Long before Roger Penske, Mike Boyle set the bar for those Penske-like racing attributes of professional appearance, preparedness, pristine facilities and seemingly unlimited resources.
During an era when most championship cars were maintained in small hole-in-the-wall buildings or backyard garages, Boyle purchased an Indianapolis West Side facility, which houses a custom brewery and eatery today, and filled it with the latest tools and machinery.
Working from the state-of-the- art shop, Boyle’s acclaimed chief mechanic, “Cotton” Henning prepared the cars that not only won a bevy of races on the AAA Championship Trail but performed spectacularly in the Indianapolis 500.
Boyle owned cars first appeared at Indianapolis in 1926, and until his last 500 in 1941, he won the 500 three times, finished in the top six on 13 occasions and captured the pole four times.
Boyle’s first 500 victory was in 1934 with driver “Wild” Bill Cummings at the wheel of the Boyle Products Miller. That win whetted Boyle’s appetite for more, and he knew the driver that could do it for him. Wilbur Shaw.
Boyle had pursued Shaw for several years, and by 1936 Shaw began to seriously consider Boyle’s overtures. He agreed to drive for Boyle, with one caveat. Shaw had driven a Maserati in the 1936 Vanderbilt Cup race and was so impressed with the handling, he informed Boyle, “Buy me one of those and I’ll win the 500 for you.”
Never one to be deterred by dollars, after $30,000 and a misstep of initially ordering the wrong car, Boyle finally obtained what Shaw wanted in time for the 1939 500. A Maserati 8CTF.
Where did the enormous amounts of money Boyle spent on racing originate? Boyle was the head of Chicago’s IBEW Local 134 electrical worker’s union with 10,000 members. He ruled it with an iron fist.
In pay and benefit disputes with the city, Boyle twice shut down Chicago’s business district. The most stunning of these occurrences happened in January, 1934, when he pulled city-employed IBEW members off the job and cut power to Chicago’s Inner Loop.
More than 94,000 street lights blinked off, all the traffic lights ceased operating and 38 of the 55 drawbridges that crossed the Chicago River were left in the up position. Huge traffic jams ensued and the police were helpless without power for their communication networks.
Within three hours the city acquiesced to Boyle’s demands. The New York Times called Boyle the “Supreme Commander” of the electrical workers.
A reporter once asked him how he had a net worth of $400,000 ($6,000,000 in today’s dollars) on his $35 weekly salary. “With great thrift,” Boyle retorted.
“Great thrift” wasn’t the entire answer. Chicago was in a skyscraper building boom, and if a contractor desired a build free of work stoppages, they needed to curry Boyle’s favor.
To accommodate those attempting to gain his influence, Boyle held court at Johnson’s Saloon on Chicago’s West Madison Street. Upon arrival, he’d hang his open umbrella at the end of the bar. Those meeting with him then made “donations” into the unattended umbrella as they passed. When the media caught wind of this, they dubbed him “Umbrella Mike.”
Those “contributions,” while considerable, were certainly not his primary source of income. In a time of corruption and lawlessness in the Windy City, the bribe was the key to making things happen. Frequently on the receiving end, Boyle amassed a personal fortune.
Boyle’s nefarious activities were not without risk. He was shot twice, telling police when they arrived, “I’ll handle it myself.” He was jailed twice, the second time the ultraconservative President Woodrow Wilson pardoned him. Why remains a mystery yet today.
Ordinarily, the squeaky-clean AAA wouldn’t sanction such activities from their membership. Perhaps someone’s palms were greased to make that happen.
Regardless, Wilbur Shaw, driving the Boyle Maserati, won the 1939 500, and followed that with another win in 1940. He was well on his way to a third consecutive victory, before a wire wheel collapsed and he crashed.
Shaw gained national recognition that opened doors and enhanced his credibility as he searched for a potential buyer for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Shaw was successful in that effort, leaving Boyle’s legacy as nothing short of the fact the Indianapolis Motor Speedway exists today.
That such a momentous development occurred because of the actions of the shadowy “Umbrella” Mike Boyle, is ironic, perhaps, poetic. It adds another layer to the captivating tale of gangsters, bloodshed and auto racing.