Rajo Jack
Encyclopedia
Dewey Gatson, better known as Rajo Jack or his pseudonym
Jack DeSoto, (July 28, 1905 in Tyler, Texas
– February 27, 1956) was an American racecar driver. He is known as one of the first African American
racers in America. He won races up and down the West Coast of the United States
in stock cars
, midgets
, big cars
and motorcycle
s. Rajo Jack was inducted in the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame
in 2003 and the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame
in 2007.
general laborer at 16 years old. Gatson quickly became known among his peers for his talent with mechanical devices, especially anything with wheels and an engine. Gatson modified a truck into a house car for the Marcell family. He later was put in charge of the show's fleet of twenty cars in St. Johns, Oregon
. He began racing with moderate success in the early 1920s at the fair
s that the Marcell family followed across the country. He raced under the name "Jack DeSoto". He later moved down to Pasadena, California
, and worked for the Marcells until their company failed during the Great Depression
.
Rajo Jack ran a match race against Francis Quinn in Vancouver, Washington
in 1925. His seat fell out of the car as he took the green flag to start the event, and the event had to be canceled.
Gatson would soup up all of his own Model T Fords
cars with Rajo
cylinder head
s. In the early 1930s, Rajo owner Joe Jagersberger
named Gatson/Jack DeSoto his Los Angeles dealer and salesman, and the name "Rajo Jack" was born. Rajo Jack raced in many forms of motorsport and he used many kinds of engines. Rajo was a mechanic for Quinn at Legion Ascot Speedway. After Quinn died, Rajo was given his 225 cubic inch Miller engine.
On April 29, 1939 Raja assessed his Miller engine which he had torn apart while repairing its main bearing
. Parts were strewn around his garage. He needed to drive 400 miles (643.7 km) to Oakland for a 100 mile (160 mile) race the next day. He called his wife Ruth to get ready for the drive to Oakland. She thought that he meant to get ready for the ride. She came outside to find him backing up their truck to the garage. They wheeled the car onto the truck. Rajo put the pieces onto the bed of the truck, grabbed the necessary tools, and said "You drive, I'm going to put this thing together on the road". He put the engine together while she drove. He got it done just in time for qualifying. He qualified third and finished second in the race.
Rajo Jack raced in the American Racing Association (ARA). He finished third in the season points in 1941. While he raced mainly on the West Coast, he traveled as far east as Dayton, Ohio
for a fair that year. On his drive back west, he stopped to race at the Steele County
fair in Owatonna, Minnesota
. He was badly injured along with Bayliss Levrett in an accident that claimed the life of Wayne "Boots" Pearson. Rajo received a compound fracture of his leg and a severe concussion.
He occasionally did stunts on motorcycles. He had an accident in one of his stunts, and he became blind in his right eye.
All racing in the United States halted for World War II
. After the war, Rajo Jack flipped while racing at San Diego Speedway in 1947. He was struggling to race in the middle of the pack. He retired shortly after the flip, but returned to racing, primarily with the American Racing Association (ARA) in Northern California, but also made a sojourn to the Midwest. He was barely able to bend his arm as the result of numerous racing injuries, and he had difficulty reaching the steering wheel. His last race apparently came when Northern California sprint cars made a visit to Honolulu Stadium in Hawaii in early 1954.
Jack won a 200 mile stock car race at Mines Field in Los Angeles
on October 25, 1936. He took the lead in lap 56 on the 1 mile B-shaped course. He won the race by 2 laps with a time of 3 hours, 47 minutes, and 4-10 seconds.. He also won a 300 mile stock car race at Oakland Speedway on May 30, 1937.
Other wins include a co-win as a relief driver for Tex Peterson in the 1939 500 mile race at Oakland Speedway, and several wins at Southern Ascot Speedway in South Gate, California. Among his wins at Southern Ascot were a 300 lap stock car race on October 1, 1939 and a 250 lap stock car race on June 16, 1940, both driving a Citroën
.
. The name on his death certificate read Rajo Jack. He is buried in the Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in Carson, California
.
, and he was frequently a target of racism. He raced long before Rosa Parks
refused to give up her seat to make room for a white passenger, and over a decade before Jackie Robinson
first played in Major League Baseball
. When he first started racing, he would duck his head behind the cowling
when someone was taking a picture. He was respected among his peers for his talent, so he was generally allowed access to racing circles in spite of his color. Drivers often drove between tracks as a group. One restaurant owner refused to serve Rajo Jack. The other drivers said that they all would be served or they all would leave. The owner served all of them. The same thing frequently happened at motels and the drivers would band together. He often claimed to be a Portuguese
man named Jack DeSoto to be able to race. Other times he claimed that he was a Native American
to get around the color barrier. But fans' acceptance had limits. His wife Ruth had to be with him every time he won because she would do the trophy girl's job: give him the trophy and a kiss. He once let the other driver win in a two lap match race because he knew that he couldn't kiss the white trophy girl.
Jack was considered a true "outlaw" racer since he never raced in the AAA
, the prominent racing association of the time in the United States. Only AAA members raced in the Indianapolis 500
, the premiere race in the country. He claimed that he would never pass the physical examination
because he was blind in one eye. His fellow racers knew it was because of his skin color.
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Jack DeSoto, (July 28, 1905 in Tyler, Texas
Tyler, Texas
Tyler is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, in the United States. It takes its name from President John Tyler . The city had a population of 109,000 in 2010, according to the United States Census Bureau...
– February 27, 1956) was an American racecar driver. He is known as one of the first African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
racers in America. He won races up and down the West Coast of the United States
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
in stock cars
Stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing found mainly in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Great Britain, Brazil and Argentina. Traditionally, races are run on oval tracks measuring approximately in length...
, midgets
Midget car racing
Midget cars, also Speedcars in Australia, are very small race cars with a very high power-to-weight ratio and typically use four-cylinder engines.-Cars:Typically, these cars have 300 to 400 horsepower and weigh...
, big cars
American Championship Car Racing
Since 1916 there has been a recognized United States national automobile racing National Championship for drivers of professional-level, single-seat open wheel race cars. The championship has been under the auspices of several different sanctioning bodies since 1909. Since 1911, the Indianapolis...
and motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
s. Rajo Jack was inducted in the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame
West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame
The West Coast Stock Car Hall Of Fame is a Hall of Fame for people associated with late-model stock car racing on the West Coast of the United States. Many NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series champions are inducted in the Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame is located at Toyota Speedway at...
in 2003 and the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame
National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum
The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum is a Hall of Fame and museum for sprint car drivers, owners, mechanics, builders, manufacturers, promoters, sanctioning officials and media members....
in 2007.
Early life
Rajo Jack was the oldest of six children. He was raised by his parents Noah Gatson and his mother Frances Scott in Texas. Noah Gatson had steady work with a railroad, which kept his family in a better financial state than other African-Americans in Texas.Racing career
Dewey Gatson was hired by the Doc Marcell Medicine Show as a roustaboutRoustabout
A roustabout is a labourer typically performing temporary, unskilled work. The term has traditionally been used to refer to traveling-circus workers, natural gas, or oil rig workers....
general laborer at 16 years old. Gatson quickly became known among his peers for his talent with mechanical devices, especially anything with wheels and an engine. Gatson modified a truck into a house car for the Marcell family. He later was put in charge of the show's fleet of twenty cars in St. Johns, Oregon
St. Johns, Portland, Oregon
St. Johns is a neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, United States located in North Portland on the tip of the peninsula formed by the confluence of the Willamette River and the Columbia River....
. He began racing with moderate success in the early 1920s at the fair
Fair
A fair or fayre is a gathering of people to display or trade produce or other goods, to parade or display animals and often to enjoy associated carnival or funfair entertainment. It is normally of the essence of a fair that it is temporary; some last only an afternoon while others may ten weeks. ...
s that the Marcell family followed across the country. He raced under the name "Jack DeSoto". He later moved down to Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
, and worked for the Marcells until their company failed during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
.
Rajo Jack ran a match race against Francis Quinn in Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington. Incorporated in 1857, it is the fourth largest city in the state with a 2010 census population of 161,791 as of April 1, 2010...
in 1925. His seat fell out of the car as he took the green flag to start the event, and the event had to be canceled.
Gatson would soup up all of his own Model T Fords
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
cars with Rajo
Rajo Motor and Manufacturing
Rajo Motor and Manufacturing was a manufacturing company based in Racine, Wisconsin in the twentieth century. The company built performance enhancing cylinder heads for Model T cars that were designed by Joe Jagersberger . The company was named by combining the "RA" from Racine and the "JO" from...
cylinder head
Cylinder head
In an internal combustion engine, the cylinder head sits above the cylinders on top of the cylinder block. It closes in the top of the cylinder, forming the combustion chamber. This joint is sealed by a head gasket...
s. In the early 1930s, Rajo owner Joe Jagersberger
Joe Jagersberger
Joe Jagersberger was an Austrian-American racecar driver.-Background:...
named Gatson/Jack DeSoto his Los Angeles dealer and salesman, and the name "Rajo Jack" was born. Rajo Jack raced in many forms of motorsport and he used many kinds of engines. Rajo was a mechanic for Quinn at Legion Ascot Speedway. After Quinn died, Rajo was given his 225 cubic inch Miller engine.
On April 29, 1939 Raja assessed his Miller engine which he had torn apart while repairing its main bearing
Main bearing
In a piston engine, the main bearings are the bearings on which the crankshaft rotates, usually plain or journal bearings.All engines have a minimum of two main bearings, one at each end of the crankshaft, and they may have as many as one more than the number of crank pins...
. Parts were strewn around his garage. He needed to drive 400 miles (643.7 km) to Oakland for a 100 mile (160 mile) race the next day. He called his wife Ruth to get ready for the drive to Oakland. She thought that he meant to get ready for the ride. She came outside to find him backing up their truck to the garage. They wheeled the car onto the truck. Rajo put the pieces onto the bed of the truck, grabbed the necessary tools, and said "You drive, I'm going to put this thing together on the road". He put the engine together while she drove. He got it done just in time for qualifying. He qualified third and finished second in the race.
Rajo Jack raced in the American Racing Association (ARA). He finished third in the season points in 1941. While he raced mainly on the West Coast, he traveled as far east as Dayton, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
for a fair that year. On his drive back west, he stopped to race at the Steele County
Steele County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 33,680 people, 12,846 households, and 9,082 families residing in the county. The population density was 78 people per square mile . There were 13,306 housing units at an average density of 31 per square mile...
fair in Owatonna, Minnesota
Owatonna, Minnesota
Owatonna is a city in Steele County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 25,599 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Steele County. Owatonna is home to the Steele County Fairgrounds, which hosts the Steele County Free Fair in August....
. He was badly injured along with Bayliss Levrett in an accident that claimed the life of Wayne "Boots" Pearson. Rajo received a compound fracture of his leg and a severe concussion.
He occasionally did stunts on motorcycles. He had an accident in one of his stunts, and he became blind in his right eye.
All racing in the United States halted for World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. After the war, Rajo Jack flipped while racing at San Diego Speedway in 1947. He was struggling to race in the middle of the pack. He retired shortly after the flip, but returned to racing, primarily with the American Racing Association (ARA) in Northern California, but also made a sojourn to the Midwest. He was barely able to bend his arm as the result of numerous racing injuries, and he had difficulty reaching the steering wheel. His last race apparently came when Northern California sprint cars made a visit to Honolulu Stadium in Hawaii in early 1954.
Major race wins
In 1934 Rajo Jack won a 200 miles (321.9 km) stock car race at Silvergate Speedway in San Diego. He won a 100 mile race at San Jose Speedway on March 17, 1935.Jack won a 200 mile stock car race at Mines Field in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
on October 25, 1936. He took the lead in lap 56 on the 1 mile B-shaped course. He won the race by 2 laps with a time of 3 hours, 47 minutes, and 4-10 seconds.. He also won a 300 mile stock car race at Oakland Speedway on May 30, 1937.
Other wins include a co-win as a relief driver for Tex Peterson in the 1939 500 mile race at Oakland Speedway, and several wins at Southern Ascot Speedway in South Gate, California. Among his wins at Southern Ascot were a 300 lap stock car race on October 1, 1939 and a 250 lap stock car race on June 16, 1940, both driving a Citroën
Citroën
Citroën is a major French automobile manufacturer, part of the PSA Peugeot Citroën group.Founded in 1919 by French industrialist André-Gustave Citroën , Citroën was the first mass-production car company outside the USA and pioneered the modern concept of creating a sales and services network that...
.
Death
Rajo sold auto parts, raced, and worked as a mechanic until he died on February 27, 1956. He was travelling with his brother when he died of heart failure in Kern County, CaliforniaKern County, California
Spreading across the southern end of the California Central Valley, Kern County is the fifth-largest county by population in California. Its economy is heavily linked to agriculture and to petroleum extraction, and there is a strong aviation and space presence. Politically, it has generally...
. The name on his death certificate read Rajo Jack. He is buried in the Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in Carson, California
Carson, California
Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, Carson had a total population of 91,714. Located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately 14 miles away from the Los Angeles International Airport, it is known as a suburb of the city....
.
Racism
Rajo Jack raced in a time of racial prejudiceRacism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, and he was frequently a target of racism. He raced long before Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was an African-American civil rights activist, whom the U.S. Congress called "the first lady of civil rights", and "the mother of the freedom movement"....
refused to give up her seat to make room for a white passenger, and over a decade before Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
first played in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
. When he first started racing, he would duck his head behind the cowling
Cowling
A cowling is the covering of a vehicle's engine, most often found on automobiles and aircraft.A cowling may be used:* for drag reduction* for engine cooling by directing airflow* as an air intake for jet engines* for decorative purposes...
when someone was taking a picture. He was respected among his peers for his talent, so he was generally allowed access to racing circles in spite of his color. Drivers often drove between tracks as a group. One restaurant owner refused to serve Rajo Jack. The other drivers said that they all would be served or they all would leave. The owner served all of them. The same thing frequently happened at motels and the drivers would band together. He often claimed to be a Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
man named Jack DeSoto to be able to race. Other times he claimed that he was a Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
to get around the color barrier. But fans' acceptance had limits. His wife Ruth had to be with him every time he won because she would do the trophy girl's job: give him the trophy and a kiss. He once let the other driver win in a two lap match race because he knew that he couldn't kiss the white trophy girl.
Jack was considered a true "outlaw" racer since he never raced in the AAA
American Automobile Association
AAA , formerly known as the American Automobile Association, is a federation of 51 independently operated motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a not-for-profit member service organization with more than 51 million members. AAA provides services to its members such as travel, automotive,...
, the prominent racing association of the time in the United States. Only AAA members raced in the Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...
, the premiere race in the country. He claimed that he would never pass the physical examination
Physical examination
Physical examination or clinical examination is the process by which a doctor investigates the body of a patient for signs of disease. It generally follows the taking of the medical history — an account of the symptoms as experienced by the patient...
because he was blind in one eye. His fellow racers knew it was because of his skin color.