Johnson Makes the Team #1

Young Tommy Johnson learns about the history of B.F. Goodrich rubber innovations from his father, who shares stories of famous rubber "firsts" ranging from the 1896 first inflated tire for automobiles through the 1947 puncture-sealing tubeless tire. The narrative pivots to a wartime crisis when Japan's conquest of Far Eastern rubber sources cuts off America's supply, prompting Washington officials and industrialists to urgently develop man-made rubber production to meet military machine needs. The story concludes with American-made synthetic rubber finally being produced to fulfill the nation's defense requirements during World War II.