Talk Back

[edting]

Back in the 1890s, bicycle racing was the most popular spectator sport in America, surpassing baseball, football, and horse racing. Tens of thousands gathered to watch the latest heroes of the track and road. And the biggest star of the era was a quiet unassuming man named Major Taylor.

What makes all of this interesting is that Major Taylor was black. In addition to having to train and race, he had to face the racism inherent in the era. White riders routinely fouled him, boxed him in, or ran him into the rail. He received a number of letters threatening to kill him if he won any more races. Even when he did win, promoters would sometimes refuse to pay him the prize money, on the grounds that it was demeaning to give money to a black man.

Through all of this, Major Taylor never raised his voice, never complained. In spite of his obstacles, his list of achievements is impressive. At one point in time he held seven world records, including the coveted one-mile sprint time (at a 35+ mph average, this time would make him competitive even today.) When he went to Europe, he was hailed as a hero. France had essentially no black underclass at the time, so Taylor was not a threat to the upper classes. He was given first rate treatment, including endorsement deals, unusual for the time, and unheard of for a black athlete. He beat every major champion in Europe and Australia.

In his later years, as the world turned its interests to automobile and motorcycle racing, the public lost its interest in bicycles. Taylor, past his prime, made some disastrous investments and lost his fortune. His wife and daughter abandoned him, and he was forced to sell his prized possession, the house in Worcester Massachusetts in an affluent white neighborhood. He died penniless in a YMCA in Chicago in 1932.

This is a great story and someone should make a movie out of it. I understand there is a newer Major Taylor bio out there, and I intend to locate it.

[jeffp]

Hey Ed... I don't remember that you were into bike racing back in college. Was I totally out of it, or is that a new(er) thing since we graduated?

--jeffp

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