[windowlicker]

....and this is Ed Elisian's spin at the third turn on lap one of the 1958 Indy 500 that triggered a fifteen car pile-up that would lead to the death of Pat O'Connor.

This is what he had to say when questioned with regards to what had happened during the race, ”I saw Rathmann shoot across at the crossover and I knew if he got in front there he’d be the devil to catch. So I stayed right on it thinking there was enough room to make it…then the car started going every which way and I knew I’d lost it”

Dick Rathmann who was hospitalised by the crash said in his hospital bed, “Now that I’ve had some time to cool off, I realize every race driver who was on that track, including myself, has done just what Ed did yesterday. He just didn’t use his head and got carried away…I don’t have any hard feelings toward him today."

Ed was suspended by the USAC, for what would be a matter of a few days and many in the racing community wanted nothing more to do with him.

Elisian always seemed to be involved in controversial incidents and was involved in the fatal accident involving Jim Davis during a sprint car race in 1958 but was cleared of guilt by the governing body.

But I like to think he should be remembered for stopping during the 1955 Indy to try to help Bill Vukovich, but I'm sure there are many different views out there.

[windowlicker]

Salt Walther's 1973 Indy 500 crash has received many posts over this thread and this photo is worthy of yet another one...

Salt's car touched wheels with Jerry Grant's after, I think it was shown by AlvinKarpis in an earlier post, he was touched by a car behind him. This launched Salt's McLaren Offy into the fencing, ripping off the front of the car, exposing the drivers legs and breaking open the fuel tanks. He suffered burns and badly damaged hands.

Walther later battled drug addiction and a ended up doing time in Ohio. He sadly died recently aged 65.

[Buford61]

He was a good friend of Vukovich and reportedly a spurned sutor to his widow Ester. I was a pre-teen at the time he was racing but I recall the stories of how much he was hated by other drivers. He was far far the most controversial driver of his time and while he has defenders, even they don't say he was a "gentleman."
---------------

Widely blamed for the accident, Elisian was suspended by USAC for the accident (reinstated a few days later), and was shunned by the racing community. Rumors spread that Elisian tried to lead the first lap in order to pay gambling debts owed to a syndicate.

My Dad used to tell of when he raced at the old Oakland Speedway of a... um let's say it was an altercation between he and Elisian. If Dad had his way, Elisian wouldn't have even been around to run Indy.

Unfortunately people hated Elisian.

I've only heard of one person that felt any sympathy for Ed Elisian - my mother. She and my dad went to many,many midwest races back in the fifties. A lot of what was discussed above was unspoken knowledge back then - my mom has told me that she felt sorry for him because everyone seemed to be against him, press, fans, etc. And yes, sad to say, she confirms the details of his death at Milwaukee.

My Dad also says the same...

He Was A Tough And Good Driver That Had A Gambling Problem!

From what my family historians tell me...he was initially blamed by some for Sweikert's crash, who was a very popular driver, and Elisian was not. That made him a scapegoat for anything. I actually felt sorry for the guy(Elisian).

from the Scalzo column, his love interest was none other than Vuky's widow, Ester. She was intruigued but ultimately declined his advances, and left him devastated.

Newspapers handled Elisian a lot like they handle things today. In doing research, I ran across items on him being arrested for bad checks and later for shoving a police officer and both items read along the lines of "Ed Elisian, the driver who triggered the massive fatal pile-up at this year's Indianapolis 500 that killed driver Pat O'Connor, was arrested today..."

I've probably talked with 10-15 people who actually knew Ed Elisian, and while 3 or 4 felt he was a waste most of them felt he was not as bad as some paint him, mostly misunderstood. Rather crude with a serious gambling addiction.

I read these stories that he "passed a few bad checks", and got arrested for some other stuff but he "wasn't a bad guy".

In my cursory and very informal Internet research, it has become obvious that Ed Elisian is seen as one of the black hats in American motorsport history. To hear commentators tell it, Elisian was very unpopular with other drivers in general, and that unpopularity turned into outright detestation following his role in the accident that took the life of Pat O'Connor in the 1958 Indy

Elisian was a charger of a driver, rather sullen; he didn't really like the media, and didn't get along well with most of the other drivers. He had huge gambling debts, and the mob was supposedly after him...I've heard that the debt was several hundred thousand dollars; and some drivers and officials thought this was affecting his judgement on the track. He borrowed money from some car owners, I think George Bignotti may have been one of them, but I'm not sure; and USAC worked out a deal with his "creditors" whereby all of his winnings would go to pay off his gambling debts.

He was hard to get to know, but those who were able to get close to him generally liked him; he wasn't really as bad a guy as the press made him out to be.

In some ways, he reminds me of Ernie Irvan in his early days, undoubtedly a gifted talent, but undisciplined.





Here are quotes I found on the internet forums. Take them with whatever number of grains of sat you want.

[Buford61]

Scrapbook 7

[Norwegian1]

Keep them scrapbooks coming Buford. Very interesting articles that I have never seen before

[windowlicker]

Originally Posted by Buford61 ↗

Here are quotes I found on the internet forums. Take them with whatever number of grains of salt you want.

Ed was certainly one of the most controversial drivers ever to take to the race track...a number of incidents took place during his career that brought criticism not only from the press but from his fellow drivers.

I feel that a lot of the 'incidents' he was involved in were racing accidents that he was used as a scapegoat for. It was interesting to view his move on Dick Rathmann, there's a very good quality colour video on You Tube. His move on the inside of turn three appears clean but perhaps too fast and too deep with cold tyres and a full fuel load. I can understand some of the criticism, a good man in Pat O'Connor was lost due to a rash move on the first lap of a 500 mile race, but the vilification and open hatred of Ed seemed harsh to say the least.

There are rumours that Ed had put a big wager on leading the first lap and this is why he was trying to force an early move on Dick but these are nothing more than rumour. It is worth remembering that Ed had qualified in second place for the race and clearly had the most competitive car he had ever had at the brickyard and he felt that he could have a chance to win his first race at the top level.

Perhaps not an all round gentleman then but stopping an undamaged race car to help a fellow driver should not be forgotten either...and a truely horrible death for a hard and determined racer.

These observations are just my humble opinion and its good that this site should have debate on it.

Ed took part in five Indy 500 races with a best result of 12th in 1957 and best qualifying of 7th the same year. Elisian's best result in 29 races was 3rd at Langhorne in '59.

[windowlicker]

Another Group S rally car, the Lada Eva S. The be-winged Soviet Union built beast had a 1861cc mid-mounted four-cylinder engine with a turbocharger. Strangely it was rear-wheel drive, but with the possibility of four-wheel drive for the future. One of the cars was used for a number of years by driver Stasys Brundza in Russian Lada Cup events.

[Buford61]

"Perhaps not an all round gentleman..."

Having grown up around a lot of them I think I could say there weren't very many 1950s race car drivers, in the USA anyway, that could be called "gentleman." Perhaps Sam Hanks and Duane Carter
and the older Rodger Ward but certainly not the younger one. They were a rough-and-tumble, crude, hard drinking, quick to fight bunch of misfits and as a young boy I thought they were cool as hell.

Their futures were highly uncertain and their life expectancy was often measured in a matter of months and they acted accordingly. They were the epitome of "eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we will die." From the perspective of 50 to 60 years later their activities and behavior is unfathomable. Having lived through it as a child and teenager I idolized them and cried when they died. Which they did practically every weekend. It's crazy that I wanted to be one of them and eventually did become one to some degree. But by the time I got there the safety had improved and I never scratched a finger. Had I not had a roll cage I would've been one of the death toll almost certainly.

[Buford61]

Scrapbook 8

[Buford61]

Scrapbook 9