THE MOST UNUSUAL CYCLIST OF ITS TIME.
This is not the story of a standard 21st century cyclist. Not even about a 20th century cyclist. In fact, I’m sure you didn’t even know that a cyclist like this was one of the biggest sports stars in North America at the turn of the 20th century. Back then, North America was well immersed in racial segregation and the exploitation of the black population for the hardest and lowest paid jobs.
Well, just at that time, the cycling tracks (to a lesser extent asphalt) of that continent were ruled by a completely atypical cyclist. He was never raised as an athlete nor did his parents have a successful sports pedigree. In fact, his only contact with cycling was his job - cleaning the bike shop and doing some minor repairs. But that was not all he did… He was very good at cycling, so his boss decided to make money on it. Little Taylor, as the protagonist of this story was called, entertained customers by performing tricks on a $ 35 bike. He successfully performed this job by performing stunts in a military uniform. Hence his racing alias - Major Taylor.
As early as the end of the 19th century, Major Taylor showed an extraordinary talent for racing bicycles. Starting from the street criteriums, he slowly broke through the competition and racial barriers of the sports establishment, effectively destroying what was "normal" until then. Entering the 20th century, Taylor has mastered the cycling tracks of the United States by setting all sorts of sprint records and promoting racial equality and the right to success for all. Admittedly, he won almost all races except those held on Sundays. He just didn't ride them. Taylor was a devoted member of the Catholic Church where Sundays were reserved for physical rest and spiritual peace. The rule that Taylor followed until the last years of his sports career…
After an exhausting decade of actively chasing all sprint records, in 1904 Taylor decided to take a break. The burden of being the best sprinter in the world and first-class sport sensations was simply too heavy.
After 2.5 years of rest, Taylor successfully returned to the cycling tracks continuing exactly where he left off. Namely, already at the first competition in France, he continued to break world records. But relentless racing, endless touring and entering the 30s have started to show their effects on Taylor’s body and psychological state….
Exhausted, Taylor finally decided to finish racing in late 1909. A career that lasted 15 difficult and hectic years has thus come to a definite end. Taylor, with many record-setting and insane pace of racing, remained known in the sports (and social) public eye for the amount of money earned. Namely, in those years, Taylor was one of the highest paid athletes in the world (estimated salary during his career was a staggering 75,000 - 100,000 dollars - today it would be between 2,000,000 - 2,500,000 dollars). It might not have been such big and important news if Taylor hadn’t been black.
On a symbolic level, it was an important step forward for black athletes and their chances of getting involved in sports competitions and a system that until Taylor spawned only one world champion (boxer George Dixon in the bantamweight category) who was not white. And so, Major Taylor is an important symbol of the struggle of black people in North America for equal rights and opportunities in a predominantly white society.
Moreover, you can find more information and facts in an extremely good book dedicated to his extremely interesting talents - MAJOR TAYLOR by Conrad Kerber, Terry Kerber.
Until the next record, share the road.
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