In 1905, Caspar Whitney, a co-founder of Outing magazine and one of the creators of collegiate football’s All-American Team, named Yale as the season’s “national champion” in college football. Four years previously, The (New York) Sun had named Harvard as the 1901 collegiate football champions. Although the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) was established in 1906, it first named national champions only in 1921, starting with track and field. Despite naming national champions in literally dozens of intercollegiate sports since then, the NCAA has not and still does not name a national champion in what is now the Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly known as Division I or Division I-A Football.

This, of course, has not stopped those in the sports world from naming national champions in collegiate football. Beginning with The Sun and Caspar Whitney at the turn of the 20th Century, roughly three dozen systems have endeavored to select the national champion in collegiate football. Several of these have used statistical data to retroactively select national champions all the way back to the very first season for collegiate football in the United States, 1869. In 1926, professor Frank Dickinson, of the economics department at the University of Illinois, created what seems to be the first mathematical system to determine the national championship, with the nod going to Stanford. The system devised by Dickinson attracted the interest of the coach at Notre Dame, Knute Rockne, who persuade the professor to apply the model to several previous seasons, with the result of Notre Dame becoming the retroactive 1924 national champion and Dartmouth the 1925 champion.

According to the listing of national championships provided by the NCAA, there are five colleges with claims to the national title for the 1926 season. The first is Alabama, with nine systems ranking it as the national champion: the Berryman (QPRS) System, which began in 1990; the Billingsley Report, 1970; the College Football Researchers Association, 1982 and 2009; Helms Athletic Foundation, 1941; National Championship Foundation, 1980; and, the Poling System, 1935. The school with the second high number of rankings, four, as the national champion was Stanford: the Dickinson System, 1926; Helms Athletic Foundation, 1941; National Championship Foundation, 1980; and, the Sagarin Ratings, 1978. Navy was selected by two systems as the 1926 national champion: the Houlgate System, 1927; and, the Boand System or Azzi Ratem System, 1930. The other two schools with selections as the national champion for 1926 are: Lafayette, Parke Davis, 1933; Michigan, Sagarin, 1978.

While it quite probably simply a coincidence that after naming Stanford as the 1926 national champion that professor Dickinson then used his formula to create retroactive champions for the 1924 and 1925 systems, that the Contest Board of the American Automobile Association (AAA) seems to have done something similar in 1927 is quite striking. One could suggest, however, that it might not be quite as coincidental that several automotive journals and newspapers named champion drivers from 1909 to 1915.

While it is entirely possible that we may never know exactly what prompted members of the AAA Contest Board to create retroactive champion drivers in 1927, nor why they were apparently so readily accepted, the many efforts to create retroactive collegiate football national champions might suggest that this inclination in the sports world is not unheard of. If professor Dickinson’s model of 1926 was used to determine the possible national champions of 1924 and 1925, this was also the case with several of the other systems used to select a national championship team.

A year after the Dickinson System was introduced, 1927, Deke Houlgate, created another mathematical model to determine the national championship team, which was used to determine championship teams beginning with the 1885 season. First used in 1930, the system devised by William Boand, the Boand or Azzi Ratem System, created national champions for the 1919 to 1929 seasons. In 1933, Parke Davis, a former player for Princeton and coach at Wisconsin and several other colleges, created a listing of national champions that began with the 1869 season until the 1933 season. Another former player, Richard Poling, devised yet another rating system based upon a mathematical model beginning with the 1935 season, creating championship teams back to 1924.

I would suggest from this consideration of historical revisionism in American collegiate football that the revisionism undertaken by the AAA Contest Board and its national champions is not necessarily unique in the field of American sports history. It might also help in understanding why the retroactively-created champion drivers seems to have been accepted with few qualms, only the Chevrolet-Milton and Dingley-Robertson issues apparently drawing any attention over the decades.

Another Russ Catlin Conundrum

 In the program for the 1952 edition of the annual Memorial Day 500 mile race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Russ Catlin introduced a listing of American Automobile Association (AAA) national champions that began with the year 1902, the year that the AAA was formed in Chicago. The formation of the AAA also resulted in the formation of the organization’s Racing Committee, the outcome of one of the tenets of the program establishing the AAA. In the article, Catlin creates several “unofficial” national champions of the AAA, beginning in 1902 with Harry Harkness as the first such champion driver.

According to Catlin, there were the records of four race meets during the 1902 season that could be found in the archives of the Racing Committee: Cleveland, Providence, Grosse Pointe (Detroit), and Toledo. According to Catlin, Harry Harkness, using a Mercedes, edged out Charles Shanks, who drove a Winton, for the “unofficial AAA National Championship title.” Thus, Harry Harkness was crowned as the first AAA champion driver, fifty years after the fact.

However, in a worksheet that Catlin apparently used to calculate the 1902 championship standings, one can actually see Catlin’s work. This worksheet, part of the Russ Catlin/Bob Russo collection of the Racemaker Archives in Boston, tells a slightly different story. Here are the points standings for 1902 as found on the worksheet:

1. Charles Shanks, 36 points
2. Alex Winton, 32 points
3. Harry Harkness, 26 points
4. L.P. Mooers, 24 points
5. Barney Oldfield, 20 points
6. Percy Owen, 16 points
7. W. Hawkins, 10 points
8. Tom Cooper, 8 points
9. H.F. Brown, 6 points
10. Buckman, 6 points
11. Carl Fisher, 6 points

Although I was quite tempted to attempt to see if I could replicate the scoring that Catlin came up with for his points for 1902, I thought it was simply a waste of time and effort, there really not being any rational basis for doing so. Not that it matters, of course, given that this is simply one of a number of champion drivers that created from whole cloth from his imagination, but whether Catlin’s math was highly suspect or simply that he wanted Harkness to be the champion driver regardless of the math, either way, there remains the fact that the AAA Racing Committee did not – nor anyone else for that matter – name a champion driver in 1902.

Catlin states that thanks to his success in match races, Barney Oldfield was recognized as the unofficial AAA national champion in 1903. With the exception of one year, however, the winner of the Vanderbilt Cup was also the winner of the AAA national championship, unofficially, of course.

Here is the listing of the Russ Catlin “Unofficial” champion drivers of the AAA from 1902 to 1908:

1902 – Harry Harkness

1903 – Barney Oldfield

1904 – George Heath

1905 – Victor Hemery

1906 – Joe Tracy

1907 – Eddie Bald

1908 – Louis Strang

It should be noted that Russ Catlin did not merely select a champion driver for each season, but did so on a points system. Really. For the 1903 through 1908 seasons, Catlin, with one exception, of course, does provide points for each season’s national championship.

 

1903

Catlin does not provide any information regarding the events that may have been included in his imaginary AAA national championship.

1. Barney Oldfield, 276 points
2. Henri Page, 128 points
3. Harry Cunningham, 59 points
4. Tom Cooper, 52 points
5. Peter Schmidt*, 48 points
6. Joe Tracy, 42 points
7. Grosso, 42 points
8. Earl Kiser, 38 points
9. William Graham, 32 points
10. LaRoche, 32 points

* It is actually Charles Schmidt, not Peter Schmidt, an error Catlin also repeats in 1904.

 

1904

Apparently, Catlin made some sort of adjustment in his calculations for the points for the Vanderbilt Cup, along with what might be considered as something of a presentist adjustment to the results, given that recognition was only given by those to those finishing the full distance of an event. But, then again, such trifles did not seem to ever bother Catlin and his oft-overworked imagination.

1. George Heath, 768 points
2. Albert Clement, 614.4 (612.8) points
3. Herbert Lytle, 597.6 (588.2) points
4. Peter Schmidt, 460.8 (467.6) points
5. A.L. Campbell, 385 points
6. Barney Oldfield, 308.6 (246.6) points
7. Henri Tarte, 307.2 (306.4) points
8. William Luttgen, 230.4 (229.8) points
9. P. Satori, 200 points
10. H.L. Bowden, 197.6 points
11. Fernand Gabriel, 192 (191.5) points

It is unclear as whether the results of the Vanderbilt Cup itself or that its supposed large number of points tipped that balance, not that it really matters, it is simply make-believe. At any rate, the results of the Vanderbilt Cup and the final rankings by Catlin do raise an eyebrow.

 

1905

1. Victory Hemery, 566 points
2. George Heath, 452.8 points
3. Joe Tracy, 396.2 points
4. Vincenzo Lancia, 339.6 points
5. Paul Satori, 311.4 points
6. Ferenc Szisz, 283 points
7. Barney Oldfield, 244.6 points
8. Felix Nazzaro, 226.4 points
9. Walter Christie, 222.2 points
10. Fletcher, 200 points

 

1906

1. Joe Tracy, 683. 1 points
2. Herbert Le Blon, 623.7 points
3. Vincenzo Lancia, 605.2 points
4. Louis Wagner, 594 points
5. Harding, 415.8 points
6. Antoinne Duray*, 415.8 points
7. Walter Christie, 414.4 points
8. Albert Clement, 356.4 points
9. Frank Lawwell, 297 points
10. Camille Jenatzy, 297 points

Although Wagner won the Vanderbilt Cup, it was Joe Tracy that Catlin managed the points to become the AAA national champion for the season.

* This is actually Arthur Duray.

 

1907

1. Eddie Bald, 1,003 points

That is it for 1907, Eddie Bald.

 

1908

1. Louis Strang, 2,386.6 points
2. Herbert Lytle, 1,716 points
3. George Robertson, 1,215 points
4. Emanuel Cedrino, 1,184 points
5. Harry Michiner*, 887. 4 points
6. Al Poole, 867 points
7. Louis Wagner, 806 points
8. Harry Bourque, 804 points
9. Louis Bergdoll, 742.4 points
10. Bob Burman, 738 points

Given that the Briarcliff event in April and the Savannah events in November were events sanctioned by the Automobile Club of America, whose split from the AAA was anything but pleasant that year, one could raise questions regarding the points supposedly earned by Strang and Wagner towards the AAA national championship. Naturally, it is doubtful that Catlin let such trivial matters intrude upon his fantasies. This would also appear to be another occasion for which the winner of the Vanderbilt Cup did not emerge as the unofficial AAA champion driver.

* This was actually Harry Michener.

This would all be little more than a chuckle and simply another example of more make-believe at work in the development of yet more American champion drivers who never were had it not been for someone along taking this fantasy of Catlin’s seriously. Despite comments to the contrary, I have been unable to discover any evidence that the Contest Board accepted these 1902 to 1908 champion drivers that Catlin created as being official. While Russ Catlin might have convinced the Contest Board to drop Bert Dingley and replace him with George Robertson as the 1909 champion driver, while once again stripping Gaston Chevrolet of his rightfully-earned 1920 championship, replacing him once again with Tommy Milton, it seems that it never placed these supposed champion drivers among its other false champion drivers.

Unfortunately, for reasons that simply defy any modicum of logic or sense of history, the United States Auto Club (USAC) incorporated these Catlin creations into their listing of the other champion drivers, real and imagined, of the American Automobile Association. As late as its 1982 yearbook, USAC began its listing of national champions with Harry Harkness. This is an excellent example as to why there might be good reason to approach much of the written history of American champion drivers with great caution.

What if, I thought, one were to compose a listing of all the national champions of the American Automobile Association, real or imagined, along with those also named as champion drivers during those years? As it turned out, this is how the listing looked:

1902   Harry Harkness                               1903   Barney Oldfield

1904   George Heath                                   1905    Barney Oldfield, Victor Hemery

1906   Joe Tracy                                           1907    Eddie Bald

1908   Louis Strang                                    1909   Bert Dingley, George Robertson

1910    Ray Harroun, Ralph Mulford, Ralph De Palma

1911     Ralph De Palma, Harvey Herrick, Ralph Mulford

1912    Ralph DePalma, Teddy Tetzlaff, Bob Burman, Louis Disbrow, Joe Dawson

1913    Earl Cooper                                       1914    Ralph DePalma

1915    Earl Cooper, Eddie Rickenbacher, Gil Anderson, Dario Resta

1916    Dario Resta                                       1917    Earl Cooper

1918    Ralph Mulford                                  1919    Eddie Hearne, Howard Wilcox

1920   Gaston Chevrolet, Tommy Milton

1921    Tommy Milton                                1922    Jimmy Murphy

1923    Eddie Hearne                                   1924    Jimmy Murphy

1925    Peter DePaolo                                  1926    Harry Hartz

1927    Peter DePaolo                                  1928   Louis Meyer

1929    Louis Meyer                                      1930   Billy Arnold

1931    Louis Schneider                               1932    Bob Carey

1933    Louis Meyer                                     1934    Bill Cummings

1935    Kelly Petillo                                      1936    Mauri Rose

1937    Wilbur Shaw                                     1938   Floyd Roberts

1939    Wilbur Shaw                                     1940   Rex Mays

1941    Rex Mays                                           1942-45  No Racing: World War II

1946    Ted Horn                                           1947    Ted Horn

1948   Ted Horn                                           1949    Johnnie Parsons

1950    Henry Banks                                   1951    Tony Bettenhausen

1952    Chuck Stevenson                             1953    Sam Hanks

1954    Jimmy Bryan                                   1955    Bob Sweikert

For the period from 1902 to 1920, I then decided to assign the origin or source of each season’s champion driver. In those cases when there were several sources, I then selected the earliest publication date for a source naming that champion. That led to some interesting sources being listed, along with some instances where another source might have been more familiar to some. Here is that listing:

1902   Harry Harkness (Russ Catlin)

1903   Barney Oldfield (Russ Catlin)

1904   George Heath (Russ Catlin)

1905    Barney Oldfield (AAA)

1905    Victor Hemery (Russ Catlin)

1906   Joe Tracy (Russ Catlin)

1907    Eddie Bald (Russ Catlin)

1908   Louis Strang (Russ Catlin)

1909   Bert Dingley (Motor Age)

1909   George Robertson (Russ Catlin)

1910    Ray Harroun (Motor Age)

1910    Ralph Mulford (Motor Age)

1910    Ralph De Palma (The Horseless Age)

1911     Ralph De Palma (The Automobile)

1911     Harvey Herrick (Motor Age)

1911     Ralph Mulford (Arthur Means)

1912    Ralph DePalma (Motor Age)

1912    Teddy Tetzlaff (Los Angeles Times)

1912    Bob Burman (New York Times)

1912    Louis Disbrow (The Horseless Age)

1912    Joe Dawson (The Horseless Age)

1913    Earl Cooper (Motor Age)

1914    Ralph DePalma (The Horseless Age)

1915    Earl Cooper (The Horseless Age)

1915    Eddie Rickenbacher (The Horseless Age)

1915    Gil Anderson (Motor Age)

1915    Dario Resta (MoToR)

1916    Dario Resta (AAA)

1917    Earl Cooper (Arthur Means)

1918    Ralph Mulford (Arthur Means)

1919    Eddie Hearne (Motor Age)

1919    Howard Wilcox (Arthur Means)

1920   Gaston Chevrolet (AAA)

1920   Tommy Milton (Arthur Means)

I then added the other possible contemporary sources, whether a publication, an individual or an organization, that was in agreement with the cited source regarding that season’s champion driver. I also allowed for the naming of multiple champion drivers during a season by a source. In addition, I then added whether the American Automobile Association (AAA), the United States Auto Club (USAC), Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), or the INDYCAR organization recognized that champion driver. That resulted in this very interesting and even informative listing:

1902   Harry Harkness (Russ Catlin) (AAA, USAC)

1903   Barney Oldfield (Russ Catlin) (AAA, USAC)

1904   George Heath (Russ Catlin) (AAA, USAC)

1905    Barney Oldfield (AAA)

1905    Victor Hemery (Russ Catlin) (AAA, USAC)

1906   Joe Tracy (Russ Catlin) (AAA, USAC)

1907    Eddie Bald (Russ Catlin) (AAA, USAC)

1908   Louis Strang (Russ Catlin) (AAA, USAC)

1909   Bert Dingley (Motor Age) (Arthur Means, AAA)

1909   George Robertson (Russ Catlin) (AAA, USAC, CART, INDYCAR)

1910    Ray Harroun (Motor Age) (Arthur Means, AAA, Russ Catlin, USAC, CART, INDYCAR)

1910    Ralph Mulford (Motor Age) (New York Times)

1910    Ralph De Palma (The Horseless Age)

1911     Ralph De Palma (The Automobile)

1911     Harvey Herrick (Motor Age)

1911     Ralph Mulford (Arthur Means) (AAA, Russ Catlin)

1912    Ralph DePalma (Motor Age) (Chicago Tribune, The Horseless Age, Arthur Means, AAA, Russ Catlin, USAC, CART, INDYCAR)

1912    Teddy Tetzlaff (Los Angeles Times)

1912    Bob Burman (New York Times)

1912    Louis Disbrow (The Horseless Age)

1912    Joe Dawson (The Horseless Age)

1913    Earl Cooper (Motor Age) (The Horseless Age, Arthur Means, AAA, Russ Catlin, USAC, CART, INDYCAR)

1914    Ralph DePalma (The Horseless Age) Motor Age, MoToR, Arthur Means, AAA, Russ Catlin, USAC, CART, INDYCAR)

1915    Earl Cooper (The Horseless Age) (Motor Age, MoToR, Arthur Means, AAA, Russ Catlin, USAC, CART, INDYCAR)

1915    Eddie Rickenbacher (The Horseless Age) (Motor Age)

1915    Gil Anderson (Motor Age)

1915    Dario Resta (MoToR)

1916    Dario Resta (AAA)

1917    Earl Cooper (Arthur Means) (AAA, Russ Catlin, USAC, CART, INDYCAR)

1918    Ralph Mulford (Arthur Means) (AAA, Russ Catlin, USAC, CART, INDYCAR)

1919    Eddie Hearne (Motor Age)

1919    Howard Wilcox (Arthur Means) (AAA, Russ Catlin, USAC, CART, INDYCAR)

1920   Gaston Chevrolet (AAA)

1920   Tommy Milton (Arthur Means) (AAA, Russ Catlin, USAC, CART, INDYCAR)

I then eliminated, except for those years that the origin for a champion driver was the AAA, the original source for a champion driver. Where there was not a supporting person or organization for that champion, I eliminated that driver. That led to this listing:

1902   Harry Harkness (AAA, USAC)

1903   Barney Oldfield (AAA, USAC)

1904   George Heath (AAA, USAC)

1905    Barney Oldfield (AAA)

1905    Victor Hemery (AAA, USAC)

1906   Joe Tracy (AAA, USAC)

1907    Eddie Bald (AAA, USAC)

1908   Louis Strang (AAA, USAC)

1909   Bert Dingley (Arthur Means, AAA)

1909   George Robertson (AAA, USAC, CART, INDYCAR)

1910    Ray Harroun (Arthur Means, AAA, Russ Catlin, USAC, CART, INDYCAR)

1911     Ralph Mulford (AAA, Russ Catlin)

1912    Ralph DePalma (Chicago Tribune, The Horseless Age, Arthur Means, AAA, Russ Catlin, USAC, CART, INDYCAR)

1913    Earl Cooper (The Horseless Age, Arthur Means, AAA, Russ Catlin, USAC, CART, INDYCAR)

1914    Ralph DePalma (Motor Age, MoToR, Arthur Means, AAA, Russ Catlin, USAC, CART, INDYCAR)

1915    Earl Cooper (Motor Age, MoToR, Arthur Means, AAA, Russ Catlin, USAC, CART, INDYCAR)

1915    Eddie Rickenbacher (Motor Age)

1916    Dario Resta (AAA)

1917    Earl Cooper (AAA, Russ Catlin, USAC, CART, INDYCAR)

1918    Ralph Mulford (AAA, Russ Catlin, USAC, CART, INDYCAR)

1919    Howard Wilcox (AAA, Russ Catlin, USAC, CART, INDYCAR)

1920   Gaston Chevrolet (AAA)

1920   Tommy Milton (AAA, Russ Catlin, USAC, CART, INDYCAR)

I then compiled a listing of those champion drivers recognized in some form or fashion by the AAA, USAC, CART or INDYCAR. That resulted in this not entirely unfamiliar listing:

1902   Harry Harkness (AAA, USAC)

1903   Barney Oldfield (AAA, USAC)

1904   George Heath (AAA, USAC)

1905    Barney Oldfield (AAA)

1905    Victor Hemery (AAA, USAC)

1906   Joe Tracy (AAA, USAC)

1907    Eddie Bald (AAA, USAC)

1908   Louis Strang (AAA, USAC)

1909   Bert Dingley (AAA)

1909   George Robertson (AAA, USAC, CART, INDYCAR)

1910    Ray Harroun (AAA, USAC, CART, INDYCAR)

1911     Ralph Mulford (AAA)

1912    Ralph DePalma ( AAA, USAC, CART, INDYCAR)

1913    Earl Cooper (AAA, USAC, CART, INDYCAR)

1914    Ralph DePalma (AAA, USAC, CART, INDYCAR)

1915    Earl Cooper (AAA, USAC, CART, INDYCAR)

1916    Dario Resta (AAA)

1917    Earl Cooper (AAA, USAC, CART, INDYCAR)

1918    Ralph Mulford (AAA, USAC, CART, INDYCAR)

1919    Howard Wilcox (AAA, USAC, CART, INDYCAR)

1920   Gaston Chevrolet (AAA)

1920   Tommy Milton (AAA, USAC, CART, INDYCAR)