Sports / Auto industry
Tommy Milton
1893–1962 · racing driver, automotive engineer
First driver to win the Indianapolis 500 twice (1921 and 1923), despite having sight in only one eye; he spent his later years in the Detroit area auto industry.
- Born
St. Paul, Minnesota- Died
Mount Clemens, Michigan
aged 68- Birth name
- Thomas Willard Milton
- Detroit years
- 1930s–1962
- Field
- Sports, Auto industry
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Milton raced in an era of board tracks and dirt ovals and became one of the best drivers of his generation even though he was effectively blind in one eye, a fact he kept quiet for years. He won the Indianapolis 500 in 1921 in a Frontenac built by Louis and Arthur Chevrolet and again in 1923, becoming the first two-time winner of the race, and he also set a land speed record at Daytona Beach in 1920. After retiring from driving he moved into engineering and management in the auto industry, working with Detroit carmakers including Packard, and he served for years as chief steward of the Indianapolis 500. He lived in Macomb County in his later years and died in Mount Clemens, north of Detroit, in 1962. He was inducted into the Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1954 and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1998.
Highlights
- First two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 (1921, 1923)
- Raced with vision in only one eye
- Land speed record at Daytona Beach, 1920
- Longtime chief steward of the Indianapolis 500
- Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, 1998