Briggs Swift Cunningham, 96, a renowned competitor in sports car racing
and competitive sailing, died July 2, 2003 at his home in Las Vegas from
complications of Alzheimerbs disease.
>From the 1940s to his last race in 1965, Cunningham was a fierce sports
car racing competitor who also skippered the Columbia to win the 1958
Americabs Cup. After winning many road races in the United States, he
was the first American to challenge the Europeans in the 24 Hours of Le
Mans in 1950.
In 1950 he established an automobile manufacturing and development
company to build his own cars to compete with the Europeans. The first
Cunningham C-1 was designed around a Cadillac engine. His most
successful sports car was the C-4R, which won multiple races in the 1953
and 1954 U.S. racing seasons. Cunninghambs winning designs helped
establish American automobiles as credible Le Mans competitors and won
the respect of European and American racing enthusiasts. He also
established the American racing colors: white body with blue strips down
the middle.
In addition to his status as the first American to race in Le Mans,
Cunningham also set the course for American leadership in the Americabs
Cup yacht racing challenge. In 1958, after a 21-year hiatus of the
event, he won the race in the syndicatebs 12 meter yacht, b Columbia
b which
established a winning tradition for American yachts that would
last until 1983, He also played a part in the development of the
Chrysler Hemi b 300b high-speed engine and all fin- and water-cooled
brakes in the 1950s.
After retiring from racing, Cunningham and his wife Laura opened the
Cunningham Automotive Museum in Costa Mesa, California, to display his
personal collection of automobiles. The museum closed in 1985; the
collection of cars was sold to Cunninghambs lifelong friend, Miles
Collier Jr., who keeps the collection in a private museum in Florida.
With Miles Collier Sr. , he formed the Automobile Racing Club of
American (ARCA) in 1934. Cunningham was also a founding member of the
Sports Car Club of America, and he was member number one ( the oldest
member ) of the New York Yacht Club.
Cunningham also received accolades and numerous awards in automotive car
racing and sailing circles
He was noted for his philanthropic work including, Hills school for Boys
Pottsdown, PA, Mystic Seaport, CT among many.
Cunningham was born Jan.19, 1907 to wealthy Cincinnati financier Briggs Swift
Cunningham and his wife Elizabeth Kilgour in Cincinnati, Ohio. The senior
Cunningham was the principal financier and part-owner in the ventures of two
young partners who developed a bath soap that floats: William Cooper Proctor
and
James Norris Gamble. Proctor was the Godfather of Briggs Cunningham II.
He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Laura (nee Cramer) of Las Vegas,
son Briggs S. Cunningham III of Danville, Ky., daughters Lucie McKinney of
Green farms, Conn., and Cythlen Maddock of Palm Beach, Fla., and step-sons
Bill
Elmer and Joe Elmer, and 19 grandchildren, 31 great grandchildren.
Services will be Aug 8th 2:30 pm @ Pacific View Cemetery, 3500 Pacific
View Dr, Corona Del Mar, CA In lieu of flowerbs send to donations to
Alzheimerbs Association.
Tom Butters
The Greens Fork Group
Communication Counselors
765-886-5098
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