Bicyclists in Louisville, Ky., are about to right a wrong committed
there 105 years ago.
It was in Louisville in 1894 that the League of
American Wheelmen, then the governing body of bicycle racing, voted to ban
blacks. The color line, and subsequent maneuvering over the governance of the
sport, had a particular effect the career of an up-and-coming rider from
Indianapolis named Marshall W. "Major" Taylor.
Racial segregation
relegated young Taylor to blacks-only racing clubs. By the end of 1896, a year
after moving with his coach and employer to Worcester, 18-year-old Taylor was
the undisputed black champion of America. But he aimed to be the fastest bicycle
rider in the world, period.
In the Northeast, where the color line
had been opposed, Taylor encountered more open-mindedness, and the league
allowed him to enter the pro ranks. Still, racial intolerance was an obstacle on
and off the race track.
Because he was black, Taylor was refused
entry to key races in the South and was sometimes denied lodging while on the
road. White riders conspired against him, and the hostility sometimes turned
violent. One opponent hauled him off his bike and choked him into
unconsciousness. When Taylor bought a house in well-to-do Columbus Park in
Worcester, the white neighbors were alarmed and tried to buy it back.
Nonetheless, Taylor kept his eyes on the prize, and his perseverance paid off.
At the end of 1898, the 20-year-old "Worcester Whirlwind" held seven world
records. In 1899 in Montreal, he won the world championship in the one-mile
sprint. He was the second black world champion in any sport, after bantamweight
boxer George Dixon.
Next weekend, the League of American Bicyclists -- a
successor to the 19th-century league, though it is now an advocacy group and
does not govern racing -- convenes in Louisville for its national rally and
annual meeting.
League president Earl Jones, an African-American who
lives in Louisville, is asking the league's board of directors, in remembrance
of Major Taylor, to formally repeal the color line established in 1894.
The league has no records indicating the ban on black members was
ever officially revoked, according to Jones' proposed resolution, which will be
put to a vote Saturday. The heart of the resolution reads: "The board of
directors hereby disavows the action of the 1894 League of American Wheelmen
convention, repeals the 1894 resolution and reaffirms our commitment to
diversity of membership."
Jones always wondered why he saw so few
African-Americans in bike clubs and bike races, especially after Taylor had
reached such prominence in the 1890s. When he learned of Louisville's role in
the league's history, he took it to heart.
"It was clear that this
was the time and place to make amends for that historic wrong," Jones said. "And
what better way to do it than to pay tribute to one of its victims, a man who
exemplified the continuing struggle of all cyclists to be the best they can be
at their sport.
"Finally, I hope that the League, by taking this
step, can lead cycling into more diverse and representative participation."
Sports historian Andrew Ritchie, author of the biography "Major
Taylor," will
be the featured speaker at the Louisville gathering. Junior
national track cycling champion Giddeon Massie, 17, of Lansdale, Pa., a black
rider inspired by Taylor, will be honored.
Locally, the Major Taylor Humanitarian
Association is planning a centennial tribute to the 1899 champ July 23 at
Quinsigamond State Park in Worcester. More on that in July.
~~~
Saturn racer Frank McCormack of Leicester marked his 30th birthday in the
hospital yesterday in Japan, where he is recovering from a crash May 19 during
Stage 3 of the Tour of Japan.
His younger brother and Saturn
teammate, Mark McCormack of Easton, said the news in a phone call from Frank's
wife, Mary, earlier last week was good: Frank was sleeping better after excess
fluid was drained from his chest, and though fighting an abdominal infection
after surgery on his ruptured small intestine, he was expected to be out of the
hospital in a few weeks.
"We're hoping in four weeks he'll be walking
around, and maybe he can spend some time on his golf game. When he'll get back
on a bike and be able to start pushing his body again at a high level, we don't
know," Mark said.
Mark said the descent where Frank and a handful of
other riders wiped out in the rain was part of the same Tour of Japan stage in
which Frank took the lead in a solo breakaway last year, paving the way for his
first-place overall finish.
Mark said Frank's injury has been "a
small distraction in my own racing and training," but "if I could win a big
race, I think that would really pick up his spirits."
Mark won the
finale of the six-stage Atlantic Cup Classic last Sunday in Cambridge, placing
third overall behind winner Kevin Monahan (Breakaway Courier Systems) and
second-place Sylvain Beauchamp (Shaklee). It was Mark's first road racing
victory this season. This week he's racing in Delaware, Pennsylvania and New
Jersey, leading up to the 156-mile USPRO Road Championship next Sunday in
Philadelphia.