L
aRue, Ohio, a small farm-
ing village about 60 miles
northwest of Columbus,
established in 1851 along the
banks of the Scioto River,
with a population today of 747
people. It might be considered
a one stop-light town save for
the stop sign augmented by a
flashing red light at High and
Vine Streets. So, we'll call it a
one-and-a-half stop light town.
If you want lunch, you've got
exactly one choice, and not a
bad one at that. Coonie's Place,
established 1936, known for a
tasty plate of liver and onions on
Monday nights. For dinner there
is Coonie's or J.C.'s Pizza across
the street.
LaRue's biggest claim to
fame? Believe it or not, the tiny
town featured an NFL football
franchise in the early 1920s
called the Oorang Indians, orga-
nized by Walter Lingo, the owner
of the Oorang Dog Kennels in
LaRue. Lingo organized the team
for the sole purpose of adver-
tising his kennel and selling a
breed of dog known as the Aire-
dale. Olympian Jim Thorpe was
on the team. Considering that
LaRue didn't even have a football
field, that was one impressive
feat.
That piece of LaRue history is
pretty hard to beat, but in terms
of motorcycling history there is
CN
III ARCHIVES
P116
BY LARRY LAWRENCE
THE FIRST AMA
PRO MOTOCROSS EVENT
First-moto start with
American Sonny DeFeo
(19) getting the holeshot
on a CZ. DeFeo led briefly
before a wheel broke on his
bike.
PHOTO: ANDY WHIPPLE
