CHAPTER XXXI
TWO FIRST PLACES IN TWO STARTS AT HARTFORD
On the day following the race this article appeared in a Hartford newspaper:
“Major Taylor Wins Again at the New Veledrome Track. Thousands Enjoy the Exciting Sport. Major Taylor, the colored cyclone, easily proved himself to be the cycling crack of the country by defeating the fastest representative gathering of professional riders seen this season on the new Veledrome Track last night.
“Thousands of lovers of the silent steed crowded the stands to witness the sport, and the colored wonder was given a rousing reception. At no time was the colored rider forced to let out an extra link in his speed, except in the final of the one-mile handicap, when the long-mark men including the Kreamers of Chicago and Aronson of Pittsburg set out at a terrific pace from the very start, and by alternating pace kept Taylor worried until the last lap. Then the colored boy came like a streak on the outside of the track and passed the bunch on the very last turn into the home stretch, winning by a length. His time was 1:59, only a quarter of a second slower than the world’s competitive record made by Tom Cooper at Manhattan Beach.
“Major Taylor was also winner of the one-mile open event, the contest being a pretty one right up to the tape between the three aspirants for the championship honors, Bobby Walthour, Johnnie Fisher and the Bay State Wonder.
“Walthour appeared on the track swathed in bandages as the result of a spill in Baltimore, but he put up a plucky race. For the first four laps the six men who were qualified loafed until Rutz started out to set the pace in the fifth lap, and then the real fight began. Around the track the men flew with Fisher in the lead, and Walthour close up with Taylor on his wheel. The two riders hugged the pole closely and Taylor was forced to ease up for a fraction of a second and swing out on the last turn, but he had the speed, and with a tremendous jump he beat the Chicago man out almost at the tape. It was a sensational race and the winner was greeted with a storm of applause.
“In the one-mile open professional event the starters were Bowler, Jacobson, Maya, Fisher, Rutz, Downing, Walthour, Stone, Titus, Newhouse, and Butler. The time for this event was 2:05.
“Starters in the one-mile professional handicap were Aronson, 125 yards; G. Kreamer, 90 yards; Williams, 110 yards; T. Butler, 30 yards; Collette, 15 yards; Taylor, scratch; Miller, 50 yards; D. Kreamer, 100 yards; Downing, 50 yards; Stone, 75 yards; Jacobson, 75 yards. Major Taylor won the final heat, Aronson was second, and Kreamer third. Major Taylor also established an unpaced record of :59 for the half-mile.”
