In late 2009, I was contacted by Roscoe H. Rann, son of the 1940’s/1950’s midget & sprint driver of the same name (1917-1976), who also attempted to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 – http://www.oldracingcars.com/driver/Roscoe_Rann

 

His father had built up a collection of photos from his time of racing, as well as a few newspaper articles or profiles of him and his success. Roscoe’s wish was for me to now put this collection online so that many rare photographs could see the light of day after almost 60 years. Added to this, was the wish that fans of sprint and midget car racing especially, but also fans of vintage racing photographs of any type could enjoy photos taken by a competitor of his peers.

 

Because of the number of photographs in the collection, and due to a number of mitigating circumstances, it has taken me a while to load these photographs on – something which I greatly regret, as tragically, Roscoe H. Rann died, after a long and brave battle fighting cancer, on the 28^th February 2010.

 

However, this collection will stay online as a tribute not only to Roscoe’s father, the racer, but to Roscoe H. Rann himself. He helped contribute to the Where Are They Now project in a number of ways, and his warmth, encouragement, patience & kindness will not be forgotten.

 

Although I am deeply saddened and sorry that Roscoe will not see the tribute to his father, I hope that the photos and this page will be of suitable remembrance to two genuine racing men.

 

With many of the photos, the original captions, either by Roscoe’s father, or Roscoe himself, have been kept. I prefer to let the photos do the talking. Where I know any information, I’ve filled it in. Any additions/comments you may have regards any of the photos – where, who, what, when etc, are more than welcome.

 

As far as I am aware, all the photos are of sprint and/or midget car racing, mainly in Florida & Texas, between 1947 to 1957. But they are superb photographs of a different racing age and hopefully can be enjoyed by a wider audience.

 

Please click on each photo to see a larger version of the photo.

Dedicated to the memory of Roscoe H. Rann – 30.9.1940 – 28.2.2010