| Erwin "Cannon Ball" Baker | |||||||
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 Baker in New York with hisIndian motorcycle after his 1912 international journey | |||||||
| Born | Erwin George Baker (1882-03-12)March 12, 1882 Dearborn County, Indiana, U.S. | ||||||
| Died | May 11, 1960(1960-05-11) (aged 78) Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. | ||||||
| Champ Car career | |||||||
| 1 race run over 1 year | |||||||
| First race | 1922Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis) | ||||||
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Erwin George "Cannon Ball" Baker (March 12, 1882 – May 10, 1960) was an Americanmotorcycle andautomobile racer and organizer in the first half of the 20th century. Baker began his public career as avaudeville performer, but turned to driving and racing after winning a dirt-trackmotorcycle race atCrawfordsville, Indiana, in about 1904.
Baker was also famous for his record-setting point-to-point drives, in which he was paid to promote the products of various motorcycle and automobile manufacturers. In all, he made 143 cross-country motorcycle speed runs totaling about 550,000 miles (890,000 km).
In 1908, Baker purchased anIndian motorcycle and began entering and winning local races. His most famous victory came in 1909 at the first race ever held at the newly builtIndianapolis Motor Speedway. Baker also raced at the1922 Indianapolis 500, placing 11th in aFrontenac. He became the firstNASCAR Commissioner in 1947. Baker was inducted into theIndianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame in 1981, theMotorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1989, and theAmerican Motorcyclist AssociationMotorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.
Baker was born inDearborn County, Indiana, possibly in the community ofWeisburg, in 1882.[1][2][citation needed] In January 1912, he left Indianapolis on a two-speed Indian and covered 14,000 miles (23,000 km) in three months, traveling throughFlorida, down toCuba andJamaica, and then toPanama.[3][4] He took a steamer up toSan Diego where he based himself for a while and from there he competed in several endurance runs in bothCalifornia andArizona. It was during this time that Baker decided he would attempt to break the transcontinental record. After a record-setting transcontinental drive in 1914, he received his nickname "Cannon Ball" from a New York newspaper writer who compared him to theCannonball Express train of theIllinois Central made famous byCasey Jones.[5]
Baker set 143 driving records from the 1910s through the 1930s. His first was set in 1914, riding coast to coast on an Indian motorcycle in 11 days. He normally rode to sponsor manufacturers, guaranteeing them "no record, no money".[6]
In 1915, Baker drove fromLos Angeles toNew York City in 11 days, 7 hours and fifteen minutes in aStutz Bearcat, and the following year drove aCadillac 8 roadster from Los Angeles toTimes Square in 7 days, 11 hours, and 52 minutes, while accompanied by anIndianapolis newspaper reporter. For ReVere, he drove a car that might have been the first work's prototype vehicle on a very extended reliability, endurance, and promotion run. The trip took about four months from June to September 1918, went over 16,234 miles and connected the 48 state capitals.[7] In 1924, he made his first midwinter transcontinental run in a stockGardner sedan at a time of 4 days, 14 hours, and 15 minutes. He was so impressed by the car that he purchased one thereafter.[8] In 1926, he drove a loaded two-ton truck from New York to San Francisco in a record 5 days, 17 hours, and 30 minutes, and in 1928, he beat the20th Century Limited train from New York toChicago. Also in 1928, he competed in theMount Washington Hillclimb Auto Race, and set a record time of 14:49.6 seconds, driving aFranklin.[9]
His best-remembered drive was a 1933 New York City to Los Angeles trek in aGraham-Paige model 57 Blue Streak 8, setting a 53.5 hour record that stood for 30 years until in 1964, using modernInterstate Highways, a tinyHillman Imp crossed the country in 48 hours. These drives inspired the laterCannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, better known as the "Cannonball Run", which itself inspired at least five movies and a television series.[10] In 1941, he drove a newCrosley Covered Wagon across the nation in a trouble free 6,517-mile (10,488 km) run to prove the economy and reliability characteristics of Crosley automobiles. Other record and near-record transcontinental trips were made in Model T Fords, Chrysler Imperials, Marmons, Falcon-Knights, and Columbia Tigers, among others.
Baker died of a heart attack atCommunity Hospital inIndianapolis, Indiana, on May 10, 1960, at age 78. He is buried atCrown Hill Cemetery and Arboretum in Section 60, Lot 150 (39°49′27″N86°10′35″W / 39.8242284°N 86.1764395°W /39.8242284; -86.1764395) in Indianapolis.[11]
In 2017, an Indiana state historical marker commemorating "Cannon Ball" Baker was installed by theIndiana Historical Bureau in front of Baker's home at 902 East Garfield Drive in Indianapolis. The home overlooksGarfield Park.[12]
In the 1970s,Car and Driver magazine reporterBrock Yates and editor Steve Smith conceived the idea of an unsanctioned, informal race across the country, replicating the 53.5-hour transcontinental drive made by Baker in 1933, as well as the more recent 1964 48-hour-dash of a tinyHillman_Imp#Motorsport. The New York to Los AngelesCannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, later shortened to the "Cannonball Run", was staged in 1971, 1972, 1975, and 1979. The stunt served as the inspiration for several Hollywood movies, such asCannonball!,The Gumball Rally,The Cannonball Run,Cannonball Run II, andCannonball Run III.
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