The early U.S. National Hot Air Balloon Pilot Championships at Reno had been great successes. Naturally the next thought came to the really sharp promoters: Las Vegas would be a bigger and greater success for an International Balloon Competition.
So down we went to Las Vegas to meet the wheelers and dealers from Reno who were invading. Great plans were under foot when strange rumors came to surface: we were in the wrong camp!
An evening call from the President of the National Aeronautic Association. A limousine will be at your hotel in minutes to take you to dinner with the organizer of the other great Las Vegas International Air Show and Races. Now this was many years ago and the only limousine I had ever been in was to go to the premiere of Five Weeks in a Balloon. That was in Denver and Peter Lorre made it a memorable trip until, in the middle lane of a five lane street in rush hour, the limo lost its transmission. Stone dead. So I peered into this cavernous vehicle with some trepidation to see the consolingly familiar face of Bill Ong, President of the NAA and an exalted member of the Kansas City balloon club, which was known as The American Montgolfiere Society, equaled in its half a dozen members only by Swarthmore, Pennsylvania’s "The Balloon Club of America" with its half a baker’s dozen and Akron, Ohio’s National Lighter Than Air with many more members, but no balloons. And sunk deep in the corner was a powerful appearing dark complexioned gentleman - The Organizer.
A sumptuous dinner (I didn’t pay, and I don’t know who did) and I learned all about national aviation politics. I was informed that as a National Vice President of the NAA I must switch allegiance and bring the balloons into the right camp. Hot Air Balloons had been too long ignored by the NAA. The guy I had been consorting with wore a black hat. I must bring the balloon community into the proper fold. Don’t mess with black hats. This guy here has the white hat. (Later I found out from the competition that white hat was, indeed, a Convicted Felon.) I must form a hot air division for the NAA and bring it to the good sanctioned races with the big casino backing. It was all a whirl. Howard Hughes was hidden somewhere upstairs and this new casino had the connections.
Well we did have a Cross Country International Dash Balloon Race from Del Webb’s place (with H. H. supposedly peeking out from behind curtained windows at these strange new aircraft) to Boulder Airport where the Balloon Race Finish Line just happened to coincide with the opening of the Big International Airshow. And it was all Sanctioned by the National Aeronautic Association, representing The Federation Aeronautique Internationale. The rules were simple: Take off from the Casino, clear the property line and land at will, use ground or any transportation to any spot upwind of the Finish Line, re-launch and cross the line airborne. A real "Race."
Jack O’Neill, maybe in a wet suit or maybe not, took off first in his Ax-2, more used to sea launching from a Boston Whaler than from the middle of the desert. Hot Air Charlie, as usual, never showed up and defaulted on his entry fee. $5.00. Jay (Santa Monica’s Chez Jay) Fiondella was aloft for several minutes in the "Great Race" balloon, but got marooned over the parking lot’s chain link fence. Bill Berry, late of the Parachute Club of America, wasn’t invited, but Deke Sonnichsen, also ex-PCA was. Counselor Higbie (Lawyers couldn’t advertise in those days, so any publicity was good publicity.) cleared the property line handily but the first possible landing site for him turned out to be one of those sun tan lotion billboards with the bare bottomed little girl and the dog. The AP photo with the bottom discretely covered by International Orange and White nylon made every paper in the country, but the accompanying story didn’t mention that Dick was an attorney. So much for publicity. The balloon was repairable and was seen again, nationally, lofting the Cheer Soap Lady to inspect her wash and also to carry Andy Griffeth to safety in Salvage One. Now, still flyable, it is on it’s way to a museum..
Most of the balloons never found their way to Boulder, which was just as well because the dead calm of the Desert Inn was replaced by flying boulders at Boulder. A couple of balloons actually did get momentarily airborne in order to bounce across the finish line and a bathtub sized (silver plate) Revere Bowl was awarded. The first ever trophy for an NAA sanctioned international hot air balloon race. (There was some unpleasantness about The Organizer using the word "International" on the printed programs without FAI approval, but what’s done is done and can’t be undone, pity.)
You can see the Revere Bowl (tarnished plate) in the collection at the Soukup & Thomas International Balloon and Airship Museum at 700 North Main Street, Mitchell, South Dakota, and the NSF check from The Organizer in my private collection. His obituary was in the paper recently, so if anyone would like to have a rare Jimmy (The Greek) Snyder rubber check for their collection let me know. Face value without cost of living index for thirty years would be O. K.
P. S. His alleged felony conviction, obscured by his later racial faux pas, was for communicating gambling odds across state lines. R.I.P. Jimmy, early fan of hot air ballooning.