El Sereno's Legion Ascot Speedway

Awesome video clip showcasing the legendary Legion Ascot Speedway.  Infamous for it's deadly crashes, Legion Ascot Speedway is also credited for being the first race track that featured a safety device now used by race car drivers all over the world: the racing helmet.

Legion Ascot Speedway is one of over a dozen long-gone race tracks of Los Angeles featured in "Where They Raced: Speed Demons in the City of Los Angeles."  This DVD is a must for any person interested in the history of the many ghost tracks of Los Angeles.  

To purchase the DVD and/or learn more about Where They Raced, visit www.WhereTheyRaced.com and/or like them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WhereTheyRaced.

There was a large race track near Valley Blvd. and Soto St.  From 1924 to 1936 the track drew thousands of fans to see the races.  Movie stars and famous racers went to this racetrack.  Imagine the Indy 500 in this community happening every week with the smell of exhaust, fuel, and the loud roaring engines!  No city would have that today. The most exciting and the most deadliest racetrack in Los Angeles' history.  This site comes to us via the gracious owner of LincolnHeightsLA.com website, a great place to learn a ton of original information concerning Lincoln Heights, our neighbor to the west.  A visit to the site is a must if you really want to know Lincoln Heights' history.  We thank LincolnHeightsLA.com for sharing the information presented below.

Technically not in Lincoln Heights but should be noted for its proximity and historical importance. It opened in 1924, and met its demise after the main grandstand burned in 1936. 

The racetrack was located along Soto Street from Valley Blvd. to Multnomah St.  The racetrack turn on bottom center of either picture is Hatfield Place. Today, Multnomah Elementary School and a housing tract is built on top the racetrack. The five-eighths mile Ascot Speedway began life as the New Ascot Speedway on January 20, 1924.  The banked oval that was originally dirt but constant applications of road oil soon produced a surface that was similar to pavement.  The cars that raced at Ascot throughout the years were the ancestors of what we today call "sprint cars".

From 1924 to 1927 the track was only moderately successful under the promotion of several groups.  In 1928 the Glendale American Legion Post took over the promotion and brought in the cars and drivers of the American Automobile Association (AAA).  The AAA was the leading racing organization in the country and controlled all the major speedways including Indianapolis. The soon to be legendary Legion Ascot Speedway was born! 

The hard working Legionnaires did an excellent job of race promotion and soon crowds of 10,000 and more were flocking to races held on Sundays in the winter and under the lights on Wednesday nights.  The big crowds brought big purses and torrid competition. 

The races attracted the best drivers in the country and Legion Ascot was creating its own stars. Men like Bill Cummings, Al Gordon, Ernie Triplett, Kelly Petillo, Wilbur Shaw and Rex Mays tangled in hard fought and crowd pleasing races. Winning a feature race at Legion Ascot could pay up to $800---a figure that would come close to buying a house in Los Angeles in the 1920s and '30s.  

The speed and competition came with a price. From 1924 to 1936 some two dozen drivers lost their lives in spectacular crashes.  The death toll was one reason the Glendale American Legion bowed out of race promotion in early 1935---the other reason was that the emergence of midget auto racing that was cutting into the crowds at Ascot. 

The track became Ascot Motor Speedway and racing continued.  On January 25, 1936 the final tragedy struck during a race for two man Indianapolis cars as Al Gordon and riding mechanic Spider Matlock were both killed in a crash.
 

This ended racing at Ascot. 

Eight months later the grandstands of  the abandoned speedway burned down.  Ascot was gone.
 

Description and blue-bordered photos above by Don Radbruch a former racer, noted racing historian, and author. 

  
Legion Ascot was definitely big and unique to Lincoln Heights and the surrounding areas during the racing era. And known worldwide! 

Today this defunct racetrack is in the community of El Sereno. 

More action photos below!

Al Gordon was our postman when I was about 18-19 living at home with my parents.  I was at the track on the day Al Gordon and Spider Matlock died.  I had a girl friend with me that I had met on a blind date the previous New Year's Eve.  I remember that the announcer never reported the condition of the two, although I'm sure it was known before we left that they had died.  While on our way home to Long Beach we were in a drive-in for refreshments when my parents came by, saw our car, stopped to tell us the sad news they heard on the car radio.  A day or two later I was along with my parents when they called upon Helen Gordon and her two boys to express our condolences. My Mother and I drove to the funeral home in LA to view Gordon before the services.  Many years later, I met Helen Gordon, remarried, who was in the clothing business with her husband.  When I told her who I was she grabbed and hugged me, then introduced one of her sons, now an adult, who was also working in the business.  I passed several Ascot Programs on to my son that I had saved.  I have told him to save them in good condition as they are likely to now be collectors items of some value.  

I wish I could find the pictures I had of Al Gordon, but haven't located them so far. 

No doubt you have guessed that I must be pretty well along in years.  I turned 90 last December. 

Keep up the good work on preserving Old Ascot records. 

Maurice Holladay
Pacific Grove, CA 

Thanks Maurice! 

Lawrence Ray Weishaar (September 9, 1890- April 13, 1924) was a Class A Racing  Champion in the 1910s and 1920s.  He rode for the Harley Davidson  "Wrecking Crew" and helped to popularize the nickname "hog" in reference to Harley-Davidson by carrying the team's mascot, a small pig, around  on victory laps.
 

His Early Years
Lawrence Ray Weishaar was born on September 9, 1890 in Oklahoma; he grew up in Wichita, Kansas.  His father died when he was only 9 years old, leaving him and his mother with little to live on.  Weishaar looked for work to  support the family, and as a teenager he got a job with Bell Telephone.  He saved up enough money to buy himself a motorcycle, which was at the time, the cheapest form of transportation.

His Racing Career 

Weishaar began racing the half-mile circuits of various county fairs around  Kansas between 1908 and 1910.  He earned the nickname "Kansas Cyclone"  and subsequently won the Kansas State Championship two years in a row.  The second time around on the championship race, one of the handlebars on his motorcycle broke off, yet he managed to win the race (but he did not break his previous record).
 

Weishaar was racing on the national circuit by 1914, with the national  event in Savannah, Georgia being his first big race.  He was forced to  drop out of the race on the 24th lap when his gas tank began leaking; at the time he was vying for the first place position.  In 1915, at the  Dodge City 300, a malfunctioning spark plug caused him to lose, and he  also lost a 300-mile race at the Chicago Speedway due to his helmet  strap coming lose, but that same year he claimed victory in a 100 mile race in Pratt, Kansas.  The following article appeared in the September issue of The Harley-Davidson Dealer.

Ray Weishaar Hung on to his Helmet Four Laps With his Teeth
(Chicago Speedway, September 12, 1915) "In the 13th lap, however, his helmet became unfastened, Weishaar hung on to the strings with his teeth for four laps and then threw the helmet into the pits.
 

Chairman John L. Donovan of the F.A.M. competition [sic] committee and Referee Frank E. Yates saw the helmet go into the pits and  insisted on knowing to whom it belonged [sic]. There was considerable dispute for several laps as a result of their determination to make  Weishaar stop and put on his helmet again.
 

As Weishaar came around each lap in the lead, those of us who  where [sic] in the pits did out best to argue the officials out of their  idea of forcing Weishaar to make an extra stop but they were determined in their course and as a result we had to call Weishaar into the pits  in the 27th lap. This undoubtedly cost Weishaar the race." (The Harley-Davidson Dealer September 1915).  

Weishaar  was made a part of the Harley-Davidson factory team in 1916. That year  he came in third place at Dodge City, and he won the FAM 100-Mile Championship in Detroit. He became a dealer of Harley-Davidson motorcycles for three years after being given a dealership, but he returned to racing in 1919.
 

His greatest victory was in Indiana, in the Marion Cornfield Classic Road Race, which took place in 1920. He won the race, as well as beating the standing race record by 18 minutes.
 

The Harley-Davidson team's mascot was a small pig, which they would take around the track with them on victory laps. Weishaar was particularly fond of it, and many photographs exist of him and the pig. It is because of this mascot that Harley-Davidson motorcycles are called "hogs."
 

Weishaar  had a reputation as a cautious rider who often succumbed to the forces of bad luck. Many times he would be leading national events only to be forced to drop out to equipment malfunction. In 1923 he moved to Los Angeles after signing a contract to race at the newly built Legion Ascot Speedway.  

Tragic Death
On April 13, 1924, Weishaar was battling Gene Walker (who rode for the Indian factory). Johnny Seymour had drafted past both Walker and  Weishaar, which sent Weishaar's motorcycle into a high-speed wobble. The motorcycle went into a skid; Weishaar fought to save it, but before he could do so he hit the outside fence. Weishaar went through the wooden fence and wrecked. He was still conscious and no one thought him to be  seriously injured. His wife, Emma, drove him to the Los Angeles General Hospital, where he died in a matter of hours from his internal injuries.  He was 33 years old.
 

Response From the Racing Industry 

Weishaar's death, along with the death of Gene Walker two months later, caused the motorcycle racing industry to slow down the speeds of the bikes at the time. Smaller engine classes were created, but as with most racing sports the speeds began to climb again.
 

Recognition
Weishaar was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.  

Tragic Death  

On April 13, 1924, Weishaar was battling Gene Walker (who rode for the Indian factory). Johnny Seymour had drafted past both Walker and Weishaar, which sent Weishaar's motorcycle into a high-speed wobble. The motorcycle went into a skid; Weishaar fought to save it, but before he could do so he hit the outside fence. Weishaar went through the wooden fence and wrecked. He was still conscious and no one thought him to be seriously injured. His wife, Emma, drove him to the Los Angeles General Hospital, where he died in a matter of hours from his internal injuries.  He was 33 years old.   

Response From the Racing Industry 

Weishaar's death, along with the death of Gene Walker two months later, caused the motorcycle racing industry to slow down the speeds of the bikes at the time. Smaller engine classes were created, but as with most racing sports the speeds began to climb again.  

Recognition

Weishaar was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.