Glendale Esquires

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An Esquires car club plaque. Photo courtesy of Relics and Rods.
A group of Esquires members ready to take off for a weekly meetin to plan a speed safety campaign for the Glendale Police Department in 1952. Looking under the hood on the left is club president Hal O'Neal. Chick Crone is standing next to Hal. In the front seat are Bob Fenn, Barry Knowlton and Bob Gray (behind the steering wheel). In the rear seat are Don Hames and Jim Ward. This photo was printed in an issue of the Glendale Independent newspaper. Photo by Jack C. Sparks, courtesy of Glendale Independent.
A story on the safety campaign the club sponsored with the Glendale Police Department in June of 1952. Glenn Johnson's 1937 Ford Coupe was shown in the story.
Glenn Johnson's 1937 Ford Coupe. The build was started in 1947 and completed in 1951. Glenn started the build while he lived in Las Vegas, but moved to Glendale in 1951.
Don Tubbs' 1951 Ford Victoria of Glendale, California was restyled in 1951.
Don Tubbs' 1951 Mercury coupe of Glendale, California. In 1954 his mildly customized Mercury received a Metallic Maroon paint job by Johnny Hagan at Hagan's Body Shop.
Don Tubbs' 1927 Ford Model T Roadster. Don built this one in 1959 so he could go drag racing.
Don Tubbs' 1933 Ford Two Door Sedan. Don hot rodded the sedan in 1960.


The Esquires was a car club out of Glendale, California organized in 1949. The club was organized on democratic principles, and they elected officers every six months. They held weekly meetings at a clubhouse on the rear of 1821 Glenwood Road, conducting business and collecting dues. In 1952 the club counted 23 members, and most of the members were graduates of Glendale or Hoover High Schools. Many of the members were also still in school.[1]


The club worked close with the Glendale Police Department in order to give hot rodders a better reputation. In 1952 the club developed a traffic safety campaign called "Speed Safety Month" vouluntarily, that they "sold" in to the Glendale Police Department. During June of 1952 the club were engaged in an all-out drive to educate motorists to the dangers of improper use of speed. The campaign was co-sponsored by the Glendale Insurance Association. The club spent their time presenting exhibits, painting safety slogans on the streets and giving the impression that the city is no place for speeding. They towed wrecked cars through the city on trailers, and they displayed racing engines in local banks and prominent downtown centers. They also had a decked-out racer on display in the lobby of Alex Theater. According to a story on the safety campaign published in the Glendale Independent newspaper, the club had its own enforcement program for seeing that traffic laws were obeyed. Members that were caught disregarding traffic regulations or who were found to be guilty of "dragging" within in the city were subject to three penalties. Fines and paddling were the most used, but expulsion from the club could also be exercised. The safety campaign was followed up by a rodeo held on the Glendale High School athletic field.[1]


When Don joined the Navy in 1952 the club was mostly into customs. When he got out of the Navy in 1955 he rejoined the club. By that time the club had been organized under SCTA, and they were racing their cars at El Mirage. No more customs then.[2]



Members

Barry Knowlton
Bob Alexander
Bob Casborro
Bob Fenn
Bob Gray
Bob Woods
Chick Crone
Christ Chisten
Dick Marvin
Don Chase
Don Hames
Don Schumacker
Don Tubbs
George Chaboet
Glenn Johnson
Hal O'Neal
Jerry Horwedel
Jim Ward
Kevin Miles
Ned Adams
Tom McLaren
William Fogg


Club Cars

Don Tubbs' 1927 Ford Model T Roadster
Don Tubbs' 1933 Ford Two Door Sedan
Don Tubbs' 1933 Ford Victoria
Don Tubbs' 1934 Ford 5-Window Coupe
Glenn Johnson's 1937 Ford Coupe
Bob Alexander's 1948 Plymouth
Don Tubbs' 1951 Ford Victoria
Don Tubbs' 1951 Mercury Coupe


References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Glendale Independent Thursday, May 8, 1952
  2. Don Tubbs



 

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