| Ralph DePalma | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DePalma in 1912 | |||||||
| Born | Raffaele De Palma (1882-12-19)December 19, 1882 Biccari,Apulia, Italy | ||||||
| Died | March 31, 1956(1956-03-31) (aged 73) South Pasadena, California, U.S. | ||||||
| Championship titles | |||||||
| Major victories Vanderbilt Cup (1912, 1914) Indianapolis 500 (1915) | |||||||
| Champ Car career | |||||||
| 100 races run over 23 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 4th (1916,1920) | ||||||
| First race | 1909Wheeler-Schebler Trophy (Indianapolis) | ||||||
| Last race | 1933 Syracuse 100 (Syracuse) | ||||||
| First win | 1909 Long Island Stock Car Derby, Class A (Riverhead) | ||||||
| Last win | 1921 25-mile Heat #1 (Beverly Hills) | ||||||
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Raffaele "Ralph" DePalma (occasionally speltDe Palma, December 19, 1882 – March 31, 1956) was an Americanracing driver who won the1915 Indianapolis 500. His entry at theInternational Motorsports Hall of Fame estimates that he won about 2,000 races.[1] DePalma won the 1908, 1909, 1910, and 1911 American AAA national dirt track championships[2] and is credited with winning 25American Championship car races.[3] He won the Canadian national championship in 1929.[2] DePalma estimated that he had earned $1.5 million by 1934 after racing for 27 years.[2] He is inducted in numerous halls of fame. He competed onboards anddirtroad courses and ovals.[3]
Born inBiccari,Apulia,Italy, DePalma's family, who was from the nearTroia, emigrated to theUnited States in 1891.[4] When he arrived in the US he was told that, because his father had become a naturalized US citizen, he was automatically a US citizen himself. It was not until March 1920 that is was revealed to him that his father had not completed the paperwork required. He applied for US citizenship and was granted it in August 1920.[5] As a young man he tried bicycle racing with mixed success, but at the age of twenty-two he began racing motorcycles before switching to the automobile dirt track racing circuit in 1909, the year that theAmerican Automobile Association established thenational driving championship.
DePalma was immediately successful in car racing. In 1911, DePalma won the firstMilwaukee Mile[6] Championship Car race. However, he is still remembered for the dramatic manner in which he lost the1912 Indianapolis 500. After leading the race for 196 of the 200 laps, hisMercedes cracked a piston and with only 2 laps remaining; he and his mechanic had to push the car across the finish line to take eleventh place.[3] At that time, only cars completing the full 200 laps received any prize money. This Mercedes remains on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum.
He went on to perform strongly that year,[1] but was almost killed in an accident on October 5 at the Grand Prize held in a road course in Milwaukee. After being impaled by a corn stalk, he was hospitalized for 11 weeks;[2] he recovered and was back to racing the following spring.
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In 1912 and again in 1914, DePalma won theElgin Trophy atElgin, Illinois[2] and in 1914 he scored what he called his greatest victory when he beatBarney Oldfield to capture theVanderbilt Cup on the roads ofSanta Monica, California.[3] He entered the1914 Indianapolis 500 and qualified, but withdrew before the race claiming he felt his engine could not survive the race.DePalma had been let go by theMercer Automobile Co. racing team in favor of Barney Oldfield.[1] In a Mercedes "Gray Ghost," he showed he was a master tactician in beating Oldfield's much faster car.[3] He ended 1914 by winning his second U.S. national driving championship.[1] The following year, 1915, he drove to victory at1915 Indianapolis 500 with a Mercedes 4.5 liter GP car, but became the subject of much controversy the following May, when he held out for appearance money to drive in the 1916 edition of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” which track owner,Carl G. Fisher refused, and DePalma did not run in the 500 race. All was forgiven by September, when the Indianapolis Motor Speedway held a special "Harvest Classic" event and an agreement was reached for the great driver to race one of the Speedway’s Peugeots.[7]
DePalma was an intense competitor but one of the most popular racers with his fellow drivers and the fans because of his good sportsmanship, a quality he displayed on and off the track. In June 1917 he lost toBarney Oldfield in a series of 10 to 25 mile match races at theMilwaukee Mile. On February 12, 1919, atDaytona Beach, Florida, he drove aPackard to a world speed record of 149.875 mph (241.200 km/h) over a measured mile (1.6 km).[3] International competition began following the adoption of the three liter engine limit in the U.S. andEurope in 1920. DePalma began the year driving for the French manufacturer,Ballot. His Ballot vehicle won the pole position for the 1920 Indianapolis race[8] and he led for many laps[8] but bad luck dogged him in the race (faulty bearings on the Ballot) and he did not finish.[8] However, DePalma did race his Ballot vehicle in the Elgin Road Race and won his third Elgin trophy in 1920. Then in 1921 DePalma traveled with other Americans toLe Mans to compete in theFrench Grand Prix. There, he finished second to theDuesenberg driven by fellow American,Jimmy Murphy. DePalma won the Canadian national championship in 1929.[3]
In 1923, he established the DePalma Manufacturing Company in Detroit to build race cars and engines for automobiles and aircraft.[citation needed]
DePalma later competed instock cars until he retired from racing in 1936.[1] In his career, he competed in 2,889 races in America and Europe and won 2,557, according to his Associated Press obituary that appeared in the Detroit Free Press on April 1, 1956.[2] He was an honorary referee for the Indianapolis 500, the last time in 1954.[3]
DePalma died at his home inSouth Pasadena, California, from cancer on March 31, 1956, at age 73.[2][9][10] He was interred in theHoly Cross Cemetery inCulver City, California.
DePalma had a small role in the 1920 Hollywood filmHigh Speed and in 1924 played the part of the Champion in an action/drama film written byWilfred Lucas titledRacing for Life. He also had a cameo inThe Cool Hot Rod (1953).
DePalma is the brother of Indianapolis 500 competitorJohn DePalma[11] and the maternal uncle of 1925 Indianapolis 500 winnerPeter DePaolo.[12]
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| Preceded by | Indianapolis 500 Winner 1915 | Succeeded by |
