Oliver Billingsley

Oliver Billingsley was the original editor and publisher of Road & Track and Hop Up magazine. He was born in San Antonio, Texas in 1915. Oliver's father was a cattleman, and his paternal grandfather Ben was a cattle driver. Ben Billingsley made America's last major cattle drive in 1890 driving 10000 head of cattle to Montana from the King Ranch in south Texas.

Oliver moved to Los Angeles, California after WWII. In California he became the editor and publisher of Road & Track and Hop Up magazine. According to his son Oliver, Billingsley was not into rods or customs himself, he was more the kind of "if the engineer designed a car with four hubcaps then a car needed four hubcaps" kind of guy. In 1953 Oliver moved with his secretary to Europe and founded a couple of motorcycle magazines in Italy. Oliver covered F-1 racing in the 1950s, and he even co-piloted a car with 1950 F-1 champion Sterling Moss in the 1957 "Milla Milla" race. He was friends with Mr. Honda and Enso Ferrari. While living in Italy, Oliver also had an apartment in New York City. He traveled back and forth, staying for months or years before returning. His maternal grandparents owned a steel mill and supported his businesses. In addition to the magazines, Oliver also worked at Monza writing a book about its history. After ten years in Italy, Oliver moved to Dallas, Texas in 1962. By then he had found an Italian wife, and he had established a family. In Dallas he worked as a proof reader for a publishing company. Oliver died in 1980.