The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
When you come from a town like La Harpe, you don't expect to talk to a 5 time World Series Champion and expect him to know details from a moment of history from this little town. A town that most people have never heard of outside of La Harpe.
Since graduating from high school in 1999, I have lived in Champaign, Toledo, OH, Ann Arbor, MI, and Indianapolis, IN. The questions I get the most when I tell people where I'm from are, "Where is that in regards to Chicago?" and "What interstate is that next to?" Next to? Ahhh?
Have you ever looked at a map to see that La Harpe is probably one of the furthest cities from an interstate in the state of Illinois?
When you hear of Fred Gibb, you may think of, or even remember Fred Gibb Chevrolet. Or if you're like me, you know of the 1969 Camaro ZL1. The car that Fred Gibb convinced Chevy to produce. That car is one of the most desirable and expensive of the Camaro's, and its history started exclusively right here in La Harpe.
Other than that knowledge, I don't know much about how the car came to be. But I spoke with one man who knew all those details and a lot more. Mr. October, Reggie Jackson.
Reggie Jackson. The same man who helped the Oakland Athletics win 3 consecutive World Series in 1972-74, and two World Series with the New York Yankees in 1977 and "78.
He is in the exclusive club of players who have hit over 500 home runs with a total of 563. His numbers are retired with the Athletics and Yankees, and he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1993.
Any mention of baseball greats from that era and his name will be mentioned with the likes of Pete Rose and Johnny Bench. So what are the odds that someone with his credentials would even know a town like La Harpe exists?
In 2012 I attended the Mecum car auction in Indianapolis. To my surprise, I spotted the Fred Gibb car. The first production car of the ZL1. Many of you have seen it as it's been brought back to town several times for the annual car show held in August.
That year at the Mecum car auction, the car brought only $400,000. Not a cheap number by any means but a steal for a car with the history it has. The rumor that I heard at that time was that Mr. Jackson was the one who won the car on behalf of one of his friends.
After hearing that news, I did some research and found out that Jackson was a pretty serious car collector. He favored Chevy's it seemed. I had a completely different respect for him after that. But I never did hear whatever happened to that Fred Gibb car officially.
This year in mid-May, my dad, Richard Wood and I went to the 2018 Mecum Auction in Indy again. When we arrived, I spotted Jackson sitting at a table signing autographs.
He had 18 of his cars up for auction. 7 Corvette's, 3 Camaro's, one of which is a Yenko, 3 Chevelle's, a Bel Air, a GTO, an El Camino, a Nova, and a Chevy 150.
Watching Jackson sign autographs, it appeared he was just going through the motions. Signing, taking photos, signing, shaking hands, etc.
He didn't seem engaged and almost appeared that he was there under obligation. After getting my autograph I asked for a photo, which he obliged.
After the photo, I asked him if he was the one who purchased the Fred Gibb #1 car. I told him I was from La Harpe, IL and had been wondering if it was him who got that winning bid in 2012.
He said he did not, but says that he sees that car at a car show every year. I do not remember the show he was talking about, I was too star stuck.
But at that moment, his whole demeanor changed. Someone was talking to him about his passion, and his passion is connected to La Harpe.
He told me that he did not purchase that particular #1 ZL1, but he did "own a blue 1969 ZL1" at one point. Again, I do not remember if he told me the number of it. I brought up that the ZL1 was "born" in my hometown, and at that point, I realized that Mr. October knew more about the history of the ZL1 than I did.
He told me the date that the cars were delivered, how many were on the first trainload, how many cars were agreed upon, how many were sold through the Fred Gibb dealership, how many were shipped back, and how many other dealers sold.
While he may not be able to point to La Harpe on a map, and never knew Fred Gibb personally, he knew of Gibb and the history of the ZL1 Camaro and its connection to La Harpe.
Something that I can say without a doubt that I have never spoken to anyone outside of La Harpe about. Sure, some know that the ZL1 Camaro exists, but no one would have any more information beyond that.
Looking back though the photos that my dad took of me having a conversation with Reggie Jackson, you can see his whole mood change on his face.
He was talking about something he loved to talk about, and it was amazing to hear a baseball great talk about La Harpe like that.
Dustin Wood
mail@dustinwood.com