view raw text
l Name William Fitzgerald To Horse Racing Board Seattle Fire Chief to Fill Out Drumhellers Unexpired Term SEATTLE, Wash., May 25. Chief William Fitzgerald of the Seattle Fire Department has been appointed third member of the Washington Horse Racing Commission by Governor Arthur B. Langlie. The appointment of Chief Fitzgerald to the Washington turf tribunal fills out a vacancy created last December when Allen Drumheller, veteran breeder, owner and trainer of Walla Walla, Wash., resigned. Chief Fitzgerald will fill out Drumhellers unexpired term. The other members of the Washington Commission, both appointed last spring, are chairman Dr. Millard T. Nelson of Tacoma, a California breeder, and Paul F. Pickette of Spokane. The new trio met for the first time, as a group in Seattle on Tuesday, May 19, for the purpose of discussing official appointments for the 1942 season due to open at Longacres on June 27. Chief Fitzgerald is no stranger to racing. Back in 1901 he made his debut as a jockey at the old Meadows race track near Seattle. He was the first Seattle lad to be granted a license at the famed old track, which was located not far from where the Boeing Aircraft Company now builds its Flying Fortresses. Fitzgerald rode for seven years and retired from active participation in the sport when racings "black days" began in 1911. During the years prior to 1933, when racing was legally revived in Washington, Chief Fitzgerald was a frequent visitor at the British Columbia tracks and, since 1933, he has maintained a lively interest in the sport in Seattle.
