Bill Sanders on Episode 228, a legendary journalist who excelled in elevating off-road racing to worldwide recognition. At 92 years old, history was made and retold in this interview. We talk about all the racing, writing and sport that Bill has been a part of. Bill was inducted in the Off Road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2014. Bill is why we say; legends live at ORMHOF.org. Be sure to tune in on your favorite podcast app.
4:26 – my first true love was a 1936 Ford three-window coupe flathead
20:21 – I went to Europe by myself and traveled around for about 11 months on $5 a day.
29:04 – “Where’s the rest of the slides?” And I said, I’m not the photographer, I’m the editor.
37:55 – any questions? “Do the service stations in Baja take credit cards?”
49:15 – these guys from Mexico would bring $50,000 can in a paper bag to California and buy a truck
1:06:42 – about halfway through the race, the suspension broke, but Jean Calvin had her thermos full of coffee that she always took with her
Special thanks to ORMHOF.org for support and sponsorship of this podcast.
TRANSCRIPT
[00:01:15.580] – Big Rich Klein
On this episode of Conversations with Big Rich, it’s my pleasure to interview a longtime enthusiast turned magazine editor, turned racer, turned Baja 1000 winner, and 2014 Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame Inductee Bill Sanders.
[00:01:32.320] – Big Rich Klein
Bill Sanders, it’s so great to have this conversation with you. I’m really looking forward to hearing about your history, and thank you for making the time to do this.
[00:01:42.660] – Bill Sanders
Okay.
[00:01:44.040] – Big Rich Klein
So let’s get started. And Bill, what is the easiest question I can ask you for most people is, where were you born and raised?
[00:01:53.800] – Bill Sanders
I was born in Sacramento, California, and we lived in Davis until I was five or six. Then we moved to Berkeley, and I went to kindergarten in Davis. We moved to Berkeley. I went to kindergarten again, and then I was raised and lived the rest of my early life in Berkeley.
[00:02:22.890] – Big Rich Klein
Berkeley, it wasn’t as a liberal haven that it is nowadays, correct?
[00:02:28.350] – Bill Sanders
Berkeley in those days, was so conservative. People today couldn’t believe it. It was a beautiful, it was like a Midwest small city.
[00:02:40.930] – Bill Sanders
It did have Cal was there, which was one thing, but it was really a small town.
[00:02:49.440] – Bill Sanders
There were three junior highs and one high school. Everybody went to the same high school. If you were white, black, Hispanic, whatever, you all went there. You’re all friends. There was a department store, Hinks Department Store, which was locally owned. There were one, two, three, four movie theaters, and Bruce Brothers was the big clothing store. Anyway, it was a beautiful… You could walk, go to the movie, walk home at 10:00 at night, and it was extremely safe.
[00:03:29.800] – Big Rich Klein
I think that was probably the case with most of the Bay Area at that time?
[00:03:39.360] – Bill Sanders
Yes, it was.
[00:03:41.110] – Big Rich Klein
Because do you mind me asking how old you are right now?
[00:03:45.580] – Bill Sanders
I’ll be 93 in January.
[00:03:49.300] – Big Rich Klein
93 in January. Wow. That’s a long, productive life.
[00:03:56.750] – Bill Sanders
Well, I hope it was productive.
[00:03:59.660] – Big Rich Klein
I I think so. Those early years in school, were you a good student?
[00:04:08.550] – Bill Sanders
No.
[00:04:10.050] – Bill Sanders
Up until the 11th grade, I was a good student. After that, I dropped out of high school.
[00:04:20.270] – Big Rich Klein
And what did you… What precipitated that, that dropping out of high school?
[00:04:26.550] – Bill Sanders
I was hanging around with the wrong guys. Okay. However, even those guys, we were all totally interested and fascinated in cars. My first true love was a 1936 Ford three-window coupe flat head, and I bought it from an older couple, and I lowered it, had upholstery done, put skirts on it. Then I had two or three ’36 Ford sedans, all within a year and a half span. So we were into cars then.
[00:05:15.050] – Big Rich Klein
And was that flat head? Did you hot rod it up?
[00:05:19.330] – Bill Sanders
No, my next big step was, I think I guess I sold the 36, and I bought a 48 Ford convertible from a young guy in 1950. And I was in the class of 50 in high school. READ MORE
