I think the average man TODAY is 5'9"-5'10", so back then it was probably more like 5'7".

I read just recently that the average man is now like 185, and that was up almost 50 lbs from just before WW2.

So upon further review, you might be right that it was that other fella, because Wadlow probably would have dwarfed the other guy by an even greater margin.

In any case, a great old photo.

NDG

I, with Sara’s permission, have found and reached out to descendants of Al Tomaini. They confirm that it is likely Al in the photo. And the photo is new to them since it was in the Lefever Family. They are looking into things more on their end to verify the NY connection in that time period.

Wonder what the odds are if in all likelihood it is Tomaini and family knows where that gun is? Great family heirloom and history story though.

B. Dudley,

Way to go! Awesome history.

- NDG

The car is a 1939 LaSalle.
And Frank Lefever died in 1950. So that gives you a window for dating the photo. 1940s.

Cool - I had a ‘39 LaSalle transmission in my Olds 394-powered ‘31 Ford.

He was probably too tall for military service in WW II





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I believe the car in the photo is a 41 Studebaker Champion. If you look at the fender air vent and the drivers side mirror it looks more like a Studebaker. The Cadilac Lasalle mirrors were a lot more fancy. I may be wrong but curious what other car guys think. Thomas

I labored over identifying that car for a long tine last night. Trust me, it’s a lasalle. 1939.

The lines of the window/roof, the style of the running boards and front fender, the trim under the hood and the box on the fender and the hub caps are all ‘39 lasalle. The only thing that i found that conflicts that is the pillar post. Most examples of Lasalle coupes i could find had an angled pillar. The straight pillar was on the sedans. But that is a coupe.

I have not been able to find some definitive info on a variation between lasalle models for that year that may explain the straight post on that car.

But... i was thinking that maybe the car was a special order body that had a larger cab but in the coupe style given that His height was 7-1/2 feet, special accomodations must have been needed.

Well, I was on the right track with a '39 Lasalle, but not exactly correct.

I got in contact the the curator of the Cadillac/Lasalle museum. He reviewed the 3 photos that there are of the car and confirmed it to be a 1939 Cadillac model 7557 Coupe. Without the commonly found passenger side mounted spare tire. The 7557 Coupe had the longer door and straight B pillar which are the features that were not matching the Lasalle for me.

He noted that the 7557 Coupe would have had a much larger forward passenger compartment than the Lasalle coupe and provided a more comfortable ride for Tomaini with his height.

The 7557 Coupe appears to have been more of the less frequently ordered model as many went for the larger sedan or the convertible if buying a smaller model.


So, based on Frank Lefever's death (mid 1950), the definitive time frame of the photo is the 1940's. Based on what we know now...

Another tidbit of information on the 7557 coupe for the car people out here. It was a pretty rare one. The 7557 was a coupe built specifically on the larger wheelbase chassis/body that was used for the V-16 powered cars. But the 7557 was outfitted with a V-8.

So, the people that may have ordered the 7557 would be someone who wanted a large coupe with the smaller engine. And that equated to not that many people.