The One and Only Curly Mills

  "The One and Only Curly Mills" is the caption written by my father on this photo.  Curly was a very popular driver on the West Coast and a real pioneer in midget racing.  He raced in Detroit beginning in 1935. For a photo of Curly in action and information about his life and death, read on.

Midget racing was in its infancy in 1934.  The little cars were powered by outboard, motorcycle and a variety of other power plants.  Things changed in 1934 and Curly was in the middle of history. When Harry Miller went broke in 1933 Fred Offenhauser purchased the patterns and many of the machines from Miller’s shop. With backing of Earl Gilmore of the Gilmore Oil Company, Fred built the 1st 97 cu. in. Offy engine for midget racing.  The driver chosen to test it out was Curly Mills.  Mills won the first time out. Curly went on to win sixteen feature races in 1934.  Offenhauser produced five of the engines in 1934 and the rest is history. Combined with the Frank Kurtis chassis the combination would dominate midget racing into the 70s. Reference National Midget Racing Hall of Fame.

Curly came to Michigan in 1935 for the Midget Classic at the VFW Speedway (later Motor City Speedway but that is another story).  This looks like the same car from the 1936 photo that began this story and it is clearly not an Offy.  I am not sure what the story is on the #18 car but some of you may.

Curly Mills died on Christmas eve 1936, four months after sustaining severe injuries in a midget race in New York City on August 19, 1936. (One bio says the location is Madison Square Garden but reader Brian Pratt says it was the Madison Square Garden Bowl in Queens owned by the same family.) His fellow driver, Tony Willman drove Curly's car for the time he was still alive and gave all the money he earned to Curly's wife. 

This is Tony Willman. He died while racing at Thompson, Connecticut in October 1941.  My dad's note on him says "A grand guy".  Based on what he did for Curly's wife, it seems he certainly was.

Reference: Motorsport Memorial.

This post will be updated as new information becomes available.

Comments

[Brian Pratt]

I believe that the accident that ultimately took Curly Mills' life happened at a place called Madison Square Garden Bowl in Queens, not Madison Square Garden in NYC. As I understand it they were owned by the same people as I've seen one of the Patrick's names (big hockey family associated with the Rangers) sponsoring a race at the Bowl that year of 1935 -- just different locations.