On This Day, May 14, 1914
On this day in 1914, Hoosier speedster Erwin "Cannon Ball" Baker arrived in New York City after driving over 3,000 miles across the country on his Indian motorcycle. Baker’s run from San Diego to New York City in eleven and a half days shattered the previous transcontinental record set by Volney E. Davis in 1911 by almost nine days.
Prior to the record-breaking transcontinental run, he won one of the first motorcycle races at the newly-opened Speedway in 1909. NASCAR named Baker its first commissioner at its 1947 founding meeting, where he served until his death in 1960.
Photo of Baker riding atop his Indian motorcycle, courtesy of the IUPUI Indianapolis Motor Speedway Collection.
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