In the 1900's Gordon Bennett instigated a number of initiatives.
In 1900 - 1905 the Gordon Bennett Automobile Cup
In 1906 the Gordon Bennett international ballooning
( 68th annual event- September 5, 2025.)
1907 - 1914 - Paris Gordon Bennett Cup (USFSA) football.
1909-1914 Gordon Bennett international aviation trophy
He seemed to apply a standard formula:
1. A magnificent trophy of extraordinary craftsmanship and design created by a renowned silversmith in Paris by the name of xxxx that typically cost more than the average annual salary.
(In 1895 he commissioned a punch bowl as a trophy for a sailing race and when it was unveiled,was described as ‘the most beautiful yachting prize as well as the most costly ever offered".)
2. He created a comprehensive set of event rules for each initiative.
3. He offered the trophy, effectively outsourcing the event, to established entities who would run them:
- Automobile Club de France (ACF)
- L'Union des sociétés françaises de sports athlétiques (USFSA)
- Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI)
4.Apart from the football cup he made the events “international”.
This particular condition, was shrewd, showing considerable foresight, in contrast to the other fairly pragmatic parameters.
It came from the owner of not only the highest selling newspaper in America, but arguably, of the largest international audience.
The New York Herald Building circa 1895
The New York Herald had more dedicated international correspondents than any other paper.
It's ethos was that the paper that got the news out first would be the newspaper of choice.
Getting the “breaking news” out first meant that it was the preferred conduit of international news by other publications to translate it into the native tongue and augment their own content.
To back that ethos up, when faced with an increasingly expensive and monopolistic telegraph service, Gordon Bennett co-founded the Commercial Company and laid undersea cables between Nova Scotia, Ireland, France and England in 1884.
The company operated lower prices than the previous monopoly which lost customers to the new entrepreneur.
Significantly it enhanced the New York Herald communications infrastructure.
Momentum
In 1899 when the Gordon Bennett the race rules were being organised, the average entry number for city to city races was 30.
In 1901 - Paris Berlin - 99 cars and motorbikes also raced amongst the cars.
In 1903 - Paris-Madrid that reached 170 cars and 54 motorcycles.
International, but National
You could say that the city to city races were international, and they were in that cars from Belgium, France, America, Great Britain, Germany and Italy were being driven in them, and in some cases by drivers native to the cars origins.
In the 1903 race over 90% of the 38 participating car brands cars were french.
However, Mr Bennett's interpretation was that it was an international trophy and that the entries were therefore from the recognised national club of the challenging country i.e. The Automobile Club of Great Britain & Ireland, whose members were eligible to apply.
Automobile clubs initially recognised by the organising Automobile Club de France (ACF) were America, Austria, Belgium, Germany,Great Britain & Ireland, Switzerland and Turin.
Best of the Best
Each club could enter a maximum of three vehicles.
If entries exceeded the maximum, then the national club had to choose the entries or allocate the entry in order of registration date.
This led to the introduction of fiercely contested elimination trials.
This nurtured an inate spirit of competition open to anyone who aspired to beat the best in the international arena, of a relatively embryonic industry, by beating domestic competitors first.
The cream rose to the top and with it upwardly evolving thresh-holds of performance and technical development.
It gave oversight to the national club to ensure that the best were representing the nation's hopes.
So instead of a race of 200 vehicles on a race track, the contestants arena was reduced to a maximum of 21 high profile contestants who were then put under a microscope where reputations were forged, brands scrutinised, vehicles compared, team allegiances formed and heroes adored.
