PAST IMPERFECT:Ted Horn was one of motorsport's best loved stars, despite a slow start to his racing career, writes BOB MONTGOMERY.
TED HORN was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in February 1910, the son of an Irish mother and German father. Both parents were musicians who hoped their son would follow in their footsteps.
The family moved to Los Angeles where Horn was soon driving at jalopy tracks. When his parents found out, they found him a job as a photo engraver, but a chance incident in 1926 brought him back to racing. Late for work, Horn was pulled over for speeding. The patrolman impounded his car and released it back to him on condition that he go to the race track at San José on the following Sunday and “get all the speed out of your system”.
Horn did go to San José, but when his father found out he promised not to race again – a promise the car-mad youngster kept for all of two years. Horn was not a natural driver and, after a slow start to his racing career, he finally won a heat in the AAA Pacific Coast Championship. Running third in the final, the leaders locked wheels and spun off, leaving Horn to take a lucky victory.
His first full season in 1934 was marred by several tragedies, but he nevertheless finished second in the B Division to Swede Smith.
Horn moved east to Paterson, New Jersey, where his uncle owned a number of garages and set about competing in the local racing scene. His eastern debut was at Hohokus, New Jersey, where he spectacularly beat local star Ben Shaw, winning by nearly a lap. The fans took Horn to their hearts, as did the promoters. Labeled the “California Kid”, success followed success at tracks such as Hohokus, Harrington and Delaware, before Ted returned to California at the season’s end.
An offer from Henry Miller to join his team of Miller-Fords for the Indy 500 was accepted and Ted qualified 26th – highest of the team cars. In the race he was sensational, slicing through the field despite serious problems with the steering, which began to tighten. Horn wrestled with the steering for 145 laps before retiring, all of the other Miller cars having long since retired with similar problems.
Horn was to return to the Indy 500 10 times – every year up to 1948, with the exception of 1942-1945, when the race was not run. His best result was in 1936, when he was second, while in 1937, 1941, 1946, and 1947 he placed third. Never a winner at the Indy 500, Horn was revered by the spectators, who always knew they would see him a fiery drive in his attempts to produce a win.
Along with his friend and closest competitor, Rex Mays, Horn was the most popular driver in the AAA Championships, which he won on three separate occasions – 1946, 1947 and 1948 – and which served to make him one of the sport’s biggest stars in the US. In an era when death on the racetrack was accepted as part of the profession of a race driver, Horn had his share of spectacular accidents and suffered serious injuries, but seemed to have the knack of coming back quickly.
In October 1948, an additional race was added to the calendar at Du Quoin. On the second corner of the second lap, his car flipped and Horn was thrown clear of the car, falling near the track outer wall. He died instantly. At the time of his death, Horn held 89 AAA records and was at the height of his career.
Wilbur Shaw, president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, paid tribute to him by saying: “In addition to Ted Horn being the undisputed champion automobile driver of this era, he was unquestionably the most loved and respected driver of his time . . . his passing was an irreparable loss to automobile racing.”