Erwin Rudolph Bergdoll (June 24, 1890 – March 21, 1965) was an American

racing 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 organise ...

who competed during the formative years of auto racing. He competed in

AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Airports * Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA) * Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA) Arts, entertainment, and me ...

-sanctioned Championship Cars as well as in the

American Grand Prize American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Racing activities

Bergdoll was born into a wealthy

brewing Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and #Fermenting, fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with Yeast#Beer, yeast. It may be done in a brewery ...

family. For a period of time his racing activities were managed by fellow Philadelphian

Willie Haupt William Edward Haupt (10 July 1885 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – 16 April 1966 Montgomery County ?, Pennsylvania) was an American racecar driver. He was the son of Herman Haupt (born in 1843 in Germany died in 1916 in Pennsylvania) and Emma ...

Personal life

Bergdoll, along with his younger brother Grover Cleveland Bergdoll, dodged the draft during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. While Grover escaped to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, Erwin Bergdoll was apprehended and spent three years in prison. A resident of

Haddon Heights, New Jersey Haddon Heights is a borough in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 7,495, an increase of 22 (+0.3%) from the 2010 census enumeration of 7,473, in turn a decline of 74 (− ...

, Bergdoll died on March 21, 1965, at

Cooper University Hospital Cooper University Hospital is a teaching hospital and biomedical research facility located in Camden, New Jersey. The hospital formerly served as a clinical campus of Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and the University of Medicine and Dentistry ...

at the age of 74."Erwin Bergdoll, 74; Draft Case Principal"
''

Courier-Post The ''Courier-Post'' is a morning daily newspaper that serves South Jersey in the Delaware Valley. It is based in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and serves most of Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester counties. The paper has 30,313 daily paid subscriber ...

'', March 22, 1965. Accessed August 14, 2024, via '' Newspapers.com''. "Erwin Bergdoll, who with his brother. Grover, was a principal in this country's most prominent World War I draft dodging case, died yesterday in Cooper Hospital. Bergdoll, 74,, of 304 7th ave., Haddon Heights, had lived a relatively quiet life in recent years, although a law suit instituted against him this year by his son, Erwin R. Jr., still is pending."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergdoll, Erwin 1890 births 1965 deaths Racing drivers from Philadelphia People from Haddon Heights, New Jersey Conscription in the United States Draft evaders Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government