Marshall Taylor
Encyclopedia
Marshall Walter "Major" Taylor (26 November 1878 – 21 June 1932) was an American
cyclist who won the world 1 miles (1.6 km) track cycling
championship in 1899 after setting numerous world records and overcoming racial discrimination
. Taylor was the first African-American athlete to achieve the level of world champion and only the second black man to win a world championship—after Canadian boxer
George Dixon
.
veteran and Saphronia Kelter, who had migrated from Louisville, Kentucky
with their large family to a farm in rural Indiana
. He was one of eight children, five girls and three boys. Taylor's father was employed in the household of a wealthy Indiana
family, the Southards, as a coachman, where Taylor was also raised and educated. When Taylor was a child, his father would bring him to work. The employer had a son, Dan Southard, who was the same age and the two boys became close friends. Taylor later moved in with the family and was able to live a more advantaged life than his parents could provide.
This period of living and learning at the Southard house lasted from the time he was eight until he was 12 when the Southards moved to Chicago
and Taylor "was soon thrust into the real world."
At age 12, Taylor received his first bicycle from the Southards and became such an expert trick rider that a local bike shop owner, Tom Hay, hired him to stage exhibitions and perform cycling stunts outside his bicycle shop. The name of the shop was Hay and Willits. The compensation was $6 a week, plus a free bike worth $35. Taylor performed the stunts wearing a soldier's uniform, hence the nickname "Major."
When he was 13 in 1891, Taylor won his first race, an amateur event in Indianapolis
. Two years later, in 1893 at age 15, Taylor beat the 1 miles (1.6 km) amateur track record where he was "hooted" and then barred from the track because of his color.
. The 10 miles (16.1 km) event took place in Brooklyn, New York on Ocean Parkway and was called the Citizen Handicap. Major Taylor listed his address as Worcester, Massachusetts
and rode with a 1:30 handicap in a field of 200. There were nine scratch riders.
"came amid the racial threats of his white competitors." Shortly afterward, he relocated to Massachusetts
with the help of his benefactor, Louis D. "Birdie" Munger, who was to become his lifelong friend and mentor, to a more tolerant area of the country.
As an African-American, Taylor was banned from bicycle racing in Indiana once he started winning and made a reputation as "The Black Cyclone". In 1896, he moved from Indianapolis to Worcester, Mass., then a center of the United States bicycle
industry with half a dozen factories and 30 bicycle shops, to work as a bicycle mechanic
in the Worcester Cycle Manufacturing Company factory, owned by Louis D. "Birdie" Munger where he was a racer for Munger's team. Taylor first worked for Munger in Indianapolis
and along the line, Munger "made up his mind to make Taylor a champion."
Taylor's first east coast race was in a League of American Wheelmen 1 miles (1.6 km) race in New Haven, where he started in last place but won.
who kept track of Taylor throughout his 17-year racing career.
Beginning on December 5, 1896 and ending on December 12, Taylor participated in a six-day cycle race in Madison Square Garden
where 5,000 people attended. The event was an indoor cycle meet and Taylor had achieved enough notoriety to be listed among the "American contestants" which included A. A. Hansen, the Minneapolis "rainmaker" and Teddy Goodman. Many "experts from abroad" participated such as Albert Schock of Switzerland, Frank Waller, Frank Forster and Ed von Hoeg of Germany, and B. W. Pierce of Canada. Several countries were represented including Scotland, Wales, France, England and Denmark.
The main feature of the meet was the six-day race, however, several other events were of "full interest" such as the 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) race between Jay Eaton and Teddy Goodman. Also, of interest, the 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) scratch and the 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) handicap for professionals. Additionally, there were 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) scratch and handicap for amateurs.
Taylor entered the race and listed his address as South Brooklyn, New York. It was his first professional race and he won the final heat by 105 feet (32 m) over A. C. Meixwell of Philadelphia and E. C. Bald, scratch rider representing Syracuse, New York
and riding a Barnes bicycle. Taylor lapped the entire field during the 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) handicap race.
At the Blue Ribbon Meet of the Bostonian Cycle Club hosted on May 19, 1897, Taylor won first place in the 1 miles (1.6 km) open professional on a Comet bicycle.
Although he is listed in the Middletown town directory in 1896, it is not known how long he still resided there after he became a professional racer. He eventually settled in Worcester, Massachusetts
(where the newspapers called him "The Worcester Whirlwind"), marrying there and having a daughter, although his career required him to spend a large amount of time traveling in America
, Australia
, and Europe
.
By 1898, he held seven world records at distances from 0.25 mile (0.402335 km) to 2 miles (3.2 km) and he placed first in 29 of 49 races in which he competed. No one else came close to that record. Taylor was entitled to recognition as national champion but formation of a new cycling league that year "clouded" his claim to the title.
During 1899 he won the world championship, preceded only by boxing bantamweight George Dixon as an African-American world champion in any sport.
In one six week period in 1899, Taylor established seven world records. These included the 0.25 mile (0.402335 km), 0.33 mile (0.5310822 km), 0.5 mile (0.80467 km), 0.66 miles (1.1 km), 0.75 miles (1.2 km), 1 miles (1.6 km) and the 2 miles (3.2 km). He did the mile from a standing start in 1:41, a record that stood for 28 years.
for the 1899 season with his friend, mentor and manager, Louis "Birdie" Munger to sign a contract with E. C. Stearns Company
. Taylor, Munger and sponsor, Harry Sager had arrived in the city to enter into negotiations with the Olive Wheel Company, however, they were able to work out a more lucrative contract with Stearns who agreed to build Taylor's bicycles using the Sager gear chainless mechanism designed by Harry Sager. The bikes only weighed about 20 pounds (9.1 kg) and had an 88 inches (2,235.2 mm) gear for sprinting and a 120 inches (3,048 mm) gear for longer, paced runs.
Stearns also agreed to build Taylor a "revolutionary" steam-powered pacing tandem "behind which he could attack world records and challenge the leading exponents of paced racing." Although the pacing tandem was temperamental, Taylor easily broke the world record of 1 miles (1.6 km) in 01:19 at a speed of 45.56 miles per hour (20.4 m/s) and beat his competitor, Eddie McDuffie on November 15, 1899.
After the 1899 world championship, many claims were made that the whole thing was a farce because Taylor had "not competed with the strongest riders." The world records, however, showed the record and were impossible to dismiss. No other rider that year had come close to his fast performances and the "range and variety" of his victories which included 22 first places in major championship races around the country, the League of American Wheelmen Championship which he won on points, world champion in Montreal
, and the defense of his own world record in two "strenuous record-breaking campaigns."
in Fitchburg, Massachusetts
and won the 1 miles (1.6 km) sprint world championship by a lead of one wheel in a "thrilling" race at Montreal, Canada. He placed second in the 2 miles (3.2 km) sprint and won the 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) championship.
, who was nicknamed the "Little Dayton Demon," raced for the Stearns Yellow Fellow team during the same period as Taylor. Kiser became a two time world cycling champion and competed all across Europe in the late 1890s. Kiser gave support to Taylor after he was barred from most national races. Kiser petitioned to have him included and Taylor went on to become the world sprint champion in 1899 and 1900. He was the first African-American from the United States to win a world title.
Taylor participated in a European tour in 1902 where he entered 57 races and won 40 of them, defeating the champions of Germany
, England
and France
.
Besides racing in Europe
, Taylor also competed in Australia
and New Zealand
, although because he was very religious, never on Sunday. He always carried a catechism and began each race with a silent prayer and refused to compete on the Sabbath.
During February 1903, Taylor was competing in the Sydney (New South Wales
) handicap for a $5,000 prize and the headline flashed worldwide was "Rich Cycle Race."
. Among the treatments they supplied was nitroglycerine, a drug used to stimulate the heart after cardiac attacks and which was credited with improving riders' breathing.
Riders suffered hallucinations from the exhaustion and perhaps the drugs. Taylor refused to continue one New York
race, saying: "I cannot go on with safety, for there is a man chasing me around the ring with a knife in his hand."
, Taylor's career was still held back by racism
, particularly in the Southern states
where he was not permitted to compete against Caucasians. The League of American Wheelmen for a time excluded blacks from membership. Other prominent bicycle racers of the era, such as Tom Cooper
and Eddie Bald
, often cooperated to ensure Taylor's defeat. During his career he had ice water thrown at him during races, and nails scattered in front of his wheels, and was often boxed in by other riders, preventing the sprints to the front of the pack at which he was so successful.
In his autobiography, he reports actually being tackled on the race track by another rider, who choked him into unconsciousness but received only a $50 fine as punishment. Nevertheless, he does not dwell on such events in the book; rather it is evident that he means it to serve as an inspiration to other African-Americans trying to overcome similar treatment. Taylor retired at age 32 in 1910, saying he was tired of the racism. His advice to African-American youths wishing to emulate him was that while bicycle racing was the appropriate route to success for him, he would not recommend it in general; and that individuals must find their own best talent.
in 1904, Taylor and his wife had a baby girl who was named Sydney, in honor of the town in which she was born.
While Taylor was reported to have earned between $25,000 and $30,000 a year when he returned to Worcester at the end of his career, by the time of his death he had lost everything to bad investments (including self-publishing his autobiography), persistent illness, and the stock market crash
. His marriage over, he died at age 53 on June 21, 1932—a pauper in Chicago
's Bronzeville neighborhood, in the charity ward of Cook County Hospital—to be buried in an unmarked grave. He was survived by his daughter.
In 1948 a group of former pro bike racers, with money donated by Schwinn Bicycle Co.
(then) owner Frank W. Schwinn, organized the exhumation and relocation of Taylor's remains to a more prominent part of Mount Glenwood Cemetery in Bloom Township, Illinois, near Chicago. A monument to his memory stands in Worcester, and Indianapolis named the city's bicycle track after Taylor.
Taylor's daughter, Sydney Taylor Brown, died in 2005 at age 101; her survivors include a son and his five children.
Major Taylor's gravesite: 41.554497°N 87.61436°W
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
cyclist who won the world 1 miles (1.6 km) track cycling
Track cycling
Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using track bicycles....
championship in 1899 after setting numerous world records and overcoming racial discrimination
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
. Taylor was the first African-American athlete to achieve the level of world champion and only the second black man to win a world championship—after Canadian boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
George Dixon
George Dixon (boxer)
George Dixon was the first black world boxing champion in any weight class, while also being the first ever Canadian-born boxing champion.George was born in Africville, Halifax, Nova Scotia...
.
Early life
Taylor was the son of Gilbert Taylor, Civil WarCivil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
veteran and Saphronia Kelter, who had migrated from Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
with their large family to a farm in rural Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
. He was one of eight children, five girls and three boys. Taylor's father was employed in the household of a wealthy Indiana
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
family, the Southards, as a coachman, where Taylor was also raised and educated. When Taylor was a child, his father would bring him to work. The employer had a son, Dan Southard, who was the same age and the two boys became close friends. Taylor later moved in with the family and was able to live a more advantaged life than his parents could provide.
This period of living and learning at the Southard house lasted from the time he was eight until he was 12 when the Southards moved to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and Taylor "was soon thrust into the real world."
At age 12, Taylor received his first bicycle from the Southards and became such an expert trick rider that a local bike shop owner, Tom Hay, hired him to stage exhibitions and perform cycling stunts outside his bicycle shop. The name of the shop was Hay and Willits. The compensation was $6 a week, plus a free bike worth $35. Taylor performed the stunts wearing a soldier's uniform, hence the nickname "Major."
When he was 13 in 1891, Taylor won his first race, an amateur event in Indianapolis
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
. Two years later, in 1893 at age 15, Taylor beat the 1 miles (1.6 km) amateur track record where he was "hooted" and then barred from the track because of his color.
Racing career
One of the first races that Taylor participated in occurred on September 26, 1891 when he was 13 and was recorded in The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. The 10 miles (16.1 km) event took place in Brooklyn, New York on Ocean Parkway and was called the Citizen Handicap. Major Taylor listed his address as Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....
and rode with a 1:30 handicap in a field of 200. There were nine scratch riders.
Amateur racing
Major Taylor won his first significant race in 1895 at age 16. The 75 miles (120.7 km) road race, near his hometown of Indianapolis, IndianaIndianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
"came amid the racial threats of his white competitors." Shortly afterward, he relocated to Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
with the help of his benefactor, Louis D. "Birdie" Munger, who was to become his lifelong friend and mentor, to a more tolerant area of the country.
As an African-American, Taylor was banned from bicycle racing in Indiana once he started winning and made a reputation as "The Black Cyclone". In 1896, he moved from Indianapolis to Worcester, Mass., then a center of the United States bicycle
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
industry with half a dozen factories and 30 bicycle shops, to work as a bicycle mechanic
Bicycle mechanic
A bicycle mechanic is a mechanic who can perform a wide range of repairs on bicycles. Bike mechanics can be employed in various types of stores, ranging from large department stores to small local bike shops; cycling teams, or bicycle manufacturers....
in the Worcester Cycle Manufacturing Company factory, owned by Louis D. "Birdie" Munger where he was a racer for Munger's team. Taylor first worked for Munger in Indianapolis
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
and along the line, Munger "made up his mind to make Taylor a champion."
Taylor's first east coast race was in a League of American Wheelmen 1 miles (1.6 km) race in New Haven, where he started in last place but won.
Professional racing
Taylor turned professional in 1896 at the age of 18 and soon emerged as the "most formidable racer in America." One of his biggest supporters was President Theodore RooseveltTheodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
who kept track of Taylor throughout his 17-year racing career.
Beginning on December 5, 1896 and ending on December 12, Taylor participated in a six-day cycle race in Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
where 5,000 people attended. The event was an indoor cycle meet and Taylor had achieved enough notoriety to be listed among the "American contestants" which included A. A. Hansen, the Minneapolis "rainmaker" and Teddy Goodman. Many "experts from abroad" participated such as Albert Schock of Switzerland, Frank Waller, Frank Forster and Ed von Hoeg of Germany, and B. W. Pierce of Canada. Several countries were represented including Scotland, Wales, France, England and Denmark.
The main feature of the meet was the six-day race, however, several other events were of "full interest" such as the 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) race between Jay Eaton and Teddy Goodman. Also, of interest, the 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) scratch and the 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) handicap for professionals. Additionally, there were 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) scratch and handicap for amateurs.
Taylor entered the race and listed his address as South Brooklyn, New York. It was his first professional race and he won the final heat by 105 feet (32 m) over A. C. Meixwell of Philadelphia and E. C. Bald, scratch rider representing Syracuse, New York
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
and riding a Barnes bicycle. Taylor lapped the entire field during the 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) handicap race.
At the Blue Ribbon Meet of the Bostonian Cycle Club hosted on May 19, 1897, Taylor won first place in the 1 miles (1.6 km) open professional on a Comet bicycle.
Although he is listed in the Middletown town directory in 1896, it is not known how long he still resided there after he became a professional racer. He eventually settled in Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....
(where the newspapers called him "The Worcester Whirlwind"), marrying there and having a daughter, although his career required him to spend a large amount of time traveling in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
By 1898, he held seven world records at distances from 0.25 mile (0.402335 km) to 2 miles (3.2 km) and he placed first in 29 of 49 races in which he competed. No one else came close to that record. Taylor was entitled to recognition as national champion but formation of a new cycling league that year "clouded" his claim to the title.
During 1899 he won the world championship, preceded only by boxing bantamweight George Dixon as an African-American world champion in any sport.
In one six week period in 1899, Taylor established seven world records. These included the 0.25 mile (0.402335 km), 0.33 mile (0.5310822 km), 0.5 mile (0.80467 km), 0.66 miles (1.1 km), 0.75 miles (1.2 km), 1 miles (1.6 km) and the 2 miles (3.2 km). He did the mile from a standing start in 1:41, a record that stood for 28 years.
Stearns racing
Taylor went to Syracuse, New YorkSyracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
for the 1899 season with his friend, mentor and manager, Louis "Birdie" Munger to sign a contract with E. C. Stearns Company
E. C. Stearns Bicycle Agency
E. C. Stearns Bicycle Agency was established in 1893 by industrialist, Edward C. Stearns who began business as a hardware manufacturer and branched into bicycle production from 1893 through 1899.Stearns manufactured the popular model, Yellow Fellow by 1895...
. Taylor, Munger and sponsor, Harry Sager had arrived in the city to enter into negotiations with the Olive Wheel Company, however, they were able to work out a more lucrative contract with Stearns who agreed to build Taylor's bicycles using the Sager gear chainless mechanism designed by Harry Sager. The bikes only weighed about 20 pounds (9.1 kg) and had an 88 inches (2,235.2 mm) gear for sprinting and a 120 inches (3,048 mm) gear for longer, paced runs.
Stearns also agreed to build Taylor a "revolutionary" steam-powered pacing tandem "behind which he could attack world records and challenge the leading exponents of paced racing." Although the pacing tandem was temperamental, Taylor easily broke the world record of 1 miles (1.6 km) in 01:19 at a speed of 45.56 miles per hour (20.4 m/s) and beat his competitor, Eddie McDuffie on November 15, 1899.
After the 1899 world championship, many claims were made that the whole thing was a farce because Taylor had "not competed with the strongest riders." The world records, however, showed the record and were impossible to dismiss. No other rider that year had come close to his fast performances and the "range and variety" of his victories which included 22 first places in major championship races around the country, the League of American Wheelmen Championship which he won on points, world champion in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, and the defense of his own world record in two "strenuous record-breaking campaigns."
Iver Johnson colors
In late 1899, Taylor raced under the colors of the Iver Johnson Arms and Cycle CompanyIver Johnson
Iver Johnson was a U.S. firearms, bicycle, and motorcycle manufacturer from 1871 to 1993. The company shared the same name as its founder, Norwegian-born Iver Johnson .- Iver Johnson :...
in Fitchburg, Massachusetts
Fitchburg, Massachusetts
Fitchburg is the third largest city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,318 at the 2010 census. Fitchburg is home to Fitchburg State University as well as 17 public and private elementary and high schools.- History :...
and won the 1 miles (1.6 km) sprint world championship by a lead of one wheel in a "thrilling" race at Montreal, Canada. He placed second in the 2 miles (3.2 km) sprint and won the 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) championship.
World sprint champion
Earl KiserEarl Kiser
Earl Herbert Kiser was a professional American cyclist who was known as "little Dayton Demon". He was one of the leading names in bicycling beginning in 1888...
, who was nicknamed the "Little Dayton Demon," raced for the Stearns Yellow Fellow team during the same period as Taylor. Kiser became a two time world cycling champion and competed all across Europe in the late 1890s. Kiser gave support to Taylor after he was barred from most national races. Kiser petitioned to have him included and Taylor went on to become the world sprint champion in 1899 and 1900. He was the first African-American from the United States to win a world title.
Foreign racing
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Besides racing in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Taylor also competed in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, although because he was very religious, never on Sunday. He always carried a catechism and began each race with a silent prayer and refused to compete on the Sabbath.
During February 1903, Taylor was competing in the Sydney (New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
) handicap for a $5,000 prize and the headline flashed worldwide was "Rich Cycle Race."
Nitroglycerine
The fascination with six-day bicycle races spread across the Atlantic and the same appeal to base instincts brought in the crowds in America as well. And the more spectators paid at the gate, the higher the prizes could be and the greater was the incentive of riders to stay awake - or be kept awake - to ride the greatest distance. Their exhaustion was countered by soigneurs (the French word for "carers"), helpers akin to seconds in boxingBoxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
. Among the treatments they supplied was nitroglycerine, a drug used to stimulate the heart after cardiac attacks and which was credited with improving riders' breathing.
Riders suffered hallucinations from the exhaustion and perhaps the drugs. Taylor refused to continue one New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
race, saying: "I cannot go on with safety, for there is a man chasing me around the ring with a knife in his hand."
Racism in the field
Although he was greatly celebrated abroad, particularly in FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Taylor's career was still held back by racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, particularly in the Southern states
Southern States
Southern States may refer to:*Southern United States*Southern States Cooperative*The independent states of the South in the North-South divide*The independent states of the Southern hemisphere...
where he was not permitted to compete against Caucasians. The League of American Wheelmen for a time excluded blacks from membership. Other prominent bicycle racers of the era, such as Tom Cooper
Tom Cooper (driver)
Tom Cooper was an 1890s champion bicycle racer and early auto racing driver. He is best known for his rivalry with Major Taylor as well as his later work with Henry Ford and Barney Oldfield.- Early years :...
and Eddie Bald
Eddie Bald
Edward Carl Bald, or Eddie Bald, was an American racing automobile driver who was retroactively awarded the 1907 National Championship in 1951 and was a champion bicycle racer in the 1890s with the nickname "The Cannon."...
, often cooperated to ensure Taylor's defeat. During his career he had ice water thrown at him during races, and nails scattered in front of his wheels, and was often boxed in by other riders, preventing the sprints to the front of the pack at which he was so successful.
In his autobiography, he reports actually being tackled on the race track by another rider, who choked him into unconsciousness but received only a $50 fine as punishment. Nevertheless, he does not dwell on such events in the book; rather it is evident that he means it to serve as an inspiration to other African-Americans trying to overcome similar treatment. Taylor retired at age 32 in 1910, saying he was tired of the racism. His advice to African-American youths wishing to emulate him was that while bicycle racing was the appropriate route to success for him, he would not recommend it in general; and that individuals must find their own best talent.
Personal life
Taylor married Daisy V. Morris in Ansonia, Connecticut, on March 21, 1902. While in AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 1904, Taylor and his wife had a baby girl who was named Sydney, in honor of the town in which she was born.
Later life and death
Taylor was still breaking records in 1908 but age was starting to "creep up on him." He finally quit the track in 1910 at the age of 32.While Taylor was reported to have earned between $25,000 and $30,000 a year when he returned to Worcester at the end of his career, by the time of his death he had lost everything to bad investments (including self-publishing his autobiography), persistent illness, and the stock market crash
Stock market crash
A stock market crash is a sudden dramatic decline of stock prices across a significant cross-section of a stock market, resulting in a significant loss of paper wealth. Crashes are driven by panic as much as by underlying economic factors...
. His marriage over, he died at age 53 on June 21, 1932—a pauper in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
's Bronzeville neighborhood, in the charity ward of Cook County Hospital—to be buried in an unmarked grave. He was survived by his daughter.
In 1948 a group of former pro bike racers, with money donated by Schwinn Bicycle Co.
Schwinn Bicycle Company
The Schwinn Bicycle Company was founded by German-born mechanical engineer Ignaz Schwinn in Chicago in 1895. It became the dominant manufacturer of American bicycles through most of the 20th century and today it is a sub-brand of Pacific Cycle, owned by the multi-national conglomerate, Dorel...
(then) owner Frank W. Schwinn, organized the exhumation and relocation of Taylor's remains to a more prominent part of Mount Glenwood Cemetery in Bloom Township, Illinois, near Chicago. A monument to his memory stands in Worcester, and Indianapolis named the city's bicycle track after Taylor.
Taylor's daughter, Sydney Taylor Brown, died in 2005 at age 101; her survivors include a son and his five children.
Major Taylor's gravesite: 41.554497°N 87.61436°W
Quotes
- "It is my thought that clean living and a strict observance of the golden rule of true sportsmanship are foundation stones without which a championship structure cannot be built."—Marshall Taylor in The Fastest Bicycle Rider in the World
- "Life is too short for any man to hold bitterness in his heart."—Marshall Taylor
- "I cannot go on with safety, for there is a man chasing me around the ring with a knife in his hand." Said allegedly under the influence of nitroglycerin, a popular performance enhancer at the time
- "There are positively no mental, physical or moral attainments too lofty for the Negro to accomplish if granted a fair and equal opportunity."—Marshall Taylor
- "I trust they will use that terrible prejudice as an inspiration to struggle on to the heights in their chosen vocations."—Marshall Taylor
- “A real honest-to-goodness champion can always win on the merits."—Marshall Taylor
Honors and awards
- Taylor was posthumously inducted into the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame in 1989.
In popular culture
- The Major Taylor VelodromeMajor Taylor VelodromeThe Major Taylor Velodrome is an open-air cycling track in Indianapolis named for Marshall Taylor. The 333.34 meter long track with 28 degree banked turns and 9 degree straights. It has played host to many national and international competitions, including the 1987 Pan American Games...
in Indianapolis, IndianaIndianapolis, IndianaIndianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, and a bicycle trail in ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
are named in Taylor's honor.
- On July 24, 2006, the city of Worcester, MassachusettsWorcester, MassachusettsWorcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....
, changed the name of part of Worcester Center Boulevard to Major Taylor Boulevard — where his memory is honored for his athletic feats as well as his character.
- A bicycle, of unproven provenanceProvenanceProvenance, from the French provenir, "to come from", refers to the chronology of the ownership or location of an historical object. The term was originally mostly used for works of art, but is now used in similar senses in a wide range of fields, including science and computing...
was donated by Worcester resident Sy Farnsworth to the Worcester Historical MuseumWorcester Historical MuseumThe Worcester Historical Museum, located in downtown Worcester, Massachusetts, was founded in 1875. This museum is the only institution devoted entirely to local history and artifacts. The scope of their collection ranges from colonial to twentieth century, encompassing manuscripts, textiles,...
— with the understanding the bicycle may have belonged to Taylor.
- The band Oh Yeah! performed a tribute song describing Major Taylor's Iver Johnson bicycle and the racism he encountered, entitled "Major Taylor's Grave".
- The first African-American cycling club named in honor of Major Taylor was organized in Columbus, OhioColumbus, OhioColumbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, in 1979.
- In East Palo Alto, CaliforniaEast Palo Alto, CaliforniaEast Palo Alto is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States.-Overview:As of the 2010 census, the population of East Palo Alto was 28,155. It is situated on the San Francisco Peninsula, roughly halfway between the cities of San Francisco and San Jose...
, a racially-mixed community that was until recently mostly black, hosts a Major Taylor Cycling Club.
- Other cycling clubs dedicated to Major Taylor include the 'Major Motion' Cycling club in Los Angeles, the Major Taylor Cycling Club in Minnesota, the Major Taylor Cycling Club Chicago in Chicago, IL and the Major Taylor Cycling Club of New Jersey.
- NikeNike, Inc.Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
markets a sports shoe named after Major Taylor.
- The company Soma Fabrications makes a set of bicycle handlebars called the Major Taylor Track Bar, a replica of Major Taylor's 1930s bike handlebar.
- The city of Columbus, Ohio renamed the Alum Creek Trail bicycle path as the 'Major Taylor Bikeway' on September 3, 2010.
See also
- Thomas GascoyneThomas GascoyneThomas Jepson Gascoyne was an English professional cycling champion and world record holder who competed internationally on both bicycles and tandems.He held world records for both 25 miles and the flying start quarter mile...
, an English dual world record holder who managed to defeat Marshal Taylor twice in one day at Boston on 20 July 1901.