The Story of Paul Bigsby: The Father of the Modern Electric Solid Body Guitar

story.

BIGSBY AND A PASSION FOR MOTORCYCLES

Paul Bigsby was born on December 12, 1899. His father, Charles Bigsby, grew up in New York and was born in 1833. Charles married Mary Ella Morgan in 1898: he was 65 and she was 36. Soon after their marriage, they moved to Elgin, Illinois, where they had their first son, Carl Bigsby, who came along in 1898. The Bigsbys lived in Elgin through the beginning of the 1900s.

Young Paul Bigsby and his older brother Carl soon started working. They got their first jobs in a print shop. Mary Bigsby, Paul’s only child and his only known surviving family member, remembers that her dad talked about starting work at 11 as a printer. He had this incredible work ethic. I think a lot of that came from the time he grew up and because he started working at such an early age.¹

By the early 1910s, the Bigsby family moved out West, relocating to Los Angeles and moving into 234½ Branch Street. As a teenager, Paul learned the patternmaking trade, training in the highly skilled work of precision woodworking and the preparation of drawings, schematics, and blueprints that detail mechanical parts.

As a patternmaker, Paul would hand-make wooden patterns to create molds for everything made out of metal in the machine shops and foundries, ranging from car engine parts to household appliances. A master patternmaker would meticulously carve a pattern made of wood, which is then placed in a special type of sand to cast a mold. Molten metal is poured into the sand mold left by the pattern to create the finished piece. Today, the patternmaker’s trade is almost a lost art. But the skills Bigsby learned back then would shine later in his unique musical instruments.

On December 13, 1918, the day after his birthday, Paul Bigsby registered for the military. His 1917 – 18 World War I draft registration card listed him working at a machine shop in Los Angeles and recorded his occupation as a patternmaker.

By the age of 20 he had won his first race, in Reno, Nevada. At that time, Bigsby was competing in motorcycle sidecar races, including the Los Angeles to Big Bear race, and held the record of 50 minutes flat for a distance of 35 miles. He was soon something of a celebrity among motorcycling enthusiasts, considered one of the top contenders in both endurance and road races.

Young 11 year old Paul A. Bigsby.

Today, the patternmaker’s trade is almost a lost art.

But the skills Bigsby learned back then would shine later in his unique musical instruments,

In the 1920s, as Bigsby’s popularity grew as a competitive motorcyclist, friends and fans began to refer to him as P. A. Bigsby. By now he even had his own Indian motorcycle dealership, Pettipiece & Bigsby, in Reno, Nevada, located at 132 West, Street. His name appeared in many of the publications that reported on races and the various events. The Motorcyclist was a popular monthly magazine published by the American Motorcycle Association, and P. A. often appeared in reports and photographs marking the races he won.

Out West

by P. A. Bigsby

Out where the sun is a little brighter,

Out where the handclasp’s a little tighter,

That’s where the West begins.

Out where the frames are an inch and a half lower,

Out where the handlebars are six inches shorter,

That’s where the West begins.

Out where the strokes are a half-inch longer,

Out where the cams are an eighth-inch higher,

That’s where the West begins.

Out where the hills are a little steeper,

Out where the ruts are a little deeper,

That’s where the West begins.

Out where Mint Canyon block tests a motor,

Out where the desert breaks sidecar axles,

That’s where the West begins.

Out where the hounds turn it on in the morning,

Out where the hounds shut it off at night,

That’s where the West begins.

Out where a yardstick is four feet long,

Out where motors roll Eighty with sidecars,

That’s where the West begins.

In fact, out where men are men and motors are stroked

And the plumbing is on the outside,

That’s where the West begins.

P. A. wrote a poem that appeared in the June 1926 issue of Harley-Davidson’s The Enthusiast magazine. It’s reproduced here in full.

P. A. Bigsby was one of the founding members of the infamous ‘45’ Club of Los Angeles, whose members met at the corner of Avalon and Venice. They made up one of the first motorcycle clubs in the United States, started in the early 1930s. Members could own a Harley, Indian, or Super X motorcycle, but the club’s requirement was that it had to have an engine of 45 cubic inches or greater.

Rough racing, rebel rousing, trophy winning motorcyclist P A. Bigsby (center) sitting on his prized Indian.

An advertisement from P A. Bigsby’s Indian motorcycle dealership. The case in Bigsby’s office that housed many of his motorcycle racing trophies including the one shown below. Three of P A.’s motorcycle club badges (far left).

P. A.’s passion for motorcycles and racing continued to grow – and so did his collection of racing trophies. He won the famed Greenhorn Enduro race several times. A headline in the June 1932 issue of Western Motorcycle And Bicyclist magazine read ‘Bigsby Wins 45 Club Endurance Run’ and reported on the 358-mile Greenhorn race held on May 15, 1932, that featured the top bikers of the day.

W.M.A.B. reported: "That Bigsby had the ‘cat’s engagement ring’ in equipment was opined by all who saw or heard him as he floated by. His motor was one of the special overhead valve 45s which Al Crocker has built for a few speed demons lately, and they are so snappy that ‘Crock’ is now converting stock Scouts into 30:50 and 45 overhead jobs at a nominal price.

The hounds are getting in line for them, too, but few are those who wouldn’t get in line after twisting the throttle on Bigsbys or one of the others! Crock also tried out his new steering damper and shock absorbers on P. A.’s machine and they worked to perfection and helped him to win like nothing else ever did, according to his own statement.²

Bigsby and the Crocker motorcycle

P. A. Bigsby’s enthusiasm for all forms of motorcycle racing continued, as the November 13, 1932, issue of The Los Angeles Times reported. In the side-car event the outstanding threats are Paul Bigsby of Pasadena and Harry Pelton of Hollywood.

P.A. Bigsby’s immigration papers that he used when racing in Mexico in the 1930’s.

Bigsby would later recall his rebellious time racing in Mexico with a barnstorming troupe of motorcycle riders.³ He left Mexico by boat from the port of Acapulco on April 1, 1933, arriving in Los Angeles ten days later. His immigration papers listed him as a resident of 1772 Brigden Road in Pasadena, California.

The rough ride of those early motorcycles and the frequent injuries and accidents during the grueling endurance races took a physical toll on even the toughest racers. It appears that P. A. Bigsby was no exception. By 1934, he sold his famous Crocker-modified Indian 101 Scout to the brother-in-law of the great motorcycle racer Ed Kretz, who raced it for a short period before selling it to one Ray Michaels of Pomona, California. In 1941, a Redlands, California, resident called Bob Percival acquired Bigsby’s famous cycle and has owned the bike for over 60 years.

During the five years that P. A. owned his famous Indian he won countless races. To sell such an important bike implies that Bigsby had decided it was time to move on. Although he would continue to race a few more times, his love of motorcycles would lead him into other areas of that world.

In April 1934, The Oakland Sports Tribune reported that P. A. and his brother Carl Bigsby had started a motorcycle business together. The articles of incorporation were filed April 9 with the Secretary of State by The Los Angeles Motorcycle Speedway Association. The report detailed that the organization was authorized to capitalize at $25,000 for the purpose of staging races. Directors named included Paul A. Bigsby of Pasadena, Carl M. Bigsby of Compton, and George Foote of Inglewood.

With his deep passion for motorcycle racing and his new business in place, P. A. began promoting speedway races at venues across Southern California, including events at La Jolla, San Diego, Culver City, and Santa Monica. He held the first nighttime event and was regularly listed on the technical committee at races. He would often run events and act as a racing judge. When an announcer didn’t show up for one of the events, P. A. took over. From that point on, he would announce at many race meetings.

The rough ride of those early motorcycles and the frequent injuries and accidents during the grueling endurance races took a physical toll on even the toughest racers. It appears that P. A. Bigsby was no exception.

With his status as a celebrity, P. A. continued to feature in motorcycle magazines. It was rumored that by the mid 1930s he was writing articles under the pseudonym Professor Popper for various publications, including The Motorcyclist.

He was working by day as an expert master machinist and patternmaker for Standard Patterns, a factory in the Los Angeles area. Standard produced parts for the Crocker Motorcycle Company, which was based in L.A. at 1346 Venice Boulevard. Al Crocker had been working on developing and designing his own racing motorcycle, or speedway bike, which was first introduced it in 1932. The bike marked the birth of the Crocker Motorcycle Company.

By the mid 1930’s Paul Bigsby became a well-known name in the motorcycle-racing world. His fans new him as ‘P.A.’.

P.A. Bigsby moved from racing motorcycles to promoting motorcycle races. Programs shown above list Bigsby as an announcer and racing judge. Crocker motorcycle company logo as it appeared on the tanks of the Los Angeles built bikes.

Al Crocker would play an important part in the story of Paul Bigsby. Born in 1882, Al graduated with an engineering degree from Armour Institute of Technology in Chicago. Out of college, Al worked on new products in the Thor motorcycle division of the Aurora Automatic Machinery Company.

Al, like P. A., was a motorcycle enthusiast and competition racer. He too won many races. During his racing years, Al struck up a close relationship with Oscar Hedstrom and Charles Hendee, the president and chief engineer of the Indian Motorcycle Company. The friendship eventually landed Al a full-time position at Indian, and he worked at the branch in Denver, Colorado. It was there that he met his wife, whom he married in 1924. Later that year, Al took over an Indian motorcycle dealership in Kansas City. By the late 1920s he had moved to Los Angeles where, in 1928, he bought Freed, an established Indian dealership.

Bigsby was instrumental in the design of the notorious and powerful Crocker V-Twin road motorcycle. This was the largest displacement-engine production motorcycle of the day.

Al Crocker started to modify motorcycles and specialized in making overhead valve conversion kits for the Indian Scout model. He would change the cylinders and heads to increase the motorcycle’s racing performance. He also developed a steering damper and shock absorbers designed specifically for Indian bikes.

By the late 1920s, Al had made quite a name for himself in the motorcycle world with his Indian Scout modifications, and it was during that time he met Bigsby. P. A. used one of Crocker’s overhead valve conversion kits for his Indian racing motorcycle, to maximize its performance. Al used photos of P. A. Bigsby in his advertisements, proclaiming: Take a tip from the winner and get acquainted with these new accessories!

Eventually, P. A. Bigsby moved from working at Standard Patterns to work full-time at Crocker. Bigsby became Crocker’s shop foreman and chief engineer, working closely with Al. Many of the blueprints that still exist to this day of Crocker motorcycle parts are labeled as drawn by P. A. Bigsby. According to Al’s son, Al Crocker Jr., Paul was a close family friend and would often visit the Crocker home, joining in family functions.⁴

Bigsby was instrumental in the design of the notorious and powerful Crocker V-Twin road motorcycle. This was the largest displacement-engine production motorcycle of the day, with horsepower that far exceeded any Indian or Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Production of the powerful V-Twins started in 1936 and continued until 1942.

P.A. Bigsby drew this blueprint of a motorcycle part for a Crocker motorcycle in December of 1939.

P.A. Bigsby (right) and Al Crocker (left) with a racer on their Crocker motorcycle late 1930’s.

For a short time, the Crocker Motorcycle Company flourished. The bulk of the road bikes were made to order, making Crocker a true custom or boutique manufacturer. The factory never grew very large, with most estimates putting the total of road bikes built at between 75 and 100. Vintage Crocker motorcycles are highly sought after today, often selling for more than $250,000.

One of the last races that P. A. Bigsby participated in and won was the famous Greenhorn Enduro race in 1937, riding a Crocker motorcycle. The victory landed him in an ad for Firestone motorcycle tires, which ran in The Motorcyclist magazine in December 1937, featuring P. A. as well as other champion racers. It continued to run into the beginning of ’38. Mary Bigsby says: My dad was real proud of that Firestone ad. He had a copy hanging up on the wall in his workshop.

In December 1941, the United States was pulled into World War II after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. As a result, Crocker Motorcycle had difficulties getting critical materials to continue