When I was searching through old newspaper archives looking for information on the Pittsburgh Board Speedway, I kept running across articles that mentioned Mayer Field and realized that that storied institution deserved a proper history. Eventually I copied several hundred articles, sufficient for several columns.
The first mention of Mayer Field was in Canonsburg’s “Daily Notes”. On September 4, 1920, it reported that Bridgeville businessman C. P. Mayer had opened “Mayer Aviation Field in the Lower Chartiers Valley”. Sixteen days later the same paper reported that two local residents had flown from Bridgeville, over Canonsburg to the outskirts of Washington and back for $25.00 apiece. The pilot was Jack Morris.
On November 11 two planes from Mayer Field were part of an aerial contingent, led by Ace Eddie Rickenbacker, celebrating Armistice Day. Later that month Mr. Mayer reported that the Mayer Aircraft Company had secured a five-year contract to handle air mail coming to Pittsburgh from New York, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Washington.
The first serious crash at Mayer Field, on April 4, 1921, involved pilot Jack Morris, who lost control of his plane while doing stunts to amuse his younger brother. Morris’ injuries were minor; his brother was reported to be in critical condition at Mercy Hospital. The plane was demolished.
Later that month one of Mayer’s planes provided the stage for wing-walker G. H. Phillips, “the human fly”. The climax of his act was to stand on his head while the plane “loops the loop”. In August Phillips claimed the title of world’s greatest wing-walker, in direct competition with challenger “Daredevil” Wilson.
In July Lieutenant John M. Miller flew a Curtiss Oriole to New York to bring back the Pittsburgh Press photographs of the Dempsey-Charpentier prize fight in time for the Sunday edition, setting a record for a Pittsburgh to New York flight.
A long article in the Pittsburgh Daily Post, August 14, describes a flight from Bridgeville featuring sight-seeing over most of Pittsburgh. The pilot was Captain Bob Dake. The article reports that Mayer Aircraft was planning to build a ten-passenger hydroplane to provide service to New York City.
Two days later another serious crash occurred, this time on the Uniontown Speedway. This time, Harry Blanchard was the pilot. The plane was demolished but the pilot and two passengers only suffered minor injuries.
Lieutenant Blanchard had served three years in France in the Royal Flying Corps. On Armistice Day he was joined by Lieutenant Robert Gates and Charles M. Mayer (C. P. Mayer’s son) piloting three Mayer biplanes over the parade in Pittsburgh.
On May 24, 1922, two members of the U. S. Army Air Service landed at Mayer Field as part of a mission to locate a site for a military airfield in the Pittsburgh area. In July, Mayer aircraft participated in a publicity stunt in Altoona, promoting the opening of the Victoria Theater there by dropping handbills from the sky while performing stunts. The aviators for this adventure were Dake, James Wagner, Harry Copeland, and Bert Randall.
A few years ago the Historical Society acquired a drawing of a large sports venue to be built on the lower field between Mayer Field and Chartiers Creek. Sure enough, in October the newspapers were full of articles describing this project, which featured a mile-and-a-quarter race track. A year later the Pittsburgh Speedway Racing Association ran full page ads selling stock in the venture.
Mayer began to advertise in the Pittsburgh papers in 1922; the first ad showed two bi-planes in front of the hanger and promised passenger flights, photography, and flight instruction. In October E. W. “Pop” Cleveland photographed two Carnegie Tech football games (W. & J and Pitt) from the air.
By now the enterprise was performing a wide variety of odd jobs. Allegheny County Commissioner hired them to drop thousands of cards supporting his campaign, all across the county. Blanchard and Company, with coal mines in Spruce, Pa. and Zanesville, Ohio, contracted for several flights a week, primarily to deliver replacement parts. A new Curtis Oriole was ordered for this service.
On opening day, April 24, 1924, pilots Cleveland and Wagner showed off their prowess by taking an impressive photograph of Forbes Field from the sky for the Pittsburgh Daily Post. An interesting flight in July transported two WCAE engineers around the county attempting to evaluate radio reception in the different neighborhoods.
The Laird Swallow, manufactured in Wichita, Kansas, was a Mayer workhorse. A three place, open cockpit biplane, it was their entry in the International Air Races in Dayton.
On March 25, 1925, the “Daily Notes” reported that work was about to begin on the Speedway. “The cut for the widening of the Washington Pike was nearly completed”.
Mayer’s participation in competition in 1925 was participation in the Pulitzer Races in New York. Their entry was “The Mayer Special”, a three-place aircraft built by mechanic Jim Wagner at Mayer Field. Merle Moltrop was the pilot; Charles Mayer, co-pilot. They considered the plane to be a prototype for future commercial aircraft they would manufacture. We can’t find any record of their performance, but shortly thereafter three Mayer airplanes, including the “Special”, participated in an air show over Pittsburgh.
An advertisement in the Pittsburgh Daily Post on July 4, 1926, reported that “King Joe, the most accurate parachute jumper in the world”, would perform at Mayer
Field on the holiday, followed by fireworks. The same ad described Mayer Aircraft as a Waco Wondership Agency. Labor Day, Dorotha McClelland, “the world’s greatest female parachute jumper”, would perform in Bridgeville.
An article in the October 20 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported an unsuccessful attempt by County Attorney Michael Musmanno to serve a writ of habeas corpus on a felon in Cleveland. Musmanno is pictured in the front cockpit of a biplane piloted by “Pop” Cleveland, taking off from Mayer Field.
We will continue the saga of Mayer Field in a future column.