Al Unser

Alfred "Al" Unser (born May 29, 1939) is an American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser, Jr.. Now retired, he is the second of three men to have won the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race four times, the fourth of five to have won the race in consecutive years, and won the National Championship in 1970, 1983, and 1985. He is the only person to have both a sibling (Bobby) and child (Al Jr.) as fellow Indy 500 winners. Al's nephews Johnny and Robby Unser have also competed in that race.

After his son Al Jr. joined the top circuit in 1983, Unser has generally been known by the retronymic name of "Al Unser, Sr." or "Big Al."

Personal life

Unser was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the youngest of four brothers. His father Jerry Unser and two uncles, Louis and Joe, were also drivers. Beginning in 1926 they competed in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, an annual road race held in Colorado.

Joe Unser became the first member of the Unser clan to lose his life to the sport, killed while test-driving an FWD Coleman Special on the Denver highway in 1929.

Al Unser (disambiguation)

Al Unser may refer to:

See also

Al Unser (baseball)

Albert Bernard Unser (October 12, 1912 – July 7, 1995) was a Major League Baseball catcher who played for the Detroit Tigers (1942–1944) and Cincinnati Reds (1945). He was a native of Morrisonville, Illinois and the father of MLB center fielder Del Unser.

Biography

Although Unser's major league career was short, he had a lengthy career in minor league baseball. He began his professional career in 1933, playing for three different minor league teams that season. He was picked up by the St. Louis Cardinals organization in 1934, playing in their farm system until 1940. In 1939, he served as manager of the class-D Gastonia Cardinals of the Tar Heel League, guiding them to the league championship.

In 1941, Unser joined the Tigers' farm system, spending that season with the Beaumont Exporters of the Texas League. He spent most of the 1942 season as a player-manager with the Winston-Salem Twins of the Piedmont League, and at the end of the season he joined the major league club. Unser became one of many baseball players who only appeared in the major leagues during World War II, making his major league debut at age 29 on September 14, 1942 in a home game against the Washington Senators at Briggs Stadium.

Al Unser III

Alfred Richard Unser ("Just Al" or "Al Unser III") (born October 23, 1982, in Albuquerque, New Mexico) is a professional race car driver in the United States, who competed in the 2008 Firestone Indy Lights Series through the Firestone Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May.

Family connections

Al Unser III is the son of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser, Jr., grandson of Al Unser, Sr., and grandnephew of Bobby Unser. Another granduncle, Jerry Unser, died in practice for the 1959 race. First-cousins-once-removed (his father's cousins) Robby and Johnny also drove in the Indianapolis 500.

During his young childhood years, he was often nicknamed "Mini Al" by the media and fans, all with the anticipation that he would undoubtedly follow in his family's footsteps to race. His grandfather (Al Unser, Sr.) became known as "Big Al," his father (Al Unser, Jr.) for a time became known as "Little Al," and Al III thus became known as "Mini Al." When starting his professional career, he has since abandoned any sort of nickname, and has insisted on being referred to as Just Al (i.e., Al Unser), or by his full name, Al Richard Unser.