"Will Overhead Wins Indianapolis Race"
That was the banner headline on the May 30, 1933 edition of the Walsenburg (Colorado) World Independent newspaper
With that headline, Will Overhead became the most legendary of all Indianapolis 500 winners -- because he is just that -- a legend. Here's the straight scoop.
It was Memorial Day, and like many organizations, the newest guy drew the short straw and had to work the holiday. This "cub" reporter was manning the Associated Press and putting together the final touches for the lead story -- the Indianapolis 500. Most of the story was written, and he was just waiting for the winner.
However the Indianapolis 500 took much longer to run in the 1930s, and the AP wire service would shut down shortly before the race was over. Knowing the reporter was waiting for the results, a helpful AP editor in Denver advised the "cub" reporter in Walsenburg that he would stick around and send the name of the winner by conventional Western Union telegraph -- the "overhead" lines. Using the accepted newspaper vernacular of the day, the message to the young reporter read "Will overhead winner of race ."
The green reporter misunderstood the message. He wrote his story, which started:
(Indianapolis, Ind. May 30-(AP)-Will Overhead won the Indianapolis Memorial Day race today.
Louis Meyer (see photo) actually won the 1933 race, his second win on the way to becoming the first three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500. The following year AP reminded its wire customers: "Note to editors: Will Overhead not entered in Kentucky Derby."
Postscript: Each May, Walsenburg, Colorado annually celebrates Will Overhead Day. In 1984, George Zanon, the typesetter for the Will Overhead story, was the grand marshal of the first Overhead Day parade.
hahah, we were even taught this story in journalism university OVER HERE in Romania, with the moral: never use journalese, but know it to perfection. Good yarn, thanks for sharing it.
Posted by: Silvia | August 10, 2007 at 10:14 AM