SC Rewind: A Family Affair
In this week's Rewind Robert Smith recalls the many families that have three or more driving members in their ranks. Readers are invited to add more names to the list.
Many years ago a gentleman from London named Tom Saint contacted me, knowing of my interest in old pictures and other items pertaining to the historical part of the sport of harness racing. Mr. Saint was a member of a very old racing family, dating back to the 1800's, and had taken an active part throughout his lifetime along with his father and grandfather.
He spoke in particular of one picture that he thought I might enjoy. After describing the piece in some detail, I assured him that I would be interested in having a copy and suggested that he mail it to me at his convenience. Assuming it to be no larger than an 8" x 10", it seemed like the simplest thing to do. He offered what he thought was a better idea and that was to have a friend of his drop it off to me personally along with some other items. This suggestion combined with his free offer was indeed a 'no brainer'.
A few days later the man called by my office and left the 'goodies'. Along with an envelope was a rather large mailing tube, the kind we used to often see when calendars were sent in the mail. I was intrigued by the tube size and couldn't wait to open it. Much to my surprise it was what I would call an 'artist's rendering' if that is a correct term; it was not a photograph. It measured a rather large 36" wide and was 24" inches high. Thankfully I was able to make my own frame so I had a pretty nice piece of art at an affordable price.
The sketch was titled "The Flying Flemings". It shows a father and three of his sons, all holding rather famous horses. Also as part of the piece is a racing scene showing the home stretch. I was told on rather reliable authority that the track was the iconic old Goshen Historic Track, located near the U.S. Hall of Fame in Goshen, N.Y.
In the picture from left is Vic Fleming, originally from Dundas, Ont. He is shown with the world champion double-gaited mare Calumet Evelyn. Next is son Bill with Billy Direct 1:55, also a world champion. Next is another son Charlie with Peter Song 2:00 and on the far right is Jimmy Fleming with Dillon Hall 2:00. Although undated, I would guess this was set around 1940 or even slightly earlier based on the horses' records which were extremely impressive.
It started me thinking about all of the brothers who have been drivers down through the years. I soon realized that making a list would be the thing to do, but I also found out that this would be way too long. To solve the dilemma I decided that to get on the 'list', there had to be THREE or more brothers and sisters from the same family.
I have made a list strictly from memory of the families that I can think of with three or more driving sons or daughters. I am hoping that the reading audience will come up with more as I am sure my list is just a starter. This list is in alphabetic order and as accurate as possible. Additions or corrections are welcomed.
Four of the eight drivers in the Edmond Filion family. From left: Henri, Dennis, Herve and Gilles meet in the Blue Bonnets paddock.
DRIVERS LIST - Families With Three Or More Driving Siblings
Case - Walter Sr., Kelly, Tim, Walter Jr.
Dancer - Harold "Sonny", Stanley and Vernon.
Duford - Grandfather Jerry, father Wilfred, sons Dennis, Jerry and Rod.
Filion - This has to be about the largest number in a Canadian family with eight brothers listed: Dennis, Doris, Gilles, Henri, Herve, Renald, Rheo and Yves.
Fleming - As shown in the featured artwork - Father Vic and sons Charlie, Jimmy and Bill. A fourth son Jack I don't think worked with the horses.
Gilmour - George, John "Guy", Lloyd and Wm. "Buddy".
Three of the four driving Gilmour brothers are shown here in this 1959 photo taken at Batavia Downs. From left: John (Guy), George and Wm. "Buddy" Gilmour.
Henry - Brian, George, Paul, Trevor, Wayne.
Hie - Father Cliff and sons Carman, Doug and Roger
Hudon - Father Joe, sons John, Pat, Phil and Steve
Langille - Charles, Eric, Terry and Wayne
MacDonald - Anthony, James and Mark
Myer - This family from the State of Delaware had eight or perhaps nine driving brothers with Billy probably the best known. The brothers were Alan, Edwin, Ellis, Francis, James, Paul, Ralph, Robert and William. I don't believe any of their four sisters were drivers.
O'Brien - Claude, Joe, Lloyd and Raymond.
Rankin - Father Donnie Sr., sons Callie, Donnie Jr., Douglas "Sonny"
Remmen - Gord, Larry, and Ray
Turcotte - father Theo, sons Elden, Ted and Wayne
Walker - Father Allan, sons Larry, Paul, Robert. Their mother Viola and sister Jean Thibaudeau were not professional drivers but often competed in special events and were very capable handling a set of lines.
The Walker family. From left: Jean (Walker) Thibaudeau, Robert, their mother Viola, Larry and Paul Walker.
Thank you for the great
Thank you for the great article! I am Bill Fleming's granddaughter and I love reading about our family history! My dad is Pat Fleming.
Just thought the Browns
Just thought the Browns belonged also, Stan, Doug and Gord.thanks for the great articles.
Your forgot to mention the
Your forgot to mention the MacTavish Family; Delbert Sr., Duncan and Delbert Jr.
Another one you could add to
Another one you could add to the Turcotte family tree was Albert Hanna, who was married to one of the Turcotte sisters. I believe it was Marie.
Two more additions to the
Two more additions to the Turcotte family - Lesley and Carson, both of whom mostly trained, but they did drive occasionally.
the megans bill father boys
the megans bill father boys paul mark mike drove not sure about dan
First time ever to comment,
First time ever to comment, just a long time racing fan.
Surprised nobody mentioned famous families with at least three..........
How about the CAMPBELL'S and WELLWOOD'S?
Give you the easy one's, John and William.
Leave the experts to add the rest.
Mr. Smith you are awesome and I enjoy reading your postings along with my 93 year old father who saw everyone you mention!
To the Turcotte family....add
To the Turcotte family....add Melvin ("Muffy")...and Ron
Miller..3 drivers..Pete ( drove in the 50's and 60's) son Tom....and his son Tom Jr. now an ORC judge
Hughes Barney....his sons Victor...and Wilf drove......whose son Jerry trained...and his son Rod who drives and trains the great San Pail
Lachance family....father Gedeon , sons Michel , Gilles and Andre, then Patrick
More about "The Flemings " I
More about "The Flemings "
I found out an interesting fact about the "Flying Flemings" art piece which I will pass along as told to me by Wm. McDonnell . This old picture hung forever in the Dundas Hotel and in later years was retrieved by well known horseman Jack Kenney of Ancaster (Bill's uncle) .He passed it on to Bill . As mentioned Dundas was the birthplace of the Fleming clan .
Additionally in response to Keith Nethery's suggestion to include the Geisel family, I will add the following which is an excerpt from the Golden Horseshoe Fact Book of 1974...... " Laurence Geisel belongs to one of Canada's largest racing families .His 80 year old father Jacob Sr. still trains a few horses and his brothers Allan,Robert,Walter and Jacob Jr.(Sonny) are all active in the sport " .
PS -Thanks to the many people who have contributed to this week's Rewind .
The Shepherd family from PEI:
The Shepherd family from PEI: Father Harold, sons Robert, Steven and Patrick.
Palmer Kerr-sons Terry and
Palmer Kerr-sons Terry and Randy
Lorne Clark-sons Keith,Larry, Bobby
Hank Wiseman-son Rolly and his son Steve
Let's go back a little, Roger
Let's go back a little, Roger White, Eddy, Donald. Roger was a hell of a horseman.
The Doherty's, Jim, Moe,
The Doherty's, Jim, Moe, Paul, and Peter mostly trained.
Rick Armstrong
There are the Whites, Rick,
There are the Whites, Rick, Bruce and Glen. I think there is also another brother who drove.
I would love to let you know
I would love to let you know of another family who drove and owned standardbreds Their names are Lloyd Vern and Archie Goodale Could you please add these to your family list Thanks
Just watching Flamboro and
Just watching Flamboro and how in heck have we missed the Duncans - Dave, Ken and Linda who only won a World Driving Championship!
The Cyril Smith family-
The Cyril Smith family- father Cyril and sons Elmer,Clark,David,,Neville and Wendell. Son Grant was an owner.
Another family not mentioned
Another family not mentioned here is the Davies family.
Dad Don and sons Kerry, Brent, Kent & Robin.
The Barrieau brothers --
The Barrieau brothers -- Marcel, Alfred, Rufin, Rosaire and Yvon should be included on any list.
Another family missing here
Another family missing here is the McLures -
Jimmy, Billy and Lormer and now Bob
Gee, All of these and still
Gee, All of these and still no mention, yet of the Waples' clan?!
I do not know them personally, so I'll let others make a list as I would miss half of them.
I guess the Mac Leans are worth noting as well, from Hugh to Ray Sr. and Junior
I was going to add the Fritz
I was going to add the Fritz family but I see somehow has beat me to it. I note the Walker family as mentioned by Robert were also regulars at Hanover back in the day. Takes me back to the days my age was measured with a single digit. I'm wondering if there is a third family with three to complete the Hanover Trifecta in this category. I remember at least three Geisels who drove. Where they brothers or is that more than one generation?
your "stuff" just gets better
your "stuff" just gets better and better" your followers are lucky.
A couple of other great east
A couple of other great east coast racing families are Dave Pinkney Sr., Phil Pinkney, Dave Pinkney Jr., Greg Pinkney, Kevin Pinkney, and Dale Pinkney. Also, Henry Smallwood, Edward "Teddy" Smallwood, Joe Smallwood, James Smallwood, and Robbie Smallwood.
The Fritz family from
The Fritz family from Walkerton, Bud, Terry, Brad, Randy and Dale are definite qualifiers. The boys' sister, Susan, is a very well respected trainer as well as she has developed and worked with champions over the years.
Ted Kean
How about Saskatchewan's
How about Saskatchewan's Tracey Family?
Father Hugh, Sons Eddie, Pat, Donald,and Grandson Travis.
They also had a sister that drove but I'm sorry to say I don't remember her name.
The McNutt Brothers - Eric,
The McNutt Brothers - Eric, Don and Ken
Hey Robert, I've
Hey Robert,
I've emailed you some Fleming pics.
A photo of Vic and the three Fleming sons was published in the June 1938 USTA Hoof Beats.
In that photo the same four horses and reinsmen are shown on the track at Syracuse, NY.
No precise date (best guess is May or June of 1938, however it could have been even earlier) was provided in the two-photo-collage, with the other photo being a cameo of Calumet Evelyn and Vic Fleming.
You missed Joey and Darlene
You missed Joey and Darlene when you mentioned the drivers in the Rankin family.
Sizer: Jim, Glen, Phil and
Sizer: Jim, Glen, Phil and Kevin. Sons of Henry.
The Forgie"s. Father Doug Sr.
The Forgie"s. Father Doug Sr. Sons,Perry,Doug Jr and Rick.