PINEWOOD DERBY HISTORY

The Birth of the Pinewood Derby Car Race
The late Don Murphy’s idea for the Pinewood Derby began in the Management Club at North American Aviation, where he worked. Mr. Murphy wanted to create a Cub Scout activity he could do with his son. The idea of racing miniature cars came to him while thinking of his company sponsored Soap Box Derby races.

"I'd made models of airplanes, cars, boats, and any number of other structures and remembered the pleasure I got out of doing it," he said. "I also wanted to devise a wholesome, constructive activity that would foster a closer father-son relationship and promote craftsmanship and good sportsmanship through competition."

He asked the Management Club at his company, North American Aviation, to sponsor a miniature racing event for his Cub Scout pack that he had named a "pinewood derby." The club agreed to pay for the wood and other materials.

Murphy designed a miniature car that could be carved out of soft pinewood and wrote the rules. "Pack 280C had seven dens and den mothers," remembers Murphy, "and totaled 55 Cub Scouts at the time. Originally the block of wood we included in the kit was carved down in the forward third to a kind of cockpit. We put the wood, wheels, and nails into a brown paper sack with an assigned number. Some Cub Scout fathers built a 31-foot race ramp with two lanes and a battery-run finish line made from doorbells. Light bulbs would identify the winner."

Catching on like wildfire, the derby was an instant success and for a time was copied, with the Management Club's permission, by the Los Angeles County Department of Recreation. Then word reached the national director of Cub Scouting Service, O. W. (Bud) Bennett, who wrote Murphy:

"We believe you have an excellent idea, and we are most anxious to make your material available to the Cub Scouts of America."

Within the year the pinewood derby was adopted for use in all Cub Scout packs. In its October 1954 issue, Boys' Life publicized the event and offered plans for the track and a car, which featured "four wheels, four nails, and three blocks of wood."

Little has changed in the derby since 1953. During that time an estimated 43 million sons and fathers (mostly) have participated. And today's generation of Cub Scouts, moms and dads share the same fun, thrills, and rewarding moments.

The      The first Pinewood Derby ever held took place in 1953. Pack 280C of Manhattan Beach, California gathered at the Manhattan Beach Clubhouse and made Cub Scout history.

Cubmaster Don Murphy had been looking for an activity that his 10 year old son, Donn, could participate in after being too young for a soap box derby. Remembering the cars and airplanes he used to carve as a child he decided his Cub Scouts could work with their fathers and carve their own race cars. He felt this activity would foster a closer father-son relationship and good sportsmanship through competition.

Murphy approached his Cub Scout committee who eagerly took on the project. A car and track design were quickly worked out. The racing kit consisted of a block of pine wood, two wood axles, four nails, and four wheels. The track was 32 feet long with a declining four foot down ramp for the gravity propelled cars. The electric finish line was built with door bell coils powered by batteries to signify the winner.

The first race day was set for Friday May 15, 1953. Contestants raced in three classes: Class A: 10 years old, Class B: 9 years old, and Class C: 8 years old. The race was a hit from the second the first group of cars started down the track. News of the Pinewood Derby quickly spread. A city wide Pinewood Derby was sponsored by the Herald Express newspaper and the Los Angeles City Recreation and Parks department in 1954. When word reached the national office of the Boy Scouts of America they decided to promote the race nationwide. A race car kit was even included in the Boy Scouts of America's supply catalog.

Today most of the rules and regulations of the Pinewood Derby remain the same. Cub Scouts and their parents look forward to the race each year. The late Don Murphy, who recently passed away (and the father of the Pinewood Derby), always took great pride in the event he started over 50 years ago. A regulation Pinewood Derby track can be found in the National Scouting Museum where visitors can race their own cars or a car provided by the museum.