The Eagle River derby started because an innkeeper wanted customers in February.
In 1964, John and Betty Alward, who ran the Chanticleer Inn, and publicist Walt Goldsworthy went looking for a way to bring visitors to Eagle River in the winter. John had bought snowmobiles from Arctic Cat distributor Sparky Meyer. They settled on a race.
They billed it as “The World’s First Snowmobile Derby” and held it Feb. 9, 1964, on Dollar Lake behind the inn. They hoped for a dozen sleds and maybe 50 people. More than 100 drivers showed up, and several thousand people came to watch. Stan Hayes, a 13-year-old from Crandon, was named the overall champion. He was riding a 9-horsepower Polaris.
It was clear they were on to something.
The 1965 race, called the National Snowmobile Derby, drew more than 5,000 people. In 1966 the derby moved to land at the north end of town, and the “World Championship Snowmobile Derby” name was registered along with the “Snowmobile Capital of the World.” The Eagle River Lions Club took over the race and trademarked the name.
By 1968 the derby was on ABC’s “Wide World of Sports,” and Packers Bart Starr, Ray Nitschke and Fuzzy Thurston came up to see it. The finals in the late 1960s drew more than 35,000 people, which is a lot of people for a town that size in January.
The track was rebuilt as a half-mile, high-banked oval in 1974. The Decker family bought it in 1985.
More than 60 years on, people still drive to Eagle River in January to watch sleds go fast. The Alwards would be pleased.
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