TOP ROW - Soapbox Race Car

Soap Box Derby Racer, 1959

Donor:  WKZO Radio-TV Broadcasting, 1969

“A lanky, awed 14-year-old from Battle Creek piled up a string of impressive victories Saturday afternoon to carry off the 1959 Kalamazoo Soap Box Derby crown.” Kalamazoo Gazette, July 19, 1959.

The winner and local champion was Edward Cherkoian, who took home a bicycle, a transistor radio, and a kiss from the Derby Queen. Edward also qualified for the World Championship held at Akron, Ohio later that summer.

Orange Crates and Tin

After watching boys race homemade cars down an inclined brick street, a reporter for the Dayton Daily News convinced the paper to sponsor the first Soap Box Derby in 1933. The race attracted 362 boys who built their racers out of orange crates, sheet tin, scrap lumber, baby buggy wheels, and all sorts of “junk.”

Ed’s Racer

When young Cherkoian designed his racer, he took metal rods from the family’s rooftop TV antenna. “I had to climb on the roof to get them,” he remembered, “Oh, was my Dad mad!” His racer was customized for the World Championship with his name and the names of the sponsors. Even though Ed did not win the World Championship, he never forgot the experience.

The World Championship

The World Championship is held each August at Derby Downs in Akron, Ohio. Its goal is to teach youngsters “the skills of workmanship, the spirit of competition, and the perseverance to continue a project once it has begun.” Today the Soap Box Derby attracts boys and girls from around the world.