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Jim Rathmann

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The Resume

    (July 16, 1928-November 23, 2011)
    Born in Alhambra, California
    Birth name was Royal Richard Rathmann
    Won the Race of Two Worlds at Monza, Italy (1958)
    Three-time Indianapolis 500 runner-up (1952,1957,1959)
    Won the Indianapolis 500 (1960)
    Inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (2007)
    After retiring from racing, ran a Chevrolet-Cadillac dealership in Florida

Why he might be annoying:

    He got his start illegally drag racing in the streets in southern California.
    He turned pro at 16, getting around the inconvenient fact that he was underage by using his older brother's ID, which is how he became 'Jim' Rathmann.
    Meanwhile, his brother also became an auto racer, known as 'Dick' Rathmann, having borrowed Jim's original middle name.
    Sports Illustrated called him a 'truculent competitor' and noted 'a scowl is the expression most often found' on his face.

Why he might not be annoying:

    Sports Illustrated wrote that he was 'famous for his grit and savvy.'
    His 1960 victory, in which he and defending champ Rodger Ward exchanged the lead 14 times, is considered one of the most exciting races in Indy 500 history.
    While running his car dealership, he befriended the astronauts training at Cape Canaveral and convinced General Motors to provide each astronaut with a pair of new cars each year.
    As a show of thanks, one of the astronauts placed his dealership's decal on a lunar rover.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 7 Votes: 42.86% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 15 Votes: 93.33% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 15 Votes: 46.67% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 13 Votes: 53.85% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 86 Votes: 77.91% Annoying