The Glidden Tours, also known as the National Reliability Runs, were promotional events held during the automotive Brass Era by the American Automobile Association (AAA) and organized by the group's chairman, Augustus Post. The AAA, a proponent of safer roads, acceptance of the automobile, and automotive-friendly legislation, started the tour to promote public acceptance and bring awareness of their goals.[1]
The original Glidden Tours were held from 1904[2] to 1913. They were named after Charles J. Glidden, a financier and automobile enthusiast, who presented the AAA with a trophy first awarded to the winner of the 1905 tour.
In 1906, the Glidden Tours were the first motor race to use a checkered flag to indicate the end of the race: Sidney Walden divided the courses into sections; the time check at the end of each section was performed by race officials called "checkers." These checkers used checkered flags to identify themselves.[3]
The first two days of the 1907 edition of the Glidden Auto Tour were marred by a number of accidents that resulted in the death of one man, Thomas J. Clark, lifelong friend and partner of John K. Stewart, and four other persons severely injured. While trying to make a sharp angle in the road preparatory to crossing a bridge, about two miles east of Bryan, Ohio, Mr. Clark lost control of his Packard that jumped over an embankment. The car turned over and he was crushed between the steering wheel, suffering several ribs broken and serious internal injuries, from which he succumbed four days later at Bryan hospital. It is believed that Mr. Clark was demonstrating the Stewart speedometer on the 1907 Glidden Auto Tour.[4]
At the turn of the century automobile travel was difficult as the road systems around the world were generally not well suited for the horseless carriage.
To bring more awareness and sponsorship to the event, the AAA announced that the tour would be a "reliability and endurance" tour, a type of road rally. This attracted automobile manufacturers who competed to test their vehicles and use the events for advertising.
The tours were gruelling events: cars broke down, were damaged by accidents, and encountered nearly impassable roads. Drivers and teams did repairs on the run and helped out other drivers having difficulties.
The tours went several hundred miles in the US and occasionally into Canada with time limits between check points and a point scoring system to determine a winner of each event. The time limits caused some problems with the inhabitants of where the tour traveled through as autos scared horses, caused personal and property damage and sometimes appeared to not care.
Revival
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The Glidden Tours were revived in 1946 by the Veteran Motor Car Club of America (VMCCA) and have continued since with antique cars traveling premarked routes and stopping in local towns to show off their vehicles, many people dressed in period costume. Original founder Augustus Post participated in every Glidden Tour until his death in 1952. In 1954, Dr. Jay Rice Moody was given the Col. Augustus Post Memorial Award by the AAA in recognition for his role in reestablishing the Glidden Auto Tours, and maintaining the spirit of the original tours as founded by Post.[5][failed verification]
The silver Glidden trophy is still presented to the winner of the event.
References
edit- ^ "Auto Cup Race for America". The Inter Ocean. February 10, 1904. p. 5. Archived from the original on August 6, 2017. Retrieved June 14, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Glidden Tour". Archived from the original on 2016-04-28. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Marshall, Tim (2017). A flag worth dying for : the power and politics of national symbols. New York: Scribner. p. 262. ISBN 9781501168338. OCLC 962006347.
- ^ "Motorsport Memorial -". Archived from the original on 2022-02-28. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
- ^ "Dr. Moody gets Special Award for Glidden Tours". The Newport Daily News=October 1, 1954. p. 19. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
- Glidden Auto Tour History Archived 2013-03-01 at the Wayback Machine, from the AAA website
- Birth of the Glidden Tour Revivals Archived 2004-12-21 at the Wayback Machine, an August 2003 article from an AACA/VMCCA chapter website
External links
edit- Color photo of Glidden Trophy in the Antique Automobile Club of America Photo Gallery
- 1908 Glidden Tour Legs with approximate route charted (on modern roads that didn't exist in 1908) on Google Maps
- Film from a 1964 Glidden Tour Archived 2017-01-29 at the Wayback Machine Alexander Film Co. Archive has a series of videos featuring the 1964 Glidden Tour "Pikes Peak or Bust"
- New York Public Library. Item related to Glidden Tour
- Library of Congress. Items related to Glidden Tour Archived 2016-03-05 at the Wayback Machine
