County fair tractor pulls back in the day

Can anyone remember back, say mid 60’s and 70’s when the so-called horsepower race was going on, if there was any one make or model that was consistently winning its class in the farm stock class? I’m talking roughly from the ~60hp IH656/Oliver 1500/JD3010/ACD17 on up.

I remember an Oliver 1800 here in mid Michigan that nobody could touch. The guy who ran Mason Elevator owned it,called it Big Ollie.

The 70's is what little I remember as the earliest I went ? I think the Olivers were at the top back then.

At the end of the pull's as the last event with the sled all weighted up they would hook up a steam traction engine and proceed to slowly and quietly drag the sled all the way around the track ! This was at Wanye Co. Ohio fair.

I never saw them in person,but seen some pictures of an unlimted weight class must of been in the 60's ? where the 820-830 2cyl. were to of done very well. They would build a platform above and below the tractor and load them up with oil field drill bits and all kinda weight.

That was an 1850 Diesel.

I don't think so,it was an 1800 owned by Jim Berne.

In the early 60s. There were 2 LP 4010s that were tearing up the track. No one could beat them. They were both owned by the same gentleman.

If its like the pulls I've seen very little weight was put on the steam engines when they pulled sometimes they don't even put the weight box in gear.

This was in western Missouri in the late 1960's...

4500 lb class- Wards,101 Massey,WD-45 Allis,77 Oliver,44 Massey

5500 lb class- 65 Massey,88 Oliver,M Farmall.D-17 Allis

7000 lb class- 560 Farmall,180 Allis,Super 90 Massey,1650 Oliver,G MM

9000 lb class- AC 190 XT,1100 Massey,4020 JD,806 IH

12000 lb class- AC 190 XT or D-21,806-856-1206-1256 Farmall.1130 Massey

15,000 lb class-D-21 Allis,1206 Farmall-1256 Farmall,5010 JD,Oliver 1950


I can remember in 1967-1968 when several times the AC-190 XTs's would win the 9000-12000-15000 classes..

Heres some pictures from the Rich Hill,MO pull in Aug 1969..Those were all friends of mine..

The 856 IH won the 12,000 lb class which is the only class he usually pulled...He rarely ever got beat in this class..

A bet was made that he couldnt out pull the D-21 AC in the 15,000 lb class..He was allowed to add some weights and all the people that could ride on the tractor..He made 3 full pulls with the 856 to beat the D-21..This was a walk on sled and it took a road grader to stop them...I was a sled rider and the bottom of the sled was very hot..

I later owned this 856 IH and did lots of pulling with it from 1974-1985..

I think the sled was still setup as it was for the last pulls of the heavy classes and the weight box went clear to the top.

Has anyone ever heard of a "percentage pull". I went to one back in the 60s that had everything on the farm pulling. The biggest tractor there was 806IH. The only reason I remember it is a B-275 won it and I have one. They are never in any pulls that I ever heard of. Most were farmers Super As 8N Fords etc. looked like fun.

I'd pull if I could pull percentage. Only time I ever saw it was on RFD TV,a pull in Arizona.
I'm just not gonna strip or load up,a good antique tractor to make weight.

Nice pics thanks for posting.I like to see old pics from the 60's and 70's.I have some of my Dad pulling his 1968 4020 and a 4320.

Ahhh, the days when the local farmers brought their big hp tractors to town for a county fair pull. Funny thing was, you could drive by their farm and actually see them farming with them too! Those were the days!

Yes,those tractors were all used in the field..The 856 IH in the pictures not only farmed in MO,but every spring was hauled to South Charleston,Ohio to help plant 400 acres of crops..

Also the 806 IH pictured is still a one owner tractor..It was purchased new in 1964 by a 22 year old friend of mine..49 years later he still owns it with the original RD injection pump on it..

Our local clubs do percentage pulls. In south east colorado. One is strictly percentage the other one does one pull percentage the a distance.

I remember my Dad and his buddy riding the sled a few times. They got in for free but were covered in dirt by the end of the night. I doubt if something like that would fly these days.

I can remember the pace tractor. Couldnt go faster than it or disqualified. First pull partisapted in was in 72 at Gallatin Mo with unweighted WC Allis.