Down Memory Lane: Indy 500 on Theatre Closed Circuit

[GeorgetownRoader]

I remember going to the Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA in late Fifties, or Sixties to see Indy 500 via closed circuit.

It was black and white, projected on a large screen. Very poor quality, very grainy.
They lost picture during pre-race, and occasionally during race. Bad stuff.

Any others experience this?

[Mackie]

Why was it bad, at the time there was only two other options, go to Indy and try and find a ticket, or listen on the radio. I am one who went to the theaters every year. Sometimes those outlets were hard to find. There was no place to call, or look to see where the race would be shown, if it wasn't advertised in your area, I always worried about that until I found a location. Living in Connecticut, one year we had to go to Springfield, Mass. to see it. As I recall there was a rain problem that year and we had to return for a second day.

One other thing I remember though, is the excitement I felt when the picture came on and you could see all the people milling around the cars before the start of the race.

Later, for about six years, I became part of the prerace activities and I didn't find it to be any more exciting, just different.

Looking back, it may have been "bad stuff" considering what we have today, but it was all we had. I cherish the memory.

On the two trips to Springfield I went with a fellow racer and mentor of mine, Eddie Flemke. On the first day, the true Memorial Day Monday, we were to race later that day in New York State. We parked our open "hailers" on the street outside the theater in Springfield while we went inside for the race. The two cars were open and uncovered but we never gave it a thought. It was a more peaceful and respectful World, maybe not as "advanced" as we are today, but in some ways better.

One other reason that I cherish that memory is because my friend Eddie is been gone now for over twenty years, he meant a lot to many of us, and made us all better people. Yep, seeing Indy in a theater was fine by me.

[ January 16, 2002: Message edited by: Mackie ]

[Mackie]

can these two posts be combined in some way?