1960 Gold Cup Remembered

By Fred Farley - Unlimited Hydroplane Historian

For the first--and only--time in its history, the APBA Gold Cup--scheduled for November 12-13--was declared “No Contest” in 1960 due to inclement weather. High winds churned Lake Mead into an unraceable froth after the completion of only one preliminary heat.

Tragically, one of the most competitive fields in the history of Unlimited racing was assembled to do battle in 1960. These included Bill Muncey in MISS THRIFTWAY, Ron Musson in HAWAII KAI III, Don Wilson in MISS U.S. I, Mira Slovak in WAHOO, Bill Cantrell in GALE V, Rex Manchester in MISS SPOKANE, Bill Brow in MISS BARDAHL, Bob Hayward in MISS SUPERTEST II, Dallas Sartz in MISS SEATTLE TOO, and Russ Schleeh in NITROGEN TOO.

Heat 1-A saw Sartz and MISS SEATTLE TOO take first-place at 105.277 miles per hour, followed by Manchester in MISS SPOKANE at 103.550. The “Pink Lady” HAWAII KAI III led most of the way but was slowed down near the finish by mechanical difficulties. Norm Evans was third in NITROGEN, followed by Musson and the sputtering KAI. Bob Gilliam and KOLroy I failed to finish.

Heat 1-B had to be stopped on lap four and was not re-rerun. Cantrell suffered injuries when GALE V flipped while running in second position behind the front-running Hayward and MISS SUPERTEST II. At the time of the stoppage, Schleeh and NITROGEN TOO were running third, followed by Chuck Hickling in TEMPEST and Wilson in MISS U.S. I.

Heat 1-C, had it been run, would have comprised Muncey in MISS THRIFTWAY, Slovak in WAHOO, Brow in MISS BARDAHL, Bob Larsen in KOLroy, and Ray Crawford in $ BILL.

The sponsoring Lake Mead Cup Association had received bad reviews for its handling of the Lake Mead Cup Regatta in 1959. There were those in the sport who questioned the organization’s ability to stage a major event such as the Gold Cup. Moreover, MISS BURIEN pilot Hickling questioned whether or not the announced prize money package for the 1960 Gold Cup in fact existed.

According to one report, the race might possibly have been completed on Monday, November 14. But the weather report indicated that the predicted wind conditions would only have been favorable for racing at around 6:00 AM. This option was rejected by a number of teams with commercial sponsors on the grounds that few spectators would likely be in attendance at that hour of the morning.

The zero result at Las Vegas in 1960 proved to be an embarrassing black eye for Unlimited racing. There is no question that that the sport’s credibility took a major hit.

Not for twenty-six years--in 1986--would Unlimited hydroplanes again churn the waters of Lake Mead.