The Union Boss and the Most Successful Race Car in History
"Umbrella Mike" Boyle was the scourge of Chicago in the first half of the twentieth century. The notoriously corrupt leader of one of Chicago's most powerful unions associated with mobsters and corrupt politicians, and could freeze the city in gridlock on a whim. But at the height of the depression, Umbrella Mike changed the face of auto racing, and created one of the most dominant teams in motor sports. The "Boyle Special" was one of the most successful cars ever to run.
This is original content based on research by The History Guy. Images in the Public Domain are carefully selected and provide illustration. As very few images of the actual event are available in the Public Domain, images of similar objects and events are used for illustration.
Special thanks to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum:
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Video Courtesy the Firestone Archives
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Script by JCG
Several viewers are questioning the claim of "most successful race car in history." Part of the point, actually, was to spark a discussion, as that sort of discussion makes history fun. Realize, though, that the Boyle Special was a single car- not a car model, but just one car. What single race car had a better record?
@Sue Trunnell you got your wish
Need to do a video on the history of Wonder Bread and it's Indy 500 connection
@caribman10 wow, what an original insult! Never heard that before. You think that up on your own or did your mommy help? I apologize if you don't like humor. Maybe you should remove that stick and stop being so serious. You apparently either crave attention or are just extremely uptight and petty
If it was Boyle's car, who would consider passing it?
@htmonaro1969 Not on a percentage basis. 100% win rate is impossible to top.
Please do more on this series, I know all those names but didn’t know the mob connection
Thank you for such fantastic content!!!!! One of my favorite channels on MNthe!!!!! Your history stories are told so well its like I was there!!!!
Uh... U kinda look better with a burr.just saying
Sounds like he was a hero of Johnny "Doc" the head of the current IBEW in Philly. Under investigation by the FBI.
I had a feeling that you and Mr. Donald wpuld love to interact. Talk about two heads full of historical knowledge. Yipes.
An alliance between unions and the mob? Who says Left and Right can't work together? Corruption is the great bipartisan cause.
I wonder if Umbrella Mike was part of the inspiration for the Batman villain The Penguin?
IBEW LOCAL #0068 .......
Boyle and Henning??? As in, "Hennings" Motor News????
I would enjoy the continuing history of the car .... where it is today?
Chicago politics has not changed, still ran by thugs.
Wilbur Shaw looks very like actor Robert Shaw. On another note, Chicago, like many port cities, is corrupt probably because it is a fabulous gold mine of transit due to its location. It started as a shipping hub with the I&M canal, then added railroads, trucking, trans-shipment and aviation, billions in goods passing through, providing tax revenue and opportunities to anyone with even a little hustle. It’s a port city on steroids. And yes, it’s still very corrupt. Recently, a Democratic party official was indicted for graft-related offenses. For years, he’s been the guy who picked judges in Cook County. Unsurprisingly, his wife became Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court. Just an example.
I don't know if you done a podcast on meat packing in Chicago or even the riot there around the turn of last century, but it might be of interest to your subscribers. I wrote a paper on some aspects of labour relations in meat packing before WWII in the US, Argentina and Australia. I submitted it to the leading Labor History journal in Australia, Labour History, last year. When researching it, I found several fascinating events, although these were also hinted at in Upton Sinclair's book, The Jungle (1903). Just a suggestion.
Grandfather worked in New York and Chicago meat plants around the turn of the century. Homesteaded in Canada in 1905 onwards and spent most of his life in a rural setting. No wonder.
2:45 we also ask how so many of our politicians can be worth hundreds of millions of dollars while only making $175k/year
Very timely since we currently have a mafia boss in the oval office.
Just out of curiosity was he and Tony Boyle related?former labor leader UMW.💰💰💰💰💰💰💰
If you were a fan of early racing, in other areas not just Indianapolis. You may want to look at the history of Long Island Vanderbilt motor Parkway. It was originally built as a private race track for the Vanderbilts. The path of it still exist today as motor Parkway. We are commuters use it to go to work each day.
I am surprised. That he did not just go to Europe. AND. Steel. 1. William.s
You lost some weight, looking good.
Hmmm...Chicago a city with a crooked past, and still even now. Wasn't Barack Hussein Obama (Soetoro) from Chicago?? Wasn't Michelle Obama from Chicago...Of course they both were. Crooked city, crooked people.
Wow... That's pretty wild!
Unions have always been nothing but Democrat protected criminals.
"The Quad City Times reported" I was like oh crap that's my local newspaper. still printing
Try doing the History of the Lotus 49
Illinois politics is still a cesspool. Especially Gov. Pritzker and his Chicago cronies.
I am the electrician doing the boyle racing shop renovation. It will be a brewery and a small museum displaying the car. THG always comes through with great content.
Indy is an awesome place to visit. The sense of history is palpable everywhere around the facility.
A friend of mine, who recently passed, did the restoration of the car hauler truck. Robbie Sheets, Sheets Body Shop, Parkersburg, IN. Photos on body shop FB page
Wow another IBEW criminal. President of philly IBEW local 98 is going to court in June after FBI raided his house & office. He got arrested last month for threatening a union contractor after his nephew demanded to get a 40 hour pay check while AWALL. A union rep bobby pretty boy henon gets paid $60,000 from local 98 while working what used to be a full tkme job as city representative for northeast philly. O yea FBI is taking henon to court.
The most successful pair of cars in Speedway history would have to be the front drive Blue Crown Spark Plug Specials. 1 & 2 in 1947 and 1948. 1 in 1949 with the second car out with a broken magneto strap. 2 in 1950. Impressive 4 year run for the two cars. Bill Holland was my dad's favorite driver when he was a kid.
The Bathurst 1000, as it is currently known, raced up and down Mount Panarama at Bathurst in New South Wales, has a special place in Australian Motor Sport history. It has, over the years, attracted many drivers and teams from around the world, including America. For almost 2 decades, one man, Peter Brock (Brockie), driving Holdens (mostly) dominated 'The Mountain', earning him the nickname 'King of the Mountain'. Perhaps these 2 legends of Australian Motor Sport might make an interesting subject for a future episode of The History Guy?
Union pirates, boy I tell ya
Which single race car had the Worst record in history? A story in perseverance.
Excellent video young sir
The story of a real piece of shit
Another arch-capitalist (admirable) feigning care of worker's concerns solely for personal gain (bad, aka all communism ever). Love the story, despise the corruption.
I love your channel and your way of presenting any topic in an interesting light, you could probably make watching grass grow interesting. I have to have to say, I miss your old intro.
Great post, HG! I wish I could say "the good ole days." 1. Timothy 6:10 every time.
I lost my appetite for unions in the late 80s. The company I worked for had a union strike. I had to cross the picket line every day for weeks. The guys on strike were jerks to us, even though they were making good money at the time.
I like your new glasses.
He got a presidential pardon? seems like some things have never changed.
Corrupt guys named "Mike" in Illinois politics - some things never change.
If Donald Davidson said it, I believe it. Nice of the H.G. to reference Davidson in this video.
Illinois hasn't changed a bit from Boyle's time.
I've always felt the two most infamous but prevalent Indiana pastimes were driving too fast and interstate crime. I've always been a student of history, and the more I learn about my home state, the more I feel like that sentiment is right. Boring place, gotta make life interesting somehow.
Mr. History Guy, if you have interest in a story about a racing fan of the Indy 500 who became known as “Mr. First in Line”, check out Lawrence “Larry” Bisceglia. He was the first spectator in line to enter the Speedway for the month of May for some 30 years or more. I don’t want to give it all away but he became so popular he hobnobbed with all the greats of the 500 and in the 60’s Ford gave him a new van/motorhome conversion as a PR move! No other spectator had a sponsor! Oh, and do Brock Yates as well. He sadly passed from Alzheimer’s but his son Brock Jr. carries his legacy forward. PS: Props to a fellow St. Louisan, I’m a Chesterfield son living in Kansas since 2002.
I love your channel. I do NOT love your new opening scene.
Unions and Gangsters both tend to employ thugs.
What a life, he attempted all of it without harsh worry about the outcome. You don't see that type of attitude towards life anymore, even the people that stand out today seem water down compared to the people of the past
Risk management. A Presidential PARDON? and then just kept going. He obviously was deep in the "correct" lawyers and connected people who wanted him right where he was!! The first "teflon" guy before teflon was invented.
Now we can't even trust the [Includes Paid Promotion] bubble . . . where's the "paid promotion"? I was on the edge of my seat.
The Tie Bar gives me bowties in exchange for credit in the video description.
I can organize a group of photographers around the nation (and possibly the world) to capture footage of some of your locations (ie., Lucky Luciano's casino in Malibu, which still exist on PCH today). That way you're not forced to rely on still pics and archival shots which are cool from a historical standpoint, when available, but on a long(er) story some "live" video footage could add some visual appeal and appear less static. Aerial/drone footage is also an option (think an orbit of the Indy track), etc. Cheers, and with or without the live video footage, your videos are great. Keep them coming.
Please consider making an episode about those nazi racers you mentioned here. This is the first I’ve heard of them and I’d be very interested to hear more.
Nice new opening graphics!
wilbur Shaw Shelby County Indiana native
We prefer 'gangland-adjacent.'😄
...only served a 5 month sentence, on account of Woodrow Wilson setting him free... See ANY single issue with this? A progressive president setting a criminal free, just because he is a union boss? Do I have any "union boss" electrical products in my house? Should I be concerned? steve
Union’s has done nothing to help the real Laborers. Just about the money 💰.
Love these stories. :)
ibew yesterday today and tomorrow
I want to say that the bobble head in the background:)
It's just astounds me how people think how powerful a person is is something to look forward to look up to. 99% of the time how powerful a person is is directly to how terrible of a person they are. History tells us this and nobody listens.
"Most Successful Race Car in History" Mercedes -AMG F1 has entered the chat... Can-Am McLaren has entered the chat... McLaren MP4 has entered the chat... Porsche 917 has entered the chat... Audi R8 Le Mans has entered the chat... Lancia Delta Integrale WRC has entered the chat... AND multiple eras of Lotus and Ferrari are waiting to enter the chat...
Yeah, I was expecting this to be more about Offenhauser...
Glad to see Doug DeMuro’s father is doing well. Keep up the vids!
...The Governor of Illinois was indicted for.... has been the the most repeated statement in political history....
Interesting story 🤓
I worked at a Jack in the box in the early 70’s while in high school,I had to join up or look somewhere else.
?? What state/province/canton was THAT??
Great story. Thanks history guy
Amazing that somebody can go through life causing so much trouble for people and get away with it! What a bastard!
I was a member of the IBEW in the 1960s and they controlled all work in the trade. We had to sign in at the local and they decided if and where you were going to work. A $5 bill `accidentally` left in your membership card would `accidentally` slip into an open drawer on the desk. No $5 - no job and they didn't even buy an umbrella.
I've seen this car, at the 2019 Hoosier 100 at the Indy Fairgrounds. Beautiful machine. I didn't know there was such a colorful history behind its owner.
I really wish you would pick an intro and stick to it. Most of them are so random. It's like you purchased a pack or something and just use a different one each video even though most of them don't fit your brand.
@TJ Marx I agree, but it ain't my channel, and I do like most of the content.
@LizJ my mistake. I wish he would stop.
@TJ Marx Sorry, I wasn't clear. Yes, he does a different intro every time and he uses Viddyoze to create them.
@LizJ Untrue, there's a different random intro sequence every video
THG has and does, using a program called Viddyoze.
Romero, Romero. Wherefore art thou Romero?
14:19 'Racing Capital Of The World' Believe that, if you will.
May I say his, back in the day if you wanted a job in anything you had to know somebody in the family even if got a job as a busboy you had to know someone
Boy I've been in the museum a million times ,the basement is the kool spot couldn't belive all the cars
Illinois politics "was" controlled by thuggish and corrupt govt. Yes was lol.
"Killing of the leader of the Ice Cream Truck Union" is a sentence I would have never thought I'd hear.
Chicago and my hometown share a unique history, since it sits approx. halfway between Chitown and Indianapolis and was often a waypoint between the two for certain folks (mobsters). I've been to the track several times, and marvel at the history. Thank you for highlighting a place that was a critical part of my upbringing.
I've followed the history of the Indy 500 for decades, and I did not know the story about Boyle. Thanks.
Would you ever be interested in doing an episode on the Mille Miglia ?
WILSON!!!
Illinois is still run by crooks. Voter fraud happened🇻🇳🖕 space ghost👻🇺🇸🙏
I recognize some of these names from the Indianapolis 500 video, that's quite great.
The guy sounds like a thug.
Not much has changed in Illinois they're all still crooks.
Very well done! I take in as many of these bits of history as I can when I can. This is a interesting story about a race car. Have you done a story about"Broadway Freddy"? He was a NHRA funnycar owner/driver starting in the late 60s. He also was a member of the Gambino crime family. Interesting story! Please keep up the great work!!!
Remind anyone of our last election?
It's highly strange to find a corrupt union boss ;) Depending on the definition of most successful I would have to say the the Niki Lauda Brabham BT46B is by far the most successful race car of all time. Surely it is the ONLY car that has won at every race it ever competed at.
Mr. History Guy. I used to like you better. However, I am starting to dislike your posts. Especially, when you simply smirk at unlawful activity. "Unions and the mob were intricately linked" is a good example. Maybe a post of how the Nazis made Germany better or how the starvation of Ukrainians made Russia better or how the despots in Latin America made their economies better might be a post coming soon to your network. Glorifying thuggery never advanced civilization. You can do better. p.s. I never got to car part. I had to turn you off.
History is replete with bad actors, but pointing out their existence is not the same as glorifying such.
Nothing is “glorified” here. Rather the opposite, we were unvarnished in our presentation of Mr Boyle’s behavior. His connection to racing is as real as his corruption. He has a mixed legacy. That is neither “smirk,” not “glorification,” it is history. History is usually mixed. If that makes you uncomfortable, I am not going to apologize for history. Ignoring history for fear of “glorifying thuggery,” that is, pandering to those who clutch pearls, will never advance civilization. Nazis were bad. That fact does not and should not mean that we ignore the vast swath of history of those with a mixed legacy.
"Umbrella Mike" sounds like a great movie. Someone get Taratino on it!
Union officials corrupt then. Union officials corrupt now.
Has anything changed?
Hello History Guy. What can you tell us about typefaces and which one you use on your titles? It looks very 1920s Art Deco.
Awesome
What? Corrupt Union Bosses involved with Socialist forces? (Yeah Woodrow Wilson) Well thank goodness we've progressed past that.
Dude, The glasses ain’t working. Makes you look like my Uncle, would have looked like in ’73.
Typical union guy
Has Chicago ever NOT been corrupt and crime-ridden?
No.
Amazing story. Thanks.