Tyrone’s trucking life
Known as the ‘King of Truckers’, Tyrone spent 20 years of his life on the road. For 17 of them, he worked for Bandag, one of the largest international transport companies. But in 1963, this trucker hatched a strange and ultimately brilliant new plan. Sitting in a bar one night, he traced his plans on a napkin, in an attempt to cajole his friend, Warren Foletta, into agreeing to his crazy plan.
Of Whales and Trucks
Tyrone came up with the idea of combining marine conservation awareness with transportation work. His strange plan was to obtain a sperm whale, freeze it and transport it around the world. And he did exactly that!
Tyrone approached a ship captain and hired his services, along with a ship. He obtained a whaling permit from the United States Department of the Interior and soon headed out to sea in search of a whale. He hunted a 20-tonne whale, triumphantly brought it to shore, froze it, and loaded it onto his truck to begin a 30-year transportation work mission that would take him around the world with his whale, Little Irvy, in tow.
Tyrone must have been a salesman at heart, as he managed to convince sea captains, government departments, and shipping companies to help him on his mission. He approached Kenworth, a trucking company, to let him use their 1967 10-wheeler. He then built a trailer to transport little Irvy and he was all set.
Tyrone and Little Irvy toured the United States, Canada and Europe, stopping at fairs and car shows so that the magnificent view of a sperm whale on a truck could be seen at 35c a view. Tyrone saw it as something for the whole family, where the men could enjoy their large display truck, while the women could see the magnificent sea creature.
Continuing his desire to combine marine life with work for shipping companies, Tyrone also caught and loaded 3 sharks, which were frozen and put on display similar to Little Irvy.
Tyrone’s tragic end
After attending a meeting in Phoenix to discuss plans to create a ‘Trucking Hall of Fame’, Tyrone fell asleep at the wheel on his return trip. He tragically died and his plans to create a truck museum where he could display his trucks and their frozen sea animals were never completed. And all that remains as a testament to Tyrone’s life of brilliant transportation work is the frozen 20-ton whale, Little Irvy.