She set world records in a man’s world of boat racing. And she was from Fort Worth.
Landlocked Fort Worth is not the kind of place one would expect to find a world champion speedboat racer. But there she is — in the national press and world record books. Yes, she — not he. In a sport that was dominated by men, Ruth Herring competed head to head and won.
She came by her racing skills honestly. Born in 1903 in Corsicana, Texas, Ruth Sapp moved to Fort Worth in 1920 and married Marion Herring, a mechanic, in 1922. Together, the couple established Marion Herring Boat Works on the shores of Lake Worth where Marion built a reputation as someone who could expertly repair and modify boat engines, as well as sell you a boat and give it a covered berth. A speedy boat brought attention — and customers — to their business.
At first Marion drove the race boats but, by about 1930, Ruth was the one behind the wheel. She swamped her boat during her first race on White Rock Lake in Dallas in 1932, but that didn’t stop her. Soon she was winning races. A July 5, 1932, Houston Press headline read, “Fort Worth Woman Wins Boat Event.” Ruth pasted the article in her scrapbook and added a label that read “WOMAN!” beside the story. Nothing like a scrapbook pep talk. This was an amateur race, but she would quickly turn professional.
By the 1933 racing season, Ruth was being called, “one of the top outboard skippers in the country.” The writer added, “She races against the best and asks no favors from the men — and she wins her share of the races.”
Ruth raced “Class A” boats — small wooden craft that moved like skittering waterbugs, hovering above the water. The 100-pound boats were a hard-riding craft. Some called them “shingles,” and a race usually came with its share of bumps, bruises, and sometimes a few stitches.
Ruth’s skill and determination set her apart. She missed a marker buoy during a 1933 Tulsa race, and had to turn around to retrace her course, falling behind. Ruth caught up and won the race — in a pouring rainstorm. During another race, her boat upended and came down on her head. She raced the next day, winning the contest, only to discover later that she had a skull fracture. In 1934, Ruth Herring was the National Class A Professional Champion.
Over her career, Ruth set four world speed records in Class A outboard competition. The first was on Sept. 5, 1933, when she traveled 42.88 mph on a one-mile Kansas City course, but Ruth beat her own record about a month later with a speed of 47.13 mph. Ruth’s personal best world record was set on Sept. 23, 1935, on a one-mile Lake Spavinaw, Oklahoma, course where she was clocked at 48.258 mph, but a five-mile world record set in 1935 of 43.43 mph stood for over 30 years.
After running a few races in 1936, Ruth switched to organizing them, taking a leadership role in the Texas Outboard Racing Circuit. Nothing like quitting while you’re on top — but what a record!
Carol Roark is an archivist, historian, and author with a special interest in architectural and photographic history who has written several books on Fort Worth history.