The Oklahoma Route 66 Association last weekend marked the 90th anniversary of the transcontinental Bunion Derby footrace, with several descendants of winner Andy Payne at the commemoration.
The association marked the 1928 footrace that traversed Los Angeles to New York City, including a fledgling U.S. 66, by carrying a commemorative plaque during a motorized relay from the Texas state line to the Kansas state line, according to a report in the Claremore Daily Progress.
The plaque will be on display at the Oklahoma Route 66 museum in Clinton.
Payne eventually became a longtime clerk of the Oklahoma Supreme Court. He died at age 70 in 1977.
Among those attending the commemoration were Andy Payne descendants Seth Payne, a great-nephew; Gerry Payne, a nephew; Sydney Allen, a great-niece, Steve Payne, a nephew; and Teresa Allen, a nephew.
About 10 years ago, a statue of a running Andy Payne was erected along an original stretch of old Route 66 in his hometown of Foyil.
Jerry McClanahan posted an image of the plaque on Facebook:
Photographer and Route 66 enthusiast Rhys Martin posted a gallery of the Bunion Derby relay on Flickr.
Payne, 20 at the time, took home the race’s $25,000 top prize (equal more than $360,000 in the current era). He completed the 3,400-mile trek in 573 days — an average of 10 minutes a mile across the country.
One of the best books about the Bunion Derby was “C.C. Pyle’s Amazing Foot Race,” written by Geoff Williams.
(Image of Andy Payne statue along old Route 66 in Foyil, Oklahoma, by Michael Earl Johnson via Facebook)