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1937 Salem, Illinois bus crash disaster....
1937 Salem, Illinois bus crash disaster....
Item # 716613
March 24, 1937
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, March 24, 1937
* Salem, Marion County, Illinois
* Roller derby troupe bus crash disaster
The top of the front page has a four column headline: "17 KILLED AND 5 HURT WHEN BUS UPSETS, BURNS ON HIGHWAY NEAR SALEM, ILL." with subhead and related pictorial showing some of the victims. (see images) First report coverage continues inside with the names of the passengers.
Complete with all 40+ pages, light toning and very minor minor margin wear, small binding holes along the spine, generally in nice condition.
AI notes: On March 24, 1937, a bus carrying a professional roller-skating troupe crashed near Salem, Illinois, when a front tire blowout caused it to veer off U.S. Highway 50, strike a concrete bridge abutment, and overturn, igniting into a massive fire. The accident claimed 21 of the 23 people on board, marking it as one of the deadliest bus crashes in U.S. history at that time, with only three survivors emerging after two of the initial five succumbed to their injuries. The troupe, part of the Transcontinental Roller Derby Association, was en route from St. Louis to Cincinnati for a performance, and the tragedy struck a blow to the young sport of roller derby, invented just 18 months prior by Leo Seltzer. Despite the devastation, roller derby's growing popularity allowed it to endure, while the crash underscored the perils of motor bus travel and left a lasting mark on the sport’s history.
Category: The 20th Century
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