The Soap Box Derby

The All-American Soap Box Derby became an annual summer tradition for American youth beginning in the 1930s. It grew from the idea of journalist Myron E. ("Scottie") Scott after he covered an impromptu homebuilt gravity-car race in Dayton in 1933. Later that year, he conceived and promoted a prize-awarding event that drew 362 boys, surprising him. Limits on material cost and participants' ages broadened the sport's appeal, and in 1935 the Soap Box Derby held its first national championship in Akron with sponsorship from the auto and rubber industries. Derby Downs, built as a public works project by the New Deal-era Works Progress Administration (WPA), has served as the event's home since 1936. The Soap Box Derby has continued to encourage craftsmanship, sportsmanship, and perseverance among generations of American youth.

Akron, Ohio · United States