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Home » Photo galleries » Places » San Francisco

The Michigan Assassin: 1908

Submitted by Dave on Thu, 07/16/2015 - 9:29am.
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San Francisco, 1908. "Boxer Stanley Ketchel at wheel of American Underslung auto with manager Britt Willis." Both of whom would be dead not long after this photo was made -- middleweight champion Ketchel (the "Michigan Assasssin") fatally shot in a training-camp robbery in 1910, and Willis the victim of a "violent stomach hemorrhage" in 1909. Their car, an American Underslung, was among the first to employ the now-universal dropped frame, with the bottom of the car below the axles. 6½ x 8½ glass negative by Dana Studio, from the collection of George Whitney Jr. (1922-2002), owner of the Cliff House restaurant. View full size.

San Francisco, 1908. "Boxer Stanley Ketchel at wheel of American Underslung auto with manager Britt Willis." Both of whom would be dead not long after this photo was made -- middleweight champion Ketchel (the "Michigan Assasssin") fatally shot in a training-camp robbery in 1910, and Willis the victim of a "violent stomach hemorrhage" in 1909. Their car, an American Underslung, was among the first to employ the now-universal dropped frame, with the bottom of the car below the axles. 6½ x 8½ glass negative by Dana Studio, from the collection of George Whitney Jr. (1922-2002), owner of the Cliff House restaurant. View full size.

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The tank on the running board -

Submitted by Doghouse Riley on Sat, 07/18/2015 - 7:31pm.

- is almost certainly holding acetylene, which is used in the headlights.

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Quite a set of driving gloves.

Submitted by webster55 on Sat, 07/18/2015 - 8:27am.

The long gauntlet was clearly intended to keep the wind from blowing up one's sleeve, and kept the sleeve from catching on other things on the car, like the shift lever.

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Tires

Submitted by jarussell1946 on Fri, 07/17/2015 - 9:38am.

Curious about the multiple "valve stems" in the rim. Can't recall seeing this on other photos of the era. Any ideas? Also what is the pressure vessel mounted horizontally of step? Is it the source to blow the massive horn coming out of the cowl?

[The wheels have tire clamps, which are addressed in this comment thread about a contemporaneous auto. -tterrace]

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FOTOGRAFHER?

Submitted by Zoreo on Thu, 07/16/2015 - 3:32pm.

I assume the "FOTOGRAFHER" sign above means "PHOTOGRAPHER"? Where did this weird spelling come from?

["Fotografer" (not "fotografher") means "photographers" in Swedish, Danish and Norwegian. -tterrace]

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Ketchel Killed

Submitted by xzy1579 on Thu, 07/16/2015 - 2:28pm.

Fascinating story of the murder of Stanley Ketchel here.

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Huh?

Submitted by Paul A on Thu, 07/16/2015 - 12:19pm.

There seems to be a multi note steam whistle on the side of the car. I don't think even Stanleys had those.

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SF 1908

Submitted by englandredsox2 on Thu, 07/16/2015 - 11:53am.

Stanley Ketchel fought 2 fights in San Francisco in 1908 at the Coliseum, on 31 July he fought Hugo Kelly and won with a KO in the 2nd, a week later he defeated Joe Thomas by TKO in the 3rd.

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Unmatched wheels

Submitted by RJP on Thu, 07/16/2015 - 11:44am.

They're the same style and it's hard to tell from this distance if they are the same size. But the rears have extra spokes and segments. I wonder why?

[To withstand the stresses of acceleration and braking. - Dave]

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Rogues' Gallery

Submitted by jdouglasj on Thu, 07/16/2015 - 10:25am.

Every person in this picture looks like trouble (except for the girls -- they just look scared).

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