JOE DOWNEY 1885?-

 

Downey Takes Up Aviation. Jamaica Plain man Leaves for Mineola Plans to Make a Flight in the Near Future      This page on the Remember Jamaica Plain website offers the following article: October 18, 1910 Joe Downey of Jamaica Plain, who won renown as a bicyclist and later as a driver of racing automobiles, is to take up aviation. Downey left for New York yesterday afternoon and will go to the aviation field at Mineola. His machine is a monoplane of the Bleriot type, equipped with an Anzini engine. Downey, while acting as official chauffeur for the contest committee at the Harvard aviation meet, devoted a great deal of time to the study of aeroplanes and motors. Those who know Downey predict a brilliant future for him in the aviation game. He plans to make his first flight in the near future. Posted by Mark B.      There are several other articles featuring Joe on this page.

 

ONLINE RESOURCES      If you search for "Joe Downey" +Bleriot, using the Google search engine, (9-4-10), you will find only four links.

 

ACCIDENT AT SHOW. from Aeronautics, April, 1911 p 141      VALDOSTA, Ga., March 2-4.--William Mattery, a former airship showman, attempted to give exhibition flights here. On the first day he was able to fly his biplane but 100 yards and on the second day the wind caught him and the machine was wrecked and Mattery went to the hospital. Joe Downey, in a Bleriot with Anzani motor, did not do as well as the biplane. Ray Harroun was also there with his new monoplane.

 

ONLINE RESOURCES      If you search for "Joe Downey" +race, using the Google search engine, (9-4-10), you will find about 1,500 links. At sixteen years of age, Joe was already racing bicycles. Next he graduated to racing cars. Ultimately, he became fascinated by aviation and became a flyer, if not immediately successful.

 

BOSTON MASS, May 23, 1912 from AUTOMOTIVE, VOL 26 p 1159      "BOSTON MASS, May 18.--Since Harry Grant took charge of the serucing of the entries for motor races at Rockingham park he has been justling around to try to get some good races mapped out. Grant himself will drive in some of the events, as he his not going to Indianapolis this year.      One of the events he is trying to secure is a three-cornered match race in which he will drive agianst Charley Basle and Joe Downey."

 

I am not sure of the date of his birth and Idon't know the date his death at this time.   Editor's Note: If you have any more information on this Early Bird, please contact me. E-mail to Ralph Cooper   Back