Andrew B. Cokey Fuller
1902 - 1932
Cokey Fuller of Arkansas City, Kansas in the Gallivan Ford he co-owned with Joe Hutchinson at Arkansas City Speedway located just west of Arkansas City on July 4, 1929 Lew Irwin collection
Cokey Fuller was born February 25, 1902 at Guthrie, Oklahoma to Louis L. Fuller (1875-1914) and his wife, Rose (1882-1944). Cokey was 3/16 Osage Indian* and his father was an heir to oil money from tribal lands in Oklahoma so, when the elder Fuller was killed in an automobile accident, he left Cokey well enough off to indulge in his passion for automobile racing.
Cokey, who got his nickname due to his fondness for mixing whisky with Coke-a-Cola, found early success as a driver in races in Oklahoma. By 1929, he and partner Joe Hutchinson had purchased a racing car complete with a new Gallivan Ford engine (one of only seven that had been built up to that time) and hit the Midwestern racing circuit.
The following is a very incomplete listing of his driving record as gleaned from various newspaper articles of the time. Each of these racetracks was a half-mile dirt oval unless otherwise noted:
September 24, 1926 Kansas State Fairgrounds in Hutchinson, Kansas
Car: Ford Special
July 4, 1927 Cushing Speedway Park at Cushing, Oklahoma
|
Cokey Fuller Arkansas City Traveler photo |
1927 Oklahoma State Fairgrounds a.k.a. Coalgate Speedway in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
July 30, 1927 Cowley County Fairgrounds on the west edge of Winfield, Kansas
Car: #4 Chevrolet owned by Joe Hutchinson of Arkansas City, Kansas
Finished: 2nd in the feature race behind Earl Hovenden
July 4, 1928 Cushing Speedway Park at Cushing, Oklahoma
August 29, 1928 Valley County Fairgrounds at Ord, Nebraska
Car: Green Model A Ford
Finished: Tied with Wilson Pingrey of St. Louis, Missouri for the fastest time in time trials with 29.0 seconds for one lap of the ½ mile racetrack. Pingrey was driving the #100 Howe Hisso.
1st in one of the races followed by John Bagley of Omaha, Nebraska in a bright red Frost #4.
August 30, 1928 Valley County Fairgrounds at Ord, Nebraska
Car: Green Model A Ford
Finished: Won the second race.
September 6, 1928 Ottawa County Fairgrounds at Miami, Oklahoma ½ mile dirt oval Sanctioned by A.A.A.
September 8, 1928 Ottawa County Fairgrounds at Miami, Oklahoma ½ mile dirt oval Sanctioned by A.A.A.
Finished: 7th in a field of 17 cars in the 12-lap feature race behind Harry Mounks, Russell D. Hill, J. H. Fred Yonally, C. O. Bennett, George Lawhon and William S. Hart.
1928 Mid-America State Fairgrounds in Topeka, Kansas
Finished: Broke an engine rod
October 2, 1928 West Texas Fairgrounds a.k.a. Abilene Fairgrounds at Abilene, Texas 5/8 mile dirt oval
Car: #4 Chevrolet owned by Joe Hutchinson of Arkansas City, Kansas
Finished: overturned
October 4, 1928 Haskell Speedway at Haskell, Texas 5/8 mile dirt oval
Car: #4 Chevrolet owned by Joe Hutchinson of Arkansas City, Kansas
October 9, 1928 Cowley County Fairgrounds on the west edge of Winfield, Kansas
Car: #4 Chevrolet owned by Joe Hutchinson of Arkansas City, Kansas
Finished: 5th in the first heat race behind Jim Pickens, Ira McIntire, Russell Hill, and Wendell Sparling after dropping out on the 5th lap with engine trouble, and 4th in the fourth heat race behind Russell Hill, Ira McIntire, and Ralph Chrysler after dropping out with engine failure.
July 4, 1929 Arkansas City Speedway a.k.a. West Madison Speedway just west of Arkansas City, Kansas
Car: #30-30 Gallivan Ford that Fuller co-owned with Joe Hutchinson of Arkansas City, Kansas
Qualified: Tie for 1st place at 31.2 seconds with Mack McAnally of Arkansas City, Kansas
Finished: 1st in the first heat race; 1st in the third heat race; and 1st in the feature race
July 20, 1929 Anthony Downs in Anthony, Kansas
Car: #30-30 Gallivan Ford that Fuller co-owned with Joe Hutchinson of Arkansas City, Kansas
Finished: wrecked
August, 1929 Valley County Fairgrounds at Ord, Nebraska
Car: #30-30 Gallivan Ford that Fuller co-owned with Joe Hutchinson of Arkansas City, Kansas
September 2, 1929 Arkansas City Speedway a.k.a. West Madison Speedway just west of Arkansas City, Kansas
Car: #30-30 Gallivan Ford that Fuller co-owned with Joe Hutchinson of Arkansas City, Kansas
Qualified: Tie for 1st place at 31.1 seconds with Earl Hovenden of Duncan, Oklahoma
Finished: 3rd in the first match (heat) race behind Earl Hovenden and Cotton Grable but a burned piston eliminated Fuller from the rest of the program
September 12. 1929 Collingsworth County Fairgrounds at Wellington, Texas
Car: #30-30 Gallivan Ford that Fuller co-owned with Joe Hutchinson of Arkansas City, Kansas
September 14. 1929 Collingsworth County Fairgrounds at Wellington, Texas
Car: #30-30 Gallivan Ford that Fuller co-owned with Joe Hutchinson of Arkansas City, Kansas
September 17, 1929 Duncan Fairgrounds at Duncan, Oklahoma
Car: #30-30 Gallivan Ford that Fuller co-owned with Joe Hutchinson of Arkansas City, Kansas
Finished: 2nd in the second heat race behind Vern McComb and 3rd in the feature race behind Sam Hoffman and Johnny Kreiger
Purse: He won a total of $20
September 18, 1929 Duncan Fairgrounds at Duncan, Oklahoma
Car: #30-30 Gallivan Ford that Fuller co-owned with Joe Hutchinson of Arkansas City, Kansas
Finished: 3rd in the third heat race behind Johnny Kreiger and Vern McComb; DNF in the feature race won by Johnny Kreiger.
September 24, 1929 Childress Fairgrounds at Childress, Texas
Car: #30-30 Gallivan Ford that Fuller co-owned with Joe Hutchinson of Arkansas City, Kansas
September 25, 1929 West Texas Fairgrounds a.k.a. Abilene Fairgrounds at Abilene, Texas 5/8 mile dirt oval
Car: #30-30 Gallivan Ford that Fuller co-owned with Joe Hutchinson of Arkansas City, Kansas
September 26, 1929 Childress Fairgrounds at Childress, Texas
Car: #30-30 Gallivan Ford that Fuller co-owned with Joe Hutchinson of Arkansas City, Kansas
Qualified: 9th place at 65.03 seconds (time for two laps) behind Johnny Kreiger, Sam Hoffman, Chet Gardner, John Gerber, Pat Cunningham, (name unknown driving a #99 car), Vic Felt, and George Barringer
Finished: 3rd in the third heat race behind Johnny Kreiger and Vern McComb
June 22, 1930 Creve Coeur Lake Speedway a.k.a. Greater St. Louis Speedway at Upper Creve Coeur, Missouri
Car: #30-30 Gallivan Ford that Fuller co-owned with Joe Hutchinson of Arkansas City, Kansas
July 4, 1930 Arkansas City Speedway a.k.a. West Madison Speedway just west of Arkansas City, Kansas
Car: #30-30 Gallivan Ford that Fuller co-owned with Joe Hutchinson of Arkansas City, Kansas
Qualified: 4th in time trials with a time of 31.6 seconds behind Pat Cunningham, Rea Bray, and Lew Irwin.
Finished: Won a total of $145 for finishing 2nd in the first heat race behind Pat Cunningham; 3rd in the third heat race behind Lew Irwin and Robert Landon; and 3rd in the feature race behind Pat Cunningham and Rea Bray
July 20, 1930 Arkansas City Speedway a.k.a. West Madison Speedway just west of Arkansas City, Kansas
Car: Ford roadster owned by Matt Ward of Duncan, Oklahoma
Qualified: 4th place at 31.6 seconds behind Pat Cunningham, Rea Bray, and Lew Irwin.
Finished: 1st in a 10-lap match race and 1st in the 25-lap feature race
August 17, 1930 Ak-Sar-Ben at Omaha, Nebraska
Car: #30-30 Gallivan Ford that Fuller co-owned with Joe Hutchinson of Arkansas City, Kansas
Finish: Bob Maxfield of Charleston, Iowa won the feature race but Fullers name does not appear in the published results of these races.
August 28, 1930 North Central Kansas Free Fairgrounds Racetrack in Belleville, Kansas
Car: Fuller special
Finished: 3rd in the second heat race behind Clyde Gilbert and _____ Cline**; 3rd in the feature behind Vern McCombs and Clyde Gilbert.
August 29, 1930 North Central Kansas Fairgrounds in Belleville, Kansas
Car: Fuller special
Finished: 3rd in the consolation behind Jim White and Fred Dresselhuys.
At one time or another, Cokey Fuller held the track records at Arkansas City Speedway west of Arkansas City, Kansas for 1, 6, and 25 laps, the latter two of which were never broken.
Fuller was well on his way to a promising racing career when he unexpectedly passed away on May 20, 1932 in Denver, Colorado. His obituary in his hometown newspaper said that he died after a short illness while other accounts say that his death was under very suspicious circumstances. His body was returned to Arkansas City, Kansas where it was interred in the Riverview Mausoleum in Riverview Cemetery.***
Joe Hutchinson drove the #30-30 Gallivan Ford he had co-owned with Cokey Fuller in races in Kansas as late as the early 1940s. He is said to have had the car in storage in a garage in Arkansas City, Kansas as late as the 1950s while it is known that the Gallivan engine was sold to Murray Earl of Hutchinson, Kansas. Joe Hutchinson was the Arkansas City Fire Chief before his retirement from the department in the 1950s.
Murray Earl ran the Gallivan engine in his #27 big car with driver Waldo Burnett until selling it to John Mauro of Denver, Colorado. Mauro eventually sold the engine to Vic Felt of Denver, Colorado. Felt ran the engine with driver Lloyd Axel.
The next owner of the Gallivan engine was Bill Harding of Hastings, Nebraska. Harding then sold the engine to Jack Lovely of Omaha, Nebraska.
A very poor photo of Cokey Fuller in the #4 car he drove in the late 1920s Photo from the Arkansas City Traveler
Cars driven by Cokey Fuller at left and John Bagley of Omaha, Nebraska made up the front row of this race run at the Valley County Fairgrounds at Ord, Nebraska in 1928. Fuller finished first in the green Model A powered racer followed closely by Bagley in the bright red Frost #4 car Doug Riedy collection from the book Valley County THUNDER, the History of Racing at Ord, Nebraska by V. Ray Valasek and Bob Mays
* One source indicates he was an Omaha Indian.
** This would have been either Frontis Graydon Major Cline (1907-1982) or his brother, Philip Bird "Phil" Cline (1903-1978). Both men competed in these races each driving cars known as Cline specials.
*** Twelve years later, Cokeys mothers body was interred nearby in the same mausoleum.
