This innovation is explained further in the March 30 preview:
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Wiess Coordinator Stephanie Rosi said Wiess had had problems with people getting sick after chugging because the cans were rusting.
A Wiess graduate then suggested making new cans from plexiglass, a clear plastic.
Rosi says the new cans are the same size, if not a little oversized, drain in the same manner that the regular cans do and don't give Wiess an advantage of any sort. "The only advantage that I can think of is that you can see your beer or water because the cans are clear, but most people put inserts into the cans so they can watch anyway."
Before Wiess received approval to use the new cans, chuggers had to demonstrate to the Beer-Bike committee that the new cans were not faster and would not give Wiess an obvious advantage.
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FTR, a 10-second penalty was not enough to prevent Hanszen from beating Will Rice by 4 bike lengths in 1964’s record-fast — and injury-free — race.
Here’s the Thresher report, writte by Lyn Martin:
> > >
On the hottest May 2 ever recorded by the Houston Weather Bureau, beer-bike race spectators overflowed the stands to see all the traditional records fall. Baker opened a lead in the first lap when Richard Juday nosed out Hanszen’s Jim Shultz, as both smashed Ron Keating’s four-year-old lap record (1:59.8). Baker faded and Will Rice grabbed the lead on the third lap while Hanszen waited out a 10-second penalty.
A series of beer penalties cut the Will Rice lead to about three seconds at the beginning of the tenth lap when Hanszen’s Homer Walker set a new beer record (3.2 seconds) to shoot Hanszen’s Ron Keating out behind Will Rice’s Bill Walker. Walker’s remarkable 1:54.9 was not enough; he was passed by Keating in the third corner, as the Hanszen fifth-year set a new course record at 1:50.5 and finished four lengths ahead.
The race, which was the first without significant mechanical failure or injury, saw the old record bettered 15 times as both the Hanszen and Will Rice averages came under 1:59.7. Baker’s fourth place average was still nearly three seconds faster than the winning average in 1963!
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WRC did nose out Hanszen in the chorus competition, however, 121-119.
Bob Murphy and Maura Stetson wrote an informative 2-page history of Beer-Bike in the April 12, 1985, Thresher (pp 10-11) that included this:
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By 1964, drinkers had introduced technical innovations to bring down their times. Beer was “specially de-fizzed by scientific methods” and the chuggers had special cans with custom-fitted mouthpieces and strategically-placed air holes which “received thorough testing.”
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The source for the quotes was not given. But it's clear that the can used by the 1964 Will Rice chugger in the photo above did not have the air hole that Bill, Terry & I remember.
It’s interesting to me that except for the main subject’s shoes, all of the other clothing, glasses, hairstyles, etc. would not look out of place today.
“Wrong Way / To Hell With It” That about sums it up for today.
Almost time to break out the beer.
A Schlitz Tallboy?
Do they still exist?
In 2010, Pabst (which then owned the Schlitz brand) reintroduced the Tall Boy, but in 16-ounce cans, not the original 24-ounce ones. https://onmilwaukee.com/bars/articles/schlitztallboys.html
It appears that H-E-B sells them: https://www.heb.com/product-detail/schlitz-tall-boy-beer-6-pk-cans/150414
Just last year, Merriam-Webster added “tallboy” to its online dictionary website. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/voraciously/wp/2019/09/18/merriam-webster-toasts-an-expanding-food-and-drink-vocabulary-with-a-tallboy-and-matcha/
And the April 20, 1990, Thresher (p.7) reported “the debut of plexiglass tall-boy chug cannisters, which were approved because the old cans were rusted out.” https://scholarship.rice.edu/bitstream/handle/1911/67949/thr1990420.pdf
This innovation is explained further in the March 30 preview:
< < <
Wiess Coordinator Stephanie Rosi said Wiess had had problems with people getting sick after chugging because the cans were rusting.
A Wiess graduate then suggested making new cans from plexiglass, a clear plastic.
Rosi says the new cans are the same size, if not a little oversized, drain in the same manner that the regular cans do and don't give Wiess an advantage of any sort. "The only advantage that I can think of is that you can see your beer or water because the cans are clear, but most people put inserts into the cans so they can watch anyway."
Before Wiess received approval to use the new cans, chuggers had to demonstrate to the Beer-Bike committee that the new cans were not faster and would not give Wiess an obvious advantage.
< < <
https://scholarship.rice.edu/bitstream/handle/1911/67944/thr1990330.pdf
The original WRC – Will Rice Will Win! AND why I still get a bit confused when you use WRC as an abbreviation for the Woodson.
FTR, a 10-second penalty was not enough to prevent Hanszen from beating Will Rice by 4 bike lengths in 1964’s record-fast — and injury-free — race.
Here’s the Thresher report, writte by Lyn Martin:
> > >
On the hottest May 2 ever recorded by the Houston Weather Bureau, beer-bike race spectators overflowed the stands to see all the traditional records fall. Baker opened a lead in the first lap when Richard Juday nosed out Hanszen’s Jim Shultz, as both smashed Ron Keating’s four-year-old lap record (1:59.8). Baker faded and Will Rice grabbed the lead on the third lap while Hanszen waited out a 10-second penalty.
A series of beer penalties cut the Will Rice lead to about three seconds at the beginning of the tenth lap when Hanszen’s Homer Walker set a new beer record (3.2 seconds) to shoot Hanszen’s Ron Keating out behind Will Rice’s Bill Walker. Walker’s remarkable 1:54.9 was not enough; he was passed by Keating in the third corner, as the Hanszen fifth-year set a new course record at 1:50.5 and finished four lengths ahead.
The race, which was the first without significant mechanical failure or injury, saw the old record bettered 15 times as both the Hanszen and Will Rice averages came under 1:59.7. Baker’s fourth place average was still nearly three seconds faster than the winning average in 1963!
< < <
WRC did nose out Hanszen in the chorus competition, however, 121-119.
(See page 23: https://scholarship.rice.edu/bitstream/handle/1911/66385/thr19640506.pdf)
Shouldn’t there be an air hole in the bottom of the can?
I don’t know when that started. More research needed!
When I was a beer drinker in 1966 there was a hole in the bottom of the can for sure. I don’t know about 1965 I wasn’t 21 yet 🙂
Yeah, right.
Bob Murphy and Maura Stetson wrote an informative 2-page history of Beer-Bike in the April 12, 1985, Thresher (pp 10-11) that included this:
> > >
By 1964, drinkers had introduced technical innovations to bring down their times. Beer was “specially de-fizzed by scientific methods” and the chuggers had special cans with custom-fitted mouthpieces and strategically-placed air holes which “received thorough testing.”
< < <
https://scholarship.rice.edu/bitstream/handle/1911/67668/thr19850412.pdf
The source for the quotes was not given. But it's clear that the can used by the 1964 Will Rice chugger in the photo above did not have the air hole that Bill, Terry & I remember.
Looks like Will Rice was slow to catch on.
It’s interesting to me that except for the main subject’s shoes, all of the other clothing, glasses, hairstyles, etc. would not look out of place today.