Ohio inventions and firsts · Company innovation · 1905-1910
Champion Spark Plug Company, Toledo
Albert Champion started the Albert Champion Company in Boston in June 1905, and by 1907 it was making porcelain spark plugs stamped Champion, with the Stranahan brothers working in the business. In 1908 Champion went to Flint, Michigan, to make plugs for Buick (the firm that became AC Spark Plug), and in 1910 the Champion Spark Plug Company moved to Toledo, where it grew into one of the world's largest plug makers.
At a glance
- Year
- 1905-1910
- By
- Albert Champion, Frank D. Stranahan, Robert A. Stranahan
- Company
- Champion Spark Plug Company
- Place
- Toledo, Lucas County ZIP 43604 · Toledo · Lucas County
The story
A spark plug is a small part with a big job: it lights the fuel in every cylinder, and early plugs failed often. Albert Champion, a French bicycle racer who came to the United States in 1899, worked on better ones.
Champion founded his company in June 1905 in Boston's Cyclorama Building, importing French electrical parts. Frank D. Stranahan was its treasurer, his brother Spencer a clerk, and their younger brother Robert joined in the stockroom. By 1907 the company was making porcelain spark plugs with the name Champion stamped on the side.
In 1908 William Durant of Buick set Champion up in Flint, Michigan to make plugs for Buick. Champion formed the Champion Ignition Company, but the Stranahans held the Champion Spark Plug trademark and objected, so he renamed it AC Spark Plug, after his initials. General Motors acquired AC in 1927.
In 1910 the Champion Spark Plug Company relocated to Toledo, close to the Willys-Overland Auto Company, and Toledo stayed its manufacturing home for decades. By some accounts it became the largest spark plug maker in the world.
Timeline
- 1905-06: Albert Champion founds the Albert Champion Company in Boston, with Frank Stranahan as treasurer. (Boston, MA) source
- 1907: The company is making porcelain spark plugs stamped Champion. (Boston, MA) source
- 1908: Champion Ignition Company is formed in Flint, Michigan; later renamed AC Spark Plug. (Flint, MI) source
- 1910: The Champion Spark Plug Company relocates to Toledo, Ohio. (Toledo, OH) source
- 1927: General Motors acquires AC Spark Plug. (Flint, MI) source
What it changed
- By some accounts it became the world's largest spark plug maker.
Why it matters
Plugs for the Spirit of St. Louis and early cars.
Worth knowing
Albert Champion started the original Boston company in 1905, so he did help found Champion. The Toledo firm that kept the Champion name was the Stranahan family's, and Champion went on to AC in Flint, Michigan.
Further reading
Sources
Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.
