A hometown hero was celebrated, then immediately fell from grace, in the summer of 1973.

That August, 14-year-old Jimmy Gronen won the 36th annual All-American Soap Box Derby in Akron, Ohio. His victory came with a sizable trophy and a $7,500 scholarship.

Not long after, he also gained notoriety as the first Soap Box Derby champion to be disqualified for cheating. The resulting scandal was the top local story in Boulder in 1973.

Race officials noticed Gronen’s molded fiberglass racer had surged forward at the beginning of the race, giving him a significant lead over the other 137 racers. Derby rules stated that cars were to be constructed by the participants and were to run by gravity alone.

Upon inspection of the car by the Derby National Control Board, a magnet was discovered in the nose of the fiberglass with a system of wires connecting to a battery pack. A concealed switch behind the headrest activated the electromagnetic system. By leaning back, the driver’s helmet made contact with the switch.

Reporters from all over the country covered the shocking blot on the wholesome youth event, which was started during the Great Depression. An Ohio prosecutor was quoted as saying, “It’s like seeing apple pie, motherhood and the American flag grinding to a halt.”

Gronen was living with the Robert Lange family on Wonderland Drive in Boulder. Lange had guardianship of Gronen because the youngster’s father had died and his mother was reportedly seriously ill.

The Lange brothers, Robert, Philo and Wells, were well known in town as the founders of the successful Lange Company, the Broomfield-based manufacturer of high-end ski boots and skis.

Robert Lange’s own son, Bobby, had won the Soap Box Derby national title in 1972, and immediately that car came under suspicion.

Boulder District Attorney Alex Hunter, on the job for less than a year, investigated the case with vigor. He demanded access to the 1972 car, which was suddenly missing. Gronen and Lange were traveling in the Midwest and couldn’t be located. Lange was later found, by Ohio reporters, at a horse show in Oklahoma.

Robert Lange admitted he helped Gronen cheat by suggesting the electromagnetic system. Lange’s confession came in a six-page letter to officials of the local Soap Box Derby, sponsored by the Boulder Jaycees, and the news appeared on the front page of the Chicago Tribune.

Lange admitted he made a serious mistake in judgment but claimed cheating was rampant at the derby so it was necessary to have a “speed gimmick” in order to be competitive. At the same time, Lange claimed his son had won the derby fair and square the previous year. An investigation revealed that Bobby Lange’s 1972 derby car was sent to California for testing in a wind tunnel at a cost of $350.

Lange was charged with encouraging a child to violate a state law. A non-judicial adjustment was given instead of prosecution. Lange was ordered to pay $2,000 to the Boys Club of Boulder and to stay out of derby races for two years. Hunter pressed for the 1972 vehicle to be produced as part of the settlement, but the judge denied that request. The 1972 car never materialized.

“Justice takes many forms and it’s never perfect,” Hunter told the Daily Camera at the time.

The Lange brothers moved from Boulder soon after the scandal, according to city directories.

Boulder’s local Soap Box Derby, held since 1964, ended in 1975 because of declining participation after the cheating incident.

Carol Taylor and Silvia Pettem write about history for the Daily Camera. Email Carol at boulderhistorylibrarian@gmail.com, Silvia at pettem@earthlink.net or write to the Daily Camera, 5450 Western Ave., Boulder 80301.