“Pioneer” trivia tidbit: 1995 winner: the “Ingraham Hotel”

Local Victoria businessman Len Ingraham inherited his father Victor’s Douglas St. “Ingraham Hotel” just over a year after the establishment’s opening in June of 1960. Sharing his Dad’s love of local sports and their promotion, he carried on where his father had left off and soon established Victoria’s newest hotel and pub as a favourite “watering hole” for many of the city’s sports teams and organizations, providing not only a place to gather following sporting events, but support which included financial sponsorships. This included auto racing and in 1967, Len offered the “Vancouver Island Track Racing Association” (VITRA) which co-sanctioned racing at Western Speedway at that time, one of the hotel’s large meeting rooms at no cost to the club. This benevolent gesture was made back many times over in the years that followed when scores of thirsty racers would troop upstairs to the hotel’s pub for rounds of “Labatts” draft beer and food following the club’s monthly meetings! In addition, several race teams received monetary sponsorships in return for the hotel’s name and distinctive “cat” logo being displayed on their cars. These practices were continued by new owners following Len’s sale of the “Ingy” in 1972.