05/30/2026
"Mike" McCann, Lisbon Iowa
Maurice Everett McCann 1911-1987
Went by Mike McCann or M.E. McCann
Born at Anamosa IA.- Died Corona CA.
Mike was about 6' tall with red hair, fair skin, & wore glasses
Mike went to Engineering school in the 1930s at Iowa
State University, Ames IA.
Raced a 1920 Harley in the midwest, 1932-1934 era.
Worked at Electro Motoive Corp, LaGrange Ill. & later at
Collins Radio in Cedar Rapids.
Mike had a property on the east edge of Lisbon IA.
He collected & raced sports cars & motorcycles.
He may have done amateur SCCA racing in the '50s-early 60s.
Mike did road racing & Bonneville racing.
Jeff Wiley was working at Pazour's in the mid sixties when he met Mike.
Jeff drag raced & raced at Bonneville & has been telling
me some of Mike's stories.
Some of McCann's cars;
Fiat 124 Sports car hopped up, drove it like a race car on the street.
Hauled his bikes in a red 1960 El Camino.
Porshe 356 coupe that had a factory Carrera engine in it.
Some of the motorcycles Mike owned;
1905 Harley, 1913 Harley single, unknown year mid teens HD racer,
1928 JD, 1930s Harley racer, 1946 EL Knucklehead, Bridgestoe 175,
Norton Manx, NortnInterstate, & a Cyclone racer.
Cyclones are some of the rarest & most valuable motorcycles
in the world reaching $1 million or more today.
In 1923 a guy named Wald Wilingford from Davenport raced a
Cyclone at the Anamosa Memorial Day races.
I wonder if that was the rare machine that Mike owned & later in the 1980s sold.
He raced his Norton Manx at Bonneville once & never ran it there again.
Tom Bruch built a honda suoer 90 with a Porsche smog pump
as a supercharger that Mike rode at Bonneville [unsuccesfully] in
mid '70s wearing Lyle Collingwood's leathers.
Mike sponsored Ray Stearns in '66 or '67 at Daytona on Mike's Bridgestone 175cc.
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At Bonneville Mike became friends with Burt Monroe, "World Fastest Indian".
Along with Rollie Free & other friends they were the pit crew & pushers for Burt's record runs.
Mike wore white pants, shirt, white pith style helmet & painted his
nose with silver oxide to keep from burning in the sun.
He always had a cigar in his mouth.
The Last time Burt showed up to race,about 1974, Earl Flanders AMA referee,
wouldn't allow Burt to race as a streamliner because of rule changes.
Bob Leppen, top speed record holder at 245 mph, had crashed the year before.
Bob's twin engine Triumph streamliner crashed & he was injured causing new
rules of arm restraints & fire suppression & others.
Burt took the shell off & ran as 1000cc open class & went 148 mph!
Burt was told he was too old & frail to be allowed to race again.
The picture with the STP swag was the last time Burt raced !
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--Written by Roger Duffey & Jeff Wiley 2026--
