The 1929 Bunion Derby: Johnny Salo and the Great Footrace Across America

by Charles B. Kastner

Overview

On March 31, 1929, seventy-seven men began an epic 3,554-mile footrace across America that pushed their bodies to the breaking point. Nicknamed the "Bunion Derby" by the press, this was the second and last of two trans-America footraces held in the late 1920s. The men averaged forty-six gut-busting miles a day during seventy-eight days of nonstop racing that took them from New York City to Los Angeles. Among this group, two brilliant runners, Johnny Salo of Passaic, New Jersey, and Pete Gavuzzi of England, emerged to battle for the $25,000 first prize along the mostly unpaved roads of 1929 America, with each man pushing the other to go faster as the lead switched back and forth between them. To pay the prize money, race director Charley Pyle cobbled together a traveling vaudeville company, complete with dancing debutantes, an all-girl band wearing pilot outfits, and blackface comedians, all housed under the massive show tent that Pyle hoped would pack in audiences. Kastner's engrossing account, often told from the perspective of the participants, evokes the remarkable physical challenge the runners experienced and clearly bolsters the argument that the last Bunion Derby was the greatest long-distance footrace of all time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780815610366
Publisher:	Syracuse University Press
Publication date:	03/15/2014
Series:	Sports and Entertainment
Pages:	328
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Charles B. Kastner is a long-distance runner and the author of Bunion Derby: The 1928 Footrace across America.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations ix

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction xiii

1 Race Day

New York City to Elizabeth, New Jersey, March 31, 1929 1

2 Down the Eastern Seaboard

Elizabeth, New Jersey, to Baltimore, Maryland, April 1-April 5, 1929 12

3 Six Days of Hell-Crossing the Appalachian Plateau

Baltimore, Maryland, to Wheeling, West Virginia, April 6 April 11, 1929 36

4 Fast Times in the Old Northwest

Wheeling, West Virginia, to Collinsville, Illinois, April 12-April 23, 1929 53

5 On Familiar Ground

Collinsville, Illinois, to Chelsea, Oklahoma, April 24-May 3, 1929 75

6 Heading to the Promised Land

Chelsea, Oklahoma, to Dallas, Texas, May 4-May 10, 1929 95

7 Under Western Skies

Dallas to Pecos, Texas, May 11-May 22, 1929 107

8 West of the Pecos

Pecos to El Paso, Texas, May 23-May 27, 1929 121

9 Across a Rough and Unforgiving Land

El Paso, Texas, to Ynma, Arizona, May 28 June 10, 1929 130

10 "Overcoming the Killing Distances"-The Last Five Days to Los Angeles

Yuma, Arizona, to Los Angeles, June 11 June 15, 1929 150

11 The End of the Rainbow

Los Angeles, June 16, 1929 161

12 Searching for the Pot of Gold 175

Appendixes 191

Notes 255

Glossary 289

Bibliography 291

Index 297

What People are Saying About This

ARETE - Diane McManus

In March of 1929, seventy-seven runners, some nearly penniless, set out from New York City on a footrace to Los Angeles…..On June 16, seventy-eight days after leaving New York, nineteen finished….Kastner tells an absorbing story of the ups and downs… the runners, the Follies, and the support crew….an eye opening perspective on the history of distance running and of the courage and determination of this band of runners making their way across the United States.

ultramarathoner and ten-time Kona Ironman triathlon finisher - Gary Theriault

This book reveals how C. C. Pyle and so many others who are part of our strong national ultramarathoning history persevered in such challenging times! Wonderfully inspiring.

Washington, DC, reporter and ultramarathoner

- Kevin Patrick

It reads like a tale of shipwreck survivors adrift at sea. Yet these men could end their suffering at any time. They chose not to because they saw a better future, a chance to deepen their human experience, or both at the finish line. Kastner's commitment to accurate historical documentation combined with gripping personal accounts of the race make for a compelling and motivating story.

Editorial Reviews

In March of 1929, seventy-seven runners, some nearly penniless, set out from New York City on a footrace to Los Angeles. . . . On June 16, seventy-eight days after leaving New York, nineteen finished. . . . Kastner tells an absorbing story of the ups and downs . . . the runners, the Follies, and the support crew. . . . An eye opening perspective on the history of distance running and of the courage and determination of this band of runners making their way across the United States.

Arete: The Journal of Sport Literature

It reads like a tale of shipwreck survivors adrift at sea. Yet these men could end their suffering at any time. They chose not to because they saw a better future, a chance to deepen their human experience, or both at the finish line. Kastner's commitment to accurate historical documentation combined with gripping personal accounts of the race make for a compelling and motivating story.

Kevin Patrick

In March of 1929, seventy-seven runners, some nearly penniless, set out from New York City on a footrace to Los Angeles. . . . On June 16, seventy-eight days after leaving New York, nineteen finished. . . . Kastner tells an absorbing story of the ups and downs . . . the runners, the Follies, and the support crew. . . . An eye opening perspective on the history of distance running and of the courage and determination of this band of runners making their way across the United States.

Arete: The Journal of Sport Literature

The 1929 Bunion Derby by Charles B. Kastner (Syracuse University Press, $24.95). Kastner, from Seattle, writes a true story of how 77 men began an epic 3,554-mile footrace across America that pushed their bodies to the breaking point. He is planning a book launch at 7 p.m. May 5 at the University Book Store in Seattle.

The Seattle Times - Editorial Staff

In March of 1929, seventy-seven runners, some nearly penniless, set out from New York City on a footrace to Los Angeles...On June 16, seventy-eight days after leaving New York, nineteen finished..Kastner tells an absorbing story of the ups and downs. the runners, the Follies, and the support crew..an eye opening perspective on the history of distance running and of the courage and determination of this band of runners making their way across the United States.

Diane McManus