Don Capps
27th February 2011, 16:53
There is very sketchy information on the Glidden Cup Tours at The Bulb Horn (http://www.vmcca.org/bh/bh1.html) a bit down the page which should provide at least a starting point for those who might wish to expand the coverage of rallying history from the modern era to its origins. The Glidden Tours lasted from 1905 to 1913, and were the Reliability Tour of the American Automobile Association (AAA), being initially administered by the Runs and Tours Committee of the organization before the functions of that committee were absorbed into the Contest Board after the reorganization in 1909.
There were a cornucopia of runs, tours, and trials in the early years of the automobile in America, the Automobile Club of America (ACA) having a committee dedicated to runs and contests as part of its original makeup.
The 1906 Glidden Tour is very noteworthy for the first recorded use of the checkered flag in automobile racing.
In my research, I have come across dozens upon dozens upon dozens it seems of runs, trials, and tours in the United States in the first decade or so of automotive competition. Darren Galpin has also done a great of digging into the past for events generally ignored by those with little to no use for the past. Here is something that if you dig through it a bit will provide some information on several of the tours of the era: The Darren Galpin Almanac (http://www.teamdan.com/archive/book/1909.pdf).
At any rate, a few ideas for those wishing to look a bit closer that the early origins of the rally format.
There were a cornucopia of runs, tours, and trials in the early years of the automobile in America, the Automobile Club of America (ACA) having a committee dedicated to runs and contests as part of its original makeup.
The 1906 Glidden Tour is very noteworthy for the first recorded use of the checkered flag in automobile racing.
In my research, I have come across dozens upon dozens upon dozens it seems of runs, trials, and tours in the United States in the first decade or so of automotive competition. Darren Galpin has also done a great of digging into the past for events generally ignored by those with little to no use for the past. Here is something that if you dig through it a bit will provide some information on several of the tours of the era: The Darren Galpin Almanac (http://www.teamdan.com/archive/book/1909.pdf).
At any rate, a few ideas for those wishing to look a bit closer that the early origins of the rally format.