Major Taylor 1878 - 1932

February being Black History Month, I wanted to remind everyone of this remarkable athlete.

Marshall Walter ("Major") Taylor born in Indianapolis, Indiana was an African American cyclist who won the World One-mile Track Cycling Championship in 1899, 1900, and 1901.

Major Taylor was the second black world champion in any sport, after Canadian boxer George Dixon. 

The Major Taylor Velodrome in Indianapolis, Indiana and a bicycle trail in Chicago are named in his honor.

On July 24, 2006 the city of Worcester, MA changed the name of part of Worcester Center Boulevard to Major Taylor Boulevard

Memorial outside the Worcester Public Library in his adopted hometown of Worcester, MassachusettsMajor Taylor suffered as a result of racial prejudice throughout his career, banned from racing by some promoters, or treated roughly or unfairly by other competitors. The League of American Wheelmen banned black cyclists form membership in 1894.

(Left.) A caricature published in the edition of February 23, 1894 of The Bearings cycling magazine, illustrating the ban from membership of the League of American Wheelmen

However, by competing in an integrated sport, and even being part of an integrated team, Major Taylor paved the way for other black athletes in other sports.

Taylor shakes the hand of competitor Edmond Jacquelin at Paris' Parc des Princes Velodrome in 1901Taylor and Léon Hourlier at a standstill during a race at Paris' Vélodrome Buffalo in 1909Taylor with the Boston pursuit team of 1897; one of the first known photographs of an integrated American professional sports team.

Here are some links to more on Major Taylor:

MajorTaylor.com

The Major Taylor Association

Wikipedia

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Comments

[Brian]

Although not the subject of the article, what was the thinking of the shallow head angles and very long trail of the track bikes of that era?

[A]

Brian,
The early chain driven bikes were designed to seat the rider in the same position as the Ordinary of High Wheeler, See this article: http://davesbikeblog.squarespace.com/blog/2014/11/24/the-bicycle-evolution-or-intelligent-design-part-i.
Dave

[EdStainless]

I lived in Indy in the early 80's when MTV was built. There was a lot of positive and honest discussion about him and history. Looking back it is hard to believe how tough these athletes were.
Watched a lot of the Pan-Am game racing there and some major events after that.

[velobill]

Dave, I first heard about Marshall Taylor when I was trying to be a real competitive cyclist and my coach at the time, a former pro from Australia kept telling me to ride like "the Major" I found his autobiography and he has been my sport's hero ever since. Andrew Ritchie's book "Major" is an excellent bookend to Peter Nye's "Hearts of Lions". Despite my advancing age, I celebrate Taylor by dragging my butt up George Street in Worcester MA every summer as part of the Major Taylor Association's "George Street Challenge"