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The
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History is made: How Pinewood Derby Car Racing started |
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Don Murphy’s idea, as stated in his quote above, was his idea for starting the Pinewood Derby. It began in the Management Club at a company called North American Aviation where he worked in 1953. Mr. Murphy wanted to create a Cub Scout activity he could do with his son. The idea of racing miniature cars came to him while thinking of his company sponsored Soap Box Derby races. "I'd made models of airplanes, cars, boats, and any number of other structures and remembered the pleasure I got out of doing it," he said. He asked the Management Club at North American Aviation to sponsor a miniature racing event for his Cub Scout pack that he had named a "pinewood derby." The club agreed to pay for the wood and other materials. Murphy designed
a miniature car that could be carved out of soft pinewood and wrote
the rules. "Pack 280C had seven dens and den mothers,"
remembers Murphy, "and totaled 55 Cub Scouts at the time. Originally
the block of wood in the kit was carved down in the forward third
to a kind of cockpit. We put the wood, wheels, and nails into a
brown paper sack with an assigned number. Some Cub Scout fathers
built a 31-foot race ramp with two lanes and a battery-run finish
line made from doorbells. Light bulbs would identify the winner." |
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Pinewood Derby Racing Caught on like a wildfire |
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The
derby was an instant success and for a time was copied, with the
Management Club's permission, by the Los Angeles County Department
of Recreation. Then word reached the national director of Cub Scouting
Service, O. W. (Bud) Bennett, who wrote Murphy: |
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Pinewood Derby Celebrates 50 years |
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Don
Murphy was Cubmaster of Pack 280C in the Los Angeles-area community
of Manhattan Beach when he came up with the concept and rules for
a father-son project that had Cub Scouts design, build, and race
miniature wooden cars. Fifty years later in 2003, Murphy, now a
vigorous 83 years old, was the guest of honor at several 50th anniversary
pinewood derby events in the Golden State. Little has changed in the pinewood derby car race since 1953. Since that time an estimated 43 million sons and fathers (mostly) have participated. Cub Scouts Pinewood Derby car racing has been adopted by the Girl Scouts, Awana Grand Prix, Royal Rangers, Kub Kar Rally, Shape N Race Derby and most recently WIRL (Woodcar Independent Racing League). |
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(Article was written by Joe Gargiulo of Pinewood Pro but parts were reproduced from The Founder and the Finder, By Barbara M. Wolcott, Scouting Magazine) |
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Council
President Gregg Noel (left) presents a citation to Don Murphy.Books |
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Pinewood Derby Car Racing History |
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