Boilermaker and Beyond

A few months ago a box of photos found their way to our offices. Apparently a gentleman was doing some cleaning of his house and dropped off the photos. The pictures were of some of the early Boilermaker years. I was very interested in looking at the photos of the first couple of years as there just aren’t a great deal of them and I get a kick seeing people that I know (usually having less weight and more hair).

Any of you that have experienced the finish of the Boilermaker either as a participant or spectator with it’s sea of humanity, loudspeakers blaring and thunderous applause it’s really quite a spectacle.

So jump into the time tunnel and emerge to July 16^th 1978, the day of the first Boilermaker. Preparing to cross the finish line (spray painted on the street, next to the young man with the striped shirt) is Ric Rojas, the male winner of the first Boilermaker. He has just passed the local Texaco station and Red Robin bar & grill; both long since gone from Court Street. Cars line the street and he is being cheered on by a handful of people.

Perhaps, in my opinion, the greatest part of the picture are the kids riding bikes in the street behind Ric.

While it may be the same 9.3 miles as 1978 this race has certainly changed!