I stand corrected then. Yes, what's the history of the Walker Trophy? (Now that we have THAT settled).
Dennis
Regarding the Walker Trophy awarded to the National Stunt Champion at the Nats.
The trophy was commissioned by Jim Walker. It was first awarded to Davey Slagle, a Junior flier at the 1946 Nats. I believe there are photographs that show Jim Walker presenting the trophy to Slagle at one time. Slagle won the the trophy in 46, 47 and 48. I also understand that in the very beginning, there was a flyoff between the Jr, Sr, and Open CL Stunt Champions for the Walker trophy as the National Stunt Champion. That Jr, Sr and Open class flyoff has remained essentially unchanged from the beginning, though the event has evolved from what was then called CL Stunt to what we now have as CL Precision Aerobatics. The process for determining the Jr and Sr Stunt Champions has also remained essentially unchanged over the years while the process of determining the Open Stunt Champion has evolved to the now multiple circle, multi-round process through qualifying rounds, a semi finals round and a finals round. Then the Jr, Sr, and Open champions still have their flyoff for the Walker trophy as the National Stunt Champion.
During those early years, the Walker trophy "deteriorated" to a considerable degree such that by the early 70's, it was only a portion of its original splendor. Only the base with the big plate and the multiple name plates remained along with what was a brass plate on top that held a globe and a figure of a CL flier with lines attached to a model. The pillars, the section with the eagles and the "Oscar" figure at the top were missing. When Al Rabe won the Walker Trophy in 1973, he did the research and found the company who made the trophy for Jim Walker. (I think the name of the company is Dodge Trophies or something like that.) They still had the specification that was used to make the trophy. At his own expense, Al had the trophy restored to its original configuration and had a "travel case" custom built for it. Since then, there have been several travel cases built for it.
Then, sometime in the Fancher/Fitzgerald/Walker era, the individual name plates at the base were all used up. Ted might want to add more details here, but I think he was responsible for add a new base to the trophy which made the whole thing higher. the new base is the same diameter, but it is higher to accommodate the additional name plates which should be adequate for a number of years.
I think the photograph of the trophy on the PAMPA website shows the current configuration of the trophy with the new base. The original base was only deep enough to hold the main name plate with the small individual name plates then going entirely around the base. The carrying case (or shipping box) is rather unwieldy, but these have been instrumental in preserving this resource.
Also, for the record, the AMA owns all of the perpetual trophies that are awarded at the Nats. Most of these trophies are in the AMA museum at the Nats. Some time ago, when PAMPA took over the responsibility to organize and run the Nats, an agreement was reached with the AMA that PAMPA would retain responsibility for the safekeeping and upkeep of the trophy which allows the recipient each year to personally retain the trophy. The trophy is now certainly in better condition than it was before Al Rabe won it in 1973 thanks to the effort of Al and others who have ensured its safekeeping as well as the modification several years ago to enlarge the base.
Hopefully, Ted will be able to add some detail regarding the new base. That was done in a period when I was not very active in this event.
Keith
Topic: Walker Cup - History (Read 3040 times)