Freddie Fretwell and His Harley-Riding Monkey
Chances are, you have seen this photograph before without knowing much about the rider behind the number 8 plate. His name was Fred “Freddy” Fretwell. On July 29, 1922, he won both the 10-mile feature and the three-mile D.C. Championship at the Arlington race track in Virginia while riding a Harley-Davidson. Seven years later, he was back in the newspaper after his pet monkey escaped and started a local “gorilla” scare. The monkey had previously ridden to work with him on the motorcycle.
A Full Afternoon at the Arlington Race Track
The Arlington program was not limited to motorcycles. About 3,000 people turned out for an afternoon of bicycle, motorcycle and automobile racing. Troop B of the Third U.S. Cavalry from nearby Fort Myer performed a cavalry drill, and the Fort Myer band played during the program.
The bicycle race was held on a dirt course, so this was not one of the enormous wooden board tracks that made motorcycle racing famous during the same period.
The first motorcycle event was a three-mile novice race won by R. Bean on an Indian. Fretwell then won the featured 10-mile race in 12 minutes, 37 seconds. He finished a full lap ahead of R. Dean on an Indian, while Charles Crawford placed third on another Indian.
Fretwell returned for the three-mile D.C. Championship and won again in about four and a half minutes. Cy Fendall finished second and Crawford third, both riding Indians. A sidecar race was also held, with Speed Connors and passenger Kellar winning on a Harley-Davidson in 6 minutes, 15 seconds.
Harley-Davidson and Indian had been fighting for racing victories for years by then. Harley’s early factory effort at Dodge City had begun in 1914, and eight years later that same rivalry was playing out at a local race outside Washington.
At the national level, Jim Davis had moved from Indian to Harley-Davidson in 1920 and won that year’s Dodge City 300.
The Washington Post Race Report
The Washington Post published the following account on July 30, 1922:
The Washington Post, July 30, 1922
Fretwell Double Winner in Motor Cycle Events
The bicycle, motorcycle and automobile racing program staged by the Costello post yesterday afternoon attracted about three thousand people to the Arlington race track. Those who journeyed to Virginia side of the Potomac witnessed some fine racing as well as an excellent exhibition cavalry drill put on by Troop B of the Third U.S. cavalry from Fort Myer. The Fort Myer band was also on hand to enliven things during the progress of the program. The day’s card opened with a half-mile bicycle race for the D.C. championship. V. Messineo covered the dirt course in 1 minute and 19 seconds. Daly and Nigoria crossed the line second and third, respectively, while the rest of the field was closely bunched.
The first motorcycle race, a three-mile novice event, went to R. Bean riding an Indian. He covered the course at an average of 44.77 miles per hour, his time for the event being 4 minutes and 43 seconds. Charles Crawford and B. Frazier finished second and third, respectively. Both riders rode Indians.
The 10-mile motorcycle race featured the day’s program. F. Fretwell, riding a Harley-Davidson, had no trouble outclassing the rest of the field. He finished a full lap ahead of R. Dean, mounted on an Indian, who in turn was two laps ahead of the other entrants. Charles Crawford, also riding an Indian, finished a poor third. Fretwell covered the 10 miles in 12 minutes 37 seconds.
The 3-mile race for the D.C. Championship was won by F. Fretwell and his Harley Davidson. Fretwell toyed with the other two entrants in this race, making the distance in 4 ½ minutes. Cy Fendall and Charles Crawford, both mounted on Indian machines, finished second and third.
In the sidecar event there were but two entrants. Both machines were of the Harley-Davidson make. Speed Connors with Kellar as a passenger did the distance in 6 minutes, 15 seconds, outclassing George Green with Karart as his passenger all the way.
The Edmonston “Gorilla” Scare
Seven years later, Fretwell was living in Edmonston, Maryland, when his 30-pound pet monkey escaped. The animal frightened children, attacked a resident’s chickens, bit a man who tried to catch it and escaped from a net by jumping into a creek. As the story spread through the surrounding towns, the monkey quickly grew into a ferocious gorilla in the retelling.
The best detail was that the monkey used to ride to work with Fretwell on his motorcycle. Fretwell’s monkey was a private pet rather than a racing-team mascot like Ray Weishaar’s piglet, which became tied to Harley-Davidson’s “hog” nickname. It had previously performed on a pony at a carnival and apparently had quite a temper, once throwing storage batteries around the garage where Fretwell worked. The Washington Post published the complete story on August 23, 1929:
The Washington Post, August 23, 1929
ESCAPED MONKEY
SPREADING TERRORPet “Goes Native;” Antics
Give Birth to Tale
of “Gorilla.”RESIDENTS ARE ALARMED
A 30-pound monkey with a fierce mien has started a “gorilla” scare in East Riverdale and its environs. Children seeing the monkey have been frightened by its appearance and antics, and have helped spread tales of a ferocious gorilla.
Since its escape from the household of Freddie Fretwell, of Edmonston, several weeks ago, the monkey has made its appearance on several occasions. Once it pulled the feathers from all of the chickens in the yard of an Edmonston resident. The chicken owner attempted to capture the monkey, but refrained when he was bitten.
Size of Dog.
The simian is about the size of a dog, and has an especially ferocious appearance, aided by the long teeth it shows when attempts are made to capture it. It will accept bananas and other food, but begins to snarl when efforts are made to capture it.
The monkey has apparently “gone native,” and seems to have decided on a woods near the Fretwell home as a hiding place. Two men succeeded in throwing a net over the animal but he escaped and jumped into a creek, swimming under water to the opposite side.
Monkey Is Trained.
Fretwell was given the monkey to keep by a truck driver who had bought it from a carnival. The monkey rode on a pony in the show but was injured when it fell off and was stepped on by the pony.
The monkey used to ride on his motorcycle and go to work with him, Fretwell said, and seemed to enjoy the ride. One day he became peeved and began throwing storage batteries around the garage where Fretwell works.
It was reported to Fretwell that the monkey was captured several days ago but he has been unable to find the captor. The story of the “gorilla” has spread from Hyattsville to Beltsville and through the intervening territory. The further from the source the tale is traced, the more fierce and enormous is the “gorilla.”