Ronald "Bon" Griffith MacDougall (or McDougall, August 4, 1901 in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

– December 11, 1970 in

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...

) was an American-based Canadian racing car driver and a founding member of the 13 Black Cats aerial stunt group, established in 1924.

Biography

One day in Los Angeles, an airshow was scheduled at the Burdette Airport and School of Aviation. When the performers did not show up, MacDougall, a part-owner of the airport, persuaded

Spider Matlock William Earnest "Spider" Matlock (June 30, 1901, St. Joseph, Missouri – January 27, 1936) was an American stuntman, stunt pilot, car racing promoter, driver and mechanic. Stunt flying One day, an airshow was scheduled at the Burdette Airport ...

and Ken Nichols, two friends who had come to watch the show, to help him. According to Nichols, after five minutes of instruction, the pair performed as wing walkers, with MacDougall flying the airplane. The burgeoning field of

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...

reached Hollywood, and stunt pilots were needed. In 1924, MacDougall, Nichols and Matlock formed a group called the Black Cats, later renamed the 13 Black Cats, to perform aerial stunts for movies. Each of the Black Cats was supposed to have a name that was 13 letters long, which is how MacDougall acquired the nickname "Bon". The group lasted five years, but eventually succumbed to increased safety regulations and cut-rate competition. MacDougall competed in the

1926 Indianapolis 500 The 14th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 31, 1926. Louis Chevrolet drove the Chrysler pace car for the start. Rain halted the race at lap 72, and officials waited for the track t ...

, driving a

Miller A miller is a person who operates a Gristmill, mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Mill (grinding), Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surname ...

car. He completed 19 laps before retiring due to a water leak. MacDougall won $512 in that race. According to the Internet Pinball Database, he designed five pinball games for the Pacific Amusement Manufacturing Company of Chicago and Bally Manufacturing Corporation in 1934 and 1935. He received several patents for pinball game features during this period. He became a US citizen in 1940.

Indy 500 results

References

External links

ChampCarStats

Internet Pinball Database
1901 births 1970 deaths Canadian racing drivers Racing drivers from Manitoba Canadian emigrants to the United States Sportspeople from Winnipeg Indianapolis 500 drivers {{Canada-autoracing-bio-stub

Biography

Indy 500 results

See also

References

External links