I3» 



The Driving Clubs of Greater Boston 



of these organizations was, apparently, in 

 holding interclub meets at Beacon Park a 

 couple of times each year. After a few years 

 these clubs ceased to exist. 



Nothing more was done in the forming of 

 driving clubs until January 25, 1899, when 

 the Gentlemen's Driving Club of Boston was 

 organized with the object of building a 

 $10,000 clubhouse at Readville track, and 

 the holding of matinee races at the same 

 place. The officers of that club were : Presi- 

 dent, Albert S. Bigelow ; vice-presidents, J. 

 Malcolm Forbes, Col. J. E. Thayer, George 

 E. Perkins ; treasurer, Frank G. Hall ; secre- 



T. LEE QUIMBY 

 Secretary G. D. C. 1899-1914 (inclusive), and Sec- 

 retary-Treasurer of League of Amateur 

 Driving Clubs 



tary, T. Lee Ouimby ; directors, George B. 

 Inches, E. C. Swift, Harry Burnett, Charles 

 Whittemore, John Shepard and B. F. Dutton. 

 An initiation fee of $100 was one of the mo- 

 tions passed at the meeting. This club 

 held matinee races in the Summer months up 

 to the close of 1913. 



Somerville was early in the field in the 

 revival of matinee clubs, catching the fever 

 through the construction of the Charles 

 River Speedway, which was expected to be 

 opened in the Summer of 1899. In January, 

 of that year, it was organized, with the fol- 

 lowing list of officers : President, W. F. Al- 

 meder ; vice-president, George M. Davis ; 

 secretary, H. B. Furlong; treasurer, H. W. 

 Litchfield ; directors, L. H. Brown, R. D. 

 Wentworth, Fred Preston, Bard Palmer and 

 William Barstow. Though the Somerville 



Driving Club started out with brilliant pros- 

 pects, yet only for a few years did it survive, 

 internal dissension being the reported cause 

 of its dropping out of existence. 



Another club among the list of those that 

 have since outlived their usefulness, was the 

 Shawmut Driving Club, which was instituted 

 by the business men of the South End Dis- 

 trict of Boston on March 15, 1899. Follow- 

 ing the election of officers a petition was 

 opened asking the Boston Park Commission- 

 ers to set aside a strip of ground on the 

 southerly side of Franklin Field to be used 

 for a speedway. The officers of the club 

 were : President, E. A. Pickard ; vice-presi- 

 dent, Charles B. Wooley; treasurer, A. G. 

 Robinson ; secretary, A. L. Stark ; directors, 

 A. G. Robinson, 'E. A. Pickard, M. A. 

 Nevens, B. W. Stark, A. W. Davis, H. A. 

 Haven and A. L. Stark. The club started 

 with the membership of about eighty, but 

 with the organization of the Dorchester 

 Driving Club a few months later, the active 

 members of the Shawmut concluded that they 

 could better aid in getting a speedway at 

 Franklin Field by joining with the larger and 

 stronger, though younger, club in Dorches- 

 ter and, therefore, they abandoned the Shaw- 

 mut Driving Club. 



It was the same year, too, that the 

 Jamaica Plain Driving Club was formed. 

 Outside of holding a few matinees, and some 

 of its members racing their horses in the 

 Electric Light meets at Combination Park, 

 the club never amounted to a great deal. 



A little different from the driving clubs 

 mentioned was an organization formed on 

 December 2, 1898, called the Boston Road 

 Drivers' Association ; the object being to 

 keep in good condition the Beacon Street 

 boulevard for sleighing, and that the associa- 

 tion appoint a committee to meet the Metro- 

 politan Park Commissioners and confer on 

 the racing and driving rules, to be enforced 

 when the Charles River Speedway, then un- 

 der construction, was completed. The dues 

 were fixed at $5, and Randolph K. Clarke 

 was elected secretary and treasurer. 



In this connection it is well to state that 

 the Charles River Speedway was opened to 

 the public on September 11, 1899. It is a 

 matter of history that when Superintendent 

 John Gilmarj threw open the gates a race 

 was on between several of the well known 

 drivers of Boston to be the first to drive a 

 horse over the speedwav. Randolph K. 

 Clarke, with Randolph K., took the lead 

 closelv followed by Tames Doolev with War- 

 ren F., just behind them was C. H. Belledeu 

 driving Kentucky Star, and then E. H. 

 Pritchard close up with Alvin Swift. Mr. 



