Eddie Rickenbacker was destined to lead nothing short of an extraordinary life, making contributions in auto racing, military aviation, automobile manufacturing and civil aviation. Born in October 1890 to Swiss immigrant parents, Eddie was raised in Columbus Ohio. His formal education in the middle of seventh grade when his father William Richenbacher died in a construction accident when Eddie was only 12. “The day after my father died, I did not go to school, I went to work.”
Eddie was the ultimate risk taker stoked with self-confidence. This character trait was evident when he approached Lee Frayer, a pioneer automobile builder, for a job at age 15. The Frayer-Miller automobile construction business was based in Eddie’s hometown of Columbus, Ohio. Frayer didn’t take the boy seriously at first and rejected his offer. But when the bold young Rickenbacher brashly reported to work the next day cleaning the Frayer-Miller shop spotless, Lee Frayer relented and offered him employment. Frayer was impressed to learn Eddie had enrolled in a correspondence course on automotive engineering. He groomed the boy with various assignments in the business.
Towards the end of the 1914 season, Eddie switched teams again to Peugeot. Eddie remarked “I wanted to drive the French Peugeot. The French were building superior cars, and the Peugeot was the best of them all. It has speed, endurance and maneuverability”. A deal was made in time for the 302-mile Corona Road Race in California. Asked to compare road racing to the oval tracks, Eddie responded “I always preferred the challenge and variety of road racing to going around and around like a ball on a string”.
Before the Corona Race, Eddie completely overhauled his Peugeot and painted it white. In an effort to improve communication between the driver and mechanician, Eddie designed special masks connected by tubes. “We looked like men from outer space. The acoustics were fine, but in the race the face masks became unbearably hot and itchy”.
