Ever since the days of the Gordon Bennett cup races in the early 20th century team orders have remained an integral part of motor racing, in the process helping to create a divide between car owners who see the sport as a team event and the drivers and public who view it as an individual competition. Being on the wrong end of these team orders can be demoralizing for any racing driver, but for a rookie driver in contention for winning the biggest race of the season it can prove especially disheartening, as proven by poor Bill Holland in the 1947 500.

Born in Philadelphia in 1907, Bill Holland was a comparatively late starter in auto racing, taking part in his first racing event at the age of 27 competing in local dirt tracks around Pennsylvania and the North East of America. Despite his late start Holland quickly worked his way through the rankings of the junior disciplines of the sport, finishing third in the GSARA championship points standings in 1936 before competing in his first events for the American Automobile Association in time for the following season. During the 1936 off season, Holland relocated to New York to forge a strong bond with NY car owner Ralph Malamud, and for the next ten years Bill and the white Malamud sprinter became a common synonym for success around the American dirt track scene, claiming his first title in 1941 before ending his decade in the series with a dominant final season in 1946.

Despite his strong performance in dirt track racing, Holland found securing a ride for the Indianapolis 500 increasingly difficult, by this point Holland was 39 years old, and many team bosses made the decision to look past the Philly native in favour of younger rookie prospects. After once again entering the Month of May without a ride for the 1947 500, Holland’s luck at the Brickyard finally turned around in somewhat bizarre fashion; In the months leading up to the race, the racing driver union ASPAR (the American Society of Professional Auto Racing), threatened to boycott the race over the small purse size offered to the drivers competing in that year’s race The AAA Contest Board refused to heed their demands, and when the entry list for the event was closed on May 8, the ASPAR drivers were denied the opportunity to compete in the race.

With many of the sport’s top teams looking for replacement drivers for the race Holland was approached by racing juggernaut Lou Moore over taking the place of exiled driver Tony Bettenhausen for the 1947 event. Holland didn’t need to be asked twice, and prior to the start of qualifying was signed up to drive the Blue Crown Special alongside 1941 500 winner Mauri Rose. Despite having little time to practice in the machine, Holland qualified eighth on the grid, but quickly began to work his way through the field to take the lead for the first time when Cliff Bergere pitted just short of the 100 mile mark. Despite briefly losing the lead during the race due to pit strategy Holland appeared to be comfortable up front running at a steady consistent pace, well ahead of team-mate Mauri Rose in second place.

It was there that the controversy would begin to unravel; As the race entered it’s later stages, Holland’s team boss Lou Moore flashed a chalkboard to the pit-wall to Holland with the letters E-Z-Y written on it. Adhering to his owner’s demands, Holland began to back off the pace, believing that the instruction was a message to both him and rose to take the final laps at a reduced pace to safely get both cars to the finish of the race. Rose however chose to ignore his team’s instructions, catching the casual Holland at a high rate to take the lead away from him with just seven laps of the race remaining. As Rose made the pivotal overtake, the two drivers exchanged a wave between one another, Holland thinking it was not more than a congratulatory gesture due to his belief that Rose was a lap behind him. In reality Holland had inadvertently allowed to Rose to make the pass for the lead, with Rose eventually going on to win the race by 30 seconds over long time race leader Holland, who was said to describe the incident as a “lousy deal” after realising the truth of the E-Z-Y sign.

Despite his grievances, Holland remained with Lou Moore’s outfit for the 1948 season, finishing second to Rose once again in a race which saw the Michigan native pick up a third 500 win as well as become the second man to win at the Brickyard in successive season. In 1949, the battle between the two team-mates would take an ironic and somewhat karmic twist of fate, where with Holland leading and Rose again running second late in the race, Rose set out to overtake his now-veteran teammate, ignoring Moore’s “E-Z-Y” signs from the pits and continued to push in pursuit of Holland. Finally Rose’s car broke, allowing Holland to cruise home to victory—and leading to Moore firing Rose from his team for disobeying team orders.

Long before ‘Multi-21’ or Ferrari’s coordinated finishes in Formula One, the Holland and Rose scandal remains one of the first team-order controversies in motor racing since the ceasing of World War II. But one whose infamy and karmic ending makes it a great tale of lore when it comes to the Indianapolis 500.