(This story was originally written and recorded for Retrocast #31, released on January 23, 2025.)
57 firefighters found themselves in a peculiar situation after winning a Cadillac in a charity raffle held on May 20, 1960. The firefighters, all members of the West Orange, New Jersey Fire Department, had each chipped in $2 (~$21 today) to buy a $100 ticket (~$1,050) for the raffle, which was sponsored by the West Orange Rotary Club. 57 x $2 = $114, so the additional $14 was donated to the Rotary.
When they discovered they had won the car, they couldn’t agree on how to split the prize among so many winners. Cutting the Cadillac into 57 pieces certainly wasn’t the best option…
Most of the firefighters were willing to sell the car and split the profits, but a minority wanted to hold a raffle of their own, with the car as the prize. They hired assistant West Orange town attorney Louis Landau to advise them, but he warned them that conducting a private lottery was illegal in New Jersey.
Another solution was to sell the car back to the dealer. While the car had a retail price of $5,400 (~$56,500 today), the Rotary had paid $4,600 for the car, but the dealer only offered $4,200 (nearly $44,000) to take it back. The firefighters turned down the offer.
Next thing you know, the matter ended up in the lap of Superior Court Judge Nelson K. Mintz. He ordered the firefighters to find a buyer for the car and report back to him on July 12th of that year.
That’s when Robert Doran, manager of Pace Motors, an East Orange used car firm, read about the firefighters’ plight in a local newspaper. He contacted their attorney Lando and offered to buy the Cadillac for $4,400. Split 57 ways, each firefighter would receive about $77 each (~$810 today).
this is the most useless thing i have ever read!