With nearly 100 years of history, and a status as a permanent fixture on the sporting calendar, it’s hard to believe that there was once a time where the future of the Indianapolis 500 and the speedway itself were placed firmly in jeopardy, with the speedway’s temporary closure at the outbreak of World War II seeing land developers circling around the Brickyard with vicious intent. Thankfully however the speedway was saved at the last minute in 1946, thanks to a man who would not only become an institution at the speedway but also help to make the 500 the national treasure that it remains to this day; Tony Hulman.

Born in Terre Haute, Indiana in 1901, Tony Hulman was born into a family defined by success in the business Industry. His grandfather, Herman Hulman, had established Hulman and Company as a wholesale grocery business in 1850, but by the turn of the century the company had expanded its business interests into other disciplines, most notably with the introduction of the Clabber Girl Baking Powder which would quickly go on to become the company’s defining product. After graduating from Yale University in 1923, Hulman returned to Terre Haute to work in the family business, working his way from a company sales position upon his arrival to inheriting the company from his father by his 30th birthday in 1931, carrying on a Hulman family tradition that still exists to this day.

During his time in charge Hulman helped to revive the fortunes of his struggling family firm, turning Clabber girl into the most popular baking product in the United States, thanks in part to a strong marketing blitz that attempted to get every homemaker in the country to use the product, an aggressive and ultimately successful campaign well ahead of it’s time. This, added with a shrewd business acumen, soon led to Hulman becoming one of the most successful and well regarded men in the state of Indiana.

In 1945 one of Tony Hulman’s business acquaintances by the name of Homer Cochran approached Mr. Hulman about meeting someone to discuss the possibility of purchasing the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from current owner Eddie Rickenbacker. In the fall of 1944, former 500 champion Wilbur Shaw had gone to the Speedway to do a test for the Firestone tyre company, and was shocked at what greeted him. In the three years since it’s closure following it’s temporary closure, the Speedway had become a dilapidated shell of its former self; overtaken with weeds, collapsing facilities and with reports suggesting the facility was to be destroyed to make way for a new housing estate. Determined to save the Speedway, Shaw began targeting local business owners over the possibility of forming a consortium to save the stricken brickyard, with his quest soon taking him into contact with Cochran and subsequently Hulman himself.

Although not a huge racing fan, Hulman had attended the 1914 race with his father and had very lasting memories of the track. His Hoosier pride swelled as he thought of turning the track back into something that Indiana could be proud of. After meeting with current owner Eddie Rickenbacker at the Indianapolis Athletic Club on the 14th of November, 1945, Tony Hulman bought the Speedway for a reported sum of between $700.000 and $750,000, immediately appointing the bubbling and jubilant Shaw as the Speedway president in the process. In the space of six months, Hulman and Shaw helped to transform the Speedway back into something close to it’s old glory, repairing the broken up surface and installing a brand new grandstand in time for the first race back at the facility in 1946, one which had such demand from local Hoosiers that Hulman nearly missed the start of the race due to traffic jams outside of the Brickyard!

For the first eight years of their venture, Hulman and Shaw’s working relationship proved to be immensely successful, with Hulman content to stay in the background as a quiet and retiring track owner, with Shaw acting as the front-man for the operation, speaking to drivers and dignitaries and making things happen in regards to business interests at the Speedway. When Shaw tragically passed away in a plan crash in 1954, Hulman was forced into the uncomfortable position as the new face of the Brickyard, a role which included the businessman taking over Shaw’s duty of the command for drivers to start their engines for the race. Such were the level of nerves surrounding this task, Hulman was reportedly known to rehearse the line countless of times before the race day, although later admitted that he would come to cherish the position in his later years. To this day, it has always been a member of the Hulman family to give the initial command to start engines at each race.

By the 1960’s the Indianapolis 500 and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway were growing in stature and size beyond anyone’s belief. Media coverage increased dramatically, new grandstands were built as profits kept being put back into the track. With each passing year, Hulman’s attempts to remain a background figure at the speedway became increasingly difficult; people were beginning to recognize him and wanted to thank him for all he had done. Not only had he saved the Speedway from extinction, but he had turned it into a showplace. All Hoosiers were proud of it – just as he had hoped when he bought it in 1945.

By the time the seventies rolled around, speeds were soaring faster and higher than ever, and following the disastrous 1973 race further changes at the speedway still needed to be made. By this point Human was now well into his seventies, but still remained active and approached the Month of May with the same passion and enthusiasm he did when he first purchased the Brickyard all those years before. He developed close relationships with many drivers, but probably none closer than his relationship with AJ Foyt. When Foyt won his fourth Indianapolis 500 in 1977, he asked Mr. Hulman to join him on the back of the pace car as they rode in celebration around the track immediately following the race. Sadly, it was the last time most of us would see Mr. Hulman. He passed away that fall, on October 27, 1977.

Anton Hulman, Jr. is considered to be one of the most important figures in the history of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a man whose shrewd business acumen and love for the Hoosier state not only helped to save the Indiana Motor Speedway but also turn it’s showpiece event into one of the biggest events of the sporting calendar. Without Tony Hulman it is fair to say there would be no IMS and no 100th running of the 500, and that is something in my opinion not worth contemplating.

In today’s video we have a feature on Tony Hulman produced by Indycar during it’s 100th anniversary celebrations.