1909 Harley-D Trophy on eBay

[HarleyCreation]

Here's a nice item with no bids yet and only a few hours left. The name on the trophy is almost certainly Frank Ollerman, whom we know quite a bit about.

Ollerman was a factory guy and is present in the 1907 H-D employee lineup. Several photos of him exist too. We probably even have articles about this race plus the serial number of the motorcycle he rode in 1909. Nice!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...fvi%3D1&_rdc=1

[Sargehere]

That qualifies for the often-abused description, "unique." ONE. There are no others.
You can imagine the winner strapping it on his luggage carrier and scraping the name up on his way home! (Well, I know, it would have been engraved later, but it's pleasant daydreaming)
We'll never know who buys it; probably go in someone's Harley memorabilia collection, never to be seen in public again.

[HarleyCreation]

That qualifies for the often-abused description, "unique." ONE. There are no others.
You can imagine the winner strapping it on his luggage carrier and scraping the name up on his way home! (Well, I know, it would have been engraved later, but it's pleasant daydreaming)
We'll never know who buys it; probably go in someone's Harley memorabilia collection, never to be seen in public again.

Yes, unique it is and that's why I posted it here. That maybe a club member might bid on it. This is one trophy with a solid history as Frank Ollerman was there from 1907 and shows up frequently. There's even a photo of him on this forum that pem posted with Ollerman, Rudy Comstock and Sherbie Becker of hidden room fame. It sure looks like "Ollerman" on that trophy to me, worn or not.

Maybe he did carry it on his motorcycle later on. These early guys would not have owned cars. Perish the thought! Maybe he had it strapped to his fork like Johnny Straebler (Brando) did in The Wild One and rode around with it like that. It is a good thought.

Down to 6 hours and no bids yet.

[Chris Haynes]

I bought a 1922 Oscar Lenz trophy on eBay.

[gary.h]

well that was sure nice to view the pictures,the craftsmanship into that cup
is really easy on the eyes..makes me wonder how the race looked,just have to kick back and let the imagination run for awhile,thanks for sharing it.

[HarleyCreation]

I bought a 1922 Oscar Lenz trophy on eBay.

Nice. Can we see a picture of the trophy?

I just found out that Oscar Lenz was in the Jack Pine endurance contest in 1916. That was a surprise to me. I didn't know he was around that early or that the Jack Pine run existed that early either. It was some 800 miles long and went all the way north to the top of Lower Michigan and then back south again. Proving, they said at the time in 1916, that modern motorcycles were practically indestructable.

[HarleyCreation]

Sold cheap

well that was sure nice to view the pictures,the craftsmanship into that cup
is really easy on the eyes..makes me wonder how the race looked,just have to kick back and let the imagination run for awhile,thanks for sharing it.

The 1909 trophy only got 2 bids and sold for $527. Hopefully the new owner is a club member and will speak up. If that is Frank Ollerman's trophy, there's a nice story that goes along with it. Ollerman was one of the original 12 apostles of Harley-Davidson.

[LouieMCman]

Wow, 12 apostles of HD, sounds almost Biblical. Who might the other 11 be?

[jurassic]

thanks for the heads up herb. couldn't pass up something like that . whether there is a story with it or not ,it was a bargain. i'll give it a close inspection when i get back from oley and let you know.thanks ,lonnie

[Rubone]

Glad that if I was beaten out it was by Lonnie! It will go to a good home.
Robbie

[HarleyCreation]

thanks for the heads up herb. couldn't pass up something like that . whether there is a story with it or not ,it was a bargain. i'll give it a close inspection when i get back from oley and let you know.thanks ,lonnie

Excellent!

We can actually thank Earl (Rick Morsher) for this good find. He first notified me by email about it. When I figured he wasn't bidding, I posted it here. It was a shame to see it vanish if indeed it is Frank Ollerman's trophy. Nice and early too.

Once you get back please let us know if you can make out the name on the trophy. My guess is that it says Frank Ollerman. If it is Ollerman, then the trophy does come with a good story and that doubles the bargain.

[Barry Brown]

What the heck is going on with The Motor Company?? An 18 million dollar museum and they wouldn't pop to buy this important piece of their history? Lonnie , if you sell it to them make sure you get about 50K for it!

[HarleyCreation]

Apostles of Harley-Davidson

Wow, 12 apostles of HD, sounds almost Biblical. Who might the other 11 be?

Actually there were 17 apostles of Harley-Davidson. They are pictured on pages 98 and 118 of the definitive book about H-D's beginnings: "At the Creation." Shown there is the original work-force at the time that the Harley-Davidson Motor Co. incorporated in Sept. of 1907 .

Altho one of the photos has been published elsewhere, this is the only place (unless someone has copied me) in which the "apostles" are named.

However, of the 17 apostles shown, we only know the names of 14 of them. Thankfully, our new hero Frank Ollerman is among them. I'll bet he's smiling today (but I'll refrain from adding the phrase "from Hog Heaven.")

Funny, this isn't even ancient history and look how much we don't know. That's why we named it "At the Creation." To the truly initiated, the beginning of Harley-Davidson was a seismic event. It was also pretty cool. Just like Lonnie's 1909 Milwaukee trophy is cool.

[Chris Haynes]

Nice. Can we see a picture of the trophy?

I just found out that Oscar Lenz was in the Jack Pine endurance contest in 1916. That was a surprise to me. I didn't know he was around that early or that the Jack Pine run existed that early either. It was some 800 miles long and went all the way north to the top of Lower Michigan and then back south again. Proving, they said at the time in 1916, that modern motorcycles were practically indestructable.

Here it is. It reads;
Trophy
Oscar C Lenz
H. Horn
First
Novice Event
Hill Climb
Mich Gypsy Tour
Lansing
1922

[Chris Haynes]

I also found this 1919 Medal from The Passaic M. C. National Endurance Run. It was won by AMA Hall of Famer Roy Artley.