Raffaele "Ralph" De Palma (December 19, 1882 – March 31, 1956) was an
Italian-American
Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, ...
racecar driving champion who won the
1915 Indianapolis 500. His entry at the
International Motorsports Hall of Fame
The International Motorsports Hall of Fame (IMHOF) is a hall of fame located adjacent to the Talladega Superspeedway (formerly Alabama International Motor Speedway) located in Talladega County, east central Alabama. It enshrines those who have co ...
estimates that he won about 2,000 races.
DePalma won the 1908, 1909, 1910, and 1911 American AAA national dirt track championships
and is credited with winning 24
American Champ car races.
He won the Canadian national championship in 1929.
DePalma estimated that he had earned $1.5 million by 1934 after racing for 27 years.
He is inducted in numerous halls of fame. He competed on
boards
Board or Boards may refer to:
Flat surface
* Lumber, or other rigid material, milled or sawn flat
** Plank (wood)
** Cutting board
** Sounding board, of a musical instrument
* Cardboard (paper product)
* Paperboard
* Fiberboard
** Hardboard, a t ...
and
dirt
Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty.
Common types of dirt include:
* Debris: scattered pieces of waste or remains
* Dust: a gener ...
road course
Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on publ ...
s and ovals.
Biography
Born in
Biccari
Biccari ( Pugliese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Foggia in the Apulia region of southeast Italy.
Main sights
* Historic centre
* Byzantine tower of Biccari
* Tower Tertiveri
* Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
...
,
Apulia
it, Pugliese
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,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, DePalma's family emigrated to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in 1893.
As a young man he tried bicycle racing with mixed success, but at the age of twenty-two he began racing motorcycles before switching to the automobile dirt track racing circuit in 1909, the year that the
American Automobile Association established the
national driving championship.
DePalma was immediately successful in car racing. In 1911, DePalma won the first
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 spectato ...
Championship Car race. However, he is still remembered for the dramatic manner in which he lost the
1912 Indianapolis 500. After leading the race for 196 of the 200 laps, his
Mercedes cracked a piston and with only 2 laps remaining; he and his mechanic had to push the car across the finish line to take eleventh place.
At that time, only cars completing the full 200 laps received any prize money. This Mercedes remains on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum.
He went on to earn the U.S. national driving championship that year,
but was almost killed in an accident on October 5 at the Grand Prize held in a road course in Milwaukee. After being impaled by a corn stalk, he was hospitalized for 11 weeks;
he recovered and was back to racing the following spring.
In 1912 and again in 1914, DePalma won the Elgin Trophy at
Elgin, Illinois
Elgin ( ) is a city in Cook and Kane counties in the northern part of the U.S. state of Illinois. Elgin is located northwest of Chicago, along the Fox River. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 114,797, the seventh-large ...
and in 1914 he scored what he called his greatest victory when he beat
Barney Oldfield
Berna Eli "Barney" Oldfield (January 29, 1878 – October 4, 1946) was an American pioneer automobile racer; his "name was synonymous with speed in the first two decades of the 20th century".
After success in bicycle racing, he began auto ...
to capture the
Vanderbilt Cup
The Vanderbilt Cup was the first major trophy in American auto racing.
History
An international event, it was founded by William Kissam Vanderbilt II in 1904 and first held on October 8 on a course set out in Nassau County on Long Island, ...
on the roads of
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
.
He entered the
1914 Indianapolis 500 and qualified, but withdrew before the race claiming he felt his engine could not survive the race.
DePalma had been let go by the
Mercer Automobile Co. racing team in favor of Barney Oldfield.
In a Mercedes "Gray Ghost," he showed he was a master tactician in beating Oldfield's much faster car.
He ended 1914 by winning his second U.S. national driving championship.
The following year, 1915, he drove to victory at
1915 Indianapolis 500 with a Mercedes 4.5 liter GP car.
DePalma was an intense competitor but one of the most popular racers with his fellow drivers and the fans because of his good sportsmanship, a quality he displayed on and off the track. In June 1917 he lost to
Barney Oldfield
Berna Eli "Barney" Oldfield (January 29, 1878 – October 4, 1946) was an American pioneer automobile racer; his "name was synonymous with speed in the first two decades of the 20th century".
After success in bicycle racing, he began auto ...
in a series of 10 to 25 mile match races at the
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 spectato ...
. On February 12, 1919 at
Daytona Beach, Florida, he drove a
Packard to a world speed record of over a measured mile (1.6 km).
International competition began following the adoption of the three liter engine limit in the U.S. and
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
in 1920. DePalma began the year driving for the French manufacturer,
Ballot
A ballot is a device used to cast votes in an election and may be found as a piece of paper or a small ball used in secret voting. It was originally a small ball (see blackballing) used to record decisions made by voters in Italy around the 16 ...
. His Ballot vehicle won the pole position for the 1920 Indy race
[ Yates, Brock The Indianapolis 500: The Story of the Speedway. 1956. Harper Bros., New York. Page 25.] and he led for many laps
but bad luck dogged him in the race (faulty bearings on the Ballot) and he did not finish.
However, DePalma did race his Ballot vehicle in the Elgin Road Race and won his third Elgin trophy in 1920. Then in 1921 DePalma traveled with other Americans to
Le Mans
Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...
to compete in the
French Grand Prix
The French Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de France), formerly known as the Grand Prix de l'ACF (Automobile Club de France), is an auto race held as part of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's annual Formula One World Championsh ...
. There, he finished second to the
Duesenberg driven by fellow American,
Jimmy Murphy. DePalma won the Canadian national championship in 1929.
DePalma later competed in
stock cars
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...
until he retired from racing in 1936.
In his career, he competed in 2,889 races in America and Europe and won 2,557, according to his Associated Press obituary that appeared in the Detroit Free Press on April 1, 1956.
He was an honorary referee for the Indianapolis 500, the last time in 1954.
Death
He died at his home in
South Pasadena, California
South Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 25,619, up from 24,292 at the 2000 census. It is located in the West San Gabriel Valley. It is 3.42 square miles in area an ...
, from cancer on March 31, 1956 at age 73.
He was interred in the
Holy Cross Cemetery in
Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most d ...
.
Media appearances
Ralph DePalma had a small role in the 1920 Hollywood film, ''
High Speed'' and in 1924 played the part of the Champion in an action/drama written by
Wilfred Lucas
Wilfred Van Norman Lucas (January 30, 1871 – December 13, 1940) was a Canadian American stage actor who found success in film as an actor, director, and screenwriter.
Early life
Lucas was born in Norfolk County, Ontario on January 30, 1871,US ...
titled ''Racing for Life''. In 1923, he established the DePalma Manufacturing Company in Detroit to build race cars and engines for automobiles and aircraft.
He also had a cameo in ''The Cool Hot Rod'' (1953).
Family
DePalma was the brother of 500 competitor
John DePalma and the uncle of 1925 Indy winner
Peter DePaolo
Pete DePaolo (April 6, 1898 – November 26, 1980) was an American race car driver who won the 1925 Indianapolis 500.
Biography
Peter DePaolo was born on April 6, 1898, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Pete saw his first race in 1919, where he w ...
. De Palma obtained his American citizenship in 1920 (available at
), and as such he is considered the third non-American driver to win the Indianapolis 500 after
Jules Goux
Jules Goux (6 April 1885 - 6 March 1965) was a French racing driver and Grand Prix motor racing champion. He was also notable for being the first Frenchman, and the first European driver, to win the Indianapolis 500.
Biography
Influenced by the G ...
and
René Thomas.
Awards
*In 1973, he was made a posthumous member of the
Automotive Hall of Fame
The Automotive Hall of Fame is an American museum. It was founded in 1939 and has over 800 worldwide honorees. It is part of the MotorCities National Heritage Area. the Automotive Hall of Fame includes persons who have contributed greatly to a ...
in
Dearborn, Michigan.
*In 1991, he was inducted into the
International Motorsports Hall of Fame
The International Motorsports Hall of Fame (IMHOF) is a hall of fame located adjacent to the Talladega Superspeedway (formerly Alabama International Motor Speedway) located in Talladega County, east central Alabama. It enshrines those who have co ...
.
*He was named to the
National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1991.
*He was inducted in the
Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is hall of fame that honors motorsports competitors and contributors from the United States from all disciplines, with categories for Open Wheel, Stock Cars, Powerboats, Drag Racing, Motorcycles, ...
in 1992.
[Ralph DePalma]
at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is hall of fame that honors motorsports competitors and contributors from the United States from all disciplines, with categories for Open Wheel, Stock Cars, Powerboats, Drag Racing, Motorcycles, ...
*In 2006, DePalma was inducted into the Elgin (IL) Sports Hall of Fame.
Indianapolis 500 results
*DePalma's total of 613 laps led stood as the all time Indy lap leader record until tied by
Al Unser
Alfred Unser (May 29, 1939 – December 9, 2021) was an American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser Jr. He was the second of four men ( A. J. Foyt, himself, Rick ...
on the 200th lap of the
1987 Indianapolis 500, and broken the following year.
References
External links
Profile on Historic RacingThe Greatest 33*
{{DEFAULTSORT:DePalma, Ralph
1882 births
1956 deaths
Sportspeople from the Province of Foggia
American racing drivers
Indianapolis 500 drivers
Indianapolis 500 polesitters
Indianapolis 500 winners
International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees
Land speed record people
National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductees
Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City
AAA Championship Car drivers
Italian emigrants to the United States