Head of the River

On the Detroit River last week four freakish, superpowered monsters raced for the Harmsworth Trophy. This is the pinnacle of powerboat competition; there are no limitations on size of power plant or type of hull, and contestants can enter anything they can afford to build. The U.S. had held the trophy since 1920, when Gar Wood took it away from Britain. Up to last week, no foreign boat had challenged the U.S. since 1933.

Last week's highly touted challenger was Miss Canada IV, owned by a Canadian industrialist (automobile steering gear) named Ernest Wilson and driven by his stocky blond son Harold. The Wilson boat was powered by a 2,500-h.p. Rolls-Royce Griffon, Britain's latest heavy bomber engine. She was reputed to be faster than any of the three U.S. defenders.

Right off, Miss Canada ran into trouble. The first heat of 42 nautical miles was won in a breeze by Such Crust I, owned by Detroit Breadmaker Jack Schafer, with Professional Driver Danny Arena at the wheel. Such Crust averaged 88 m.p.h., the Canadian could do no better than 66.3. "We just couldn't get her revving," said Owner Wilson. Miss Canada was nosed out for second place by Skip-a-Long, owned and driven by California Shipping Heir Stanley Dollar.

In the second heat, Such Crust again looked like the fastest boat on the river. But she was stalled dead by backfires and passed by Skip-a-Long, which went on to post a new heat record of 94.285 m.p.h.

In the two-boat run-off this week, Such Crust had engine trouble again, and Skip-a-Long skipped home alone, keeping the Harmsworth Trophy in the U.S.

Other winners last week:

P: A U.S. track & field team came from behind to win an international meet (dubbed the "Little Olympics") with a Scandinavian team at Oslo, 238 1/2 points to 224 1/2. California's Bob Mathias also came from behind to win his specialty, the decathlon, with 7,346 points, 207 more than he piled up in the Olympics last year.

P: Calumet Farm's fast-finishing three-year-old, Ponder, won the $87,750 Arlington Classic at Chicago by three lengths. Beaten once again were Isador Bieber's Palestinian (third) and the Greentree Stable's Capot (fifth), making Ponder look like the three-year-old of the year.

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