Bernie Little passes away
04-26-2003 | 10:41 PM
#32
Allergic to Nonsense
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 5,007
Likes: 21
From: Granite Quarry, NC
My fondest memory of Bernie...and there were many..is not of the visits to his yacht...or his fondness for flying his helicopters and various aircraft...but rather of him scurrying around the pits on a golfcart in New Orleans some years ago delivering Budweiser and Popeye's chicken to all of the race teams and giving each and everyone of us a meal, a drink, and a smile.
God Speed Bernie.
T2x
God Speed Bernie.
T2x
04-27-2003 | 07:53 AM
#35
Charter Member
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 744
Likes: 3
From: MONTGOMERY,AL
Thanks for the memories Bernie! The man was truly a legend in his own time!
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04-27-2003 | 01:36 PM
#38
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From: Cass Lake Michigan
Bernie Little dies at 77; owned line of Budweiser racing boats
April 27, 2003
Bernie Little, whose Miss Budweiser boats hold almost every record in Unlimited Hydroplane racing, died Friday in Lakeland, Fla. He was 77.
The cause of death was listed as complications from pneumonia, although Little underwent treatment for cancer last year.
Little became involved in unlimited racing in 1962 when he bought band leader Guy Lombardo's famous four-seat Tempo. A year later, Little – who owned three Budweiser distributorships as well as car, boat and airplane dealerships – persuaded brewing magnate Augie Busch III to sponsor his boat.
Over an uninterrupted run of 40 seasons, Miss Budweiser won a record 134 Unlimited races, 22 world championships and 14 American Power Boat Association Gold Cups. The annual San Diego-Bill Muncey Cup on Mission Bay was won 15 times by Miss Budweiser.
Little's drivers included Bill Sterett, Dean Chenoweth, Mickey Remund, Chip Hanauer, Mike Hanson and Dave Villwock.
– BILL CENTER
April 27, 2003
Bernie Little, whose Miss Budweiser boats hold almost every record in Unlimited Hydroplane racing, died Friday in Lakeland, Fla. He was 77.
The cause of death was listed as complications from pneumonia, although Little underwent treatment for cancer last year.
Little became involved in unlimited racing in 1962 when he bought band leader Guy Lombardo's famous four-seat Tempo. A year later, Little – who owned three Budweiser distributorships as well as car, boat and airplane dealerships – persuaded brewing magnate Augie Busch III to sponsor his boat.
Over an uninterrupted run of 40 seasons, Miss Budweiser won a record 134 Unlimited races, 22 world championships and 14 American Power Boat Association Gold Cups. The annual San Diego-Bill Muncey Cup on Mission Bay was won 15 times by Miss Budweiser.
Little's drivers included Bill Sterett, Dean Chenoweth, Mickey Remund, Chip Hanauer, Mike Hanson and Dave Villwock.
– BILL CENTER
