Wednesday, April 29, 2020
Sir Stirling Moss
Sir Stirling
Moss was born in England on September 17, 1929. One might say that he
was “to the manner born”. But it might be more appropriate to
say, “to the racetrack born”. His father was a dentist, and loved
to race cars. He came 16th in the 1924 edition of the
Indiannapolis 500. He tried to steer his son toward dentistry, to no
avail.
Stirling got
his first car, an Austin 7, when he was nine years old. He learned
how to drive, racing around the family estate. He saved his money and
bought his own car when he was 15. Thus began the career of one of
the world's greatest race car drivers.
He began his
career in 1942, and retired, for the first time in 1962. He often
competed many during the racing season, primarily in Formula One
events. One year he raced 62 times. He drove for many different
sponsors, and was behind the wheel of 84 different makes of car.
Sir Stirling Moss
In June,
2011, he formally announced that he had officially retired from
racing. He had been driving that morning, and afternoon. When he left
the vehicle, he declared that he “had scared himself”. He was 81
at that time.
For many of
us, he was the “face” of car racing for many years. He became an
announcer, and broadcaster after he had initially retired, and was
well respected for his analysis. In 1967, he earned a small role in
the James Bond movie Casino Royale,
as the driver for actor Peter Sellers. He was often on television in
talk shows, and game shows.
For
many years, supposedly, the standard question that British policemen
asked when giving out speeding tickets was: “Who do you think you
are, Stirling Moss?” It became a common expression in many circles.
Johnny Carson wanted to know if Moss ever tired of hearing that. Moss
spun a tale that I watched one evening .
“A
friend of mine asked me to take his Austin Healey for a spin on the
seaside roads in New Zealand. Those roads are typical of all coastal
and mountainous roads, lots of hairpin turns, different elevations. I
drove quite hard, and noticed another vehicle on my tail, never
falling back. After several miles, I came to a screeching halt at a
stop sign I had not expected. The driver on my tail stopped behind
me, but not before nudging my car slightly. He got out of his car,
and ran up to speak to me. The first thing he said was, “Who do you
think you are, Stirling Moss?”
He
was a local resident who knew the roads, loved to drive fast, and had
never encountered anyone who could drive quite the way I did. Johnny
Carson loved that story.
In
2000, Moss was knighted by Prince Charles. ( Mom was away on
vacation.) An extensive list of all of his racing highlights can be
found in Wikipedia.
Moss
died last Sunday, in London.
Many
of us who are in our “Golden Years” hear of the passing of our
sports heroes, far too often. We recently lost Pat “Whitey”
Stapleton, who spent many years in the NHL and the WHA. He played for
Canada in the Summit Series against the Russians, and was said to
have the puck from Paul Henderson's winning goal. He always smiled
when asked that question.
The
hockey world also lost an up-and-coming lad named Colby Cave. A
product of the Saskatchewan hockey system, Cave played for the
Edmonton Oilers last season. Reports indicated that he had a “brain
bleed”, was placed in an induced coma, and never recovered.
Stay
healthy, everyone. I hope you have come up with interesting
strategies to combat the boredom caused by the virus. I was told
today that I will not be able to race in the Tour de
France”. Alas!
James
Hurst
April
14, 2020
# posted by James Hurst @ 2:12 PM 
