August 19, 1934 – The First All American Soap Box Derby
Robert Turner, winner of the first All American Soap Box Derby
While out on assignment for the Dayton Daily News in 1933, Dayton, Ohio photojournalist Myron Scott, who later named the Corvette, came across a group of kids rolling gravity powered cars down a hill. After snapping a few pictures, he helped the children organize a race, which was entered by 19 kids. There was so much interest in the event that he arranged a larger race for later in the summer that included a cash prize. An astonishing 362 kids showed up to the temporary downhill course in Dayton. Their cars were made out of soap boxes, orange crates, scrap wood, baby buggy wheels and other miscellaneous items. By the next summer, Scott had secured Chevrolet as a national sponsor for the race, leading to the first All Ameri...
