Space News
space history and artifacts articles

Messages
space history discussion forums

Sightings
worldwide astronaut appearances

Resources
selected space history documents

  collectSPACE: Messages
  Space Explorers & Workers
  Astronaut vette dealer Jim Rathmann (1928-2011) (Page 1)

Post New Topic  Post A Reply
profile | register | preferences | faq | search


This topic is 2 pages long:   1  2 
next newest topic | next oldest topic
Author Topic:   Astronaut vette dealer Jim Rathmann (1928-2011)
328.5KF
unregistered
posted 11-24-2011 02:33 PM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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

posted 11-24-2011 02:35 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for machbusterman   Click Here to Email machbusterman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
.

ApolloAlex
Member

Posts: 390
From: Yeovil, England
Registered: Oct 2004

posted 11-24-2011 02:52 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for ApolloAlex   Click Here to Email ApolloAlex     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
.

GACspaceguy
Member

Posts: 2476
From: Guyton, GA
Registered: Jan 2006

posted 11-24-2011 03:09 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for GACspaceguy   Click Here to Email GACspaceguy     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
.

Richard Rogers
Member

Posts: 49
From: Desoto, Tx
Registered: Sep 2011

posted 11-24-2011 03:19 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Richard Rogers     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
.

Delta7
Member

Posts: 1505
From: Bluffton IN USA
Registered: Oct 2007

posted 11-24-2011 04:11 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Delta7   Click Here to Email Delta7     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
.

Jeff
Member

Posts: 474
From: Fayetteville, NC, USA
Registered: May 2009

posted 11-24-2011 04:28 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Jeff   Click Here to Email Jeff     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
.

jasonelam
Member

Posts: 691
From: Monticello, KY USA
Registered: Mar 2007

posted 11-24-2011 05:12 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for jasonelam   Click Here to Email jasonelam     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
.

mach3valkyrie
Member

Posts: 719
From: Albany, Oregon
Registered: Jul 2006

posted 11-24-2011 05:18 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for mach3valkyrie   Click Here to Email mach3valkyrie     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
.

apolloprojeckt
Member

Posts: 1447
From: Arnhem, Netherlands
Registered: Feb 2009

posted 11-24-2011 05:19 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for apolloprojeckt   Click Here to Email apolloprojeckt     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
.

413 is in
Member

Posts: 628
From: Alexandria, VA USA
Registered: May 2006

posted 11-24-2011 05:35 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for 413 is in   Click Here to Email 413 is in     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
.

albatron
Member

Posts: 2732
From: Stuart, Florida
Registered: Jun 2000

posted 11-24-2011 06:51 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for albatron   Click Here to Email albatron     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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

posted 11-24-2011 07:37 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Cozmosis22     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
.

ejectr
Member

Posts: 1751
From: Killingly, CT
Registered: Mar 2002

posted 11-24-2011 07:56 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for ejectr   Click Here to Email ejectr     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
.

328KF
Member

Posts: 1234
From:
Registered: Apr 2008

posted 11-24-2011 09:12 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for 328KF   Click Here to Email 328KF     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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

posted 11-24-2011 11:48 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for randy   Click Here to Email randy     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
.

capoetc
Member

Posts: 2169
From: McKinney TX (USA)
Registered: Aug 2005

posted 11-25-2011 06:55 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for capoetc   Click Here to Email capoetc     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
.

history in miniature
Member

Posts: 600
From: Slatington, PA
Registered: Mar 2009

posted 11-25-2011 07:16 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for history in miniature   Click Here to Email history in miniature     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
.

sts205cdr
Member

Posts: 649
From: Sacramento, CA
Registered: Jun 2001

posted 11-25-2011 10:56 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for sts205cdr   Click Here to Email sts205cdr     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
.

David Carey
Member

Posts: 782
From:
Registered: Mar 2009

posted 11-25-2011 07:42 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for David Carey   Click Here to Email David Carey     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
.

KSCartist
Member

Posts: 2896
From: Titusville, FL USA
Registered: Feb 2005

posted 11-26-2011 02:12 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for KSCartist   Click Here to Email KSCartist     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
.

JohnPaul56
Member

Posts: 180
From: Montclair, NJ, USA
Registered: Apr 2010

posted 11-26-2011 09:17 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for JohnPaul56     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
.

Dave Clow
Member

Posts: 236
From: South Pasadena, CA 91030
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 11-26-2011 10:06 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Dave Clow   Click Here to Email Dave Clow     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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

posted 11-26-2011 11:12 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for FFrench     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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.

astro-nut
Member

Posts: 946
From: Washington, IL
Registered: Jan 2006

posted 11-26-2011 06:35 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for astro-nut   Click Here to Email astro-nut     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
My thoughts and prayers for his family. God Bless!

Richard Rogers
Member

Posts: 49
From: Desoto, Tx
Registered: Sep 2011

posted 11-26-2011 08:01 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Richard Rogers     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
.

328.5KF
unregistered
posted 11-26-2011 08:20 PM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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

posted 11-26-2011 08:48 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Grounded!   Click Here to Email Grounded!     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
.

ApolloAlex
Member

Posts: 390
From: Yeovil, England
Registered: Oct 2004

posted 11-27-2011 04:39 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for ApolloAlex   Click Here to Email ApolloAlex     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
.

Kite
Member

Posts: 831
From: Northampton UK
Registered: Nov 2009

posted 11-27-2011 08:23 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Kite     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
.

spaceman
Member

Posts: 1104
From: Walsall, West Midlands, UK
Registered: Dec 2002

posted 11-27-2011 01:49 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for spaceman   Click Here to Email spaceman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
.

Henk Boshuijer
Member

Posts: 450
From: Netherlands
Registered: May 2007

posted 11-27-2011 05:29 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Henk Boshuijer   Click Here to Email Henk Boshuijer     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
.

ringo67
Member

Posts: 179
From: Seekonk, Mass., USA
Registered: May 2003

posted 11-28-2011 12:39 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for ringo67   Click Here to Email ringo67     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
.

East-Frisian
Member

Posts: 586
From: Germany
Registered: Apr 2005

posted 11-28-2011 10:01 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for East-Frisian     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
.

rjb1elec
Member

Posts: 212
From: Merseyside, England
Registered: Oct 2004

posted 11-28-2011 12:04 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for rjb1elec   Click Here to Email rjb1elec     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
.

Jay Chladek
Member

Posts: 2272
From: Bellevue, NE, USA
Registered: Aug 2007

posted 11-28-2011 05:53 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Jay Chladek   Click Here to Email Jay Chladek     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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

posted 11-29-2011 10:06 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for 328KF   Click Here to Email 328KF     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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

posted 11-29-2011 02:20 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for hlbjr   Click Here to Email hlbjr     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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

posted 11-29-2011 02:24 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Gilbert   Click Here to Email Gilbert     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
.

SkyMan1958
Member

Posts: 867
From: CA.
Registered: Jan 2011

posted 11-29-2011 04:26 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for SkyMan1958   Click Here to Email SkyMan1958     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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.


This topic is 2 pages long:   1  2 

All times are CT (US)

next newest topic | next oldest topic

Administrative Options: Close Topic | Archive/Move | Delete Topic
Post New Topic  Post A Reply
Hop to:

Contact Us | The Source for Space History & Artifacts

Copyright 2020 collectSPACE.com All rights reserved.


Ultimate Bulletin Board 5.47a





advertisement