Brown Street Derby – The Story Of

In early July of 1973, the Brown Street Bombers Association, a group of more than 20 kids, appeared in front of the Sault Ste. Marie City Council and Mayor Ronald A. Irwin. They were there to ask council if they would close Brown St. for one day so that the association and its members could hold the inaugural Brown Street Grand Prix. The public presentation made a convincing case, enough so that council agreed, even going as far as donating a champions’ trophy in the name of the Ward 4 aldermen, Nicholas Trbovich and Michael Sanzosti.

The key figure in this slice of Soo folklore was Joseph Daniel Lapointe. It was Joe Lapointe, a resident of the street and at that time a college-aged young man, that first organized the kids into an association membership with voting rights. It was Joe’s vision and guidance that kept the derby a going concern for the many years that followed.

The first Brown St. Derby rolled out as a race for the kids living on the street. Its popularity quickly expanded to include participants from the greater neighbourhood, and then more racers from all around the city joined and for over a decade the Brown Street Grand Prix was a happening thing, with the final race taking place in the summer of 1983. Over its 11-year history, hundreds of kids, boys and girls, from all over Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario – and a few one year from Sault, Michigan, USA – would challenge for the checkered flag and the title of Brown Street Grand Prix race champions. It was an enchanted period in local history, a time in the life of a youth that let the good times roll.

BREAKING NEWS: The BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS ASSOCIATION, in conjunction with The Borderline Radio Soo, will be reviving the fabled race. The DOWNTOWN BROWN STREET DERBY will be taking place at the SSM Downtown Plaza in the summer of 2027. Stay tuned for details as they emerge.

MUSIC & CREDITS

Theme Music by Big Suit and The Tragically Hip

Double Dose Me – Steeltonia by Molten Imp

Barstool Women Blues by Brandon Agnew

1938 by George Houston

All photos and news articles by The Sault Star from SSM Public Library archives.

Tagged as: sault ste. marie, Go-carts.