100 Years of Buggy History – 1950-1953

Table of Contents: Intro & 1920; 1921-1923; 1924-1927; 1928-1932; 1933-1935; 1936-1939; 1940-1945; 1946-1949; 1950-1953; 1954-1956; 1957-1959; 1960-1963; 1964-1966; 1967-1969; 1970-1973; 1974-1976; 1977-1979; 1980-1983; 1984-1986; 1987-1989; 1990-1993; 1994-1996; 1997-1999; 2000-2003; 2004-2006; 2007-2009; 2010; 2011; 2012; 2013; 2014; 2015; 2016; 2017; 2018; 2019; Recap & 2020; 2021

This week, the 100 Years of Buggy History series takes a look at the early 1950s. The rise of Soapbox Derby-style racers with derby wheels took DTD to a fivepeat before the 3rd greatest winning streak of all time got underway, but only by a whisker. Plus, Buggy initiates an entry fee, allows multiple buggies for the first time, and adds brakes!

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100 Years of Buggy History – 1946-1949

Table of Contents: Intro & 1920; 1921-1923; 1924-1927; 1928-1932; 1933-1935; 1936-1939; 1940-1945; 1946-1949; 1950-1953; 1954-1956; 1957-1959; 1960-1963; 1964-1966; 1967-1969; 1970-1973; 1974-1976; 1977-1979; 1980-1983; 1984-1986; 1987-1989; 1990-1993; 1994-1996; 1997-1999; 2000-2003; 2004-2006; 2007-2009; 2010; 2011; 2012; 2013; 2014; 2015; 2016; 2017; 2018; 2019; Recap & 2020; 2021

The war is over, and we won! This week, the 100 Years of Buggy History series brings back Fraternities, Spring Carnival, and most importantly, Buggy! The post-war era brought a whole new style of buggy, but also brought with it some controversies. It also saw the entry of multiple non-Greek organizations for the first time! (As a reminder, the Men’s Dorms were permitted to enter in 1928, though it’s unclear if they actually did).

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100 Years of Buggy History – 1940-1945

Table of Contents: Intro & 1920; 1921-1923; 1924-1927; 1928-1932; 1933-1935; 1936-1939; 1940-1945; 1946-1949; 1950-1953; 1954-1956; 1957-1959; 1960-1963; 1964-1966; 1967-1969; 1970-1973; 1974-1976; 1977-1979; 1980-1983; 1984-1986; 1987-1989; 1990-1993; 1994-1996; 1997-1999; 2000-2003; 2004-2006; 2007-2009; 2010; 2011; 2012; 2013; 2014; 2015; 2016; 2017; 2018; 2019; Recap & 2020; 2021

This week, the 100 Years of Buggy History series battles the Axis Powers as we head into the World War II years. But before we get there, we learn a little about the culmination of KapSig’s reign of dominance, the problems with wheels, and the dangers of cars on the buggy course. Plus, we’ve got plenty of information about Fall Carnival in 1942, and the unofficial Buggy substitute, the Jalopy Race.

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100 Years of Buggy History – 1936-1939

Table of Contents: Intro & 1920; 1921-1923; 1924-1927; 1928-1932; 1933-1935; 1936-1939; 1940-1945; 1946-1949; 1950-1953; 1954-1956; 1957-1959; 1960-1963; 1964-1966; 1967-1969; 1970-1973; 1974-1976; 1977-1979; 1980-1983; 1984-1986; 1987-1989; 1990-1993; 1994-1996; 1997-1999; 2000-2003; 2004-2006; 2007-2009; 2010; 2011; 2012; 2013; 2014; 2015; 2016; 2017; 2018; 2019; Recap & 2020; 2021

Before we dive into the late 1930s, a quick explanation. Until now, we’ve been relying primarily on first-hand reporting (articles from the same year, or at worst the following year) to give a picture of the year in Buggy. For these primary sources, we’ve treated the articles as fact (unless, as noted in the Intro, there’s a reason to question it). Occasionally we have provided information from second-hand sources (such as articles from later years of the Tartan that look back from a historical perspective), as they add additional color, but they are also more unreliable, and thus we have called out the times we’ve provided information from those sources and our concerns (for example, in last week’s article, we noted that there is a conflict with respect to the material making up Beta’s 1932 buggy frame).

For the late 1930s, however, the Tartan digital archives are missing (1936-1939 are unavailable), and there are few non-Tartan sources for those years, so we are more heavily relying on those second-hand sources. So in this week’s article, we will tell you what limited information we know, which comes from first-hand sources, and then we will provide some additional color from the second-hand sources along with how accurate we believe that information to be. So without further ado, let’s dive into the 1930s, when it was a KapSig world and the rest of CMU was just living in it.

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100 Years of Buggy History – 1933-1935

Table of Contents: Intro & 1920; 1921-1923; 1924-1927; 1928-1932; 1933-1935; 1936-1939; 1940-1945; 1946-1949; 1950-1953; 1954-1956; 1957-1959; 1960-1963; 1964-1966; 1967-1969; 1970-1973; 1974-1976; 1977-1979; 1980-1983; 1984-1986; 1987-1989; 1990-1993; 1994-1996; 1997-1999; 2000-2003; 2004-2006; 2007-2009; 2010; 2011; 2012; 2013; 2014; 2015; 2016; 2017; 2018; 2019; Recap & 2020; 2021

This week, 100 Years of Buggy History dives into the early-mid 1930s. This period was dominated by Beta (and there’s plenty of Beta photos), but we’ve got incidents, DQs, and even sabotage! And did you know that Pitt had buggy races as well?

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100 Years of Buggy History – 1928-1932

Table of Contents: Intro & 1920; 1921-1923; 1924-1927; 1928-1932; 1933-1935; 1936-1939; 1940-1945; 1946-1949; 1950-1953; 1954-1956; 1957-1959; 1960-1963; 1964-1966; 1967-1969; 1970-1973; 1974-1976; 1977-1979; 1980-1983; 1984-1986; 1987-1989; 1990-1993; 1994-1996; 1997-1999; 2000-2003; 2004-2006; 2007-2009; 2010; 2011; 2012; 2013; 2014; 2015; 2016; 2017; 2018; 2019; Recap & 2020; 2021

This week, 100 Years of Buggy History gets into the late 1920s and early 1930s. Say hello to Frew Street, as the Buggy Course makes its final change, and goodbye to Campus Week, as the faculty worries about the impact of festivities on its students.

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100 Years of Buggy History – 1924-1927

Table of Contents: Intro & 1920; 1921-1923; 1924-1927; 1928-1932; 1933-1935; 1936-1939; 1940-1945; 1946-1949; 1950-1953; 1954-1956; 1957-1959; 1960-1963; 1964-1966; 1967-1969; 1970-1973; 1974-1976; 1977-1979; 1980-1983; 1984-1986; 1987-1989; 1990-1993; 1994-1996; 1997-1999; 2000-2003; 2004-2006; 2007-2009; 2010; 2011; 2012; 2013; 2014; 2015; 2016; 2017; 2018; 2019; Recap & 2020; 2021

This week, 100 Years of Buggy History goes further into the 1920s. The course continues to evolve, rules start to become standardized, the Prelim/Finals setup begins, and one fraternity creates the first Buggy dynasty.

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100 Years of Buggy History – 1921-1923

Table of Contents: Intro & 1920; 1921-1923; 1924-1927; 1928-1932; 1933-1935; 1936-1939; 1940-1945; 1946-1949; 1950-1953; 1954-1956; 1957-1959; 1960-1963; 1964-1966; 1967-1969; 1970-1973; 1974-1976; 1977-1979; 1980-1983; 1984-1986; 1987-1989; 1990-1993; 1994-1996; 1997-1999; 2000-2003; 2004-2006; 2007-2009; 2010; 2011; 2012; 2013; 2014; 2015; 2016; 2017; 2018; 2019; Recap & 2020; 2021

This week, 100 Years of Buggy History takes a look at the early 1920s: 1921-1923. It’s a period full of interesting designs and controversies, plus some rule changes as the students worked to make the sport endure. And…history was made, with the first ever women’s team competing against the boys, 55 years before women’s teams were welcomed more generally into Raceday.

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100 Years of Buggy History – Intro and 1920

Table of Contents: Intro & 1920; 1921-1923; 1924-1927; 1928-1932; 1933-1935; 1936-1939; 1940-1945; 1946-1949; 1950-1953; 1954-1956; 1957-1959; 1960-1963; 1964-1966; 1967-1969; 1970-1973; 1974-1976; 1977-1979; 1980-1983; 1984-1986; 1987-1989; 1990-1993; 1994-1996; 1997-1999; 2000-2003; 2004-2006; 2007-2009; 2010; 2011; 2012; 2013; 2014; 2015; 2016; 2017; 2018; 2019; Recap & 2020; 2021

Introduction

For those of you who haven’t been refreshing this site every 5 minutes since Raceday 2019 ended, this year is the 100th anniversary of Buggy at Carnegie Mellon!  This year’s Raceday, which we are affectionately calling “Buggy 100” (#Buggy100), takes place on April 16-18, 2020, so make sure you’ve got the dates marked on your calendar.

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2019 Lead Truck Auction IS NOW OPEN

The 2019 Lead Truck Auction is now open for bidding!  As a reminder, online bidding closes Wednesday at 11pm ET.  Bidding on the Finals heats begins online, with the leading bidders having the option of which heat to apply their leading bid to – That leading bid will then become the starting bid for the selected heat during our Live Auction on Friday Night.  Full information can be found here (UPDATE: THE PENS TAKE ON THE ISLANDERS IN NY FOR GAME 2 ON FRIDAY NIGHT, AND THE GAME WILL BE ON DURING THE EVENT!)

So go on and bid now, and tell all of your friends and family that will be at Carnival this year (the auction is open to the public; you don’t need to be a BAA member to win)!  Help support the BAA and our sponsorship of Raceday 2019!

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