Talk:Barney Oldfield

Untitled
Just so you know, he was the first celebrity to endorse Pepsi. --Sloderinggunslinger 16:17, 30 July 2006 (UTC)


 * Interesting! Do you have a source (and we can add it to the article)? LegalTech (talk) 17:46, 4 August 2023 (UTC)

Citation Request
I rephrased part of this article and added more citations, but I am unable to find any citation for the following. "Oldfield learned how to operate the car the morning of the event, and won by a half mile in the five mile race." Normally, I would have deleted the line, but I recall hearing this before; I just can't find a citable source. If anyone can find support for this, it would be appreciated. If not, please feel free to delete it. Pawthorn (talk) 18:22, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

All I've ever seen is that he practiced driving 999 everyday, until the race. --216.31.248.147 (talk) 18:04, 23 January 2008 (UTC)23 January 2008
 * I had originally added it. I'm not sure what source was used since it was years ago. Citation wasn't emphasized then like it is now. I found one that states it was a rumor, so I edited the entry with the citation. Royal broil  18:26, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Sound Recording
What are the guidelines for uploading a recording of Barney Oldfield (sound) --CCSEuro (talk) 02:03, 25 May 2008 (UTC)
 * First, you need to own the copyright to the sound, except if it is in the public domain. That means that it was published in the United States before December 31, 1922. You need to provide a link to the source website. It needs to be in a format compatible with Wikipedia like ogg.  Royal broil  04:25, 26 May 2008 (UTC)

Business Ventures
In the business ventures section, I'd like to include two pieces of information from advertisements, do I need to scan in the sources, since they aren't a typical source? In later years, Barney Oldfiled owned and operated the Oldfield Apartment Hotel in Los Angeles, CA & Barney Oldfield's Club on Ventura Blvd. outside of Universal City, CA (source: vintage advertisements, private collection). --CCSEuro (talk) 02:10, 25 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Please contact me on my talk page. I'd like to talk with you about the reliability of the source. Scanning should not be necessary. See WP:AGF.  Royal broil  04:25, 26 May 2008 (UTC)

I have done extensive research on both Barney Oldfield and Carl Fisher. I have never seen any indication that Barney had anything to do with Carl Fisher's automobile business. Fisher operated a bicycle shop through the 1890's and then converted the shop to sell automobiles in 1900. Shortly afterward he moved to the operation to a more upscale area of the city and expanded it to cover two blocks. The main point being, though, that Fisher's foray into automobile sales pre-dates Oldfield's initial auto race competition by almost exactly two years. Unless you have iron-clad evidence that he did work with Fisher, I would delete that reference.

Mark Dill - firstsuperspeedway.com —Preceding unsigned comment added by Markdill (talk • contribs) 17:39, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Barney's Name
Is his first name Bern or Berna? --CCSEuro (talk) 03:06, 25 May 2008 (UTC)
 * His obituary in the NY Times said Berna, so I changed it.  Royal broil  04:25, 26 May 2008 (UTC)

Mile-a-Minute Speed Record
There are a few points of accuracy here. First, in your intro paragraph, Barney was not the first person to travel a mile-a-minute in a car. That had been done numerous times prior, but always in land speed runs. The Renault brothers were well above 70 mph before the end of the 19th century. Barney did become the first man to travel a mile-a-minute on a one-mile circular course. There is another point of accuracy in this matter as well. The feat was accomplished on the Indiana State Fairgrounds one mile dirt track - still active today - on June 20, 1903. His Memorial Day run a couple of weeks earlier did not eclipse the mile-a-minute barrier (60 mph), but it did produce an impressive victory over Charles Wridgeway in a Peerless. The event in Indianapolis was promoted by Carl Fisher. I have extensive coverage of that event from several first-hand sources in the form of local and national newspapers on my Web site at www.firstsuperspeedway.com. You can find the folder of PDF articles at http://www.firstsuperspeedway.com/articles_oldfield.htm.

The materials I have on my Web site are excellent sources of information on this issue. Also, the William Nolan biography on Barney Oldield (Barney Oldfield, The Life and Times of America's Legendary Speed King) is must reading for anyone trying to write about Oldfield. Sources like the International Motorsports Hall of Fame or okay, but they gloss over a lot of substance and have factual errors.

Markdill (talk) 18:27, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Henry Ford, Tom Cooper and Barney
Drawing from William Nolan's biography of Barney Oldfield, the comments about Ford and Barney's early relationship in this article are not entirely accurate. There was a broker in this relationship, and his name was Tom Cooper. Cooper was a bicycle racing colleague of Oldield's, and, in fact, enjoyed greater success on the two-wheelers than Barney. Cooper amassed the financial resources to purchase early motorbikes and automobiles and worked with Ford to develop the "999" and "Red Devil" racers. It was Cooper, not Ford, that invited Barney to try his hand with the 999 at Grosse Point in October 1902. Cooper raced as well, but I have read some accounts that Cooper was recovering from appendicitis surgery and was not up to the task. He and Barney were kindred spirits and had worked together on a number of projects, including a coal mine in Colorado in 1901. The point is, these guys had history and Cooper was initially closer to Ford than Barney and probably introduced them. After Barney's 1902 victory over Winton, Ford's cars were thrust into prominence, and, of course, Barney was suddenly prominent in Ford's mind. However, there is no record of Barney ever working for Ford.

Markdill (talk) 18:28, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Grosse Point
I noted the comment that Grosse Point was "Ford's track." I don't believe this to be true and would like to see the citation. Keep in mind that Henry Ford was an obscure engineer in 1902. He had started Henry Ford Motor Company in 1900 or 1901, but the business failed. He persisted and Oldfield's win over Winton in 1902 was a Godsend for Barney, impressing potential investors just when Ford needed it. The Ford Motor Company that survives today was not incorporated until 1903. During this time Ford was of humble means and I do not believe he would have owned a horse track. If he did, that would be a shocker for me - it just does not add up.

Markdill (talk) 18:29, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Burial Records
As of October 2010, can his burial & internment at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California, be verified? Is the body there; was it later removed to his birthplace of Wauseon, Ohio? There is a quite large & ornate (and more recent) headstone (bearing his speed records & dates, with the words: "Here lies Berna E. Barney Oldfield") in the Wauseon, Ohio, Union Cemetery (in the old part, just behind and to the left of the Wauseon Union Cemetery Vault; Non-Roman Catholic section; quite near to my own relatives' family plots. I am told he was intimately known and possibly related to my maternal grandfather's family, who were mostly Mennonites and Freemasons.) The Roman Catholic sections are across the road. StellaLuna54 (talk) 19:14, 31 October 2010 (UTC)talk
 * It was verified by a New York Times article written in 1946. The NY Times article was accessible when I added it but isn't anymore. That don't matter, see WP:LINKROT. Find A Grave also says it's in California here, but that's not a reliable source. Please find reliable sources with high quality, like NY Times' level and list them here so we can assess if NY Times was wrong or if he possibly was moved to his hometown.  Royal broil  23:27, 31 October 2010 (UTC)

Handedness?
Anyone know offhand if Oldfield was left-handed? I note that his ever-present cigar--often behind the high-speed wheel!-- always was in the left corner of his mouth, which suggests to me that he would use his left hand to brandish it or at least flick its ashes whenever he took it out of his mouth, assuming he ever removed it. [signed] FLORIDA BRYAN

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