Born in Tyler, Texas, in 1905, Dewy Gatson became a racing legend as “Rajo Jack.”
Gatson was fortunate he didn’t live in abject poverty like so many African American children of that era. His railroad worker father provided a stable lifestyle for he and his five siblings.
Still, at age 16, Gatson was anxious to make his own way in the world. He fulfilled many boys’ childhood dreams and joined the circus. In reality, it was the Doc Marcell Medicine Show, but it was still a romantic adventure for Gatson.
There, he developed his innate mechanical ability. From minor repairs to converting a truck into a mobile home for the Marcell family, he so impressed his employer that he made Gatson responsible for maintaining the troupe’s 20-vehicle fleet.
While traveling to the many rural county fairs scattered throughout California, Gatson encountered a life-altering experience. He discovered auto racing.
Captivated by the roaring engines, the wheel-to-wheel competition and the daredevil drivers with larger-than-life personalities, Gatson yearned to become part of it.
However, Gatson faced a daunting obstacle. Despite a burning desire to race, the color of his skin limited his opportunities. In the pervasive racism of that day, most sports, auto racing included, prohibited blacks from competing with whites.
To overcome this, Gatson turned to a number of ruses.
In his first race during 1924, he entered as Jack DeSoto, insisting he was a native of Portugal. At other times he raced under the guise of being a Native American, or Moroccan.
But as his racing activities increased, running stock cars, sprint cars, midgets and motorcycles, it grew increasingly difficult to hide his true ethnicity. He was relegated to running outlaw races, primarily with Northern California’s American Racing Assn.
Not deterred, he persevered. Gatson performed his own mechanical work, built his own cars and focused on winning. That he did much of.
In one stretch with the ARA, he captured 30 features. Gatson won multiple races at Southern Ascot Speedway and took a 200-mile race at Silvergate Speedway in San Diego. In Sacramento, he won the 100-mile West Coast Championship race. Other significant wins came in a 300-mile stock car race at Oakland Speedway and a 500-miler, also at Oakland.
All the winning produced an uncomfortable issue for promoters. How to handle the traditional kiss from a trophy girl. They feared riots at their tracks should a white woman kiss a black. To solve this, Gatson’s wife, Ruth, traveled with him to the races, always stepping in for the victory kisses.
It was during this time that Gatson received his legendary nickname. The victories with his Model T roadsters came using Rajo cylinder heads, and that created a sales boom in his speed shop. He sold so many that the Rajo Motor Co. named him its West Coast distributor. Understandably he became, “Rajo Jack.”
Gaston’s most important win, one that brought him national attention, was a 200-mile stock car race at Mines Field in Los Angeles. Ran on a dirt road course and offering a huge purse, the 1936 event attracted a field of heavy hitters.
Road racing pro Bob McKenzie entered. Mel Keneally gave up his AAA ties to take part. Up-and-coming midget racer Fred Agabashian qualified and Duane Carter took the pole. Gatson lapped the field twice on the way to the win and pocketed $1,500.
At that time, it was the largest attended auto race in California. That an African American won this major event made newspapers across the country. The Los Angeles Times praised him and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch touted him as, “… the outstanding Negro race driver in the country.”
Gatson hoped his new celebrity would convince the AAA to allow him to compete with its elite organization and make his way to Indianapolis. That never happened. He continued to race and win on the outlaw circuits until WWII interrupted racing. When hostilities ceased, Gatson again took to the track, but he discovered he wasn’t competitive. Hindered because he’d lost sight in one eye from an old stunt show accident, he retired in 1947.
However, he did race one more time. It was with the AAA in Honolulu, and he finally raced under his own name. Not “Rajo Jack,” “Jack Desoto” or any number of other aliases.
Dewy Gatson died of a heart attack in 1956 at the age of 50. He’s since been inducted into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame and the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame.
This story appeared in the June 28, 2023 edition of the SPEED SPORT Insider.
