Myron Scott, Founder of the Derby Dies at Age 91

MYRON E. SCOTT; SEPTEMBER 16, 1907 - OCTOBER 4, 1998

MYRON SCOTT IS GREETED BY HIS #1 FAN AT 
THE 60th ALL-AMERICAN IN 1997

Kettering, Ohio...	I HAVE HEARD GEORGE WALLACE, THE LATE GREAT 
GOVERNOR OF OUR STATE OF ALABAMA, SPEAK... AND IT GAVE ME CHILL 
BUMPS.

I WAS ON THE SIDE LINES WITH THE GREATEST FOOTBALL COACH EVER.. "BEAR" 
BRYANT, WHEN HIS UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA FOOTBALL TEAM BEAT AUBURN, AND HE 
REACHED THE MILESTONE AS THE "WINNINGEST COACH.. EVER".

I HAVE DISCUSSED SOAP BOX CONSTRUCTION WITH LEEON DAVIS, 

"THE FATHER OF THE LAYBACK"....

BUT MYRON E. SCOTT WAS MY HERO.	HE PROBABLY HAD MORE INFLUENCE ON 
MY LIFE THAN ANYBODY THAT I HAVE EVER MET. MR. SCOTT DIED AS QUIETLY AS HE 
LIVED.. IN HIS SLEEP,	ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 4.1998, AT HIS HOME IN KETTERING, 
OHIO. HE WAS NINETY ONE.

I AM NOT SURE THAT MR. SCOTT EVER REALIZED JUST HOW MANY YOUNG LIVES WERE 
AFFECTED BY WHAT HE CREATED...

THE ALL-AMERICAN SOAP BOX DERBY.
"THE GREATEST AMATEUR RACING EVENT IN THE WORLD."

I CAN REMEMBER WHEN I FIRST READ ABOUT THE SOAP BOX DERBY... I WAS ABOUT 
EIGHT OR NINE YEARS OLD. MY FIRST THOUGHT'S WERE... WOW!... A WAY TO GO TO 
COLLEGE.

HE GAVE ME A DREAM.

MR. SCOTT WAS BORN IN CAMDEN, OHIO ON SEPTEMBER 16, 1907. HE WEIGHED EIGHT 
POUNDS AND SOME FEW OUNCES. HIS MOTHER AND FATHER, MAE AND WARREN SCOTT, 
NAMED HIM MYRON, AFTER AN AMBASSADOR TO FRANCE.	DURING HIGH SCHOOL, HE 
AND HIS FAMILY LIVED IN DAYTON, OHIO.. AND HE LEARNED ART WORK UNDER THE 
NATIONALLY FAMOUS CARTOONIST.. HOMER STINSON AT THE DAYTON INSTITUTE OF 
ART. AFTER SCHOOL, HE WORKED FOR THE DAYTON DAILY NEWS.	HE WAS 
FORTUNATE TO WORK WITH WELL KNOWN PHOTOGRAPHER WILLIAM PRESTON 
MAYFIELD, AND LEARN PHOTOGRAPHY, WHICH HE LOVED AND ENJOYED ALL OF HIS 
LIFE.. HE HAD PHOTOS PUBLISHED IN LIFE MAGAZINE, AS WELL AS OTHER NATIONAL 
PUBLICATIONS.

MR. SCOTT MOVED AROUND AND WORKED IN SYRACUSE, NY, THEN IN WICHITA, KANSAS 
FOR VARIOUS NEWSPAPERS. FINALLY IN 1930, HE MOVED BACK TO THE DAYTON NEWS AS 
CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER. THE STORY IS TOLD.. THAT ONE DAY, IN 1933, WHILE HE WAS 
OUT IN THE CITY TRYING TO FIND A PHOTO STORY WITH HUMAN INTEREST, POSSIBLY 
INVOLVING YOUNG PEOPLE,	HE SAW A GROUP OF BOYS RACING EACH OTHER DOWN A 
HILL ON A CITY STREET IN HOMEMADE CARTS MADE OF ORANGE CRATES AND SOAP 
BOXES. (There were not many automobiles back then, so traffic was no problem) 
HE ASKED THE BOYS TO COME BACK IN A FEW DAYS WITH AS MANY OF THEIR FRIENDS 
WITH RACERS AS THEY COULD ROUND UP, AND HE WOULD STAGE A RACE WITH PRIZES. 

THIS DREW A GOOD TURN OUT AND PROVIDED HIM WITH A GREAT PHOTO STORY... IT 
WAS SO INTERESTING.. THAT HE WAS ABLE TO GET HIS DAYTON PAPER TO SPONSOR A 
LOCAL RACE THE NEXT YEAR, (reported to have over 300 entrants and 40,000 
spectators) WHICH WAS HELD ON BURKART HILL IN DAYTON. NOW THIS WAS IN 1934, 
DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION, A DARK TERRIBLE TIME IN AMERICAN HISTORY. A 
PRIZE, SUCH AS A BICYCLE, WAS SOMETHING OF GREAT VALUE. THIS WAS A MEANS 
OF TRANSPORTATION TO A LOT OF FAMILIES WHEN THERE WAS NO SUCH THING AS A 
FAMILY CAR. YOUR NEIGHBOR DIDN'T EVEN HAVE A CAR.	IF YOUR 
FATHER HAD A JOB.. YOU WERE FORTUNATE.	You were lucky if you had shoes. 
can you imagine.. no Nikes?

LATER IN 1934, MR. SCOTT WAS ABLE TO PERSUADE FIFTY CITIES ACROSS AMERICAN 
TO HOLD RACES AND SEND A CHAMPION TO DAYTON FOR A
CHAMPIONSHIP RACE. IN 1935, CHEVROLET BECAME INTERESTED IN A SPONSORSHIP, 
AND A PROGRESSIVE CITY, AKRON, OHIO, WORKED TO GET THE RACE MOVED TO THEIR 
CITY. OF COURSE THEY WERE SUCCESSFUL AND IN 1935 THE RACE WAS HELD ON 
TALMADGE HILL IN AKRON. A SKI RAMP ON GOODYEAR PROPERTY WAS ADAPTED FOR 
USE AS THE ALL-AMERICAN SITE IN 1936, AND IT IS STILL USED FOR THIS PURPOSE 
TODAY FOR WHAT HAS GROWN TO BE A NATIONAL EVENT.

MR. SCOTT WENT TO WORK WITH CHEVROLET..	AND HERE'S SOMETHING THAT IS
LITTLE KNOWN...	IN THE EARLY FIFTIES..	HE CAME UP WITH THE NAME FOR 
CHEVROLET'S SPORTS CAR... THE CORVETTE.

IN 1998, MR. SCOTT AND MRS. CLARA JANE SALISBURY SCOTT, CELEBRATED THEIR 70th 
WEDDING ANNIVERSARY....

WOW! SEVENTY YEARS.

TO QUOTE THE NEW YORK TIMES,
" MR. SCOTT LEFT HIS MARKS ON 20th-CENTURY CULTURE".
I WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOU TO PAUSE A MINUTE IN SILENT RESPECT, AND IF YOU FEEL 
LIKE IT, GIVE THANKS TO GOD FOR A STAR THAT STREAKED ACROSS OUR HEAVENS.

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