SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Bill Marvel, a charter member of the United States Auto Club and a longtime supporter of auto racing, died Sunday. He was 90 years old.
Marvel was present at the first USAC event ever held, a National Midget race on Jan. 8, 1956 at the Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Ind. Marvel was on hand to greet feature winner Gene Hartley in victory lane with a Hoosier Auto Racing Fans jacket, an organization of which he was the president of at the time.
With USAC, he has served in the official capacities as a Corporate Advisor from 1978-82 as well as a Vice President/Corporate Affairs from 1983-97. Marvel dedicated much of his life to assisting injured drivers in need of financial aid through the USAC Benevolent Foundation as the Executive Director.
In 1997, Marvel was presented the Ross Hadley Achievement Award for his dedication to USAC and the sport of auto racing. In 2014, Marvel was the recipient of the Roger McCluskey Award of Excellence, presented annually by the President of USAC in memory of USAC Executive Vice President and former champion driver Roger McCluskey, recognizing the standards of excellence he set in the sport of auto racing.
Born on June 21, 1930, Marvel graduated from Broad Ripple High School in Indianapolis, Ind., class of 1948, then set forth on serving his country as a United States Marine between 1948-1955 with active duty for three years between 1950-1952 in the Korean War.
Following his honorable discharge from the military, Marvel set forth on a 60-plus year journey in management, public relations, editing, publishing (magazine and newspaper), radio, public address, television announcing, retail sales, marketing and sales.
Marvel was the News Media Liaison Officer for Indianapolis Motor Speedway between 1953 and 1967 and was an Off-Track Coordinator for major accessory companies.
Marvel was there at the introduction of Pennsylvania’s Pocono Raceway in 1969 in the role of General Manager & Director of Public Relations, as well as the General Manager for Texas World Speedway, New Jersey’s Trenton Speedway, the World Series of Auto Racing, plus the Indiana State Fairgrounds and Indiana’s Winchester Speedway, where he was also on the track’s Public Address system as an announcer.
His media prowess expanded to all aspects as he was the Editor & Publisher of Charger Auto Racing News, the National Racing Editor of U.S. Auto Sports Magazine and the Midwest Racing Editor for National Speed Sport News. On the radio, he was an auto racing reporter for WIBC in Indianapolis as well as the Color Commentator & Coordinator for Indianapolis 500 activities on WISH-TV in Indianapolis.
Marvel also had his hand in the movie business as a consultant with two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Rodger Ward for the 1969 racing movie, “Winning,” starring Hollywood heavyweights Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward and Robert Wagner.
In addition to his racing duties, Marvel was the Sports Information Director for Butler University and served as the Director of Public Relations for the Indiana Pacers during their ABA and NBA days during the decades of the 1960s and 1970s. He served in the same role for the World Hockey Association’s Indianapolis Racers during the 1970s, the team best known as the first professional stop for future NHL greats and Hockey Hall of Fame players Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier.
Marvel was also in charge of Marketing & Sales for the Indiana Loves, a charter franchise in World Team Tennis.
He was Director of Public Relations for the sports management and public relations firm, Sports Headliners, where he represented such racing figures as Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt, Jackie Stewart, Rodger Ward, Billy Vukovich, Roger McCluskey, Graham Hill, Al Unser, Bobby Unser and Jim Clark, as well as NFL Hall of Famers Johnny Unitas and O.J. Simpson.
In addition, he also was the Director of Special Events for the Houston Astrodome where, among his duties, he organized the driver lineup and the marketing of the mega USAC Midget events inside the building known as “The Eighth Wonder of the World,” beginning in 1969.
He was the President of Marvel-ous Racing Promotions and had a tenure as the President of the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame, and also coordinated public relations and publicity for three-time Indianapolis 500 winning driver Johnny Rutherford during his successful relationship with the Gatorade/McLaren Racing Team in the 1970s.
A man of many talents, and boundless motivation to succeed, Marvel also found time to own and operate his own personal business, Bill’s Unclaimed Freight, in which he too served as President.
While Marvel had a brief race driving career in his younger days, his sons Brad and Billy Marvel Jr. were talented wheelmen in their own right. Brad Marvel won a USAC National Sprint Car feature event at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway in 1996 during Indiana Sprint Week while Billy Marvel Jr. was just beginning his sprint car career when he lost his life in an accident at Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville, Ind., in 1983. An award in Billy Marvel Jr.’s memory is still presented to this day by HARF to the top first year driver in the state of Indiana each season. Bill’s grandson, and Brad’s son, Justin Marvel, was the victor of a USAC National Sprint Car feature at New York’s Canandaigua Speedway in 2006.
An inductee of both the Hoosier Auto Racing Fans Hall of Fame and the National Association of Auto Racing Fans, Bill has been honored with the Tom Carnegie Legacy Award from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway/Indianapolis 500 Old Timers Club; the Angelo Angelopoulos Memorial Award by the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association; the Unsung Hero Award presented by Andy Granatelli at the Indy 500; the Indy 500 Old Timers Club Officials Award; the Bob Russo Founders Award from AARWBA; and the Louis Meyer Award for individuals who have contributed significantly to the success of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.