More than 40 years ago, Muncey agreed to be interviewed by a young Craig Fjarlie at the Atlas Van Lines boat shop in Seattle and talked about his first few years behind the wheel of the Miss Thriftway, when he made his mark upon the sport. The interview was published in two parts. This portion originally appeared in the January 1978 issue of the Unlimited NewsJournal. 

UNJ: Maybe you’ll recap how you were selected as driver of Miss Thriftway? You had driven Miss Great Lakes, Dora My Sweetie …

Muncey:  Well I’d driven the Great Lakes in competition, but
the critical part was in 1950  when Ted Jones came back to Detroit  with the Slo-mo.                           Continued, click here ...  

At the conclusion of each unlimited hydroplane racing season, the members of Seattle’s Unlimiteds Unanimous, the publishers of this publication, decide which entrants from the past year are deserving of special recognition. The result of this year’s votes were as follows:                                     Continued, click here ...

What was covered.

January 2018

For the complete January issue and all our regular features, click here...

The young Bill Muncey.

FROM THE UNJ VAULT:

Bill Muncey talks about driving the Miss Thriftway.

A name from television’s past was in the news in early December when Bruce King, a sportscaster with Seattle’s KOMO, passed away. He routinely included hydroplane racing in his sports reports. At about the same time, Seattle’s new mayor, Jenny Durkan, announced changes would be made to Key Arena that would allow Seattle to pursue an NHL hockey team and an NBA basketball team.

     The sports scene in Seattle, as well as in other cities, has changed substantially since King and other reporters had news to pass along to their viewers and readers.                                          Continued, click here ...

In 1955, Bill Muncey was a 26-year-old who had a successful career driving limited-class hydros in the Detroit area, but who had only a couple of appearances in the cockpits of an unlimited. Then he got a phone call from Ted Jones, the team manager for the brand-new Miss Thriftway. Before he was killed in a tragic accident in 1981, Muncey would go on to become one of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport. If he were still alive, he would celebrate his 90th birthday later this year.

UNLIMITEDS UNANIMOUS AWARDS:

And, the winner is...