Kind of an informational/educational column today in the paper about Major Taylor.
If you don't know of him, he was a champion bike rider who happened to be African American who broke ground for black riders and lived in Worcester in his later years. The city has honored him with his own street downtown and at several gatherings.
Bike riding was huge in his time (late 1800s to 1920 or so) - there was a velodrome at White City and crowds used to attend races like they do for football or baseball now. Lynn Tolman is a big advocate for him and does some great work with the Major Taylor association. I believe she's planning to create a museum in the area as well.
My grandfather George Rhodes was a competitive rider in the area at the time (grandmother used to comment he had the nicest legs in Worc County ;) who trained with the "Major" as he was referred. My grandfather led/was grand marshal for a race in his honor back in the early 70s - think it was 1972 - I remember as a kid attending the race on Chandler st.
The association has a race my grandfather, his buddy Joe Cote and Major used to do on George St in Worcester. If you don't know it - it's quite a grade and real test for a sprint - kind of an interval. They have an event coming up for those who are up for it.
I used to bike a lot myself - at 15 I did my longest ride in a single day of 125 miles from my aunt's place in S Londonderry Vt. Gotta get lighter if I want to try that race up George St. ;)
The lesson of racial tolerance and working together with people of all types was impressed in me at an early age by my grandfather's actions. Major Taylor endured a lot of racial epithets and hostility in his time but commented favorably on the treatment he enjoyed here in Worcester and I think it's a great legacy we should be proud of. He's a lesser known athlete by most who was really the Jackie Robinson of his time and sport.
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CHAMPIONS TO DEDICATE MAJOR TAYLOR MONUMENT
Three-time Tour de France winner GREG LeMOND and three-time Olympic medalist EDWIN MOSES will be featured speakers at the public unveiling of the Major Taylor memorial from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, May 21, 2008, at the Worcester Public Library, 3 Salem Square, Worcester, Mass. The sculpture depicting the 1899 world cycling champion is Worcester's first monument to an African-American.
For details visit
http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/events/2008may21.shtml
or follow links from the Events page at www.majortaylorassociation.org
LeMond, who won a world championship in cycling 90 years after Major Taylor did, and Moses, who dominated the 400-meter hurdles in track and field for a decade, were each named "Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year" at the height of their athletic careers in the 1980s.
The statue of the "Worcester Whirlwind" was created by Maryland sculptor Antonio Tobias Mendez. The dedication ceremony will be followed by a reception with refreshments in the library's Banx Room.
Preceding the noontime ceremony, the Seven Hills Wheelmen and the Charles River Wheelmen's Wednesday Wheelers will lead a 30-mile bicycle ride starting and ending at the library.
At 7 p.m. May 21 at the library, the Clark University History Department and Higgins School of Humanities will present a panel discussion on "Race, Sports, and Major Taylor's Legacy." Boston Globe columnist Derrick Z. Jackson will be moderator for these scholars, historians and authors exploring diversity in sports and society, then and now:
-- Andrew Ritchie, author of the biography "Major Taylor: The Extraordinary Career of a Champion Bicycle Racer" (1988)
-- Janette T. Greenwood, associate professor of history at Clark University, author of a case study of Worcester County's black community in the late 1800s and of "Bittersweet Legacy," on the emergence and interaction of the black and white middle class
-- David V. Herlihy, author of "Bicycle: The History" (2004), with research on Major Taylor's popularity abroad
-- C. Keith Harrison, associate professor of sports business management at the University of Central Florida, and associate director of the Institute for Diversity & Ethics in Sport
For Major Taylor books, posters and jerseys, go to
www.majortaylorassociation.org/donations.shtml
P.S. to out-of-towners:
The Hilton Garden Inn (www.worcester.stayhgi.com) on Major Taylor Boulevard is offering a special discount for guests attending the Major Taylor dedication May 21. To get the special rate, call the Worcester hotel directly at 508-753-5700, not the chain's toll-free reservations number, ask for Ashley, and say you're coming for the Major Taylor statue dedication. For airport shuttle from Boston (BOS), Providence (PVD), Hartford (BDL) or Manchester, N.H. (MHT), we recommend Knight's, www.knightslimo.com -- tell them you were referred by the Major Taylor Association.
Again, the link for details is:
http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/events/2008may21.shtml
or just start from the Events page at www.majortaylorassociation.org
-- Lynne
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Lynne Tolman
info@majortaylorassociation.org
www.majortaylorassociation.org
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