tx. It appears the film was made after the track had been closed and before Astro World opened. Appears to be 1962-64 Look closely and take a journey back in time. Look at that old Roller Coaster..and see if you remember it the way I did. Click here >> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakdad Posted November 17, 2010 Report Share Posted November 17, 2010 Hey, I rode all that stuff well into my 30s........................................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RETrott Posted November 17, 2010 Report Share Posted November 17, 2010 Think you are right again and believe he tangled with Rackley? That's the way I remember the picture Randy. Seems as though another competitor was in kinda close as well. I think it was another Houston area racer, but I'm just not sure. Without roll cages, and even sometimes without a roll bar on those Midgets, and with those old helmets, it's a wonder anyone ever survived a serious crash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midget 85 Posted November 18, 2010 Report Share Posted November 18, 2010 Larry, Your right and if memory is close it was Griswold maybe? I remember seeing the photo somewhere and might have been at Denny's shop. Seems Buddy's left rear tire was flat or coming off the rim and MJ's right front tire was climbing up on Rackley's car..?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RETrott Posted November 22, 2010 Report Share Posted November 22, 2010 Randy, It could have been Billy Griswold, although I was thinking Sonny McDaniel. But, rumor has it that MJ Burton, Buddy Rackley, and Billy Griswold may have rubbed wheels on occasion. I vaguely recall a Midget getting upside down in turn 3 at Arrowhead Spdwy/Houston, and the driver kept the car balanced with his hands until help arrived to let the car over easy. For a very long time, I had thought the driver in that incident was Sonny McDaniel, but I was told some years back by a very reliable source that the driver was actually Billy Griswold. That was in the early '50s of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midget 85 Posted November 23, 2010 Report Share Posted November 23, 2010 Larry, Think we have all slept some since then. It's been a long time ago and memory seems to slip with the time as I have witnessed with my own memory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RETrott Posted December 7, 2010 Report Share Posted December 7, 2010 RE: Post #92 The pictured mid 50s era Super Modified #8, with Cecil Elliot id'd as driver, and I agree, note the absense of a front roll bar. No cage, just the single/rear roll bar. At some point in the mid/late 50s, I believe the rules were changed to require a roll cage. At least in the Modifieds racing at Playland Spdwy. I would guess this picture is from about '55. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midget 85 Posted December 7, 2010 Report Share Posted December 7, 2010 Larry, That was some rather crude racing in those days for sure. Those guys had a lot of guts and will power to win no matter what the circumstances. I don't think they gave it much thought other than get in a drive em! They were tuff! Look at Jimmy's photo below and note the license plate on the trunk of number 10.. Some of these racers just drove the stockers right to the track it appears. Lot of old 39 and 40 Fords here on the track and appears an old 41 Ford in there as well. Roll bars.. Nah, who needs one.. we ain't no sissy's. We're stock car drivers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RETrott Posted December 20, 2010 Report Share Posted December 20, 2010 Yep Tom, pretty sure that's Jud. Bottom row, far left is Billy Wade, far right is Buddy Rackley. Once upon a time, I saw a group picture from a similiar time frame. I'm not sure if it was from Playland Park Spdwy/Houston, or Arrowhead Spdwy/Houston, but I do recall Jud Larson being id'd as one of the group. Possibly same picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midget 85 Posted December 20, 2010 Report Share Posted December 20, 2010 Playland memories slipping away To all of our Playland Park fans we hope you find our thread an interesting trip back in time. It seems like yesterday in some ways and in others, we ask.. Where did the time go? Please keep the memories and photos coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hrodder Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 Thanks everyone for your work on this forum. The picture below is awesome... Ray Lavely is my Dad. I've found some pictures from days before I was alive and its great to see. Thanks! More Playland Photos moved to the thread 1951 Playland Park with Ray Steffens (Left) winner of the passenger car race, M.J. Burton (Center) winner of the modified race and promoter Ray Lavely (Right). klavely, You need to contact Bill Jones wwwtexasopenwheel.com He raced for the Lavelys. and also worked for them and traveled with Johnnie Parsons promoting midget races. Bill has a huge collection of Lavely family history Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfbarnes Posted January 1, 2011 Report Share Posted January 1, 2011 Just a side note. I ran into Charles Lothringer Jr. and had a great time talking to him. He let me know his father Blackie Lothringer passed away in San Antonio last October. Blackie and his ex-wife (Charles Jr's mother) died two days apart. Blackie was in Audie Murphy Hospital and She was across the street in Methodist. They'd divorced in '59 and it was the first time they'd been near each other in all those years. Kinda ironic. But just thought I'd update anyone that knew Blackie. I'd had not heard he passed away, or if I did, my oldtimer's disease absorbed it and I have no recall of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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