Milton, "Tommy" (Thomas W.)
Auto Racing
b. Nov. 14, 1893, St. Paul, MN
d. July 10, 1962
Milton was blind in the right eye at birth and had poor vision in his left eye. Yet he was the first driver to win the Indianapolis 500 twice, in 1921 and 1923. He was also the first to win the national driving championship two years in a row, in 1920 and 1921.
He began racing on dirt tracks in the Midwest in 1914 and won his first major victory at Providence, RI, in 1917. Milton won five of nine championship races in 1919 before suffering severe burns when his car burst into flames during a race at Uniontown, NJ.
In 1920, he not only won the driving championship, he set a new land speed record of 156.046 mph in a special 16-cylinder Duesenberg that he helped to design. He retired from competition after the 1925 season. Milton became chief steward of the Indianapolis 500 from 1949 to 1957, when he retired because of poor health.
Milton had 17 victories in 85 races on dirt tracks and finished in the top five 35 other times.