Bill Muncey

Muncey began his boat racing career in 1949 by sinking in front of a hometown crowd on the Detroit River. Muncey's first attempt to drive in an American Power Boat Association (APBA) Gold Cup event began by blowing up the engine. Muncey went to Gar Wood’s riverfront mansion, and asked Wood for help. Muncey got an engine from Wood, but the bottom of the boat fell out during the next race.

Muncey had his first win at the Gold Cup in 1956 in Miss Thriftway. He followed that with another Gold Cup win in 1957, again in Miss Thriftway. In 1960, Muncey won fourteen races between 1960 and 1962, including six of seven in 1962. In 1976, at age 48, he won five races in his boat Atlas Van Lines to silence the critics that said that he was too old to win. He moved to a new Atlas Van Lines boat in 1977 and won twenty times in the next three seasons. Muncey attributed much of his success to his close friend and an accomplished aeronautical engineer, D.J. Nolan, Sr. of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He followed up with four wins in 1980.

In 1981, Muncey won his last race during the Thunder on the Ohio race at Evansville. On October 18 in Acapulco, Mexico, he was leading the final heat of the World Championship race,{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=o1ROAAAAIBAJ&sjid=d-4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=2534%2C2053209|work=Spokesman-Review |location=(Spokane, Washington) |agency=Associated Press |title=Death ends career of a racing legend |date=October 20, 1981}} but was killed in a blowover crash while travelling {{nowrap|{{convert|175|mph|abbr=on}}.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=oRNPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=oAIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2501%2C6611508 |work=Toledo Blade |location=(Ohio) |agency=Associated Press |title=Muncey dies in hydro crash going 170 mph in title race |date=October 19, 1981 |page=19}}{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=olROAAAAIBAJ&sjid=d-4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=7110%2C1738204 |work=Spokesman-Review |location=(Spokane, Washington) |agency=Associated Press |title=Boat driver Muncey dead after big crash |date=October 19, 1981|page=15}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=sJBTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=zIYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6530%2C4475492 |work=The Bulletin |location=(Bend, Oregon) |agency=UPI |title=Muncey killed in accident |date=October 19, 1981 |page=D2}}}} He was buried at Glen Abbey Memorial Park in {{nowrap|Bonita, California.[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9738922 Find A Grave], Retrieved May 23, 2007}}

In more than three decades of hydroplane racing, Muncey had claimed eight Gold Cups (1956, 1957, 1961, 1962, 1972, 1977, 1978, 1979),[http://www.unlimitedexcitement.com/Misc%20Hydroplane%20Info/gold%20cup%20winners.htm Gold Cup winners] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070507071116/http://www.unlimitedexcitement.com/Misc%20Hydroplane%20Info/gold%20cup%20winners.htm |date=2007-05-07 }}, Retrieved May 23, 2007 seven U.S. National Championships (1960, 1961, 1962, 1972, 1976, 1978, 1979),[http://www.unlimitedexcitement.com/Misc%20Hydroplane%20Info/national%20champions.htm U.S. National Champs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070507070859/http://www.unlimitedexcitement.com/Misc%20Hydroplane%20Info/national%20champions.htm |date=2007-05-07 }}, Retrieved May 23, 2007 and four World Championships (1968, 1969, 1972, and 1980).

{{cite web |title=UIM World Champions 1938 – 2013|date=25 October 2014|website=H1 Unlimited|url=https://www.h1unlimited.com/2014/10/uim-world-champions-1938-2013/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906075644/https://www.h1unlimited.com/2014/10/uim-world-champions-1938-2013/|archive-date=6 September 2015|access-date=31 January 2022}} He was named the driver of the year seven times.

As owners, the Muncey family won six High Points Champions (1976, 1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1985), with his widow Fran retaining the team with the Atlas Van Lines "Blue Blaster" brand until the end of the 1984 season, when Miller Brewing Company took over sponsorship in 1985 as the Miller American, with the 1988 season being branded as Miller High Life, as part of a deal between NASCAR driver Bobby Allison and his friend Sam Bass where Miller rebranded all motorsport under the High Life brand using a Bass-designed livery for all motorsport sponsored by Miller. Chip Hanauer drove the Muncey operation throughout her control before the team was bought out by Circus Circus at the end of the {{nowrap|1988 season.{{cite web |url=http://thunderboats.ning.com/page/the-circus-circus-story |title=The Circus Circus Story |first=Brad |last=Haskin |website=The Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum |access-date=September 23, 2016}}}}

• Muncey was inducted in the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2004.
• He was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America[http://www.mshf.com/hall-of-fame/inductees/bill-muncey.html Bill Muncey] at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1989 in the Power Boats category. His widow Fran was also inducted in the hall in 2021 for her accomplishments as a solo owner after his death.{{cite web |title=3 Women Highlight 9-Member Motorsports Hall of Fame of America Class For 2021 |url=https://www.autoweek.com/racing/more-racing/a35372174/3-women-highlight-9-member-motorsports-hall-of-fame-of-america-class-of-2021/ |website=Autoweek |access-date=October 26, 2021 |date=30 January 2021}}
• Muncey was awarded the National Marine Manufacturers Association Hall of Fame Award in 1988.
• The H1 Unlimited High Points Championship Driver's Trophy is named for Muncey, as of 2011.{{Cite web|url=http://www.h1unlimited.com/2012/02/new-trophy-will-honor-bill-muncey/|title = New Trophy Honors Bill Muncey| date=23 February 2012 }}

Muncey graduated from Royal Oak High School in Michigan in 1947.{{cite web| title=Class of 1947: Bill Muncey| url=http://www.rohshalloffame.com/class-of/1947/muncey-bill.html| publisher=Royal Oak High School| location=Royal Oak, Michigan| accessdate=May 12, 2020}} He attended Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, where he was initiated as a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. He was twice married and had four children.

• {{cite book|title=Thunderboating with Bill Muncey|first=Tony|last=Hogg|year=1979|isbn=0-931570-01-8|oclc=78050492}}
• {{cite book|title=Bill Muncey: Boat Racing Legend|first=Stephen A.|last=Garey|publisher=Unlimiteds Detroit|year=1982|lccn=91-672|oclc=10601864}}
• {{cite book|title=At the Ragged Edge|first=A. J.|last=Muntz|year=2013|publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform |isbn=978-1-48194-905-7}}

{{Reflist|2}}

• {{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/10/20/sports/muncey-hydro-racer-killed-in-acapulco-race.html |title=Muncey, Hydro Racer, Killed in Acapulco Race |accessdate=2007-05-23 |date=October 20, 1981 |work=New York Times}}
• {{cite web |url=http://www.thunderboats.org/history/history0251.html |title=Bill Muncey, Remembered |accessdate=2009-11-02 |date=1981 |work=Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227102328/http://www.thunderboats.org/history/history0251.html |archive-date=2009-02-27 }}
• {{Find a Grave|9738922}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muncey, Bill}}

Category:H1 Unlimited

Category:1928 births

Category:1981 deaths

Category:American motorboat racers

Category:International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees

Category:Hydroplanes

Category:Racing motorboats

Category:Motorboat racers who died while racing

Category:Sport deaths in Mexico

Category:APBA Challenge Cup