Bernie Little: 1925-2003 - 'He was bigger than life'

All that Dave Villwock said he can remember about the first few days following an almost-fatal flip he suffered in the Miss Budweiser hydroplane in the Tri-Cities in 1997 is the sound of Bernie Little's voice.

"He said, 'You're going to be all right,' " said Villwock, who has driven the Miss Budweiser hydroplane owned by Little since 1997. "He said, 'Don't worry about a thing, you are going to be all right.' I told myself that if Bernie says I'm going to be all right, then I'm going to be all right. To have that voice be the one thing that I can remember between the boat wreck and a day or two later says something."

But that's the kind of power Little could have, both on those who met him, and on the unlimited hydroplane racing circuit he ruled for the past 40 years.

Little, 77, died Friday night of complications related to pneumonia in Lakeland, Fla., after having been in intensive care for the past three months. Little had been ill for much of the last year, missing two races last season after first contracting pneumonia. But after bypassing a race in Tri-Cities, he made it back to Seattle one last time to see the Budweiser win Seafair for the 15th time.

"He was a little like Santa Claus," said Chip Hanauer, who drove for Little from 1992 to 1996. "Just like Santa, he came to Seattle once a year. And like Santa Claus, he was bigger than life."

After buying a hydroplane in 1962 and convincing friend August Busch III to have the Budweiser company sponsor him, Little became the most powerful force in the sport. His Miss Bud teams won 22 national titles, 134 races and 14 Gold Cups, all records.

"I think he impacted hydroplane racing more than any one personality ever," Hanauer said. "More than any other person, he made it what it is."

Little was born in McComb, Ohio, on Oct. 7, 1925, and became an entrepreneur at an early age, operating morning and evening newspaper routes as a youth and working as a caddie. He later served in the Navy during World War II. He took over an auto dealership in Miami in 1954 and another one in Tampa in 1957 and also performed as a stunt pilot for the All-Miami Air Show.

In 1962, he was introduced to hydroplane racing by band leader Guy Lombardo — in town filming a movie — and later that year, traded a cabin cruiser for his own boat.

He didn't win his first race until 1966 in the Tri-Cities. But once he started winning, he didn't want to stop, and he did whatever it took to keep winning, causing many to call his team the "New York Yankees" of the sport. By last season, the Bud team was reported to have a budget of roughly $3 million, or at least three times that of any other boat team.

He also helped persuade Budweiser to become a sponsor or co-sponsor of many races and the tour itself, as well as the tour's TV packages.

His power made him, Hanauer said, both loved and hated in the pits, with many charging that the Bud's dominance hurt the sport.

"Sports is all about drama, and he added that," Hanauer said. "You need someone to love and someone to hate, and he was that guy. But he always said he didn't care if you pulled for him or were against him as long as you were emotionally involved."

To that end, Little was one of the sport's greatest ambassadors. Reporters looked forward to his sessions every race, where he held court in his air-conditioned bus that was a staple of the tour. And he and the Bud would serve lunch for everyone in the pits on race weekends.

Villwock said he always feared that many race fans saw only the gruff, win-at-all-cost side of Little.

"He was very competitive and he always said that whatever it takes to win, we will do," Villwock said. "But he was quite a bit different on the inside. He spent more time telling you to slow down than he ever spent telling you to speed up."

When asked about Little's competitiveness, Hanauer remembered a story he heard. Apparently, Little's wife, Jane, told Bernie one day in the car that he couldn't stop smoking. "They were in a convertible," Hanauer said. "He threw the cigarettes out of the car and he never smoked again."

Hanauer said Little had made a conscious decision to take better care of himself as he got older.

But fear in the pits about Little's health — and the future of the Bud team and the sport itself — grew last summer when he missed those two races, including the Gold Cup, the most prestigious race on the circuit.

After returning for the Seattle race, Little went on television and said that his son, Joe, would take over the Bud team when he was gone, ensuring a smooth transition.

Villwock said yesterday: "That is still the plan as far as I know. Nobody has told me anything different."

Hanauer said Little's boat was the first foray into sports sponsorship for Anheuser-Busch and that he thinks that tradition alone will keep the company in the sport.

But Hanauer said he also thinks Little's passing might force the sport to change. It has long been thought by many in the sport that the Bud's dominance has scared away other sponsors from getting involved.

"The sport has stayed at the Anheuser-Busch trough for a long time and hasn't diversified into other sponsors," Hanauer said. "Maybe some new people will come in now. Only time will tell."

Little had been married to Jane Little for 59 years and they had three children. Memorial services will be held Tuesday at First United Methodist Church in Lakeland, Fla. The family has asked that contributions be made to the Lakeland Regional Medical foundation and the Watson Clinic Foundation.