Gerald Roush
Gerald Lee Roush(October 5, 1941 – May 21, 2010) was an Americansports carexpert who specialized inFerraris,with much of his knowledge on the details and histories of the Italian sports cars covered inFerrari Market Letter,a magazine that he published and distributed.
Roush was born on October 5, 1941, inDurango, Colorado,but moved several times during his childhood to locations where his father was assigned byInternational Harvester.While in high school inBirmingham, Alabama,Roush picked up a 1958 issue ofSports Car Illustratedthat featured driverPhil Hill,winner of the1958 24 Hours of Le Mansand a Ferrari 4.9 Superfast, giving birth to an interest that would last a lifetime. While earning degrees in history atAuburn University,Roush started attending car races and shows, where he began tracking details of each Ferrari on 5x7 index cards identified by its serial number, supplemented by details gleaned from classified ads of Ferraris listed for sale in newspapers around the U.S.[1]
He was a history professor atAbraham Baldwin Agricultural Collegefor two years in the mid-1970s, but quit that post to take a job in the parts department of FAF Motorcars, aTucker, GeorgiaFerrari dealership where he was able to add additional information to his growing database of index cards.[2]He started publishing the biweeklyFerrari Market Letterin January 1976 together with his wife in their home and started working full-time on the magazine two years later.[2]Over time,Ferrari Market Letterbecame the paper of record for Ferraris, including a classified ads section that required aVehicle Identification Numberfor each vehicle. He became a specialist in the histories of specific vehicles and would be called on as an expert to provide information about the vehicles in his burgeoning files. By the time of his death Ferrari had manufactured 130,000 vehicles, and Roush had details of the original specifications, later modifications and ownership history of almost all of them.[1]
Roush had owned three Ferraris over the years, but sold them to ensure that there was no conflict of interest when he publishedFerrari Market Letter.[1][3]
A resident ofLilburn, Georgia,Roush died of aheart attackat age 68 on May 21, 2010, after having a stroke in March on his way to a car show.[1]
References
[edit]- ^abcdWeber, Bruce."Gerald Roush, Font of Ferrari Knowledge, Is Dead at 68",The New York Times,May 29, 2010. Accessed May 30, 2010.
- ^abBadie, Rick."Gerald Lee Roush, 68: The" Dear Abby "of the vintage Ferrari world",Atlanta Journal-Constitution,May 24, 2010. Accessed May 30, 2010.
- ^Bendall, Izzi."Enthusiasts say good-bye to Ferrari expert Gerald Lee Roush",AutoWeek,May 25, 2010. Accessed May 30, 2010.