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The Gray Ghost |
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By Fred Farley - ABRA Unlimited Historian |
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The proverbial "Gray Ghost" was the 1964 TAHOE MISS, owned by Bill Harrah. She was driven in 1964-65 by Chuck Thompson and in 1966 by Mira Slovak. The Allison-powered "Gray Ghost" TAHOE MISS was arguably the last truly competitive Unlimited hydroplane to be designed by Les Staudacher. (Most of Staudacher's 1960s creations left a lot to be desired. But that's another story.) Thompson drove TAHOE MISS to victory in the 1964 and '65 Madison races and the 1965 Detroit race. Slovak piloted her to the 1966 National High Point Championship, which included a victory in the APBA Gold Cup at Detroit. The boat was renamed HARRAH'S CLUB for 1967-68, driven variously by Chuck Hickling, Burnett Bartley, and Jim McCormick. But she never won another race, despite going to Rolls-Royce Griffon power in 1968. She re-appeared briefly in 1971 as Bernie Little's BUDWEISER MALT LIQUOR and in 1973-74-75 as Tom Kaufman's MISTER FABRICATOR. Andy Anderson was the TAHOE MISS crew chief. During the 1966 campaign, when Slovak was the driver, Anderson would worry that Mira-- who frequently performed in aerial acrobatic shows between heats-- would be prevented or delayed from getting back to the pits in time for the next heat. So, Andy took a driver's test and qualified as an Unlimited driver in his own right. This would have allowed Anderson to legally step in as relief pilot in the event that the unthinkable occurred. Thankfully, it never did. After winning the 1966 National Championship with TAHOE MISS, Anderson inexplicably transferred to the NOTRE DAME camp for 1967-68-- not as crew chief but in a secondary role as an ordinary crewmember. Throughout its history, there always seemed to be a lot of dissension in the NOTRE DAME organization. Anderson unfortunately did not help this situation. At the 1968 Seattle World Championship Race, Anderson and NOTRE DAME crew chief Jim Kerth went on live television and aired the team's "dirty linen" in public. (The SEATTLE P-I strongly censured the NOTRE DAME crew as a "team that didn't know the meaning of the word.") Anderson and Kerth were both fired shortly thereafter. Kerth continued in the sport for many years. But Anderson was never heard from again. |
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