R.A. and F.D. Stranahan are essentially the founders of Champion Spark Plug Company. Sort of. At the very least, they ended up with the patent on the Champion name which they legally and wisely used to eventually create the largest spark plug manufacturing company in the world. But it certainly didn’t start out that way. More than 20 thousand dollars in debt, and with a company that was fledgling along at best, the brothers had little choice but to move to Toledo when Willys-Overland Motor Company offered R.A. and F.D. a contract under which Champion would become the exclusive spark plug of automobiles manufactured at Willys-Overland. The deal came with the stipulation that the Stranahans must make Toledo their home, the same city Willys-Overland called home. About two years later, Ford Motor Company, under the direction of its founder Henry Ford, offered up a similar contract. In no time, R.A. and F.D. paid off their debt and eventually made a fortune beyond their wildest dreams. But there’s more to the story, which is why we’re going to back up to 1905 when French track bicycle racer Albert Champion incorporated the Albert Champion Company in Boston to make porcelain spark plugs with his name on them. His partners were, you guessed it, R.A. and F.D. Stranahan. From here it gets a little fuzzy. Whether Champion was forced out or left on his own accord, Champion left the company while the Stranahan brothers retained ownership of the Champion patent/name. It wasn’t until 1922 that Albert Champion changed to AC Spark Plug Company, named after his initials (AC), after settling out of court with the Stranahans, his original partners in the Albert Champion Company. In other words, Champion could not legally use his own name going forward, which is why he opted for his initials while R.A. and F.D. marched off in the sunset with the Champion brand.