By Jack Kneece
After 96 years, the Automobile Touring Trophy is back in Anderson, S.C.
Originally presented to AAA by the city in 1911, the ornate 23.5-ounce silver punchbowl trophy, with an engraved image of the Anderson County Courthouse and a carving of AAA’s early logo, was returned to Anderson city officials this spring.
The trophy became one of several fabulous, perpetual prizes offered to participants in the famous Glidden Automobile Reliability Tours sponsored by AAA from 1904 to 1913, and has been in AAA’s possession ever since.
The trophy cost $1,200 in 1911, about $25,000 in today's dollars, and dates from an era in which a long trip in an automobile was a chancy and adventurous undertaking. Cars in those days usually carried a large toolbox and often several spare tires. Gas stations were few and far between.
Took Nearly Two Weeks
The 13-day 1911 tour covered 1,476 miles and was described then by AAA as the most grueling, toughest motorized land tour ever undertaken. Many vehicles floundered at swollen water crossings or in seas of mud. Overnight stops occurred at Philadelphia and Gettysburg, Pa.; Staunton and Roanoke, Va.; Winston-Salem and Charlotte, N.C.; Anderson, S.C., Atlanta and Cordele, Ga. and Live Oak, Fla. before reaching the final destination of Jacksonville, Fla.
The winning team was fielded by the Maxwell Motor Car Co., and the car was driven by Gov. Hoke Smith of Georgia, who won not only the Glidden Trophy, but the Anderson Trophy as well.
Named for wealthy industrialist and automotive pioneer, Charles Jasper Glidden, the tour came about after AAA encouraged him in 1905 to organize and host the tours by offering the Glidden Trophy.
After all, the first AAA Automobile Reliability & Endurance Tour of 1904 offered no cash prizes or trophies. However, the tours proved to be one of the most important activities undertaken by the fledgling motoring association, by proving the reliability of the automobile and the need for better roads. It spurred the expansion and formation of AAA clubs nationwide.
Mobility
"The mobility we enjoy today in South Carolina is a direct result of the Glidden Automobile Reliability Tours,” Thomas R. Crosby, AAA Carolinas vice president of public affairs, said. “Anderson can forever be proud of its role in the history of improving the roads and services available to travelers in South Carolina and the entire East Coast.”
We really appreciate what you've done to bring this trophy back to us," Anderson Mayor Terrence Roberts said.
The trophy wound up in the AAA headquarters in Heathrow, Fla., and was returned at the urging of Anderson car historian Tom Gibson, who had been researching the trophy and the endurance run for 10 years.
During those early endurance runs, AAA provided three services it still provides: warning of speed traps, helping disabled vehicles get back on the road, and lobbying for improving local roads and bridges. – Jack Kneece |
