Speed Kings (42 page)

I
wouldn't have been able to write
Speed Kings
without the help and support of a lot of people. First, my agents, Rupert Heath, who had the perspicacity to spot that this was a tale worth telling, and Dan Conaway. Then my editors, Giles Elliott and Megan Newman, and the teams at both Transworld in the UK and Avery in the United States, especially Dan Balado, Brittney Ross, Gabrielle Campo, and Maureen Klier. Thanks, too, to my editors at the
Guardian
and the
Observer
, Ian Prior, Matthew Hancock, and Steve McMillan, for cutting me a little slack and showing a lot of patience while I was working on the book.

I owe Skip Grieser an enormous debt of thanks, for his hard work, his generosity with his time and research, and his lessons in how to shoot pool. He deserves the credit for unearthing many of the details about Billy Fiske's life that have never been published before. The book was hugely enriched by the kind cooperation of Billy's relatives, in particular Pat Zabalaga, Emi Zabalaga, and Charles and Setsuko Zabalaga, who gave up their time to help me look through his papers. Also, I spent an enchanting afternoon listening to Newell Fiske Wagoner's firsthand memories of '32, and I wish to thank Lady Charlotte Fraser for allowing me to see the heirlooms Rose passed on to her.

It would have been impossible to unravel the mystery of Clifford Gray without the help of John Cross and Brian Willey in particular, but also Bill Mallon, Hilary Evans, David Routh, Caroline Markham, Norman Carter, and Mel Allen. It was a pleasure talking to Tim Clark about the story he wrote back in
1980, and plenty of other things besides. Thanks to Vicki Barcus and the rest of Clifford Grey's family for the good grace with which they took the bad news that in fact their grandfather wasn't an Olympic champion after all.

Lake Placid is one of the friendliest little towns I've ever had the fortune to pass through. Thanks go to John Morgan, Jennifer Tufano, and Beverley Reid for their local expertise; Amanda Bird from the US Bobsled and Skeleton Federation for helping me arrange an absorbing hourlong interview with Steve Holcomb; and especially to the staff at the Lake Placid Olympic Museum, Alison Haas, Steve Vassar, and Susanna Fout, for giving me such a warm welcome and so much help. I'm grateful, too, to the bobsledding team out at Mount Van Hoevenberg for getting me down the run in one piece.

Thanks to Peter Hopsicker, associate professor of kinesiology at Penn State, for being generous enough to send me copies of his excellent series of articles on the 1932 Winter Olympics; Stephen Bartley, the archivist of the St. Moritz Tobogganing Club, for allowing me access to his library; William Morrison, the honorary archivist of the W. O. Bentley Memorial Foundation; Giles Richards, for helping me research the Le Mans 24; the museum staff at both RAF Hendon and RAF Tangmere; and Ewan Getley, for showing me around his wonderful workshop, and scaring me silly by taking me for a drive around Bicester in his Bentley.

Many thanks to all my friends for listening to me wax on about this book at such length for so long, particularly Paul Matthews, Will Small, Sarah Courtauld, and Jonathan Weil for their advice and guidance, and Maggie Asquith for her inspiration and encouragement. Finally, thanks most of all to my family, Tony, Sandra, Jon, Shoko, Keita, Arthur, and my partner, Hadley Freeman, for all her support, wisdom, and love.

The page numbers in this index refer to the printed version of this book. The link provided will take you to the beginning of that print page. You may need to scroll forward from that location to find the corresponding reference on your e-reader.

Page numbers in italics denote photographs.

Acton, Harold,
136

Aitken, Max,
219
,
222
,
245
,
246
,
266
,
273

Alba, Duke of,
59

Albright, Hardie,
203

Amateur Athletic Union (AAU),
115
–16,
151
,
153
,
156
–57,
212

American Library Association (ALA),
101
,
102
,
105

Amundsen, Roald,
165

Ankerich, Michael,
40

Ardmore, Jane,
36

Argentina,
12
,
57
,
83
,
86

Aspen,
206
–8,
216
,
218
,
227
,
274

Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks (AFPA),
110
–12

Astor, John Jacob,
55

Australia,
12
–13,
140
–41

Austria,
163
,
169
,
174
,
214
,
221

Ayer, Nat,
67
,
71

Badrutt family,
15
–16,
18
,
19
,
25

Bailey, Roger,
217
,
218
,
222

Baillet-Latour, Count de,
96
,
112
,
184

Barcus, Vicki,
73

Barrymore, Lionel,
41
,
42
,
271

Bassett, Ted,
268

Bathurst, Ben,
230
–31,
239

Beaverbrook, Lord,
219
,
246
,
262

Belfort, Jordan,
9

Belgium,
11
,
55
,
163
,
164
,
174
,
178
,
238

Bell, C. H.,
29

Benchley, Robert,
207

Benjamin, Park,
48

Berlin, Irving,
34

Bickford, Jim,
211

Blane, Sally,
217

Blossom, George,
125
–27

Boblet Grand Prix Cup,
23
–24,
59

Bobsleigh Derby,
55
,
82
–84,
91

Bodrero, Jim,
202
,
207

Bogart, Humphrey,
205

Boncompagni, Prince,
59

Boyd, William,
205

Bracken, Brendan,
266

Brancourt, J. D.,
141

Brehme, Albert,
163
,
189

Britain,
7
,
10
,
15
,
20
,
22
–24,
30
,
32
,
47
–49,
55
,
70
,
74
,
76
,
146
,
215
–16

bobsledding in,
17
,
18
,
55

boxing in,
137
–40

in Second World War,
226
,
234
,
236
,
238
–40,
246
,
263
(
see also
Royal Air Force)

Winter Olympics teams of,
86
,
90
–92,
145
,
174

See also
London

Brown, John,
106

Brundage, Avery,
208
,
212
–13

Bryant, Percy,
150

Bullock, Hugh,
9

Burke, Jack,
132
–33

Burke, Oscar,
26

Bushby, John,
258

Bushell, Roger,
219
,
226
,
227
,
231
,
244
,
266
,
273

Cambridge University,
5
,
137
–38,
146
,
195
,
205
,
220

Canada,
7
,
9
–10,
15
–17,
57
,
65
,
109
,
151

Winter Olympics teams of,
82
,
89
,
94
,
174
,
184

Capadrutt, Reto,
164
,
171
,
182
–83,
186
,
187
,
189
,
272

Carbery, Lord,
21

Carlsen, Armand,
87
,
88

Carnegie, Andrew,
105

Carpentier, Georges,
139

Carter, Randolph,
68

Cassidy, John C. and Clara Louise Whelan,
78

Castle, Vernon and Irene,
34
–35

Chaplin, Charlie,
203

Cherrill, Virginia,
203
–4,
211

Churchill, Winston,
235
,
238
–39,
245
,
262
,
266
,
270

Clark, Tim,
63
–66,
72
–74

Clary, Count,
90

Cleaver, Neil “Mouse,”
203
,
215
–16,
219
,
229
,
239
–40,
245
,
250
,
255
,
259
,
260
,
263
,
266
,
268
,
273

Clemenceau, Georges,
132

Clifton, Arthur,
138
,
139

Clyde, Billy,
219
,
222
,
226
–28,
230
,
239
,
245
,
255
–60,
273

Clyde, Rose,
227

Colledge, Cecilia,
174

Cook, B. J.,
148
–49

Corviglia ski club,
59

Corwin, Dean,
130

Coubertin, Baron Pierre de,
56
–57

Cresta Run (St. Moritz),
16
,
19
,
55
,
89
,
90
,
93
,
214
–15,
219
,
230
,
246
,
249
,
262
,
274

Cross, John,
72
–73

Curzon, Frank,
55

Daley, Arthur J.,
169
,
269

Davis, Al,
32
–34

Davis, George,
66

Davis, Percival,
see
Grey, Clifford

Davos,
56

Dawes, Brigadier Charles,
10

Dawes Plan,
214

Demetriadi, Dick,
251

DeMille, Cecil B.,
40
,
203

Dempsey, Jack,
126
–29,
131
–33,
139
–43,
148
,
270

Denver,
120
,
142

Athletic Club,
119
,
123
–25,
127
,
130

de Saulles, Blanca,
35
,
38
–39

de Saulles, Jack,
34
–39

Devine, Charles,
166
–68

Dewey, Annie (Godfrey's mother),
102
–3,
107

Dewey, Emily (Godfrey's stepmother),
108
,
158

Dewey, Godfrey,
96
,
99
–100,
105
–16,
145
–46,
149
–58,
178
,
195
,
196
,
207
,
208

antagonism toward O'Brien and Fiske of,
115
–16,
149
,
151
–56,
170

bigotry of,
113
–14

birth of,
103

bobsled run built by,
110
–13,
115
,
149
–50,
154
,
171

bobsleds designed by,
152
–53,
165
,
167

death of,
272

defeated to become president of Lake Placid Club Foundation,
157
–58,
271
–72

education of,
106
,
107

family background of,
100
–103

Kirby's post-Olympics letter to,
191
–92

lobbying for Lake Placid as Olympics host city by,
99
–100,
108
–10

local bobsled team preferred by,
150
–51,
154
–66

at 1928 Winter Olympics,
86
,
99
,
149

during 1932 Winter Olympics,
173
–76,
183
,
184
,
186
,
188

Dewey, Katharine (Godfrey's daughter),
169

Dewey, Marjorie (Godfrey's wife),
107

Dewey, Melvil (Godfrey's father),
100
–109,
113
–14,
158

Dickie, W. G.,
251

Dillon, Clarence,
7
–12,
197
,
213
–14,
231
,
271

Dillon, Douglas,
271

Dillon, Read & Company,
8
–12,
147
,
213
,
214
,
218
,
221
,
227
,
228
,
261

Diop, Amadou,
141

Dix, Joan,
174

Doe, Tom, Jr.,
85

Dolly sisters,
26

Dorelis, Jose,
270
–71

Doubleday, Abner,
17

Douglas, Sholto,
247

Douglas-Hamilton, Douglas “Douglo,”
137
,
139
,
140

Dowding, Hugh,
274

Duke, Angier,
33

Dupree, Paul,
181
,
210

Eagan, Clara (Eddie's mother),
120
,
125
,
142

Eagan, Eddie,
118
,
119
–43,
185
,
195
,
215
,
217
,
227
,
269
–70

amateur boxing championships of,
118
,
119
–25,
130
–31,
133
–35,
138
,
180
,
270

in army,
129
,
269

at Billy's funeral,
238

death of,
270

Dempsey in exhibition fights against,
126
–29,
139

Dewey's antagonism toward,
155
–56

education of,
121
,
123
,
125
,
129
,
130
,
132
–33,
135
–37,
139
,
180
,
185

legal career of,
143
,
185
,
269

marriage and family of,
143
,
270

in 1932 Winter Olympics,
143
,
148
,
157
,
178
–80,
185
,
187
,
189
–91,
245
,
270

and 1936 Winter Olympics,
209
–11

on world tour with Pirie boys,
139
–42

Eagan, John (Eddie's father),
120

Eagan, Peggy Colgate (Eddie's wife),
143
,
191
,
270

Earhart, Amelia,
74

Eberstadt, Ferdinand,
11
,
213

Edward, Prince of Wales,
47
–49,
137

Eisenhower, Dwight D.,
269
,
271

Eisner, Mark,
113

Eliot, T. S.,
18
,
136

Elisabeth, Empress of Austria,
18

Elliott, William,
231

Ellis, William Webb,
17

Empson, John Howard,
122

Evanson, Bernt,
87
–88,
90

Fairbanks, Douglas, Jr.,
5
,
201
,
217

Fall, Louis Mbarick,
139

Faulkner, Cyril,
257
–58,
273

Faye, Alice,
205
,
245

Fenwick, Irene,
41
–43,
75
,
77
,
271

Ferris, Daniel,
116
,
151
,
153
,
156
,
157

Finland,
56
,
236

Winter Olympics teams of,
87
,
90
,
94
,
174

First World War,
129
,
164

Fischbacher, Christian,
215
,
219
,
272

Fisher, Carl,
47

Fiske, Beulah Bexford (Billy's mother),
7
,
26
,
51
,
236
–38,
261
,
266
,
268
–69

Fiske, Billy,
2
,
3
–7,
15
,
26
,
50
,
79
,
106
,
146
–49,
195
–211,
213
–22,
269

adolescence of,
51
–52

Aspen resort project of,
206
–208,
216
,
218

birth of,
7

childhood of,
9
–10

in Cresta Run races,
54
–56,
214
–15