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CN III ARCHIVES BY LARRY LAWRENCE I t's gone now—the victim of prog- ress and the construction of new buildings on the site. The Syracuse Mile was torn down a couple of years ago and this past summer a sparkling new $63 million Expo Center was opened on the site of the historic track at the New York State Fairgrounds. There were few racing facilities in the country that had the kind of history that the Syracuse Mile boasted. Racing fans will long lament to the passing of this great racing venue, but in this week's edition of Archives we'll attempt to honor the track by look- ing back with a snapshot of its rich history. Nearly all of the greats of the first couple decades of American motorcycle racing raced at the Syracuse Mile. Motorcycle racing in this country evolved out of New York and Massachusetts and there's good evidence that the Syracuse Mile was perhaps the birthplace of what we know today as flat track racing. The Syracuse Mile dates back to the very beginning of motors- ports. In 1900, a $10,000 bid was awarded to build a dirt track suitable for auto racing on the perimeter of an existing harness track. Not long after being built, motorcycles began running on the Syracuse Mile. Syra- cuse also established one of the earliest motorcycle clubs in America and the club hosted races on the Mile that drew crowds as large as P98 MISSING SYRACUSE (predecessor to the AMA) elected to host national races there in 1910s. Hall of Famer Fred Ludlow made his name as one of the biggest stars of the sport when on September 19, 1921, on the famous Syracuse (New York) Mile, Ludlow earned a clean sweep of all the national titles up for grabs. Ludlow was a perfect five wins in five races on his factory Harley-Davidson, besting most of the top stars of the day, including the likes of Jim Davis, Don Marks and Ralph Hepburn. It was one of the most dominant performances in the history of the sport. 30,000. Easily the biggest news in those early years was when, in 1904, motorcycle maker and racer Glenn Curtiss, from Hammondsport, New York, raced a twin-cylinder Curtiss around the mile in 61 seconds, just missing the then mythical mile-a- minute. Curtiss' highly publicized run at Syracuse instantly made the track known throughout the nation. With races held during the famous New York State Fair, not only did the Mile attract big crowds, but some big names as well. In 1908, Motorcycle Illustrated reported that Vice Presi- dent James Sherman was among those who attended the races that year. That kind of news exposure for the track helped Syracuse become host of early FAM and M&ATA Na- tional Championship events. From the start, motorcycle racing drew large crowds at the Syracuse Mile and that was another reason the FAM (Left) An ad for the Syracuse Mile boasting the race as the only Mile in the East. (Below) The program for the 1977 Syracuse Mile.