In 1915, "Cannonball" Baker coast-to-coasted in a Stutz Bearcat Roadster in 11 days, 7 hours and 15 minutes. The next year, driving a Cadillac, he shaved four days off this record. In 1933, the roads having been improved, Baker went from New York to Los Angeles in a Graham-Paige Blue Streak 8 in 53 1/2 hours, a record that stood until 1971.
The famous and totally unsanctioned "Cannonball Run" cross-country race, the subject of at least four movies (two of them starring Burt Reynolds), is named for Baker, who died in 1960 of natural causes at the age of 78.
--CooterFirst.
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