Famous early racing driver Earl Cooper is seen here posing in his early Stutz racing car. He went on to become a three time AAA Champion in his long and successful racing career. Cooper’s racing car was based on the well know Stutz Bearcat, which featured a strong and powerful 389 c.i. Wisconsin t-head engine.
Above is an amusing film called The Speed Kings, that was made around the time of the 1913 Santa Monica Road Races, which Earl Cooper won in his Stutz. In it Mabel Norman is the star and you will also see rare footage of Cooper, Fatty Arbuckle, “Terrible Teddy” Tetzlaff in his Fiat, Barney Oldfield in his Mercer in which he finished second. Full details of the race can be found in an article in The Automobile Journal (below).
Another photo of Cooper and his early Stutz racing car along, with a funny short film with starring Mabel Normand and Charlie Chaplin in “Mabel at the Wheel” can be seen here on The Old Motor. We also have a photo of Cooper in his white Stutz at Indy in 1914.
The Stutz Touring Car (above), appears to be parked out in front of a Stutz Dealer who is using the results of a Los Angeles race to promote the car. This photo and the one at the (top) appear to date from the 1912 or possibly early 1913. Bob Burman’s Cutting listed on the sign seen (above) is likely to be the same car, which we have a photo of here on The Old Motor, that he also ran in the 1912 Indianapolis 500.
Full details of the legendary Stutz can be found in an excellent article in the Automobile Trade Journal, April 1, 1912, issue (above).
Both photos seen here, were taken by Claude C. “Pop” Laval and are courtesy of The Fresno Public Library via Calisphere. More about Earl Cooper here.
I’ve never seet a wire mesh screen attached to a steering wheel before like the one on the Tetzlaff FIAT, neat feature. Bob