Charlie Barry
Solvay, NY
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On Friday night August 10, 1951, the first ever race was held on the new dirt track called the Oswego Speedway. An old horse racing track was converted into a stock car race track by the Caruso brothers. The first ever green flag waved at 8:15 in front of a capacity grandstand. The opening night winner was Charlie Barry. . . . written by Danny Johnson Charlie went on to collect two more victories during his racing career at Oswego in the Class "A" Modifieds. He was also a top runner at Brewerton Speedway during the early '50s. Rollie Velte, a legendary driver in his own right, said, "A while back they were listing great drivers. I was mad that they did not list Charlie Barry, he was unbelievable". I received the following message on Thursday, August 21, 2008: Dear Jake, I am the daughter of Charlie Barry, my name is Patti. When the internet first became a big thing I tried searching my Dad's name and found nothing. I decided tonight to try again. I found the tribute picture of my Dad and the words "not forgotten". I must tell you it really got me. I wasn't expecting to see a picture of him. He died such a long time ago. I still miss him too much, he was larger than life. Any stories or information you can remember about him would be much appreciated, or anyone you know who might know about him. I was so young when he died. Thank you for such a touching tribute after all these years. . . . written by Patti Barry I received the following message from Nick Cottone on 4/7/2009: Dear Jake, Hi, My name is Nick Cottone. I Started racing on Long Island in 1959 and am still racing a small car similar to the Mic-rods in central NY state. My first modified was a 37 Chevy Coach coach which I built in 1962 and raced at Islip and Riverhead against all the great drivers of that era. I sold the car when I moved to NJ in 1969 and it was re-built to become the famous "Crown Seven" driven by Tommy Baldwin. My reason for writing you is to try and find history on a fellow I met in 1957. His racing name was Charlie Barry and he lived in Syracuse, NY. I visited him at his home during that summer and I remember him showing me pictures of his Midget driving days. We worked together in NJ and one day, he showed me a telegram from Ronnie Householder, head of Chrysler Racing, offering him a ride in a factory car at Daytona Beach. I guess he must have been pretty good in his day. The day I spent with him included dinner at his mother's table. They treated me like family. It could well be that Charlie planted the seed in my mind to be an oval track racer. . . . written by Nick Cottone, aka "Hogans Goat" |
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Charlie Barry info
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