"Farmer" Bill Endicott (November 5, 1876 – June 7, 1944) was an American

racecar driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organis ...

. He raced in three

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

races in the 1910s. Endicott raced on several IMCA circuits in the United States and Canada in the 1910s and 1920s.

Biography

He was born on November 5, 1876 in Montgomery,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. He was the older brother of

Harry Endicott Harry Endicott (June 16, 1881 – September 5, 1913) was an American racecar driver. He was the brother of fellow Indianapolis 500 participant "Farmer" Bill Endicott. He was especially good at road course racing. Endicott was killed in a di ...

. He died on June 7, 1944 in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

, Indiana.

Racing career

Endicott was working as a farmer until his racing career began in 1902. He started 14 events in late 1909 to early 1910; he won ten of them and finished second in the other four. He won nine more races by the end of 1910. Endicott set a 24 hour endurance record at Brighton Beach Dirt Track by completing in 18 hours. He also set record times for 5, 10, 25, 75, and 100 miles at

Beverly Hills Speedway The Beverly Hills Speedway (also called the Los Angeles Speedway) was a wooden board track for automobile racing in Beverly Hills, California. It was built in 1919 on of land that includes the site of today's Beverly Wilshire Hotel, just ou ...

. Endicott raced throughout the United States at dirt tracks with wins at Atlanta (GA), Louisville (KY), and Long Island (NY). In 1912, he finished fifth in the

. Endicott also had dirt wins at Old Orchard (ME), Fond du Lac (WI),

Milwaukee Mile The Milwaukee Mile is a oval race track in the central United States, located on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Its grandstand and bleachers seats approximately 37,000 spectator ...

, and Peoria (IL). He retired from racing after his brother

Harry Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

died in September 1913. He missed the adventure of racing and returned in 1915. Endicott did a

publicity stunt In marketing, a publicity stunt is a planned event designed to attract the public's attention to the event's organizers or their cause. Publicity stunts can be professionally organized, or set up by amateurs. Such events are frequently utilize ...

for

Buick Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...

where he drove a Buick car at 1 mile per hour for the entire length of Capital Avenue to demonstrate that the automobile would ride smoothly at any speed. He won an early season

American Automobile Association American Automobile Association (AAA – commonly pronounced as "Triple A") is a federation of motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a privately held not-for-profit national member association and service organization with over 60 m ...

Contest Board race at

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

. Endicott raced the rest of the season on the

International Motor Contest Association The International Motor Contest Association (IMCA) was organized in 1915 by J. Alex Sloan, and is currently the oldest active auto racing sanctioning body in the United States. IMCA is currently headquartered in Vinton, Iowa, and features s ...

(IMCA) circuit. He took wins at Detroit (MI), two at Lincoln (NE), and Hutchinson (KS). In 1916, he won races at Zanesville (OH), Hutchinson, Ottawa (KS), Shreveport (LA), Detroit, Lincoln, and Helena (MT). In 1917, Endicott won races at El Dorado (KS), two at Salina (KS), Beatrice (NE), Hiawatha (KS), Ottawa (KS), Wichita (KS), and two at Fargo (ND). He had some wins in Canada in 1918: Calgary (AB), River Park (MB) as well as United States wins at Lincoln, Topeka, and Hutchinson. In 1919, he took Canadian wins at Edmonton (AB) and Weyburn (SK) and United States wins at Muskogee (OK), and Dallas (TX). Endicott started the

Roaring Twenties The Roaring Twenties, sometimes stylized as Roaring '20s, refers to the 1920s decade in music and fashion, as it happened in Western society and Western culture. It was a period of economic prosperity with a distinctive cultural edge in the U ...

in the IMCA Eastern circuit with wins at Fitchburg (MA) and Medford (MA) in 1920. In 1921, he won at Fitchburg, Lewiston (ME), and North Adams (MA). His last full season happened in 1922 and he won at Huron (SD) and two times at Sioux City (IA).

Life after racing

He returned to farming after his racing career ended. He also worked as a traffic cop. For a short time, Endicott ran an automobile dealership selling

Cole Cole may refer to: Plants * Cole crops of the genus ''Brassica'', especially cabbage, kale, or rape (rapeseed). People * Cole (given name), people with the given name Cole * Cole (surname), people with the surname Cole Companies *Cole Motor C ...

and

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

cars.

Awards

He was inducted into the

National Sprint Car Hall of Fame The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum is a Hall of Fame and museum for sprint car drivers, owners, mechanics, builders, manufacturers, promoters, sanctioning officials and media members. The museum is located in Knoxville, Iowa, the ho ...

on June 1, 2019 in Knoxville, Iowa. His award was accepted by his grandson, David Owens, of Marion, Indiana and his great grandson, John Owens of Mebane, North Carolina.

Indianapolis 500 results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Endicott, Bill 1876 births 1944 deaths Indianapolis 500 drivers People from Daviess County, Indiana Racing drivers from Indiana