Carl Fisher and His Power Boat

By Sigur Whitaker
Carl Fisher ran a series of speed boat races in Biscayne Bay from March 19-21, 1925, including the Fisher-Allison Trophy race, the Chance Race, the Biscayne Bay Baby Race and the Dodge Memorial Trophy Race which was the first official sanctioning of a race by the American Power Boat Association in 1925. WMBF broadcasted the races from their studios in the Fleetwood Hotel.
 
For the Biscayne Bay Baby race, Fisher commissioned Ken Purdy to build eleven identical speed boats powered by identical engines. They were driven by eleven automobile racers with six heats, each for 12 miles, over two days. The racers and their boats were:
 
Ray Harroun, FULFORD BY THE SEA, # 1
          Tommy Milton, MIAMI BEACH #2
          L. L. Corum, CORAL GABLES, #3
Louis Chevrolet, HIALEAH #4
          Jerry Wonderlich, CORAL GABLES, #5
          Harry Hartz, ALADDIN HOUSE #6
          Phil Shafer, KEY LARGO CLUB #7
          Ira Vail, VENETIAN ISLES #8
Wade Morton, MIAMI SHORES # 9
          Peter DePaolo, ALTOS DE  #10
          Billy Knipper, BERNER PEASE CO. #11.
 
The point system used was 400 points for the first-place winner of a heat, and then additional points were given on a graduated scale. Jerry Wonderlich had a total of 1,013 points after the first day of racing. He was followed by: Louis Chevrolet with 885 points; Wade Morton with 852 points; L. L. Corum with 805 points; Ray Harroun with 802 points; Ira Vail with 670 points; Phil Shafer in seventh with 505 points; Tommy Milton in eighth with 482 points; Billy Knipper in ninth place with 361 points; Peter DePaolo in tenth with 340 points; and Harry Hartz with 325 points.
 
Jerry Wonderlich first place standing reflected his winning the second heat with the fastest time of the day, 20 minutes, 1 second. He finished third in the first heat and fourth in the third heat. Louis Chevrolet won the third heat. Wade Morton was in third place by winning the first heat. Immediately after this heat, the boat had a hole knocked in her and Morton was sitting in the water as the remainder of the boats finished. His boat was repaired, and he was able to participate, although he started a half lap down. He finished fifth in the second heat.
 
Only five of the Biscayne Babies finished the second heat primarily due to engine trouble.
 
Two of the Biscayne Babies were sunk during the afternoon. Billy Knipper’s boat, which finished second in the first heat, hit an obstruction in the water and sank off the Flamingo Dock. During the second heat, Peter DePaolo’s boat sprung a leak after leaving the course. He was picked up by a patrol boat and his boat was withdrawn from the third heat.
 
On the second day of racing, only eight boats started and six finished the fourth heat. Tommy Milton’s apparent first-place finish in the first heat was disallowed by the judges because he cut a buoy during the second lap of the race. The judges required that he complete an additional lap. Despite having to go an extra mile and a half, he finished sixth in the heat. This handed the victory in this lap to Wade Morton. Jerry Wonderlich’s boat sprang a leak on the sixth lap. Peter DePaolo was forced to drop out of this heat because of engine trouble.
 
Tommy Milton dominated the field in the fifth heat. Wade Morton’s engine developed trouble and he dropped out at the first turn.
 
Only seven boats lined up for the sixth and final heat of the two-day race. Peter DePaolo easily won this heat. His time was 20 minutes, 3 seconds, which was the fastest of the day. Tommy Milton’s boat struck a submerged object during the fourth lap and sank.
 
At the end of the two days, Louis Chevrolet showed his mettle by winning the trophy with 1,654 points. L. L. Corum finished second in points with 1,643 points and Ira Vail was third with 1,611 points. Of the eleven boats which began the Biscayne Babies races, these three were the only ones to finish. The other eight boats either developed engine trouble or sank. The remaining standings were Tommy Milton in fourth with 1,472 points, Jerry Wonderlich in fifth with 1,465 points, Wade Morton in sixth with 1,441 points, Ray Harroun in seventh with 1,287 points, Hartz & Knipper in the Aladdin Houses were eighth with 1,119 points, Peter DePaolo in ninth with 1,101 point, Phil Shafer in tenth with 974 points, and Billy Knipper in eleventh with 361 points. Knipper replaced Harry Hartz on the second day of racing as his boat was out of commission.