The goal: Drive from San Diego to New York City in the shortest time possible.
The challenge: Everything in between.
The rules: None.
The first individual to achieve the above was none other than Edwin “Cannonball” Baker. He completed his infamous run in 1914, half a century before the Interstate Highway System, on a motorcycle in 11 days. It was a journey that set the course of his life, earned him his nickname, and stunned a nation.
The story begins two years earlier in Indianapolis, where Baker worked as a machinist and became involved with some of the first motorized bicycles. Indian Motorcycle Manufacturing Company co-founder George Hendee approached him about taking one of the company’s two-speed, seven-horsepower models of his on a demo tour of Cuba and Central America. After 14,000 miles and three months later, Baker ended up in Panama and boarded a steamer to San Diego.
Rather than return to Indianapolis from San Diego, Baker stayed for a while, competing in several drag races in California and Arizona during this time. It was all preparation for what was to be the greatest race of his life. In 1914, after careful preparation and an iron will, Baker mounted his pure Indian V-Twin motorcycle and embarked on a cross-country race against time.
He braved treacherous weather, mad dogs, flat tires, and seemingly impassable terrain (he once spent an entire day trying to find a suitable place to cross a river!) and still completed his epic journey. Upon arrival in the Big Apple, newspaper reporters flocked to ask questions, and one reporter compared it to the Illinois Central Railroad’s Cannonball Express train. The name stuck. “Cannonball” Baker would set 143 riding records from the 1910s to the 1930s, driving not only motorcycles but also vehicles as varied as the Model T, a fully loaded two-ton truck, and a Cadillac 8 roadster. “Without a record there is no money” he told his sponsors. He once raced a 20th Century Limited train in a race from New York to Chicago and won.