Ralph Mulford

Ralph Kirkman Mulford was an American racing driver who participated in the 1911 Indianapolis 500. In 1911 he won the Vanderbilt Cup in Savannah, Georgia.

Biography

Mulford was born on December 28, 1884, in Brooklyn, New York. He once served as a Sunday school teacher.
Mulford won the Elgin Trophy on August 26, 1910. He then finished second in the inaugural Indianapolis 500 on May 30, 1911. While contemporary newspaper accounts and substantiated research, including by Indianapolis Motor Speedway historian Donald Davidson, have produced no credible evidence to support a claim to the contrary, there is an urban myth that Mulford, driving a Lozier, was the actual winner over Ray Harroun. However, Mulford himself never supported such a claim.
Mulford was retroactively declared the National Driving Champion for 1911 and 1918. He retired from racing on tracks after 1922, but continued to compete for several more years in hill climbs, and – at one time – held the record for both the Mount Washington and Pikes Peak climbs.
Mulford died on October 23, 1973 at a nursing home Worcester, Massachusetts, age 87. At the time of his death, he was the last surviving participant of the inaugural, 1911 Indianapolis 500.