The former mayor of Paterson, Joey Torres, had committed to seeing the restoration of the stadium by the end of his term in 2018. He left office in 2017 and accepted a plea deal in response to charges of corruption. Further improvements to the stadium may come with the efforts to upgrade the area around the Paterson Great Falls National Historic Park. Well, the restoration is complete. Now what about auto racing at what was once the mecca of the racing world? Could it happen?
Hinchliffe Stadium was opened in 1932 as a high school stadium for the City of Paterson, primarily serving the athletic programs of Eastside and Central (now J.F. Kennedy) High Schools. However, other events frequently took place at the oval, including semi-professional baseball and football and even auto racing. It was also the home for the New York Black Yankees, Negro National League (1936-37 and 1939-45).
Hinchliffe Stadium was named after Mayor John Hinchliffe, who made his fortune from Hinchliffe Brewing before it closed due to prohibition. After the stadium opening, for decades onward, the stadium’s 10,000-seat capacity proved an instant draw for football, boxing, auto-racing, major track and field meets, and star-studded musical entertainment.
Racing at Hinchliffe can be attributed, in large part, to the vision of Ed Otto. Otto approached the stadium commissioners with a proposition to rent the stadium for motor races. He and his partner, John (Jack) Kochman, paid $150 a night to rent the stadium for their races where they would charge $0.75 for spectator admission. Audiences would often sell out surpassing 10,000 where the two would make $7,350 per night. Quite the take for one night’s work.
Paterson’s Gasoline Alley
A look back at a number of images from Hinchliffe Stadium racing and the Paterson area known as “Gasoline Alley.” Located on East 29th Street between 17 and 18th Avenues, Gasoline Alley began as a series of auto repair shops in the 1920s, but with the advent of racing at Hinchliffe Stadium, it became the mecca for professional drivers with garages to build and maintain their racing machines. The Gasoline Alley Tavern was legendary for those who wanted to hang with the drivers and grab a pizza and some suds.
While the racing began on June 5, 1934 on the 1/5th mile cinder track, it was eventually paved for midget car racing. Later, stock cars and motorcycles would rule the day. Racing historians and fans remember racing names that logged laps at Hinchcliffe; 1st champion Crocky Rawding, Roscoe “Pappy” Hough, Ted Horn (Indy fame), Johnny Parsons, “Bronco” Bill Schindler, Art Cross, Rex Records, Jerry Willits, Ken Bren, Dutch Schaefer, Frankie Schneider, Ted Teppett , Johnny Ritter, Lou Volk, Dee Toran and his gold leaf car, and others graced the track over the years to crowds that would reach 10,000. This was such a spectacle, they even installed lights and held night races at the stadium.
The last midget car race in Hinchliffe Stadium took place in 1950. Motor sports were completely discontinued at the Stadium after 1952. Ed Otto would go on to become one of the founders of NASCAR in 1949.
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Mr. Local History Lost New Jersey Racetrack Project
Our research about Hinchcliffe has now turned into a full blown obsession. While being big racing fans, we chuckled when we watch NASCAR’s Clash at the Coliseum was configured to run at the LA Coliseum and then we remember Paterson’s Hinchliffe Stadium with their midget car, modified, and motorcycle racing.
So where were all these tracks? We’ve started an interactive map below. We’ll keep digging and we keep finding more! Have one to share? Let us know (Post in comments section below)
Ironically, the stadium’s first season also launched the twentieth-century New York-Metro area tradition of basing Big Apple sports teams in “Joisey.” In fact, two New York Negro League teams, the New York Black Yankees & the New York Cubans, also made Hinchliffe “home.”
There are tons of venues that can support baseball, football, track and multi-use fields. But auto racing back at Hinchliffe? This would bring a unique urban appeal back to a grass roots track that was once a New Jersey icon.
Hinchliffe National Exposure
In an exploratory look at great racing cathedrals of the past, third-generation NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. hosts a journey across the country to unearth the secrets of long-forgotten racecourses, now abandoned and overtaken by nature. In New Jersey, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s crew treks to Hinchliffe Stadium, home to yesteryear’s booming heyday of midget car racing. The episode is called CONCRETE PALACE ON THE PASSAIC (Season 1 Episode 5).
Check out Dale Earnhardt’s Lost Speedways episode showcasing Paterson’s Hinchliffe Stadium. Give a little extra time to load.
Additional Information
If you think it’s time to bring racing back to New Jersey and Hinchliffe Stadium, get involved.
- The Lost New Jersey Racetrack Tour Project
- Join the new Facebook Group – New Jersey’s Lost Racetracks
- Non-profit Friends of Hinchliffe Stadium
- National Registry of Historic Places
- Saving Places .org
- Friends of Hinchliffe Auto Racing
- New Jersey Track List Database
On March 15, 2013, Hinchliffe Stadium was officially added to the list of some 2500 iconic places nationwide considered NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARKS. On December 18, 2014, the stadium was included in the Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park.
New Jersey Lost Tracks Map
Time for a roadtrip to go do your own search to tracks that have been lost in New Jersey. Send us your photos!
Related MLH Research
I did no see, Pine Brook Speedway ,, http://www.njsportsheroes.com/auto.history.html
Thanks for posting. It’s there now. 45 and counting!