By John D. Amgwert
In August 1953 these slides were taken by a currently unknown person.
In June 2025 I happened to stumble upon these slides randomly while searching for anything related to the Soap Box Derby on eBay. I was absolutely in shock when I saw the picture of the first slide being listed for sale! And for a measly list price of $7.99 plus shipping! Are you kidding me!? Most people may not understand why such a randomly listed 72-year-old slide would send a person into shock, but this is quite literally the photo I’d been on a quest to locate for the better part of year.
I knew exactly what I was looking at despite the somewhat vague listing title:
“1950s All American Soapbox Derby Akron Ohio Dinah Shore Red Boarder Slide BE-D“
The specific event:
16th All American Soap Box Derby Championship in Akron, OH.
The specific date:
August 9th, 1953.
The story goes, Corvette Senior Experimental Engineer and three-time winner of the Indy 500 Mauri Rose drove the Waldorf Motorama Show Corvette in the pre-race parade down Derby Hill. This belief stems from a Chevrolet Engineering letter dated July 30th, 1953, sent to M. S. “Rosey” Rosenberger from W. R. “Walt” Mackenzie of the Engineering Department. The letter reads as follows:
Mr. M. S. Rosenberger
W. R. Mackenzie
July 30th, 1953
cc: Mr. W. O. Power
Mr. J. D. Bell
Mr. R. W. Thomas
Mr. W. O. Power has asked for the services of Mauri Rose to drive a Corvette car down the Derby Hill on August 9th (Sunday), as part of the pre-race parade. The car to be used is the #1 Corvette (the one shown at the Waldorf), and inasmuch as it is an exhibit car, it will be under the care of R. W. Thomas, of the Technical Data Group.
All expenses will be paid by the Advertising Department.
Will you kindly advise as soon as possible whether this has your approval and whether Mr. Rose will participate, so that the necessary reservations can be made?
W. R. Mackenzie,
Engineering Department.
My reason for trying to locate any photo taken of a Corvette featured at this event was to try and prove, was it in fact the Waldorf Motorama Show Corvette? Or was it a production model Corvette? In recent years there has been some debate as to which car was present. Knowing that the Motorama show cars are considerably different in appearance from a production model (see my previously written article), I figured any photo of the car would settle this debate.
The seller of this slide also had several others from the same event listed and I just had to buy them all. Each one cost $7.99, but I did get a deal on shipping. The historical significance and documentation they provide for anyone interested in old Corvette history in my mind was priceless.
For a little background, the All-American Soap Box Derby was sponsored by Chevrolet and typically featured cars from their lineup for promotional purposes. It was also founded by Myron Scott who just so happens to be the person responsible for naming Chevrolet’s new 1953 sports car the “Corvette”.
Being this was a very large championship event, one so large that the champion was typically featured on the covers of newspapers all over the country, you’d think a photograph of the brand new highly talked about sports car would be easy to find, right?
Not so much.
It seemed like every time I came close to what I thought would lead me to what I was looking for I’d come up short.
After spending months searching through many old newspapers, online photo archives, and buying several old vintage magazines covering this event, I was about to give up on this quest. Most of the pictures I was able to find of the 1953 All-American Soap Box Derby Championship were of the winner Freddy Mohler, Dinah Shore, George Montgomery, Don Ameche, Andy Divine, Capt. Video, and Wilbur Shaw, all of whom were in attendance that day, but sadly none of the Corvette that was featured on the event poster.
Cropped closeup:
References: newspapers.com
Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, OH) – August 7th, 1953 – Page 27
There are several photos which I stumbled upon on the Summit Memory Archives website: Search Results – Summit Memory, but again none of the Corvette featured at the event.
I also found a video from the event that was uploaded to YouTube that can be found here, but again does not include any footage of the Corvette.
At one point during my search I found an old 8×10 press photo for sale, also on an eBay listing, with an aerial view of the track that day. I purchased it hoping if I scanned it in HQ that I could maybe identify the Corvette in question sitting somewhere in the background. Sadly this did not pan out either.
There was a great magazine article, brought to my attention by a friend, in the September 1953 issue of GM Folks magazine. The copy I picked up has seen better days, but it still has some great photos from the event. Several pictures of the race, a celebration photo of Freddy Mohler with W.E. Fish the General Sales Manager of Chevrolet, one of the parade from the very back, Dinah Shore, Andy Devine, and Capt. Video. Sadly, none of the Corvette featured at the event. While the article doesn’t mention the Corvette specifically, this same issue of GM Folks also had another article covering the Corvette going into production.
Click images to view full size image in new tab.
Finally, one article I found in The Lima News, from August 8th, 1953 helped corroborate some of the Chevrolet Engineering request letter. This is from the day before the derby and the plans were a Corvette was to be driven down the track by Mauri Rose with Dinah Shore as his passenger. But did it happen? And more importantly which car was it?
References: newspapers.com
The Lima News (Lima, OH) – August 8th, 1953 – page 2
Another article I found was in the Winston-Salem Journal, August 10, 1953 newspaper written by Hank Schoolfield where he detailed the events of the day. This to me was significant, I found the details of the event quite interesting. It rained that day, right as the parade was starting. Maybe this is why there are no photos of the car? No one wanted to take photos in the rain. We also have confirmation, Mauri Rose did in fact drive a Corvette down the track with Dinah Shore as his passenger. But which car was it?
References: newspapers.com
Winston-Salem Journal (Winston Salem, NC) – August 10th, 1953 – page 10
I think the slide I purchased answers the question. It aligns exactly as Hank Schoolfield reported it. Please note the wet track, umbrellas and what appears to be Mauri Rose driving with Dinah Shore waving in the passenger seat of what is clearly a production model Corvette.
To further confirm this is the correct date, another detail from Hank Schoolfield’s article along with the remaining slides:
In the slide below, we can see Dinah Shore on a elevated platform beneath the bridge at the finish line:
In the slide below, the bridge over the finish line matches arial 8×10 press photo I purchased above. American flag directly above where Dinah Shore sang The Star-Spangled Banner:
In the slide below, we see that Freddy Mohler has won the race:
In the slide below, we see that Freddy Mohler is being presented the winner’s trophy from W. E. Fish, General Sales Manager of Chevrolet:
In the slide below, we have another trophy celebration shot:
In this slide, we see Freddy Mohler and his parents:
In the very last slide, we see in the bottom left corner, Dinah Shore and Freddy Mohler going for the victory ride. Can’t help but notice the decals on the car indicating this is in fact the 16th All-American Soap Box Derby | Derby Downs | Akron, OH | August 9, 1953.
It just so happens almost immediately after purchasing these slides I started researching Wilbur Shaw, another three-time winner of the Indy 500, as he served as the Soap Box Derby Championship finish-line referee, and did so for many years.
While researching him, I came across his posthumously released autobiography titled “Gentlemen, Start Your Engines” which is free to borrow on Achrive.org.
The book was published in 1955.
Searching through the book I found a very interesting photo on page 258. Wilbur Shaw, sitting in a production model Corvette, wearing his soap box derby checkered referee shirt and pith helmet. Joined by another three-time winner of the Indy 500.
The caption and smiles on their faces says it all!
I think that should settle the debate of what type of Corvette was present at the 16th All American Soap Box Derby Championship.
From what I see in these photos it was a production model Corvette and NOT the Waldorf Motorama Show Corvette.
To cycle back to the original Chevrolet Engineering request letter. I’d like to point out that this was merely a “request” which does not mean that it was actually granted.
Why is this significant? It’s not, for most people. To me, it is, as well as for some interested in stuff like this.
My opinion, the Waldorf Motorama Show Corvette (aka EX-52, Corvette #1, Opel Car 852) was exactly what it was, a show car. It was not specially designed to demonstrate its driving capabilities. Especially not down a steeply sloped derby track by a three-time winner of the Indy 500. Mauri Rose probably knew this and upon reading the request letter probably said something to the effect of, “Sure I’ll participate, but let me do it in a car that I actually work on as a Senior Experimental Engineer.”
Which production model Corvette was this? Don’t know.
Through my research into the events featuring the Motorama Show Corvettes, as well as early events where production model Corvettes were used for show or demonstration, this is currently the earliest known instance that I’ve found, supported by photographs, of a 1953 production model Corvette being showcased at such a high-profile public event. Could I be wrong with that statement? Sure, as I’ve only been interested in researching this topic for about a year now. One thing I can say for sure is that the journey has been an incredibly enjoyable one.
As always if you have anything to add to the discussion, please post a comment or reach out to me directly on Facebook, the NCRS Facebook Group page, or the NCRS Technical Discussion Board.