When the definitive history of 20th Century power boat competition is written, the two titans of the racing world will be the "Gray Fox" Gar Wood for the pre-World War II years and Bill Muncey for the post-war era.

At the time of his death in a "blow-over" accident at the World Championship Race on Laguna de Coyucca, Bill had won 62 victories in the Unlimited Class--more than anyone else--including eight Gold Cups. He died while maintaining his familiar first-place.

William Edward Muncey was an obscure 225 Cubic Inch Class pilot in the Mid-West during the late 1940s. In 1950, he had a chance to drive Albin Fallon's MISS GREAT LAKES in the Harmsworth trials on the Detroit River. He was trying out for one of three spots on the U.S. Defense Team. The 21-year-old Muncey failed to make the final "cut" but he was still able to pull an incredible 97 miles per hour out of the obsolete MISS GREAT LAKES on a 5-nautical mile course. This was nothing short of amazing.

Bill reportedly had to be coached on the fine points of starting the huge Allison engine. But once out on the race course, there could be no doubt that a major new talent had arrived on the Unlimited scene.

Ted Jones was attending the same race with the SLO-MO-SHUN IV team. He happened to observe and was impressed by Muncey's performance in the MISS GREAT LAKES. A few years later, when Jones was putting the MISS THRIFTWAY team together for Willard Rhodes, Ted remembered Bill and offered him the driver's job.

Muncey had some great years between 1955 and 1963 with MISS THRIFTWAY (also known as MISS CENTURY 21), winning eighteen races, four Gold Cups, and three National Championships. But he experienced some lean years in the middle and late 1960s with Shirley Mendelson's NOTRE DAME and George Simon's MISS U.S. Race victories were few and far between.

It is a testament to the man's character that he was able to rebound from those "off" years and get his career back on track in the 1970s. After all, many a driver in many a class has ridden the crest of the victory wave when a well-financed boat was available. But rebounding from a career low spot is another matter entirely.

The Bill Muncey renaissance began when he signed on with Joe and Lee Schoenith's Gale Enterprises team in 1970. Bill had what was arguably his best season in 1972, when he won six races, including the Gold Cup, and placed second in one other.

He became his own owner in 1976, after a quarter century of driving for others. In partnership with crew chief Jim Lucero and sponsor O.H. Frisbie, Bill went on to achieve another Muncey golden age. He won 24 out of 34 races entered between 1976 and 1979 under the aegis of ATLAS VAN LINES.

With the dawn of the 1980s, the competition caught up with Bill. In particular, he had to contend with the MISS BUDWEISER--a Rolls-Royce Griffon-powered juggernaut driven by Dean Chenoweth, who was clearly Muncey's equal out on the race course.

Bill's last season was a nightmare. He ran into a wall of water at the start of the 1981 Gold Cup in Seattle and had to withdraw on account of equipment damage. Muncey was bested in race after race by Chenoweth and MISS BUDWEISER. And a young Lee "Chip" Hanauer steered THE SQUIRE SHOP to a down-to-the-wire/come-from-behind victory at the Tri-Cities Columbia Cup.

For the first time, rumors were heard of Bill's possible retirement. But the "old man" still had one win left in him.

The 62nd and last victory of Muncey's career occurred on a sunny afternoon in Evansville, Indiana, the city which was the world headquarters of Atlas Van Lines, Inc. Evansville's "Thunder On The Ohio" was a race that Bill had helped to establish on the Unlimited schedule two years earlier.

MISS BUDWEISER broke down and ATLAS VAN LINES showed the rest of the field the short way around the 2-mile tri-oval course.

The day was hot, the humidity was fierce, and the aging "Blue Blaster" brought home the bacon one more time.

It was a happy day for Muncey. From the pit area, he telephoned his elderly father, Edward L. Muncey, to share the excitement of winning.

Bill had won his first Unlimited race 25 years earlier in 1956 with the original MISS THRIFTWAY. How many drivers that won races in the 1950s were still winning races in the 1980s? Only Muncey.

The thousands of spectators lining the Ohio River at Evansville in 1981 could not have known it at the time, but to them was accorded a rare privilege--one that sports fans dream about. It was something akin to watching Babe Ruth--the immortal Sultan of Swat--hit his record 60th home run on the final day of the 1927 baseball season.

Three months later, Bill Muncey was gone. And less than a year later, Dean Chenoweth would join Muncey in death. The sun had set on an era.