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Author
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Topic: Astronaut vette dealer Jim Rathmann (1928-2011)
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328.5KF
unregistered
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posted 11-24-2011 02:33 PM
 
Indianapolis 500 winner and supplier of Chevrolet Corvettes to many of the early astronauts, Jim Rathmann, passed away yesterday (Nov. 23, 2011) at the age of 83. Son Jimmy Rathmann said in an e-mail message to Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials that his father died Wednesday at a hospice facility in Melbourne, nine days after having a seizure at his home. He was 83. There are many colorful stories surrounding Rathmann and his relationship with the astronauts, including one that I hadn't known about until reading the articles on his passing. He became close friends with the early astronauts and even convinced one of them to place his car dealership decal on a cart that was driven on the moon. Rathmann also became part of the GCR Corporation team that raced in the USAC Series in 1966 and 1967. The "G" represented Gus Grissom, the "C" represented Gordon Cooper and the "R" was for Rathmann. I'm assuming that the cart they are referring to is the Modular Equipment Transport (MET) used by Shepard and Mitchell on Apollo 14, but I'm not certain of that. |
machbusterman
Member Posts: 1778
From: Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland
Registered: May 2004
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posted 11-24-2011 02:35 PM
 
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ApolloAlex
Member Posts: 390
From: Yeovil, England
Registered: Oct 2004
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posted 11-24-2011 02:52 PM
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GACspaceguy
Member Posts: 2476
From: Guyton, GA
Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 11-24-2011 03:09 PM
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Richard Rogers
Member Posts: 49
From: Desoto, Tx
Registered: Sep 2011
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posted 11-24-2011 03:19 PM
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Delta7
Member Posts: 1505
From: Bluffton IN USA
Registered: Oct 2007
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posted 11-24-2011 04:11 PM
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Jeff
Member Posts: 474
From: Fayetteville, NC, USA
Registered: May 2009
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posted 11-24-2011 04:28 PM
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jasonelam
Member Posts: 691
From: Monticello, KY USA
Registered: Mar 2007
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posted 11-24-2011 05:12 PM
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mach3valkyrie
Member Posts: 719
From: Albany, Oregon
Registered: Jul 2006
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posted 11-24-2011 05:18 PM
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apolloprojeckt
Member Posts: 1447
From: Arnhem, Netherlands
Registered: Feb 2009
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posted 11-24-2011 05:19 PM
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413 is in
Member Posts: 628
From: Alexandria, VA USA
Registered: May 2006
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posted 11-24-2011 05:35 PM
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albatron
Member Posts: 2732
From: Stuart, Florida
Registered: Jun 2000
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posted 11-24-2011 06:51 PM
Sad indeed. I had the pleasure of meeting Jim at some of the ASF events a few years back. A very nice man and Indy winner himself I believe?RIP. |
Cozmosis22
Member Posts: 968
From: Texas * Earth
Registered: Apr 2011
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posted 11-24-2011 07:37 PM
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ejectr
Member Posts: 1751
From: Killingly, CT
Registered: Mar 2002
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posted 11-24-2011 07:56 PM
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328KF
Member Posts: 1234
From:
Registered: Apr 2008
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posted 11-24-2011 09:12 PM
quote:
Originally posted by albatron:
A very nice man and Indy winner himself I believe?
Yes, in fact his 1960 Indy 500 win was his first and only professional racing win. |
randy
Member Posts: 2176
From: West Jordan, Utah USA
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 11-24-2011 11:48 PM
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capoetc
Member Posts: 2169
From: McKinney TX (USA)
Registered: Aug 2005
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posted 11-25-2011 06:55 AM
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history in miniature
Member Posts: 600
From: Slatington, PA
Registered: Mar 2009
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posted 11-25-2011 07:16 AM
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sts205cdr
Member Posts: 649
From: Sacramento, CA
Registered: Jun 2001
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posted 11-25-2011 10:56 AM
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David Carey
Member Posts: 782
From:
Registered: Mar 2009
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posted 11-25-2011 07:42 PM
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KSCartist
Member Posts: 2896
From: Titusville, FL USA
Registered: Feb 2005
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posted 11-26-2011 02:12 AM
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JohnPaul56
Member Posts: 180
From: Montclair, NJ, USA
Registered: Apr 2010
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posted 11-26-2011 09:17 AM
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Dave Clow
Member Posts: 236
From: South Pasadena, CA 91030
Registered: Nov 2003
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posted 11-26-2011 10:06 AM
He became close friends with the early astronauts and even convinced one of them to place his car dealership decal on a cart that was driven on the moon. I think the Rathmann insignia in question might actually have been on the Apollo 15 rover. I've seen a display on the rovers at the Columbia Memorial Space Center in Downey, CA that mentioned this (I can't say whether or not the the display was a permanent exhibit). Francis French will likely know the answer. |
FFrench
Member Posts: 3161
From: San Diego
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 11-26-2011 11:12 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Dave Clow:
Francis French will likely know the answer.
I have heard that rumor too, Dave, but can only give you a third-hand answer. Dave Scott was asked in recent years about it and says it was not on the Apollo 15 rover. Al Worden and I tried to track down the story a little for Al's book, without luck. Andy Chaikin had not heard of it. Photo experts looked through all images of the rover on the moon from many angles and couldn't spot it. Al had no recollection of such a sticker, and he has been close to Rathmann for many decades. If anyone does ever find out for sure, I'd love to know. We did, however, put a number of Rathmann car racing stories in Al's book "Falling To Earth," as Al was very close to him and participated in a lot of racing with him. I'm sad to hear we have lost another person so closely tied to the social lore of the golden age of human spaceflight.
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astro-nut
Member Posts: 946
From: Washington, IL
Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 11-26-2011 06:35 PM
My thoughts and prayers for his family. God Bless! |
Richard Rogers
Member Posts: 49
From: Desoto, Tx
Registered: Sep 2011
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posted 11-26-2011 08:01 PM
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328.5KF
unregistered
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posted 11-26-2011 08:20 PM
The reason that I assumed it was Apollo 14 was the fact that the articles mentioned a "cart", not a "rover". I also understand that he had a very close relationship with Al Shepard.Perhaps it's a question that can be directed to Ed Mitchell by anyone who may see him at one of the autograph events that he regularly attends. |
Grounded!
Member Posts: 367
From: Bennington, Vermont, USA
Registered: Feb 2011
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posted 11-26-2011 08:48 PM
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ApolloAlex
Member Posts: 390
From: Yeovil, England
Registered: Oct 2004
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posted 11-27-2011 04:39 AM
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Kite
Member Posts: 831
From: Northampton UK
Registered: Nov 2009
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posted 11-27-2011 08:23 AM
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spaceman
Member Posts: 1104
From: Walsall, West Midlands, UK
Registered: Dec 2002
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posted 11-27-2011 01:49 PM
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Henk Boshuijer
Member Posts: 450
From: Netherlands
Registered: May 2007
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posted 11-27-2011 05:29 PM
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ringo67
Member Posts: 179
From: Seekonk, Mass., USA
Registered: May 2003
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posted 11-28-2011 12:39 AM
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East-Frisian
Member Posts: 586
From: Germany
Registered: Apr 2005
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posted 11-28-2011 10:01 AM
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rjb1elec
Member Posts: 212
From: Merseyside, England
Registered: Oct 2004
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posted 11-28-2011 12:04 PM
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Jay Chladek
Member Posts: 2272
From: Bellevue, NE, USA
Registered: Aug 2007
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posted 11-28-2011 05:53 PM
quote:
Originally posted by 328KF:
Yes, in fact his 1960 Indy 500 win was his first and only professional racing win.
It wasn't his only professional win. He had a couple others as well in Indycars, but they were either unofficial exhibitions or non-points races. Rathmann was the winner of the 1958 "Race of Two Worlds" (also known as the 500 Miglia di Monza), an unofficial event staged on a 2.64-mile banked oval at Monza, Italy, that featured Indy cars and modified Formula One and sports cars. Watch the film "Grand Prix" if you want to see the Monza banks in action.He also won race heats at a USAC Indycar doubleheader staged at the Daytona speedway in 1959. It was the ONLY time Indy cars raced on the high banks of Daytona and they never did it again because the cars with those skinny tires were topping out at about 176 mph and a driver got killed that weekend (shades of Dan Wheldon's wreck almost). |
328KF
Member Posts: 1234
From:
Registered: Apr 2008
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posted 11-29-2011 10:06 AM
Yeah I should have edited after I posted that... I came across some of those as I read more about him this week. "Grand Prix" is a cool movie for it's time, and I also have a great history of the Indy 500 documentary video with coverage of Rathmann's win there.Even with his limited success on the circuit, he was highly regarded among his racing peers. |
hlbjr
Member Posts: 475
From: Delray Beach Florida USA
Registered: Mar 2006
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posted 11-29-2011 02:20 PM
My family bought a motorhome from his dealership back in the early 1970's and I was more impressed (at the time) with his Indy 500 win than his relationship with the astronauts. |
Gilbert
Member Posts: 1328
From: Carrollton, GA USA
Registered: Jan 2003
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posted 11-29-2011 02:24 PM
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SkyMan1958
Member Posts: 867
From: CA.
Registered: Jan 2011
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posted 11-29-2011 04:26 PM
Sorry to hear it. I know that he and Gordon Cooper smuggled Scotch (an individual serving size bottle) and cigarettes aboard Sigma 7 before launch, and that Schirra downed the booze as soon as he could aboard the recovery ship... leading the doctors to wonder why he had alcohol in his system. |
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