1963 Miami Stadium

[SLTapp]

I noticed that 'lilabner" and "2us70" mentioned my Father J. W. Tapp's boating accident at the opening of the Miami Stadium 12/27/63. Any chance anyone has any pictures from that day. JW was my Father and I had just turned 5 on 12/1 before the accident. Would love to communicate with someone that was there or see some pictures if anyone has any. Thank you.

[oldschoolltv]

Glad to have you on the site I am sure someone will chime in on this, Matt

[SLTapp]

glad to have you on the site i am sure someone will chime in on this, matt

thank you!

[2us70]

I was still in high school and just about to start racing when that accident happened. I think that " lilabner", Charlie Wolf and maybe Dave Craig are about the only guys I have seen on these pages who might have any more info about this incident.

[SLTapp]

Thanks 2us70 for responding also. Is there a way I can find their email addresses or send them a direct email from this site? This is the first forum I have ever joined, so I'm new at this. Thank you.

[2us70]

Lilabner and Charlie will probably respond on the forum. Dave Craig does not post here but some of the others might be able to contact him.

[lilabner]

That was a sad day for all of us. I was at Dade Marine working on Charlie Dunns cat. He was at the stadium buying a boat from your father. He called me pretty upset and told me what happened. I don't know anyone that might have a picture. Charlie Dunn has also left us. I will ask Dave Craig and another friend if they remember anything. Sorry for your loss. Losing your dad that young had to be hard.

Butch Stokes

[Bob V]

Hi S.L. - I have been watching this thread hoping that someone would be able to give you the information that you are seeking. When not much was being posted, I thought I would give it a shot. Having been 52 years ago, information is very scarce and, as Butch eluded to, many of those that were there are no long with us. As you know, the accident occurred during the Grand Opening of the Miami Marine Stadium on December 27, 1963. I did find several articles which I have linked below, including an article from the Palm Beach Post dated December 28, 1963 that details the accident. The Palm Beach article states that your dad was driving a hydroplane, but from what I have been able to learn, your dad was actually driving a flat-bottom SK boat. It probably would have been a Raysoncraft, Howard or Stevens, which were the dominant flat-bottoms during that time. It seems that the engine locked up, possibly going into a turn, causing the boat to go into a fatal flip. It appears that he passed instantly from head injuries. I would doubt that you are going to find a picture of the accident because it happened during a test run and not during the actual race.

Hope this helps

http://news.google.com/newspapers?ni...pg=984,6363720

https://books.google.com/books?id=sE...driver&f=false

http://www.preservationnation.org/ma...i-romance.html

[SLTapp]

I knew my Father built boats in our garage (Mom said I was his shadow), and I have seen a few pictures at fairs where he was showing boats, and a few of him in some of his boats....wow...he was making a sale while down there for a race. He had to have been a sharp man! I know if he had of lived, I would have been a boat mechanic myself!! At least he was doing what he loved to do on his last day with us! Butch, I do have a newspaper article where they are lifting his boat with a crane out of the water after the accident. I would have expected the boat to have been in pieces according to boating accidents I have watched, but his boat appeared to be intact... Thanks Butch for responding...

[lilabner]

i just spoke with Dave Craig, and he doesn't remember if he was there. I also spoke with Fred Darwick and he didn't remember either. Sorry we can't give you answers, but memories fade away. I hope you find someone who can help.

Butch

[SLTapp]

Hi Bob. Thanks for sharing. I had not seen that first article, thank you. I found those other 2 a few days ago. Most of them just say there was a fatality on the opening day. I do recall the words Raysoncraft and flat-bottom. I recall seeing his helmet one time, and it was crashed in on the front/top. The picture of the boat on the crane indeed had SK ## on the side. I do believe that Dad was "gone" before the medics could offer assistance. Yes, it's been a long time now, but Mom would/could not talk much about it. And now with her passing, I still have unknowns about him. However, a few months back, I did find one of the guys that hung around with our family and helped Dad work on boats back then. He was maybe 17-18 at the time and has offered me some information. He had not seen the picture of the boat on the crane so I shared it with him. He said that when they got the boat to the land, that he had a team racing shirt on and was asked to go down and pull the plug so the crane could lift the boat out of the water. It was still pretty tough for him to talk about it. Thanks for trying to offer me support and information. If anyone else has anything more to share, I'm listening. Thank you all!

[SLTapp]

Hi Butch...I knew it was a long shot, but it didn't hurt to give it a try. Thanks for reaching out to the others. I appreciate that. You guys have helped! Just talking about it with others than understand is good. Thank you all again...

[SLTapp]

Hi Butch...I knew it was a long shot, but it didn't hurt to give it a try. Thanks for reaching out to the others. I appreciate that. You guys have helped! Just talking about it with others than understand is good. Thank you all again...

[Bob V]

Here is a picture of the pits at the 1963 Grand Opening of the Marine Stadium, December 27, 1963. Any chance that the SK-47 flatbottom is your dad's boat? If not, do you know what his boat number was?

[T2x]

Here is a picture of the pits at the 1963 Grand Opening of the Marine Stadium, December 27, 1963. Any chance that the SK-47 flatbottom is your dad's boat? If not, do you know what his boat number was?

More Sadness in this picture. The Hydroplane in the front is the "Crazy Thing" owned and driven by Bill Sterett. some years later Bill Sterett was killed in a boat racing accident...and to make matters worse, his son was killed years later testing a reproduction of the boat in the picture... God Bless all of our departed racers who strapped on a helmet and passed away at max speed.