Our Patron Saint is DEAD...
Grnbrier
Thanks to Myron, we all are able to let the magical word "Corvette" trip off
our tongues. Who knows what the fate of our wonderful cars would have been if
they had been called "Chevette" <g> "Corvair" <g> or some other misbegotten
name. (Like "Thunderbird" or "Mustang")
Thank you, Myron Scott. May you have a 5-car garage in Heaven, stocked with
vintage Vettes representing all the eras...
--Doug
From the Washington Post 10/8/98 (obituaries)
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MYRON SCOTT
Derby Founder
Myron Scott, 91, a former artist,
photographer and art director with
the Dayton (Ohio) Daily News
who also was a founder of the
All-American Soap Box Derby and
gave the Chevrolet Corvette sports
car its name, died Oct. 4 in Kettering,
Ohio. The cause of death was not
reported.
Mr. Scott got the idea for the
derby in 1933 when he photographed
six boys racing wooden contraptions
down a hill. The first year, the
event attracted 330 participants,
and a crowd of 40,000.
Mr. Scott left the Daily News in
1939 to join Chevrolet as an assistant
advertising manager. In 1953, he was
called into a special meeting of executives
who were looking for a name for a
new sports car. He suggested "Corvette,"
and Chevrolet general manager Edward
Cole loved it.
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Grnbrier
grnb...@aol.com (Grnbrier) wrote:
>Thanks to Myron, we all are able to let the magical word "Corvette" trip off
>our tongues.
Sheesh. I normally don't answer my OWN posts, but I just came across the
following as soon as I hit the "send" button for my previous post about
Myron... some more interesting stuff about the namer of our babies...
--Doug
KETTERING, Ohio, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- A Wednesday funeral is planned for Myron
``Scottie'' Scott, the founder of the All-American Soap Box Derby and the man
who coined the Chevrolet model names ``Corvette'' and ``Beauville'' while
working for General Motors Corp.
Scott died Sunday in Kettering, Ohio, a Dayton suburb, at the age of 91.
The Dayton Daily News said Scott -- who worked at the newspaper for 22 years as
a photographer, artist and art director -- was photographing six boys racing
wooden contraptions down a hill near Dayton in 1933 when he got the idea for
the Soap Box Derby.
After the first derby in 1934 -- which attracted 330 participants and 40,000
spectators -- Chevrolet decided to sponsor the event and enticed Scott to be in
charge of the race in Akron as an assistant advertising director.
In 1953, Chevrolet wanted a name for one of its cars that began with the letter
``C'' and that wasn't the name of an animal.
The newspaper said Scott and other executives reviewed 300 names but Chevrolet
General Manager Edward Cole didn't like any of them.
Scott then perused the C section of the dictionary and stopped at the
definition of ``corvette'': a speedy pursuit ship in the British Navy. Scott
suggested the name and Cole loved it. Scott is also credited with naming
Chevrolet's Beauville van.
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DRL
DRL