Earl Dew (May 2, 1921 – February 2, 1941) was an American champion jockey in

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

who was being hailed as one of the most promising riders of his generation when he died at age 19 in a racing accident.

Early life

Earl Dew was born in

Sac City, Iowa Sac City is a city in and the county seat of Sac County, Iowa, United States, located just southwest of the eastern intersection of U.S. Routes 20 and 71 in the rolling hills along the valley of the North Raccoon River. The city is one of 45 ...

, the son of John Dew and his wife Mable Hass. His father raced horses in the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

and Earl, under his father's tutelage, learned to ride at an early age.

Career

He began his professional career in 1937 and by 1938 was making a name for himself when he competed at tracks such as

Sportsman's Park Sportsman's Park was the name of several former Major League Baseball ballpark structures in St. Louis, Missouri. All but one of these were located on the same piece of land, at the northwest corner of Grand Boulevard and Dodier Street, on t ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. Later that year, Dew was the leading rider at

Fair Grounds Race Course Fair Grounds Race Course, often known as New Orleans Fair Grounds, is a thoroughbred racetrack and racino in New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana. It is operated by Churchill Downs Louisiana Horseracing Company, LLC. The ''Carrollton Race Cours ...

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

until he was sidelined with a broken leg as a result of a November 29 racing accident. In 1939, Dew rode at

Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious race ...

, Bay Meadows and Tanforan in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, plus at

Agua Caliente Racetrack Agua means water in Spanish. Agua may also refer to: Places * ''Agua de Dios'' (God's water), a municipality in Colombia * Volcán de Agua, a stratovolcano located in Guatemala Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Agua'' (film), a 2006 Argentin ...

Tijuana, Mexico Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...

Championship year

In 1940, Dew captivated

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

n racing fans when he and fellow 19-year-old jockey Walter Lee Taylor battled for that year's riding title and were tied with two days left on the calendar. In what ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' described as the "Transcontinental Struggle for American Championship," Dew was competing at

in Tijuana, Mexico, and Taylor at

Tropical Park Race Track Tropical Park Race Track was a horse racing facility built on at the current intersection of Bird Road and the Palmetto Expressway in Southwest Dade Miami part of metropolitan Miami, Florida and what is now Olympia Heights. The race track w ...

Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida and is located southwest of Greater Downtown Miami, Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

. On the final day, Earl Dew captured the 1940 national championship with 287 wins, one more than his opponent who had been injured in a fall during the same day. The January 16, 1941 ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' reported that Dew said the best horse he rode in 1940 was

Mioland Mioland (1937–1951) was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred in Oregon by H. W. Ray, he was out of the mare Iolanda. His German-born sire was Mio D'Arezzo, a winner of the Deutsches St. Leger who had been imported to stand at ...

, a colt bred and raced that year by a man named H. W. Ray. On January 7, 1941, Iowa native sons Earl Dew and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

star

Bob Feller Robert William Andrew Feller (November 3, 1918 – December 15, 2010), nicknamed "the Heater from Van Meter", "Bullet Bob", and "Rapid Robert", was an American baseball pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Clevel ...

were honored at ceremonies in the state capital of

Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

. On February 2, Dew was at the Agua Caliente Racetrack for a gold watch presentation in recognition of his 1940 jockey's championship clinched at that track. He was riding in the sixth race when he was involved in a three-horse accident and died while en route to hospital of a

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as hemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain (i.e. the parenchyma), into its ventricles, or into both. An ICH is a type of bleeding within the skull and one kind of stro ...

resulting from a

fractured skull A skull fracture is a break in one or more of the eight bones that form the cranial portion of the skull, usually occurring as a result of blunt force trauma. If the force of the impact is excessive, the bone may fracture at or near the site of t ...

. On March 3 a special ceremony was held in his memory at

Death

Dew was killed on February 2, 1941, in a horse race in

Tijuana Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...

, Mexico.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dew, Earl 1921 births 1941 deaths American jockeys American Champion jockeys Jockeys who died while racing People from Sac City, Iowa Sport deaths in Mexico