Jan. 3, 2019 – Ernest “Fuzzy” Fassbender died Thursday morning, Jan. 3. He was 90 years old.
Fassbender was a legend on the local racing circuit. He was inducted into the Southeast Wisconsin Short Track Hall of Fame.
Reporter Dave Magnus wrote about Fassbender:
“The popularity of these uniquely crafted, no two looking the same racecars was heightened by the competition and rivalries between the drivers, night in and night out. The popularity skyrocketed in the early 1960s when each car began to carry a caricature of a cartoon character on it next to the car number. The legends were born: Miles Melius of Slinger carried a “Mouse” on his car, the late Billy Johnson Jr. of Slinger was “The Cat,” Fuzzy was “The Hound” and Willie Goeden of St. Michaels was “The Rabbit.”
Racing reporters of the day had fun with headlines in daily papers and racing publications declaring that “The Cat” caught “The Mouse” to win a race, and so on.
Fuzzy drove for many car owners in those days like the late Wally Seiler of Beaver Dam and Dan Bantin of Menomonee Falls, and he enjoyed much success. His skills were in demand behind the wheel of a modified stock car. In 1962 Fuzzy won track championships at Slinger, Cedarburg, Hales Corners and Beaver Dam, en route to the Milwaukee Stock Car Association area point championship which tallied season long points from all four tracks to crown an overall champion.
Click HERE to read the full article by Dave Magnus.
Photo of Fassbender’s purple Gremlin Wisconsin Auto Museum in Hartford is courtesy flickriver
Full obituary details will be posted when information is available.
2015 video of Fassbender is courtesy LocaLeben.
