George Schuster

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George N. Schuster (1873-1972) was the driver of the American built Thomas Flyer and winner of the 1908 New York to Paris Auto Race The “Great Auto Race” was an International competition comprised of teams representing Germany (Protos), Italy (Briax-Zust), France (3 entries: DeDion-Bouton, Moto Bloc, Sizaire-Naudin) and the United States (Thomas Flyer). Schuster’s victory for the American entry still stands nearly a century later. George was also the first person to drive across the United States during the winter in an automobile.

The 22,000 mile course (13,341 miles driven) started February 12, 1908 in Times Square with a crowd of 250,000 watching the start of what would become a 169 day ordeal. The Race began in mid-winter at a time when there were no snowplows, few roads on the around the world route, unreliable maps, and often little food for the competitors. The original plan was to drive the cars the full distance from New York City to Paris using the frozen Bering Straits to "bridge" the Pacific. This proved impossible, requiring the competitors to cross the Pacific by ship. The Flyer arrived in Paris July 30,1908 to win. Of the six Teams that started the race, only three finished in Paris; the German Protos, the Italian Briax-Zust, and the American Thomas Flyer.

George Schuster's start in the automotive industry was building tubular radiators in October of 1902 for the E.R. Thomas Motor Company at the Buffalo, NY factory. From there George quickly progressed to become the “trouble shooter” for Thomas, in charge of final vehicle assembly and often delivering Thomas autos to their new owners. In the early 1900’s, first time auto owners or their chauffeurs were taught not only how to care for their new machine but often how to drive them by factory or dealer representatives. Schuster was chosen to be part of the Thomas Race Team due to his proven mechanical abilities, which were put to daily use during the Race. George was the only American Team member aboard the Flyer from its start in New York City to the finish in Paris.

Additional details on George Schuster and the 1908 New York to Paris Race can be found at The Great Auto Race