Champion is an American brand of spark plug.

History

Founding and early history

Albert Champion Company was founded by Albert Champion in June 1905 in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

's South End, in the landmark

Cyclorama Building Cyclorama Building may refer to: * Cyclorama Building (Boston), built in 1884 in Boston, Massachusetts * Atlanta Cyclorama & Civil War Museum, built in 1885 in Atlanta, Georgia *Cyclorama Building at Gettysburg The Cyclorama Building at Gettysb ...

, to import French electrical parts, including Nieuport components. Champion presided as president of the Albert Champion Company with partners Frank D. Stranahan as treasurer and younger brother Spencer Stranahan as clerk. By 1907, The Albert Champion Company was manufacturing porcelain spark plugs with the name Champion stamped on the side, Robert Stranahan, the youngest of the Stranahan brothers, finished his classes at Harvard, ahead of his class of 1908, and went to work in the stockroom. Champion spark plugs ad in 1947 - E O Shoemaker Hudson - Matchbook Cover - Allentown PA (cropped)

Champion spark plugs ad in 1947 - E O Shoemaker Hudson - Matchbook Cover - Allentown PA (cropped)

Champion was not happy in his job because he had no control over his work. In 1908, he went to see

William C. Durant William Crapo Durant (December 8, 1861 – March 18, 1947) was a leading pioneer of the United States automobile industry and co-founder of General Motors and Chevrolet. He created a system in which a company held multiple marques – each s ...

of the Buick Motor Co. Durant asked to see some of his prototypes. Buick at that time was using Rajah spark plugs. Durant thought they could manufacture spark plugs to Champion's design cheaper than buying them from Rajah, and set Champion up in a workshop in Flint, Michigan. Champion went to work producing spark plugs to be used in Buick automobiles. Champion and Durant formed another company with the Champion name, "Champion Ignition Co." that very shortly later, the Stranahan brothers from ("Champion Spark Plug Co.") informed them they could not use the name "Champion" as they had it trademarked. Later that year, the name of second company founded by Durant and Champion was changed to "AC Spark Plug" to reflect Albert Champion's initials. In 1910, the company moved to

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

to be close to the Willys-Overland Auto Company. In 1931, Champion introduced its first suppressor-type spark plugs. It used a carbon-based resistor to reduce the effects of ignition noise on radio waves.2015 Champion Master Catalog, p. 826. http://www.fme-cat.com/catalogs.aspx

"Coso artifact" discovery

On February 13th, 1961 two

geode A geode (; ) is a geological secondary formation within sedimentary and volcanic rocks. Geodes are hollow, vaguely spherical rocks, in which masses of mineral matter (which may include crystals) are secluded. The crystals are formed by the fill ...

prospectors discovered a metal artifact encased in hard clay near the town of Olancha,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. The artifact was dubbed " Coso artifact" due to alleged claims that there were fossils in the clay that were 500,000 years old, which would make the item an

out-of-place artifact An out-of-place artifact (OOPArt or oopart) is an artifact of historical, archaeological, or paleontological interest found in an unusual context, which challenges conventional historical chronology by its presence in that context. Such artifact ...

. The object turned out to be a Champion spark plug from the 1920s.

Following acquisition by Cooper Industries

In 1989, Champion was purchased by

Cooper Industries Cooper Industries was an American worldwide electrical products manufacturer headquartered in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1833, the company had seven operating divisions including Bussmann electrical and electronic fuses; Crouse-Hinds and CEAG ex ...

and is now a wholly owned brand of Federal-Mogul Corporation. Its main products are a line of spark plugs for a wide range of cars, trucks, SUVs,

racing In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific goa ...

and marine applications. Also included in the brand, depending on the regional market and brand history, are spark plug wires, wiper blades, batteries, oil filters, lighting, and glow plugs. Champion is also a longtime sponsor of various racing events, cars, and series including two series run under sanctioning by

IMSA The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida under the jurisdiction of the ACCUS arm of the FIA. It was started by John Bishop, a former executive direc ...

Gallery

File:Champion Spark Plugs, Toledo, Ohio. - DPLA - 56e6c37db07cb71eac3ca90ac0145924 (page 1).jpg, Champion Spark Plug Advertisement, 1914 File:Block Card 900 Upton Avenue - DPLA - 66d4bce3c573a929e7cbe84946dd6472.jpg, Champion Spark Plug Factory at 900 Upton Avenue, 1937 File:Block Card 900 Upton Avenue - DPLA - d88b07787749073015079b7b29af173b.jpg, Champion Spark Plug Factory at 900 Upton Avenue, 1937 File:Block Card 900 Upton Avenue - DPLA - 198036811a2c653a83de17a0ec2c9f2a.jpg, Champion Spark Plug Factory at 900 Upton Avenue, 1937 File:Block Card 900 Upton Avenue - DPLA - 50ec0bb2d40068a316d7d560adf366c8.jpg, Champion Spark Plug Factory at 900 Upton Avenue, 1937

Popular culture

A character, Cliff Booth, portrayed by

Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. ...

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensembl ...

's 2019 film '' Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'' wore a champion shirt, briefly causing it to become a fashion statement in 2019.

References

External links

* {{Toledo 1908 establishments in Ohio Auto parts suppliers of the United States Companies based in Toledo, Ohio Manufacturing companies based in Ohio Manufacturing companies established in 1908 Spark plugs