CHAPTER XIII
A TRIBUTE FROM AN OPPONENT
Disgusted by the foul tactics employed to bring about my defeat at the Philadelphia meet a few weeks prior, when I won the one-third mile and two-mile championship races, Howard Freeman, one of my fairest and speediest opponents, wrote the following article for a Philadelphia newspaper:
“How they elbowed the Major. Written by Howard Freeman. Major Taylor’s Great Sprint as seen by one who raced with him. Having had the good fortune to finish in front on several occasions, and the misfortune to finish in the rear on numerous occasions, I am in a good position to comment on the relative amount of speed possessed by Eddie Bald, who has won the cycling Championship honors of America for the past three years, (1895-1896-1897), and Major Taylor, the prospective champion and the most dangerous opponent the Bison has had since 1896 when Tom Butler came so near wresting the laurels away from him.
““The season of 1898 has developed several second raters into the Championship class which has made the struggle for the Championship harder and a more even fight than ever before in the history of American cycle racing. Floyd MacFarland, and Owen Kimble are the most prominent of this class, and they are close upon the heels of Bald and Taylor in the Championship race, but the Championship honors are without a doubt between Bald and Taylor.
“Many people are under the impression that it simply requires speed alone to win bicycle races, but such is not the case. It requires a combination of both speed and track generalship, but Bald and Taylor possess a greater amount of these required qualities than their opponents which accounts for their being at the top of the ladder.
“At one time Major Taylor was a very clever trick rider which now serves him greatly when being elbowed or when racing on a poorly banked track. He is the most daring rider on the track and his diminutive size is a great advantage to him when going through a small opening. He is also a hard rider to elbow as he rides very low, his nose almost touching his handle bars, and he is also very clever at giving others the elbow.
“At Philadelphia on September 17, a little elbow work won the one-third mile Championship for him. In this race Arthur Gardiner was leading in the last 200 yards with Major Taylor on his back wheel, and Bald on the right of the latter, which placed Taylor in a very bad pocket, and his only chance was to get by on the pole which
