Happy Birthday Stover Hire

[Tom10W]

I noticed it's Stover Hire's birthday. Stover is 69!
I grew up at the races in the late '60 and early '70's and Stover Hire was "The Man" in BSR. Everybodies Idol! He had beautiful Hedlunds with the familiar 56-H, I believe. I was young but remember the '70 Stock Nationals in Beloit. BSR was ran and re-ran..I think it was raining. Stover was driving so hard I think he chipped his tooth. Wierd I remember that...

I would like to hear from some "old timers" what it was like to race against a legend like Stover Hire...
Don Allen Sr..you must have a good story about Stover...

Happy Birthday Stover,

Tom Kargus
10W (Used to be 9W back in the day)

[mike ross]

I passed him at Dayton in an A boat with a 20cu Hot Rod in BSR. I turned it flat, no side fin( had not tried a sissy boat yet as Ed Hearn says). I had Stover, Craig Dewald, Clark Maloof, Larry Reber, and Fred Miller in my elimination heat that year. Thats the only time i ran against him. My Memories!!!!!

[Tom10W]

Nuts

That's crazy Mike...Probably the same year Billy Hutchins ran BSH on Andy Hansens "Twig" ASH boat. My uncle, Denny Berghauer would run DSH on his CSH back in the '60s, so I am told...Like I said crazy!
Joey Zolkoske ran ASH, BSH and 25SSH on a Hansen ASH hull in Orville, Ca in 1983 and got 2nd place in all three...

In my previous post I mentioned stover ran Hedlunds boats...I think he actually ran Rinker Runabouts...Whatever they were, they were absolutely beautiful..

Tom

[Don11m]

Happy Birthday Stover

I remember once about 35 years ago ,we had a full field of BSRs I was running about 5th , it was very rough and at the end of the first lap I was going to pull off the race course I had almost fell out a couple times already. I sat up in the boat to pull off and saw that Stover was behind me , I went back to driving as hard as I could, because I almost never beat the famous 56-H in that era. So if I got out ahead of Stover I was going to make the most of it. My Inboard pals tell me that when Stover Hire shows up with his 20 year old 5 Litre he is still tough to beat. Don Allen Sr.

[racer4s]

Best Race

The best boat race I ever saw was between Stover Hire in his 20H corn popper Rinker rollup and Paul Kalb in his hotrod flat turner. I'm not sure of the make of his boat. It was at the 60' or 61' NOA Nationals in Creve Coer and it was a war! Each won a heat and I think Stover won on time. I have never seen two go at it as hard as those two. Today it could be Craig Bowman and Rich Runne in CSR or Mark Miskerik and Dana Holt in 20SSH. Of course Billy Allen, Brian Palmquist, Shannon Bowman or Joe Pater in any race always has a high level of intensity to it that's great to watch.
I was very fortunate to witness Stover running at a bunch of local races in the midwest as I was growing up and he always raced to win. He also ran a hotrod in the BSH class for a guy named Miller out of Anderson, Indiana I think. Never had the same success.

Stover, thanks for showing me how boat racing is supposed to be done, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Brent Simmons
20-P
Father was Chuck Simmons out of Columbus, IN

[Stover Hire]

birthday

thank you . I ran a Rinker and a Hedlund. The race i ran against Paul Kalb i ran a Rinker. Thanks for the memories. Nice to hear from you.

[JULI SEAMAN]

Happy Birthday Stover

You're so right Tom and Don. Stover is one of the great ones. If my Dad was still alive, he'd tell you great Stover stories. Tom, I think you're right about the boat but my recollection is that Stover raced both Rinkers AND then Hedlund; at least I thought that was why my Dad switched from his Rinker to Hedlund (round bottoms). Happy birthday Stover from the daughter of Wilson Seaman 4-S

[Abbott Racing]

My memories of Stover are from when I was a kid watching Stover race his 280 inboard in Valleyfield.... He used rape the competition with his boat HIRE Voltage!

[Stover Hire]

birthday

I still race 5 litre inboard and do the driving. My son in law is learning to drive and loves it. I love both the stock outboards and the inboards. I have met a lot of freinds in both catagories and love it. Keep racing.

[Abbott Racing]

So when are we going to see you back in Valleyfield???????

I went back to outboards after a stint in inboards and now my son is going to be driving a 1.5 inboard as well as his outboard stuff.

[Tom10W]

Stover's Championships

I was looking through my copy of “Speed & Spray” the other day. It listed drivers with four or more championships (As of 1974).
For those of you that were not involved in Stock Outboard racing back in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s, Stover won APBA National Championships in 1963, 1965, 1966, 1967 and 1971. 1964 was Modesto, Ca..Did you go to that one Stover?
Please add to the list your racing accomplishments since then.
I could not wait to run “B” when I was a kid. My dad ran BSH and I also loved watching the BU’s…Small boats, fast and loud…
Stover, they call them poppers now..Antiques…

Tom Kargus
Vern's kid..not really a kid anymore I'm afraid..I think I'm a year younger than your daughter, Stephanie...

[mercguy]

That's crazy Mike...Probably the same year Billy Hutchins ran BSH on Andy Hansens "Twig" ASH boat. My uncle, Denny Berghauer would run DSH on his CSH back in the '60s, so I am told...Like I said crazy!
Joey Zolkoske ran ASH, BSH and 25SSH on a Hansen ASH hull in Orville, Ca in 1983 and got 2nd place in all three...

In my previous post I mentioned stover ran Hedlunds boats...I think he actually ran Rinker Runabouts...Whatever they were, they were absolutely beautiful..

Tom

boy Tom, I didn't realize that you (and you too Tim R.) were so old!!!!

[Ron Hill]

Stover...

Last time I talked to John Rinker, he told me, that Stover was leading an inboard race, and just pulled off the course. When John asked, "What happened?" Stover replyed he'd gotten tired...Somehow, I wouldn't say I didn'nt believe John... But..Any truth to this Stover...??

My first memories of Stover was at Boston, 1963... Ernie Dawe had a good running BU...You couldn't see the course from the pits, but if you walked up to the bridge you could see the second turn...(Ernie ended up about 7th)...

The BU class started and then, they went out of sight, then, one BU came into view and sounded kind of "DOGGISH" ... then disappeared..I thought, ****, that guy got a bad start... I could here the announcer saying "Stove Pipe Hire" was leading.... (I later learned that the DOGGISH sound came from swinging a big wheel and pulling some big horse power)...

Then, the pack of "Racers" came around, I was trying to figure out who of that group was "STOVE PIPE HIRE"... Pretty soon this "Back Marker" came around again...This time, he was farther ahead of the pack of racers...I realize this was "Stove Pipe Hire, whoever that was..."

C runabout was up next...I ran back to the pits and said, "A guy named Stove Pipe Hire, in a Rinker, just won by about half lap." Then, I added, I think he was ahead...

Turned out Stover had kicked the crap out of all them BU's..

I think, that the Hedlund was really a RINKER... When Rinker Boats quit making molded plywood boats, the Hedlund's bought all the "left over" bottoms. The Hedlund's added transoms and decks to these plywood molded plywoods...I won't bore you with Hedlund stories, here, but when I raced for OMC, the Hedlunds had a bed for me, most of several summers,....they were awfully nice to a guy from California...

Happy Birthday, Stover...Belated, as some of us are still going to races almost every weekend.....Do you still drive black Chryslers??? When you close the door on one of Stover's car's, you'd better close it with the back of your hand, as he doesn't want no stinking finger prints on his doors....Not that he's particulrar or anything!!!!

ADD: STOVER: WHAT PLACE DID YOU GET AT BEAVER FALLS, PA, IN 1965??? Seems you won in 1966 at Prinville, didn't you??

LAST ADD: Your SMITH WHEELS??? All Michigans?? Were some Cary's????

[dholt]

Add one more title to Stover's BSR career.

1972 Cedar Rapids, Ia.

That makes 6 total.

Pretty impressive considering the sheer numbers of racers back then and the talent level.


Would love to see/hear the 20-H racing again like in the hey-day.

Dana

[Tom10W]

1:1 gears

Reading Ron Hill's post..

Stover, were you running 1:1 gears? Normally those gears created the low rpm growl on the 20H..You really needed good horsepower for 1:1 gears. My dad ran them once in a while with little BSH wheels.
I actually ran 1:1 gears up until 1979 in my BSH. Grandpa Berghauer liked them.
Last one I know that was and probably still is running 1:1's is John Webster (12) from Canada..