Flag History | Checkered Flag History |
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| Written by Mark Hochhaus | |
| Monday, 05 March 2007 | |
History of the Checkered Flag The history of the Checkered Flag is hard to nail down. There are no records to refer to, no single governing body that mandated the use of a Checkered Flag to signify the final lap. Despite it’s unclear origin the Checkered Flag has become synonymous with winning. It’s not uncommon to hear the winner of a race to say he got the Checkered Flag rather than saying he won the race, despite the fact that everyone who finished got the Checkered Flag also. The Checkered Flag is one of the most widely used images in racing today. It’s used in logos, autograph photos, magazines and has been integrated into web pages, birthday cakes, drapes, floors and just about a  ny and everything you can think of has sported the Checkered Flag design… Including this web site! Even some software displays a Checkered Flag to indicate that it has been installed completely.Some say the origin of the Checkered Flag came from early dirt track racing. The story is that the only way the women could get the guys to stop for lunch was to wave the table cloth at them witch was of course checkered. Another origin theory is that the Checkered Flag's earliest known use was for 19th century bicycle races in France. The oldest photo of a Checkered Flag being used to end a race was from New York in 1904 during the inaugural Vanderbilt Cup race. Although some say it was in 1906 or 1908. Soon the Checkered flag will be bringing you some of the finest Checkered Flags and other racing flags. Racing flags will range in size form small novelty flags to full size Official flags. You can choose the thickness of the handle to suit your flagging style. Our flags can be customized with your logo, racing number or just about any image you would like to use. Usually the people who are on the podium have their photo taken with the Checkered Flag held up behind them. Many photos are taken of racers as they pass the Checkered Flag. Having your logo custom embroidered on your flags is a must for branding of your events. |
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| Last Updated ( Saturday, 28 April 2007 ) |
