Roman Warren lived almost 100 years, and obviously he never slowed down much.
At one time or another, Warren was a cowboy, barnstorming pilot, Riverside County supervisor, a sheriff’s deputy, and trainer of American pilots in World War II. He played a role in expanding airmail and airplane passenger service locally, stopped a bank robbery by shooting the robber, operated his own airport, transported Babe Ruth as a passenger, served as a Red Cross leader and once even flew for the Ku Klux Klan.
But even with that resume, if you look up any mention of him on the internet or books, there’s always two words about Warren that always show up – the bridge.
That’s because more than 98 years ago, Warren decided to generate some publicity for himself by announcing he would fly his Thomas-Moore Scout plane beneath the newly completed South Riverside Bridge over the Santa Ana River just below Mount Rubidoux. The arch of the bridge, which has since been replaced by a more modern structure, afforded only 16 feet in height to fly through.
Warren said he got the idea after reading about a French pilot who died trying to fly between the legs of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
He claimed his flight would break the world record for such a stunt and bring him publicity and more income selling rides at his airport, according to his autobiography.
A huge crowd, including newspaper and newsreel photographers, lined the river bank for the June 13, 1926, attempt. After one practice pass in his plane over the top of the bridge, he looped around and then successfully flew under it at 120 mph to the cheers of the crowd, reported the Los Angeles Times, June 14.
Newsreels of the stunt were shown days later at local theaters and elsewhere while photographs were distributed to newspapers all over the nation. One even appeared in the New York Times’ Photogravure Section not long after, wrote Warren’s biographer Robert J. Fitch in his 1998 book, “Roman Warren, Cowboy Aviator.”
It sure got him noticed but it failed to generate anything for him because potential passengers were reluctant to fly with him that day.
“They were scared that I was going to fly under the bridge with them or something,” he recalled in a Nov. 7, 1982 Sun newspaper interview. “I didn’t fly a single passenger that day. I didn’t make a dollar. I went to bed that night just as hungry as I got up in the morning.”
And this wasn’t Warren’s only risky flight of that type.
Years before, he was performing in an air show near Peoria, Illinois, when he dived his biplane to scare the people on an iron bridge over the Illinois River. However, his engine cut off in mid-dive with his only chance of surviving was to fly below the bridge and glide into the water. Just as he ducked under the bridge, the engine restarted, and he managed to fly on to safety. He received many cheers from those who believed he had planned that stunt.
Born in Joliet, Illinois, in 1893, Warren left school at age 10 and took up wandering, first to Montana where he worked as a cowboy and a sheriff’s deputy, and then back to Chicago where he learned to fly, eventually obtaining a war-surplus aircraft. This enabled him to go barnstorming, doing stunts and giving airplane rides to anyone with a few cents to pay him.
About 1923, Warren happened to stop for fuel in Riverside en route flying to Los Angeles. He saw the city and decided to end his wandering days.
In Riverside, he did odd jobs, giving rides and other aerial activities until 1927 when he and two others incorporated what was the Riverside Airport, just across the river from the site of his bridge encounter. It’s known today as Flabob Airport.
Some other notable experiences:
• Warren continued to participate in airplanes but also spent time on horseback. It was here he met Ethel Berry, a skilled horsewoman who joined him in various shows. They later married Dec. 18, 1927 – on horseback, naturally – at his Purple Sash Ranch, adjacent to the airport.
• In his later years, he got involved in politics. An appointed Riverside County deputy sheriff for many years, he twice unsuccessfully ran for sheriff. He was elected a county supervisor for a four-year term in 1952.
• He was deemed too old to fly for the military in World War II but he provided vital service from 1939 to 1945, as a chief civilian instructor for the Cal Aero Academy, at aerial training facilities at Chino, Ontario and the Antelope Valley. He had a role in instructing several thousands Army Air Corps pilots, mostly in Vultee BT-13 Valiant trainers.
• Fitch’s book told of one night in the 1920s when Warren was hired by the Ku Klux Klan to fly over one of its regional gatherings with a battery-powered illuminated cross on the bottom of the plane. Only problem for Warren was that there were no lighted airstrips in the area. He had asked two friends to park their cars and turn on lights at the end of the airport to light up the field. Several other cars showed up and all their lights blinded Warren as he tried to land. He made it down safely but a bit off course, narrowly stopping near a herd of cows.
• In 1926, sheriff’s Deputy Warren was in Los Angeles when he saw a 19-year-old man robbing the California Bank. He immediately engaged the robber in a gun battle. Warren was unharmed but the robber was arrested after being shot three times.
• Legendary Babe Ruth was making appearances in Southern California in January 1927, but with a free morning he came to Redlands to go fishing. Ruth also appeared at the Studebaker dealership in Riverside on the way back. Soon it was obvious it was too late for Ruth to reach Long Beach by car for a scheduled appearance that night. Warren was hired for $20 to fly Ruth back. When the hefty ballplayer poked his elbows through the fabric fuselage, it delayed the takeoff while the holes were repaired, though Warren did get him there on time. Riverside Daily Press columnist Wilbur Fogleman recounted a story by a Detroit writer about the incident saying the plane was hard to handle as it was “tail heavy” on the trip. “The Babe was a load event in those days.”
• Warren moved to Inyo County in his later years and broke a hip in 1990 in Lone Pine. He died in a convalescent hospital there on Aug. 19, 1991.
Warren is buried at Olivewood Cemetery in Riverside. At his services, his daughter talked about how her father was ready for every adventure.
“I have never known anyone who appreciated each new day as much as he did,” said Sylvia Rice. “He eagerly faced each one with his beloved Ethel, and he knew how to take time to reflect at the end of the day. Yes, he stopped to smell the roses. “
Fitch summed up his energy and willingness to take on even difficult aerial tasks.
“He was daring and he was bold,” wrote Fitch. “There is a traditional adage about pilots. It suggests, ‘There are old pilots. There are bold pilots. There are no old, bold pilots.’ One might then describe Roman Warren as a ’cautiously bold pilot.’ He died in bed at the age of 98.”
Joe Blackstock writes on Inland Empire history. He can be reached at joe.blackstock@gmail.com or on X @JoeBlackstock. Check out some of our columns of the past at Inland Empire Stories on Facebook at www.facebook.com/IEHistory.
