ADMIRAL STADIUM

Year of operation:  1951

Location:  N. River Road , Des Plaines , Ill.

Notes:  Thunder Bug (Three Quarter Midget) Racing took place at the Des Plaines baseball field in 1951…owned by Mike Boyle, Chicago electrical union head, and home of National Girls Baseball League team…Ted Hartley of Roanoke, Ind. and Chicago’s Ronnie Kaplan were the two top drivers in competition…Hartley in his Indian “45”-powered car won six feature, including three in a row at the 1/8-mile clay track…Kaplan won four features also winning three in-a-row…first race held on 6/14/51 and 25-lap feature was won by Earl “Smokey” Smith…Gil “Skippy” Michaels, in a Crosley Eight-powered racer, also won a feature race there…three of the first five race meets canceled because of rain.  Property eventually sold to electric utility company for new sub station.

Three gentlemen pose in the Three Quarter Midget Racing Association Midget Division exhibit at an undisclosed trade show prior to the 1951 season.  Notice the signs for the opening race at Admiral Stadium and a "field meet" at the Schererville (later Illiana) Speedway.  The No. 2 car was owned by Illiana owner Harry Molenaar.  The Molenaar Special was powered by a Harley-Davidson motorcycle engine.
(James Kuehnke Photo)