McElreath raced in OKC
Hall of Fame race car driver Jim McElreath competed at Taft Stadium and State Fair Speedway before going on to the Indianapolis 500. A salute to McElreath and other people with Oklahoma ties who enjoyed the game day experience.
A farewell to people with Oklahoma ties who enjoyed the game day experience:
•Jim McElreath, 89, of Arlington, Texas. A famed race car driver who spent some of his early years competing at Taft Stadium and State Fair Speedway in Oklahoma City.
After 16 years of driving stock cars, he began an open-wheel career that would land him in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and the Indianapolis 500 Hall of Fame. He was the 1962 Indy 500 Rookie of the Year after finishing sixth.
McElreath went on to record three top-five and six top-10 finishes at the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” As a NASCAR driver, he won the inaugural California 500 while driving a team car for the legendary A.J. Foyt — another former Oklahoma City racer.
McElreath’s son, James, had a successful racing career in Oklahoma City, and Jim often showed up at State Fair Speedway to watch. Despite his fame, a longtime track official said in a Facebook post that “he was just one of the guys. Just a very nice guy and great racer.”
Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage said, “Jim was an instrumental part to the deep Texas heritage of Indy-car racing that included the likes of A.J. Foyt, Johnny Rutherford, Jim Hall, Lloyd
Ruby, Bobby Hillin Sr. and Andy Granatelli among
others.”
•Mike Toney, 72, of Broken Arrow. He played football at Tahlequah High School and then for Northeastern State. Although he would work for Amoco and open a restaurant, he found time to coach girls softball.
He started as a volunteer coach in 1975 and served as an officer for the Tulsa Girls Softball Federation. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Amateur Softball Association Hall of Fame. Toney also coached girls basketball.
He liked to play golf, go fishing and do aerobics. Toney was an avid OU sports fan.
•Raymond Nance, 82, of Oklahoma City. His father,
Odie Nance, was the first groundskeeper in Hefner Golf Course history. As a teenager, Raymond and his brothers helped their father work on the new course.
Raymond was a former Piedmont resident who was active in the community. He joined a group of parents in helping establish the Piedmont High School football program and the stadium that exists today.
He retired as a state
employee in 1997.
•Clarence Dutton, 77, of Fort Cobb. The former Army medic was a race car driver who first competed in a ‘37 Chevrolet Coupe at old Anadarko Speedway, and then at dirt car tracks in Lawton and Oklahoma City.
He moved to promotions in 1986. He joined nephew and former open-wheel driver Terry Courtney as operators of Dutton Speedway at Fort Cobb Lake. Dutton retired from racing and peanut farming in 2011.
•Tom Kimbrell, 69, of Ada was a Vietnam veteran. The East Central University graduate spent 18 years as a junior high football coach in Wetumka. Kimbrell enjoyed hunting and playing golf.
An Oklahoma football fan in a family with several Oklahoma State supporters.
•Marvin Williams, 70, of Oklahoma City worked in road construction by trade. He played softball and golf during off time. Williams’ favorite golf course was Broadmoore, where he enjoyed playing with his
sons, Tim and Steve. Marvin was a big fan of the New York Football Giants and the New York Yankees.
•Jerry Click, 73, of Oklahoma City was a longtime league bowler. Click was an avid trout fisherman. He spent more than 25 years working for the city in the Parks and Recreation division.
•Dee Don Vick, 47, of Del City. Vick enjoyed target shooting competitions. He liked to hunt as well as attend Oklahoma football, women’s basketball and softball games. Vick, a civic leader in the Mid-Del area, was involved in Boy Scouts.
•David Almy, 87, of Tulsa spent eight years as a junior high football coach while working as a purchasing agent. Almy coached son Mike’s baseball and basketball teams; David also coached daughter
Janet’s softball team. He was a hard-core Oklahoma football fan. David traveled to see the Sooners play in Miami, at a time when the Big Eight champion played in the Orange Bowl.
•Dr. Howard Keith, 84, of Edmond. A longtime surgeon in Shuttuck who loved to go hunting. Keith participated in the Grand National Quail Hunt since 1969 and served as chairman of the Lieutenant Governor’s Grand Slam Turkey Hunt.
•Rob Webber, 56, of Tulsa was a championship tennis player at Claremore High School. He and Danny Drew were doubles state titlists in 1978, the first championship duo in school history.
Webber was passionate about golf and played every Saturday morning. He was such an avoid sports fan, that he often had multiple televisions tuned in to ballgames. Webber worked for a utility service.