Ralph Mulford Explained

Ralph Mulford
Birth Name:	Ralph Kirkman Mulford
Birth Date:	28 December 1884
Birth Place:	Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Death Place:	Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S.
Titles:	Major victories Vanderbilt Cup (1911)
Module1:	Embed: yes Total Champ Races: 87 Years In Champ: 15 Best Champ Pos: 8th (1920) First Champ Race: 1910 Elgin National Trophy (Elgin) Last Champ Race: 1922 Kansas City 300 (Kansas City) First Champ Win: 1910 Elgin National Trophy (Elgin) Last Champ Win: 1919 40-mile Race (Tacoma) Champ Wins: 19 Champ Podiums: 42 Champ Poles: 0

Ralph Kirkman Mulford (December 28, 1884 – October 23, 1973) was an American racing driver who participated in the 1911 Indianapolis 500. In 1911 he won the Vanderbilt Cup in Savannah, Georgia.^[1]

Biography

Mulford was born on December 28, 1884, in Brooklyn, New York. He once served as a Sunday school teacher.

Mulford won the Elgin Trophy on August 26, 1910.^[2] He then finished second in the inaugural Indianapolis 500 on May 30, 1911. While contemporary newspaper accounts and substantiated research, including by Indianapolis Motor Speedway historian Donald Davidson, have produced no credible evidence to support a claim to the contrary,^{[3] [4] [5] [6]} there is an urban myth that Mulford, driving a Lozier, was the actual winner over Ray Harroun.^[7] However, Mulford himself never supported such a claim.

Mulford was retroactively declared the National Driving Champion for 1911 and 1918. He retired from racing on tracks after 1922, but continued to compete for several more years in hill climbs, and – at one time – held the record for both the Mount Washington and Pikes Peak climbs.

Mulford died on October 23, 1973, in Worcester, Massachusetts. At the time of his death, he was the last surviving participant of the inaugural, 1911 Indianapolis 500.

Motorsports career results

Indianapolis 500 results

Year Car Start Qual Rank Finish Laps Led Retired 1911 33 29 — — 2 200 10 Running 1912 19 16 87.880 2 10 200 0 Running 1913 29 22 80.790 17 7 200 0 Running 1914 23 6 88.210 18 11 200 0 Running 1915 22 18 82.720 18 16 124 0 Rod 1916 10 20 91.090 10 3 120 0 Running 1919 2 15 100.500 5 29 37 0 Driveshaft 1920 33 23 — — 9 200 0 Running 1921 8 21 91.700 12 9 177 0 Flagged 1922 5 5 99.200 5 19 161 0 Rod Totals 1619 10

Starts 10 Poles 0 Front Row 0 Wins 0 Top 5 2 Top 10 6 Retired 3

External links

• • Ralph Mulford at Champ Car Stats

Notes and References

1. News: Ralph Mulford In Lozier Wins Vanderbilt Trophy . https://archive.today/20130131143046/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/csmonitor_historic/access/281591002.html?dids=281591002:281591002&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&date=Nov+28,+1911&author=&pub=Christian+Science+Monitor&desc=RALPH+MULFORD+IN+LOZIER+WINS+VANDERBILT+TROPHY&pqatl=google . dead . January 31, 2013 . Motor enthusiasts who are now in this city are looking forward to the running of the big grand prize automobile race over the local course here Thanksgiving day with much interest, following the opening of the big road meet Monday when the Vanderbilt, Tiedeman and Savannah... . . November 28, 1911 . 2012-09-21 .
2. Web site: Elgin National Road Races History . kalracing.com . 25 January 2024.
3. The Talk of Gasoline Alley. Donald Davidson (historian). WFNI. May 18, 2010.
4. The Talk of Gasoline Alley. Donald Davidson (historian). WFNI. July 27, 2008.
5. "The History of the 500 – Episode 10 (Mythbusters)", WIBC 93.1, April 14, 2013
6. The Talk of Gasoline Alley. Donald Davidson (historian). WFNI. May 25, 2011.
7. Web site: Jaslow. Russell. Who Really Won The First Indy 500?. The North American Motorsports Journal. 14 July 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110714150016/http://www.na-motorsports.com/Journal/1997/1/RussellJ.html. 14 July 2011. live. 1997.