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 Alzheimer's 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 America's 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. Cunningham's 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
America's Cup yacht racing challenge. In 1958, after a 21-year hiatus
of the event, he won the race in the syndicate's 12 meter yacht,
"Columbia " 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 "300"
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 Cunningham's 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 Pottstown, 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 stepsons 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 flower's send to donations to Alzheimer's
Association.
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