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'''Marshall Walter''' "'''Major'''" '''Taylor''' (November 26, 1878 – June 21, 1932) was an American professional [[Cycle sport|cyclist]]. Even by modern cycling standards, Taylor could be considered the greatest American [[Sprinter (cycling)|sprinter]] of all time.
'''Marshall Walter''' "'''Major'''" '''Taylor''' (November 26, 1878 – June 21, 1932) was an American professional [[Cycle sport|cyclist]]. Even by modern cycling standards, Taylor could be considered the greatest American [[Sprinter (cycling)|sprinter]] of all time.


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Taylor turned professional in 1896, at the age of 18, living in cities on the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]] and participating in multiple track events including [[Six-day racing|six-day races]]. He moved his focus to the [[Sprint (track cycling)|sprint]] event in 1897, competing in a national racing circuit, winning many races and gaining popularity with the public. In 1898 and 1899, he set numerous [[List of world records in track cycling|world records]] in race distances ranging from the quarter-mile ({{convert|0.25|mi|km|1|disp=output only}}) to the two-mile ({{convert|2|mi|km|1|disp=output only}}).
Taylor turned professional in 1896, at the age of 18, living in cities on the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]] and participating in multiple track events including [[Six-day racing|six-day races]]. He moved his focus to the [[Sprint (track cycling)|sprint]] event in 1897, competing in a national racing circuit, winning many races and gaining popularity with the public. In 1898 and 1899, he set numerous [[List of world records in track cycling|world records]] in race distances ranging from the quarter-mile ({{convert|0.25|mi|km|1|disp=output only}}) to the two-mile ({{convert|2|mi|km|1|disp=output only}}).


Taylor won the 1-mile [[UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Men's sprint|sprint event]] at the [[1899 ICA Track Cycling World Championships|1899 world track championships]] to become the first African American to achieve the level of cycling [[World championship|world champion]] and the second [[Black people|black]] athlete to win a world championship in any sport (following [[Canadians|Canadian]] boxer [[George Dixon (boxer)|George Dixon]], 1890<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Dixon-boxer|title = George Dixon &#124; American boxer}}</ref>). Taylor was also a national sprint champion in 1899 and 1900. He raced in the U.S., Europe and [[Australasia]] from 1901 to 1904, beating the world's best riders. After a {{frac|2|1|2}}-year hiatus, he made a comeback in 1907–1909, before retiring at age 32 to his home in Worcester in 1910.
Taylor won the 1-mile [[UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Men's sprint|sprint event]] at the [[1899 ICA Track Cycling World Championships|1899 world track championships]] to become the first African American to achieve the level of cycling [[World championship|world champion]] and the second [[Black people|Black]] athlete to win a world championship in any sport (following [[Canadians|Canadian]] boxer [[George Dixon (boxer)|George Dixon]], 1890<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Dixon-boxer|title = George Dixon &#124; American boxer}}</ref>). Taylor was also a national sprint champion in 1899 and 1900. He raced in the U.S., Europe and Australia from 1901 to 1904, beating the world's best riders. After a {{frac|2|1|2}}-year hiatus, he made a comeback in 1907–1909, before retiring at age 32 to his home in Worcester in 1910.


Towards the end of his life Taylor faced severe financial difficulties. He spent the final two years of his life in [[Chicago]], Illinois, where he died of a heart attack in 1932. Throughout his career he challenged the racial prejudice he encountered on and off the track and became a pioneering role model for other athletes facing racial [[discrimination]]. Several cycling clubs, trails, and events in the U.S. have been named in his honor, as well as the [[Major Taylor Velodrome]] in Indianapolis and Major Taylor Boulevard in Worcester. Other tributes include memorials and historic markers in Worcester, Indianapolis, and at his gravesite in Chicago. He has also been memorialized in film, music and fashion.
Towards the end of his life Taylor faced severe financial difficulties. He spent the final two years of his life in [[Chicago]], Illinois, where he died of a heart attack in 1932. Throughout his career he challenged the racial prejudice he encountered on and off the track and became a pioneering role model for other athletes facing racial [[discrimination]]. Several cycling clubs, trails, and events in the U.S. have been named in his honor, as well as the [[Major Taylor Velodrome]] in Indianapolis and Major Taylor Boulevard in Worcester. Other tributes include memorials and historic markers in Worcester, Indianapolis, and at his gravesite in Chicago. He has also been memorialized in film, music and fashion.


[[File:Major Taylor's Signature.png|alt=Major Taylor's Signature|thumb|Major Taylor's Signature]]
==Early life==


==Early life==
Marshall Walter Taylor was the son of Gilbert Taylor, a [[American Civil War|Civil War]] veteran, and Saphronia Kelter Taylor. His parents migrated from [[Louisville, Kentucky]], and settled on a farm in Bucktown, a rural area on the western edge of [[Indianapolis]], Indiana. Taylor, who was born on November 26, 1878, in Indianapolis was one of eight children in the family that included five girls and three boys. Around 1887, his father began working in Indianapolis as a [[coachman]] for a wealthy white family named Southard.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=4}}{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=8–9}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=13}}<ref name="son">{{cite web|url=http://www.bridgew.edu/hoba/taylor.cfm |title=Who was Major Taylor |publisher=[[Bridgewater State University]]|date=November 17, 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306003040/http://www.bridgew.edu/hoba/taylor.cfm |archive-date=March 6, 2012 }}</ref>
Marshall Walter Taylor was the son of Gilbert Taylor, a [[American Civil War|Civil War]] veteran, and Saphronia Kelter Taylor. His parents migrated from [[Louisville, Kentucky]], and settled on a farm in Bucktown, a rural area on the western edge of [[Indianapolis]], Indiana. Taylor, who was born on November 26, 1878, in Indianapolis was one of eight children in the family that included five girls and three boys. Around 1887, his father began working in Indianapolis as a [[coachman]] for a wealthy white family named Southard.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=4}}{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=8–9}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=13}}<ref name="son">{{cite web|url=http://www.bridgew.edu/hoba/taylor.cfm |title=Who was Major Taylor |publisher=[[Bridgewater State University]]|date=November 17, 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306003040/http://www.bridgew.edu/hoba/taylor.cfm |archive-date=March 6, 2012 }}</ref>


When Taylor was a child he occasionally accompanied his father to work. Taylor soon became a close friend of the Southards' son, Daniel,<ref name="son" /> who was the same age. Approximately from the age of 8{{sfn|Taylor|1928|p=1}} until he was about 12,{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=15}} Taylor lived with the family and along with Daniel was tutored at their home. Taylor's living arrangement with the Southards provided him with more advantages than his parents could provide; however, this period of his life abruptly ended when the Southards moved to [[Chicago]], Illinois.<ref name="hay">{{cite book|last1=Heyman|first1=Brian|title=Stories of African American Achievement|year=2010|publisher=[[Bureau of International Information Programs]]|pages=16–19|url=https://photos.state.gov/libraries/korea/49271/july_2013/StoriesofAfricanAmericanAchievement.pdf|access-date=April 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170409111740/http://photos.state.gov/libraries/korea/49271/july_2013/StoriesofAfricanAmericanAchievement.pdf|archive-date=April 9, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=4–5}}{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=10}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=15}} Taylor, who remained in Indianapolis, returned to live at his parents' home and "was soon thrust into the real world."<ref name="son" />
When Taylor was a child, he occasionally accompanied his father to work. Taylor soon became a close friend of the Southards' son, Daniel,<ref name="son" /> who was the same age. Approximately from the age of 8{{sfn|Taylor|1928|p=1}} until he was about 12,{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=15}} Taylor lived with the family and along with Daniel was tutored at their home. Taylor's living arrangement with the Southards provided him with more advantages than his parents could provide; however, this period of his life abruptly ended when the Southards moved to Chicago.<ref name="hay">{{cite book|last1=Heyman|first1=Brian|title=Stories of African American Achievement|year=2010|publisher=[[Bureau of International Information Programs]]|pages=16–19|url=https://photos.state.gov/libraries/korea/49271/july_2013/StoriesofAfricanAmericanAchievement.pdf|access-date=April 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170409111740/http://photos.state.gov/libraries/korea/49271/july_2013/StoriesofAfricanAmericanAchievement.pdf|archive-date=April 9, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=4–5}}{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=10}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=15}} Taylor, who remained in Indianapolis, returned to live at his parents' home and "was soon thrust into the real world."<ref name="son" />


The Southards provided Taylor with his first [[bicycle]]. By 1891 or early 1892, he had become such an expert trick rider that Tom Hay, an Indianapolis bicycle shop owner, hired him to perform bicycle stunts in front of the Hay and Willits bicycle shop. Taylor earned $6 a week for cleaning the shop and performing the stunts, plus a free bicycle worth $35.<ref name="hay" />{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=8–9}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=18}} It is likely that Taylor received his nickname of "Major" because he performed the cycling stunts wearing a military uniform.<ref name="hay" />{{efn|Andrew Ritchie, one of Taylor's biographers, offers other potential explanations for Taylor's nickname, but his military uniform appears to be the most likely reason, although Taylor never confirmed it.{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=19}}}}
The Southards provided Taylor with his first [[bicycle]]. By 1891 or early 1892, he had become such an expert trick rider that Tom Hay, an Indianapolis bicycle shop owner, hired him to perform bicycle stunts in front of the Hay and Willits bicycle shop. Taylor earned $6 a week for cleaning the shop and performing the stunts, plus a free bicycle worth $35.<ref name="hay" />{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=8–9}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=18}} It is likely that Taylor received his nickname of "Major" because he performed the cycling stunts wearing a military uniform.<ref name="hay" />{{efn|Andrew Ritchie, one of Taylor's biographers, offers other potential explanations for Taylor's nickname, but his military uniform appears to be the most likely reason, although Taylor never confirmed it.{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=19}}}}
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===Early years and East Coast move===
===Early years and East Coast move===

Although he competed in both [[Road bicycle racing|road]] and track races during his amateur career, Taylor excelled in the [[Sprint (track cycling)|track sprints]], especially the {{convert|1|mi|km|adj=on|spell=in}} race.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=17–18}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=31}} The first cycling race Taylor won was a {{convert|10|mi|km|adj=on|spell=in}} amateur event in Indianapolis in 1890.{{sfn|Kranish|2019|p=25-26}}<ref name=Ogden28>{{cite journal | url =http://images.indianahistory.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16797coll39/id/4348 | last =Ogden | first =Dale | title =Beginnings: The Ebony Streak | journal =Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History | volume =11 | issue =1 | page =28 | publisher =[[Indiana Historical Society]] | location =Indianapolis | date =Winter 1999 | access-date =January 19, 2019 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20190119121701/http://images.indianahistory.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16797coll39/id/4348 | archive-date =January 19, 2019 | url-status =live | df =mdy-all }}</ref> He received a 15-minute [[Handicapping|handicap]] (head start) in the road race because of his young age. Taylor subsequently traveled to [[Peoria, Illinois]], to compete in another meet, finishing in third place in the under-16 age category.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=9–10}}{{sfn|Kranish|2019|pp=26}}
Although he competed in both [[Road bicycle racing|road]] and track races during his amateur career, Taylor excelled in the [[Sprint (track cycling)|track sprints]], especially the {{convert|1|mi|km|adj=on|spell=in}} race.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=17–18}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=31}} The first cycling race Taylor won was a {{convert|10|mi|km|adj=on|spell=in}} amateur event in Indianapolis in 1890.{{sfn|Kranish|2019|p=25-26}}<ref name=Ogden28>{{cite journal | url =http://images.indianahistory.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16797coll39/id/4348 | last =Ogden | first =Dale | title =Beginnings: The Ebony Streak | journal =Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History | volume =11 | issue =1 | page =28 | publisher =[[Indiana Historical Society]] | location =Indianapolis | date =Winter 1999 | access-date =January 19, 2019 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20190119121701/http://images.indianahistory.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16797coll39/id/4348 | archive-date =January 19, 2019 | url-status =live | df =mdy-all }}</ref> He received a 15-minute [[Handicapping|handicap]] (head start) in the road race because of his young age. Taylor subsequently traveled to [[Peoria, Illinois]], to compete in another meet, finishing in third place in the under-16 age category.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=9–10}}{{sfn|Kranish|2019|pp=26}}


Taylor encountered racial prejudice throughout his racing career from some of his competitors. In addition, some local track owners feared that other cyclists would refuse to compete if Taylor was present for a bicycle race and banned him from their tracks.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=34–36}} In 1893, for example, after 15-year-old Taylor beat a one-mile amateur track record, he was "hooted" and then barred from the track.<ref name="champ" /> Taylor joined the See-Saw [[cycling club|Cycling Club]], which was formed by [[Black people|black]] cyclists of Indianapolis who were unable to join the local all-[[White people|white]] Zig-Zag Cycling Club.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=34}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=43}}
Taylor encountered racial prejudice throughout his racing career from some of his competitors. In addition, some local track owners feared that other cyclists would refuse to compete if Taylor was present for a bicycle race and banned him from their tracks.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=34–36}} In 1893, for example, after 15-year-old Taylor beat a one-mile amateur track record, he was "hooted" and then barred from the track.<ref name="champ" /> Taylor joined the See-Saw [[cycling club|Cycling Club]], which was formed by [[Black people|black]] cyclists of Indianapolis who were unable to join the local all-[[White people|white]] Zig-Zag Cycling Club.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=34}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=43}}


Major Taylor won his first significant cycling competition on June 30, 1895, when he was the only rider to finish a grueling {{convert|75|mi|km|adj=on}} road race near his hometown of Indianapolis. During the race Taylor received threats from his white competitors, who did not know that he had entered the event until the start of the race. A few days later, on July 4, 1895, Taylor won a ten-mile road race in Indianapolis that made him eligible to compete at the national championships for black racers in Chicago. Later that summer, he won the ten-mile championship race in Chicago by ten lengths and set a new record for black cyclists of 27:32.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=32–33}}{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=34–36}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|pp=32–33}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|pp=43–45}}
Major Taylor won his first significant cycling competition on June 30, 1895, when he was the only rider to finish a grueling {{convert|75|mi|km|adj=on}} road race near his hometown of Indianapolis. During the race Taylor received threats from his white competitors, who did not know that he had entered the event until the start of the race. A few days later, on July 4, 1895, Taylor won a ten-mile road race in Indianapolis that made him eligible to compete at the national championships for Black racers in Chicago. Later that summer, he won the ten-mile championship race in Chicago by ten lengths and set a new record for Black cyclists of 27:32.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=32–33}}{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=34–36}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|pp=32–33}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|pp=43–45}}


[[File:Marshall Taylor 1895.jpg|thumb|left|The earliest press image of Taylor, aged 18, from the July 6, 1895, edition of ''[[Indianapolis News]]''<ref>{{cite news|title=Taylor, the colored rider|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-jul-06-1895-1036759/|work=[[Indianapolis News]]|date=July 6, 1895|page=9|via=[[NewspaperARCHIVE.com]]}}</ref>]]
[[File:Marshall Taylor 1895.jpg|thumb|left|The earliest press image of Taylor, aged 18, from the July 6, 1895, edition of ''[[Indianapolis News]]''<ref>{{cite news|title=Taylor, the colored rider|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-jul-06-1895-1036759/|work=[[Indianapolis News]]|date=July 6, 1895|page=9|via=[[NewspaperARCHIVE.com]]}}</ref>]]
In 1895, Taylor and Munger relocated from Indianapolis to Worcester. At that time it was a center of the U.S. [[bicycle industry]] that included half a dozen factories and thirty bicycle shops. Munger, who was Taylor's employer, lifelong friend, and mentor, had decided to move his bicycle manufacturing business to the state of [[Massachusetts]],<ref name="champ" /><ref name=Moore29>{{cite journal | url =http://images.indianahistory.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16797coll39/id/4637 | last =Moore | first =Wilma L. | title =Everyday People: Sports Champions and History Makers | journal =Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History | volume =24 | issue =4 | page =29 | publisher =[[Indiana Historical Society]] | location =Indianapolis | date =Fall 2012 | access-date =January 19, 2019 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20190119121656/http://images.indianahistory.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16797coll39/id/4637 | archive-date =January 19, 2019 | url-status =live | df =mdy-all }}</ref> which was also a more tolerant area of the country.<ref name="youth">{{cite news |last=Arvia |first=Phil |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27378476/ |title=Recalling a Champ: Cyclist Major Taylor |newspaper=[[Daily Southtown|SouthtownStar]] |location=Tinley Park, Illinois|date=October 18, 2009|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
In 1895, Taylor and Munger relocated from Indianapolis to Worcester. At that time it was a center of the U.S. [[bicycle industry]] that included half a dozen factories and thirty bicycle shops. Munger, who was Taylor's employer, lifelong friend, and mentor, had decided to move his bicycle manufacturing business to the state of [[Massachusetts]],<ref name="champ" /><ref name=Moore29>{{cite journal | url =http://images.indianahistory.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16797coll39/id/4637 | last =Moore | first =Wilma L. | title =Everyday People: Sports Champions and History Makers | journal =Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History | volume =24 | issue =4 | page =29 | publisher =[[Indiana Historical Society]] | location =Indianapolis | date =Fall 2012 | access-date =January 19, 2019 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20190119121656/http://images.indianahistory.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16797coll39/id/4637 | archive-date =January 19, 2019 | url-status =live | df =mdy-all }}</ref> which was also a more tolerant area of the country.<ref name="youth">{{cite news |last=Arvia |first=Phil |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27378476/ |title=Recalling a Champ: Cyclist Major Taylor |newspaper=[[Daily Southtown|SouthtownStar]] |location=Tinley Park, Illinois|date=October 18, 2009|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>


Munger and Charles Boyd, a business partner, established the Worcester Cycle Manufacturing Company with factories in Worcester, and [[Middletown, Connecticut]]. For Taylor, who continued to work for Munger as a [[bicycle mechanic]] and messenger between the company's two factory locations,<ref name="champ" />{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=58–59}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|pp=50–51}} the move to the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]] offered "higher visibility, larger crowds, increased sponsorship dollars, and greater access to world-class cycling venues."{{sfn|Gant|Hoffman|2013|p=51}} After Taylor's relocation to Massachusetts, he joined the all-black Albion Cycling Club in 1895 and trained at [[YMCA]] in Worcester.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=61–63}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=52}} Taylor is first mentioned in ''[[The New York Times]]'' on September 26, 1895, as a competitor in the Citizen Handicap event, a ten-mile race on Ocean Parkway in [[Brooklyn]], New York. Taylor raced with a 1:30 handicap in a field of 200 competitors that included nine scratch riders.<ref name="tenmile">{{cite news |title = Pedalers Ready to Race|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28123222/|newspaper = [[The New York Times]]|date = September 26, 1895|page=6|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
Munger and Charles Boyd, a business partner, established the Worcester Cycle Manufacturing Company with factories in Worcester, and [[Middletown, Connecticut]]. For Taylor, who continued to work for Munger as a [[bicycle mechanic]] and messenger between the company's two factory locations,<ref name="champ" />{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=58–59}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|pp=50–51}} the move to the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]] offered "higher visibility, larger crowds, increased sponsorship dollars, and greater access to world-class cycling venues."{{sfn|Gant|Hoffman|2013|p=51}} After Taylor's relocation to Massachusetts, he joined the all-Black Albion Cycling Club in 1895 and trained at [[YMCA]] in Worcester.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=61–63}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=52}} Taylor is first mentioned in ''[[The New York Times]]'' on September 26, 1895, as a competitor in the Citizen Handicap event, a ten-mile race on Ocean Parkway in [[Brooklyn]], New York. Taylor raced with a 1:30 handicap in a field of 200 competitors that included nine scratch riders.<ref name="tenmile">{{cite news |title = Pedalers Ready to Race|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28123222/|newspaper = [[The New York Times]]|date = September 26, 1895|page=6|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>


In 1896, Taylor entered numerous races in the [[Northeastern United States|Northeastern states]] of Massachusetts, [[New Jersey]], and [[Connecticut]]. After winning a ten-mile road race in Worcester, Taylor competed in the {{convert|25|mi|km|adj=on}} Irvington–Millburn race in New Jersey, also known as the Derby of the East. Within half a mile ({{convert|0.5|mi|km|1|disp=output only}}) of the finish line, someone startled Taylor by tossing ice water into his face and he finished in 23rd place. Taylor's first major East Coast race was in a [[League of American Bicyclists|League of American Wheelmen]] (LAW) one-mile contest in [[New Haven]], Connecticut, where he started in last place but won the event.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=64–65}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|pp=54–56}} In August 1896, Taylor made a trip to Indianapolis, where he set an unofficial new track record of 2:11 {{frac|1|5}} for a distance of one mile at the Capital City [[velodrome]], beating Walter Sanger's official track record of 2:19 {{frac|2|5}}. (Taylor could not compete with Sanger, a professional racer, in a head-to-head contest because he was still an amateur.){{sfn|Gant|Hoffman|2013|p=53}}{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=65–66}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=57}}<ref name=IHBmarker>{{cite web | title =Marshall "Major" Taylor | publisher =[[Indiana State Library and Historical Bureau|Indiana Historical Bureau]] | url =http://www.in.gov/history/markers/MajorTaylor.htm | access-date =February 23, 2017 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20170331033318/http://www.in.gov/history/markers/MajorTaylor.htm | archive-date =March 31, 2017 | url-status =live | df =mdy-all }}</ref> Taylor's final amateur race took place on November 26, 1896, in the 25-mile Tatum Handicap at [[Jamaica, Queens|Jamaica]], New York. Taylor finished the race in 14th place.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=80}}{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=86}}
In 1896, Taylor entered numerous races in the [[Northeastern United States|Northeastern states]] of Massachusetts, [[New Jersey]], and [[Connecticut]]. After winning a ten-mile road race in Worcester, Taylor competed in the {{convert|25|mi|km|adj=on}} Irvington–Millburn race in New Jersey, also known as the Derby of the East. Within half a mile ({{convert|0.5|mi|km|1|disp=output only}}) of the finish line, someone startled Taylor by tossing ice water into his face and he finished in 23rd place. Taylor's first major East Coast race was in a [[League of American Bicyclists|League of American Wheelmen]] (LAW) one-mile contest in [[New Haven]], Connecticut, where he started in last place but won the event.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=64–65}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|pp=54–56}} In August 1896, Taylor made a trip to Indianapolis, where he set an unofficial new track record of 2:11 {{frac|1|5}} for a distance of one mile at the Capital City [[velodrome]], beating Walter Sanger's official track record of 2:19 {{frac|2|5}}. (Taylor could not compete with Sanger, a professional racer, in a head-to-head contest because he was still an amateur.){{sfn|Gant|Hoffman|2013|p=53}}{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=65–66}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=57}}<ref name=IHBmarker>{{cite web | title =Marshall "Major" Taylor | publisher =[[Indiana State Library and Historical Bureau|Indiana Historical Bureau]] | url =http://www.in.gov/history/markers/MajorTaylor.htm | access-date =February 23, 2017 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20170331033318/http://www.in.gov/history/markers/MajorTaylor.htm | archive-date =March 31, 2017 | url-status =live | df =mdy-all }}</ref> Taylor's final amateur race took place on November 26, 1896, in the 25-mile Tatum Handicap at [[Jamaica, Queens|Jamaica]], New York. Taylor finished the race in 14th place.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=80}}{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=86}}
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==Professional career==
==Professional career==

===1896: First races===
===1896: First races===

[[File:6 Day Bike Race, Madison Sq. Garden (2).jpg|thumb|[[Madison Square Garden (1890)|Madison Square Garden II]] ''(pictured in 1908)'' in [[New York City]], the venue of Taylor's first professional race in 1896]]
[[File:6 Day Bike Race, Madison Sq. Garden (2).jpg|thumb|[[Madison Square Garden (1890)|Madison Square Garden II]] ''(pictured in 1908)'' in [[New York City]], the venue of Taylor's first professional race in 1896]]
Taylor turned professional in 1896, at the age of eighteen, and soon emerged as the "most formidable racer in America."<ref name="champ" /> Taylor's first professional race took place in front of 5,000 spectators on December 5, 1896. He competed in a half-mile handicap event on an indoor track at [[New York City]]'s [[Madison Square Garden (1890)|Madison Square Garden II]] on the opening day of a multi-day event.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=86–88}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=61}} Although the main event was a [[Six-day racing|six-day race]] fm December 6–12, other contests in shorter distances were held on December 5 to entertain the crowd. These races included the half-mile handicap for professionals in which Taylor competed, a half-mile race between Jay Eaton and Teddy Goodman, and a half-mile [[scratch race]]. In addition, there were half-mile scratch and handicap races for amateurs.<ref name="madison" />
Taylor turned professional in 1896, at the age of eighteen, and soon emerged as the "most formidable racer in America."<ref name="champ" /> Taylor's first professional race took place in front of 5,000 spectators on December 5, 1896. He competed in a half-mile handicap event on an indoor track at [[New York City]]'s [[Madison Square Garden (1890)|Madison Square Garden II]] on the opening day of a multi-day event.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=86–88}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=61}} Although the main event was a [[Six-day racing|six-day race]] from December 6–12, other contests in shorter distances were held on December 5 to entertain the crowd. These races included the half-mile handicap for professionals in which Taylor competed, a half-mile race between Jay Eaton and Teddy Goodman, and a half-mile [[scratch race]]. In addition, there were half-mile scratch and handicap races for amateurs.<ref name="madison" />


Taylor began the half-mile handicap race on December 5, with a {{convert|35|yd|m|adj=on}} advantage over the scratch racers. He beat a field of competitors that included [[Tom Cooper (cyclist)|Tom Cooper]], [[Philadelphia]]'s A.C. Meixwell, and scratch rider Eddie C. Bald, who represented New York's [[Syracuse, New York|Syracuse]], and rode a Barnes bicycle. Taylor won the race riding Munger's "Birdie Special" bicycle and beat Bald by {{convert|20|yd|m}} in a sprint to the finish.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=85–88}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=62}}<ref name="madisonwin">{{cite news |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/baldboris-w-sports-clipping-dec-06-1896-996952 |title=Severe Spills — Defective Banking at Madison Square Garden Throws Many Riders |newspaper=[[The Post-Standard|Syracuse Daily Standard]] |location=Syracuse, New York|date=December 6, 1896|via=[[NewspaperARCHIVE.com]]}}</ref>
Taylor began the half-mile handicap race on December 5, with a {{convert|35|yd|m|adj=on}} advantage over the scratch racers. He beat a field of competitors that included [[Tom Cooper (cyclist)|Tom Cooper]], [[Philadelphia]]'s A.C. Meixwell, and scratch rider Eddie C. Bald, who represented New York's [[Syracuse, New York|Syracuse]], and rode a Barnes bicycle. Taylor won the race riding Munger's "Birdie Special" bicycle and beat Bald by {{convert|20|yd|m}} in a sprint to the finish.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=85–88}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=62}}<ref name="madisonwin">{{cite news |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/baldboris-w-sports-clipping-dec-06-1896-996952 |title=Severe Spills — Defective Banking at Madison Square Garden Throws Many Riders |newspaper=[[The Post-Standard|Syracuse Daily Standard]] |location=Syracuse, New York|date=December 6, 1896|via=[[NewspaperARCHIVE.com]]}}</ref>
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===1897–1898: Fame and records===
===1897–1898: Fame and records===

[[File:Boston pursuit team 1897.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Taylor with the [[Boston]] [[Team pursuit|pursuit]] team of 1897; one of the first known photographs of an integrated American professional sports team<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=O'Connor|first1=Brion|title=Honoring Major Taylor, America's first black world champion in any sport|url=https://www.si.com/edge/2015/02/25/major-taylor-americas-first-black-world-champion|access-date=April 5, 2017|magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]]|publisher=[[Time Inc.]]|date=February 25, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406111130/https://www.si.com/edge/2015/02/25/major-taylor-americas-first-black-world-champion|archive-date=April 6, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>]]
[[File:Boston pursuit team 1897.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Taylor with the [[Boston]] [[Team pursuit|pursuit]] team of 1897; one of the first known photographs of an integrated American professional sports team<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=O'Connor|first1=Brion|title=Honoring Major Taylor, America's first black world champion in any sport|url=https://www.si.com/edge/2015/02/25/major-taylor-americas-first-black-world-champion|access-date=April 5, 2017|magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]]|publisher=[[Time Inc.]]|date=February 25, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406111130/https://www.si.com/edge/2015/02/25/major-taylor-americas-first-black-world-champion|archive-date=April 6, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>]]
Taylor initially raced for Munger's Worcester Cycle Manufacturing Company. After the company went into receivership in 1897 he joined other racing teams.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=116–117}} Taylor competed in his first full year on the professional racing circuit in 1897.{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=74}} Early in the season, at the Bostonian Cycle Club's "Blue Ribbon Meet" on May 19, 1897, Taylor rode a Comet bicycle to win first place in the one-mile open professional race.<ref name="newton">{{cite news |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-may-23-1897-996874 |title=Again Winners! Newton Tires |newspaper=[[Boston Daily Globe]]|date=May 23, 1897|via=[[NewspaperARCHIVE.com]]}}</ref> On June 26, he won a quarter-mile ({{convert|0.25|mi|m|0|disp=output only}}) race at the track at [[Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn]]. Taylor also beat Eddie Bald in a one-mile race in [[Reading, Pennsylvania]], but finished fourth in the prestigious LAW convention in Philadelphia.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=100}}{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=103–104}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=71}}
Taylor initially raced for Munger's Worcester Cycle Manufacturing Company. After the company went into receivership in 1897 he joined other racing teams.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=116–117}} Taylor competed in his first full year on the professional racing circuit in 1897.{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=74}} Early in the season, at the Bostonian Cycle Club's "Blue Ribbon Meet" on May 19, 1897, Taylor rode a Comet bicycle to win first place in the one-mile open professional race.<ref name="newton">{{cite news |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-may-23-1897-996874 |title=Again Winners! Newton Tires |newspaper=[[Boston Daily Globe]]|date=May 23, 1897|via=[[NewspaperARCHIVE.com]]}}</ref> On June 26, he won a quarter-mile ({{convert|0.25|mi|m|0|disp=output only}}) race at the track at [[Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn]]. Taylor also beat Eddie Bald in a one-mile race in [[Reading, Pennsylvania]], but finished fourth in the prestigious LAW convention in Philadelphia.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=100}}{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=103–104}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=71}}
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Taylor was among several top cyclists who could claim the national championship in 1898; however, scoring variations and the formation of a new cycling league that year "clouded" his claim to the title.<ref name="champ" /> Early in the year a group of professional racers that included Taylor had left the LAW to join a rival group, the American Racing Cyclists' Union (ARCU), and its professional racing group, the National Cycling Association (NCA). During the ARCU sprint championship in [[St. Louis]] and [[Cape Girardeau, Missouri]], Taylor, who was a devout [[Baptist]], refused to compete for religious reasons in the finals of the championship races because they were held on a Sunday. As a result of Taylor's decision not to race in the finals at Cape Girardeau, the ARCU suspended him from membership. Taylor petitioned the LAW for reinstatement in 1898 and was accepted, but [[Tom Butler (cyclist)|Tom Butler]], who had remained a LAW member after the break-up, was declared the League's champion that year.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=142}}{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=147–148}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|pp=102–103}}{{efn|[[Earl Kiser]], nicknamed the "Little Dayton Demon," raced for the Stearns "Yellow Fellow" team during the same era as Taylor. Kiser became a two-time world cycling champion and competed all across Europe in the late 1890s. After Taylor was barred from racing, Kiser petitioned the ARCU to have him included.<ref>{{cite web|last=Archdeacon|first=Tom|url=https://www.daytondailynews.com/sports/local-shares-story-overlooked-athlete/ljZWLWI6C5Zu0T2VWFbKSN/|title=Local shares story of overlooked athlete|newspaper=[[Dayton Daily News]]|publisher=Cox Ohio Publishing|date=July 10, 2012|access-date=April 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207045023/https://www.daytondailynews.com/sports/local-shares-story-overlooked-athlete/ljZWLWI6C5Zu0T2VWFbKSN/|archive-date=February 7, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>}}
Taylor was among several top cyclists who could claim the national championship in 1898; however, scoring variations and the formation of a new cycling league that year "clouded" his claim to the title.<ref name="champ" /> Early in the year a group of professional racers that included Taylor had left the LAW to join a rival group, the American Racing Cyclists' Union (ARCU), and its professional racing group, the National Cycling Association (NCA). During the ARCU sprint championship in [[St. Louis]] and [[Cape Girardeau, Missouri]], Taylor, who was a devout [[Baptist]], refused to compete for religious reasons in the finals of the championship races because they were held on a Sunday. As a result of Taylor's decision not to race in the finals at Cape Girardeau, the ARCU suspended him from membership. Taylor petitioned the LAW for reinstatement in 1898 and was accepted, but [[Tom Butler (cyclist)|Tom Butler]], who had remained a LAW member after the break-up, was declared the League's champion that year.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=142}}{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=147–148}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|pp=102–103}}{{efn|[[Earl Kiser]], nicknamed the "Little Dayton Demon," raced for the Stearns "Yellow Fellow" team during the same era as Taylor. Kiser became a two-time world cycling champion and competed all across Europe in the late 1890s. After Taylor was barred from racing, Kiser petitioned the ARCU to have him included.<ref>{{cite web|last=Archdeacon|first=Tom|url=https://www.daytondailynews.com/sports/local-shares-story-overlooked-athlete/ljZWLWI6C5Zu0T2VWFbKSN/|title=Local shares story of overlooked athlete|newspaper=[[Dayton Daily News]]|publisher=Cox Ohio Publishing|date=July 10, 2012|access-date=April 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207045023/https://www.daytondailynews.com/sports/local-shares-story-overlooked-athlete/ljZWLWI6C5Zu0T2VWFbKSN/|archive-date=February 7, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>}}


During 1898–99, at the peak of his cycling career, Taylor established seven [[List of world records in track cycling|world records]];<ref name="youth" /><ref name="champ">{{cite news |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-mar-08-1970-996816|title=They had a Dream |newspaper=[[Chronicle-Telegram]] |location=Elyria, Ohio |date=March 8, 1970|via=[[NewspaperARCHIVE.com]]}}</ref> the quarter-mile, the one-third-mile ({{convert|0.33|mi|m|0|disp=output only}}), the half-mile, the two-thirds-mile ({{convert|0.66|mi|km|1|disp=output only}}), the three-quarters-mile ({{convert|0.75|mi|km|1|disp=output only}}), the one-mile, and the two-mile ({{convert|2|mi|km|1|disp=output only}}) distances. His one-mile world record of 1:41 from a standing start stood for 28 years.<ref name="year1899">{{cite news |url=http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/more.htm |title=Who was Major Taylor? |newspaper=[[Telegram & Gazette]] |location=Worcester, Massachusetts |first=Albert B. |last=Southwick |date=September 16, 2001 |access-date=February 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614121633/http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/more.htm |archive-date=June 14, 2018 |url-status=live |via= Major Taylor Association, Inc.}}</ref>
During 1898–99, at the peak of his cycling career, Taylor established seven [[List of world records in track cycling|world records]];<ref name="youth" /><ref name="champ">{{cite news |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-mar-08-1970-996816|title=They had a Dream |newspaper=Chronicle-Telegram |location=Elyria, Ohio |date=March 8, 1970|via=[[NewspaperARCHIVE.com]]}}</ref> the quarter-mile, the one-third-mile ({{convert|0.33|mi|m|0|disp=output only}}), the half-mile, the two-thirds-mile ({{convert|0.66|mi|km|1|disp=output only}}), the three-quarters-mile ({{convert|0.75|mi|km|1|disp=output only}}), the one-mile, and the two-mile ({{convert|2|mi|km|1|disp=output only}}) distances. His one-mile world record of 1:41 from a standing start stood for 28 years.<ref name="year1899">{{cite news |url=http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/more.htm |title=Who was Major Taylor? |newspaper=[[Telegram & Gazette]] |location=Worcester, Massachusetts |first=Albert B. |last=Southwick |date=September 16, 2001 |access-date=February 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614121633/http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/more.htm |archive-date=June 14, 2018 |url-status=live |via= Major Taylor Association, Inc.}}</ref>


===1899: World sprint champion===
===1899: World sprint champion===

[[File:VelodromeQP,Fig.7F, piste,vue vers le nord,photo,1899.JPG|thumb|left|Taylor became the first [[Black American]] to win a [[world championship]] in any sport at the [[1899 ICA Track Cycling World Championships|1899 track world championships]] at the [[Vélodrome de Queen's Park]] in [[Montreal]], Canada.]]
[[File:VelodromeQP,Fig.7F, piste,vue vers le nord,photo,1899.JPG|thumb|left|Taylor became the first [[Black American]] to win a [[world championship]] in any sport at the [[1899 ICA Track Cycling World Championships|1899 track world championships]] at the [[Vélodrome de Queen's Park]] in [[Montreal]], Canada.]]
At the [[1899 ICA Track Cycling World Championships|1899 world championships]] in [[Montreal]], Canada, Taylor won the one-mile sprint, to become the first [[African Americans|African American]] to win a world championship in cycling. Taylor was the second black athlete, after Canadian bantamweight boxer [[George Dixon (boxer)|George Dixon]] of [[Boston]], to win a world championship in any sport.<ref name="youth" /><ref name=IHBmarker/> For decades he was the only black athlete to be a world champion in cycling.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/nine-time-track-world-champion-gregory-bauge-announces-retirement/|title=Nine-time track world champion Grégory Baugé announces retirement|date=January 11, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Pego |title=Marshall Walter Taylor (1878-1932) |publisher=GVA |date=June 20, 2020}}</ref> Taylor won the one-mile world championship sprint in a close finish a few feet ahead of Frenchman Courbe d'Outrelon and American Tom Butler.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=165}}{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=168}} In addition, Taylor placed second in the two-mile championship sprint at Montreal behind Charles McCarthy and won the half-mile championship race.<ref name="champ" />{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=161–162}}{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=166}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|pp=127–129}} Because the finals were held on Sundays, when Taylor refused to compete for religious reasons, he did not compete in another world championship contest until 1909 in [[Copenhagen]], Denmark. Taylor lost in a preliminary heat at Copenhagen and did not compete in the finals.{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=128}}
At the [[1899 ICA Track Cycling World Championships|1899 world championships]] in [[Montreal]], Canada, Taylor won the one-mile sprint, to become the first [[African Americans|African American]] to win a world championship in cycling. Taylor was the second black athlete, after Canadian bantamweight boxer [[George Dixon (boxer)|George Dixon]] of [[Boston]], to win a world championship in any sport.<ref name="youth" /><ref name=IHBmarker/> For decades he was the only black athlete to be a world champion in cycling.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/nine-time-track-world-champion-gregory-bauge-announces-retirement/|title=Nine-time track world champion Grégory Baugé announces retirement|date=January 11, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Pego |title=Marshall Walter Taylor (1878-1932) |publisher=GVA |date=June 20, 2020}}</ref> Taylor won the one-mile world championship sprint in a close finish a few feet ahead of Frenchman Courbe d'Outrelon and American Tom Butler.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=165}}{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=168}} In addition, Taylor placed second in the two-mile championship sprint at Montreal behind Charles McCarthy and won the half-mile championship race.<ref name="champ" />{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=161–162}}{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=166}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|pp=127–129}} Because the finals were held on Sundays, when Taylor refused to compete for religious reasons, he did not compete in another world championship contest until 1909 in [[Copenhagen]], Denmark. Taylor lost in a preliminary heat at Copenhagen and did not compete in the finals.{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=128}}
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===1900: American sprint champion===
===1900: American sprint champion===

In 1900, when the LAW no longer governed professional bicycle races in the U.S., Taylor's future as a professional racer was in jeopardy. Fortunately, the ARCU and the NCA, who had banned Taylor from competing in their leagues, readmitted him after payment of a $500 fine.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=173–175}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=142}} Taylor won the American sprint championship on points in 1900. He also beat Tom Cooper, the 1899 NCA champion, in a head-to-head match in a one-mile race at Madison Square Garden in front of 50,000 to 60,000 spectators. In addition, Taylor set world records in the half-mile and two-thirds-mile sprints and raced indoors using a "home trainer" in head-to-head competitions with other riders as a vaudeville act.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=189}}{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=193}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|pp=155–156}} Taylor eventually settled in Worcester, where he purchased a home on Hobson Street in 1900.{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=138}}
In 1900, when the LAW no longer governed professional bicycle races in the U.S., Taylor's future as a professional racer was in jeopardy. Fortunately, the ARCU and the NCA, who had banned Taylor from competing in their leagues, readmitted him after payment of a $500 fine.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=173–175}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=142}} Taylor won the American sprint championship on points in 1900. He also beat Tom Cooper, the 1899 NCA champion, in a head-to-head match in a one-mile race at Madison Square Garden in front of 50,000 to 60,000 spectators. In addition, Taylor set world records in the half-mile and two-thirds-mile sprints and raced indoors using a "home trainer" in head-to-head competitions with other riders as a vaudeville act.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=189}}{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=193}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|pp=155–156}} Taylor eventually settled in Worcester, where he purchased a home on Hobson Street in 1900.{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=138}}


===1901–1904: Europe and Australasia===
===1901–1904: Europe and Australia===

[[File:Btv1b84333426-p073-2.jpg|thumb|Taylor racing against [[Edmond Jacquelin]] at Paris' [[Parc des Princes]] in 1901]]
[[File:Btv1b84333426-p073-2.jpg|thumb|Taylor racing against [[Edmond Jacquelin]] at Paris' [[Parc des Princes]] in 1901]]
Following his record-setting successes in the U.S. and Canada, Taylor agreed to a European tour. In 1901, Taylor made his first trip to Europe, but returned to compete in the U.S. after the conclusion of the European spring racing season. During his European tour Taylor still refused to race on Sundays, when most of the finals were held, because of his religious convictions.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=199}}{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=203}}{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=207}}{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=254}} It was reported that Taylor took a [[Bible]] with him when he travelled and began each race with a silent prayer because of his religious beliefs.<ref name="champ" />
Following his record-setting successes in the U.S. and Canada, Taylor agreed to a European tour. In 1901, Taylor made his first trip to Europe, but returned to compete in the U.S. after the conclusion of the European spring racing season. During his European tour Taylor still refused to race on Sundays, when most of the finals were held, because of his religious convictions.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=199}}{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=203}}{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=207}}{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=254}} It was reported that Taylor took a [[Bible]] with him when he travelled and began each race with a silent prayer because of his religious beliefs.<ref name="champ" /> <ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.indianamuseum.org/|title=Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites|website=Indianamuseum.org|access-date=July 30, 2024}}</ref>
[[File:Major Taylor 1901 trophy.jpg|thumb|Trophy presented to Major Taylor at Parc des Princes, Paris on May 27, 1901, in the [https://www.indianamuseum.org Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites Collection]]]
[[File:Major Taylor 1901 trophy.jpg|thumb|Trophy presented to Major Taylor at Parc des Princes, Paris on May 27, 1901, in the [https://www.indianamuseum.org Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites Collection]]]
Taylor was popular among the European race fans and news reporters: "Everywhere he went he was mobbed, talked about, or written up."{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=210}} In 1901, Taylor won 18 of the 24 European races he entered, notching up 42 victories when the individual heats are counted.<ref name="McKay">{{Cite web|last=McKay|first=Feargal|date=January 9, 2022|title=Mythologies: Major Taylor, Henri Desgrange and a Wheelbarrow Full of Centimes|url=https://www.podiumcafe.com/book-corner/2022/1/9/22837935/henri-desgrange-major-taylor-tour-de-france-racism|access-date=January 21, 2022|website=Podium Cafe|language=en}}</ref> A highlight of Taylor's European tour in 1901 was the two match races with French champion [[Edmond Jacquelin]] at the [[Parc des Princes]] in Paris, the winner in each decided over the best of three heats. Jacquelin won the first match, on May 16, two heats to nil, a wheel length sealing the win in the first heat, two lengths the gap in the second. Taylor triumphed in the second match, on May 27, two heats to nil, four lengths his margin of victory in the first heat, three the gap in the second.<ref name="McKay"/>
Taylor was popular among the European race fans and news reporters: "Everywhere he went he was mobbed, talked about, or written up."{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=210}} In 1901, Taylor won 18 of the 24 European races he entered, notching up 42 victories when the individual heats are counted.<ref name="McKay">{{Cite web|last=McKay|first=Feargal|date=January 9, 2022|title=Mythologies: Major Taylor, Henri Desgrange and a Wheelbarrow Full of Centimes|url=https://www.podiumcafe.com/book-corner/2022/1/9/22837935/henri-desgrange-major-taylor-tour-de-france-racism|access-date=January 21, 2022|website=Podium Cafe|language=en}}</ref> A highlight of Taylor's European tour in 1901 was the two match races with French champion [[Edmond Jacquelin]] at the [[Parc des Princes]] in Paris, the winner in each decided over the best of three heats. Jacquelin won the first match, on May 16, two heats to nil, a wheel length sealing the win in the first heat, two lengths the gap in the second. Taylor triumphed in the second match, on May 27, two heats to nil, four lengths his margin of victory in the first heat, three the gap in the second.<ref name="McKay"/>
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==Racism in cycling==
==Racism in cycling==

[[File:LAW black membership ban, The Bearings, February 23, 1894.jpg|thumb|left|A caricature published in the edition of February 23, 1894, of ''The Bearings'' cycling magazine, illustrating the ban of blacks from membership to the [[League of American Bicyclists|League of American Wheelmen]]]]
[[File:LAW black membership ban, The Bearings, February 23, 1894.jpg|thumb|left|A caricature published in the edition of February 23, 1894, of ''The Bearings'' cycling magazine, illustrating the ban of blacks from membership to the [[League of American Bicyclists|League of American Wheelmen]]]]
As Taylor gained notoriety as an amateur and a professional, he did not escape racial segregation. In 1894, the LAW changed its bylaws to exclude blacks from membership; however, it did permit them to compete in its races. Although Taylor's cycling was greatly celebrated abroad, particularly in France, his career was still restricted by [[racism]], particularly in the Southern U.S., where some local promoters would not permit Taylor to compete against white cyclists.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=31–32}}{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=115}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=37}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=41}} Some restaurants and hotels also refused to serve him or provide him lodging.<ref name="hay" />
As Taylor gained notoriety as an amateur and a professional, he did not escape racial segregation. In 1894, the LAW changed its bylaws to exclude blacks from membership; however, it did permit them to compete in its races. Although Taylor's cycling was greatly celebrated abroad, particularly in France, his career was still restricted by [[racism]], particularly in the Southern U.S., where some local promoters would not permit Taylor to compete against white cyclists.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=31–32}}{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=115}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=37}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=41}} Some restaurants and hotels also refused to serve him or provide him lodging.<ref name="hay" />
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| caption3 = Taylor's grave at Mount Glenwood Memory Gardens South
| caption3 = Taylor's grave at Mount Glenwood Memory Gardens South
}}
}}

After retiring from competition, Taylor applied to [[Worcester Polytechnic Institute]] to study engineering, despite the fact that he did not have a high school diploma, but he was denied admission<ref name="Rhoden">{{cite book |last1=Rhoden |first1=William C. |title=$40 million slaves : the rise, fall, and redemption of the black athlete |date=2006 |publisher=Crown |location=New York [New York] |isbn=0307565742 |pages=89–90 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YcUPAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA88 |access-date=January 5, 2023}}</ref> and took up various business ventures.
After retiring from competition, Taylor applied to [[Worcester Polytechnic Institute]] to study engineering, despite the fact that he did not have a high school diploma, but he was denied admission<ref name="Rhoden">{{cite book |last1=Rhoden |first1=William C. |title=$40 million slaves : the rise, fall, and redemption of the black athlete |date=2006 |publisher=Crown |location=New York [New York] |isbn=0307565742 |pages=89–90 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YcUPAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA88 |access-date=January 5, 2023}}</ref> and took up various business ventures.


Nearly twenty years after his retirement, Taylor wrote and self-published his autobiography, ''The Fastest Bicycle Rider in the World: The Story of a Colored Boy's Indomitable Courage and Success Against Great Odds: An Autobiography'' (1928).{{efn|The original version of Taylor's autobiography, printed by The Commonwealth Press in [[Worcester, Massachusetts]], has a copyright date of 1928; however, other sources indicate that it was not published until 1929.{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|pp=239–243}}<ref name=IHBmarker />}} According to his book, Taylor was upbeat about his retirement: "I felt I had my day, and a wonderful day it was too." Taylor also claimed he had no regrets and "no animosity toward any man," but his autobiography included hints of bitterness in regard to his treatment as a competitor: "I always played the game fairly and tried my hardest, although I was not always given a square deal or anything like it."{{sfn|Taylor|1928|pp=421–422}}
Nearly 20 years after his retirement, Taylor wrote and self-published his autobiography, ''The Fastest Bicycle Rider in the World: The Story of a Colored Boy's Indomitable Courage and Success Against Great Odds: An Autobiography'' (1928).{{efn|The original version of Taylor's autobiography, printed by The Commonwealth Press in [[Worcester, Massachusetts]], has a copyright date of 1928; however, other sources indicate that it was not published until 1929.{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|pp=239–243}}<ref name=IHBmarker />}} According to his book, Taylor was upbeat about his retirement: "I felt I had my day, and a wonderful day it was too." Taylor also claimed he had no regrets and "no animosity toward any man," but his autobiography included hints of bitterness in regard to his treatment as a competitor: "I always played the game fairly and tried my hardest, although I was not always given a square deal or anything like it."{{sfn|Taylor|1928|pp=421–422}}


By 1930 Taylor had experienced severe financial difficulties from bad investments (including self-publishing his autobiography), the [[stock market crash]], and businesses that proved unsuccessful. Taylor's home in Worcester and some of the family's personal property were sold to pay off debts. He also suffered from persistent ill health in his later years.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=320–322}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|pp=221–225}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=235}}
By 1930, Taylor had experienced severe financial difficulties from bad investments (including self-publishing his autobiography), the [[stock market crash]], and businesses that proved unsuccessful. Taylor's home in Worcester and some of the family's personal property were sold to pay off debts. He also suffered from persistent ill health in his later years.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|pp=320–322}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|pp=221–225}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=235}}


Little is known of Taylor's life after the failure of his marriage and his move to Chicago around 1930. Taylor spent the final two years of his life in poverty, selling copies of his autobiography to earn a meagre income and residing at [[YMCA Hotel (Chicago, Illinois)|YMCA Hotel]] in Chicago's [[Bronzeville, Chicago|Bronzeville]] neighborhood.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=335}}
Little is known of Taylor's life after the failure of his marriage and his move to Chicago around 1930. Taylor spent the final two years of his life in poverty, selling copies of his autobiography to earn a meagre income and residing at [[YMCA Hotel (Chicago, Illinois)|YMCA Hotel]] in Chicago's [[Bronzeville, Chicago|Bronzeville]] neighborhood.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=335}}
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==Legacy==
==Legacy==

Taylor's legacy lies in his willingness to challenge racial prejudice as an African American athlete in the white-dominated sport of cycling. He was also hailed as a sports hero in France and Australia. Taylor, who became a role model for other athletes facing racial prejudice and discrimination,<ref name="hay" /> was "the first great black celebrity athlete" and a pioneer in his efforts to challenge [[Race and sports|segregation in sports]]. He also paved the way for others facing similar circumstances.<ref name="year1899" /> Taylor explained in his autobiography that he had no other African Americans to offer him advice and "therefore had to blaze my own trail."{{sfn|Taylor|1928|p=427}}
Taylor's legacy lies in his willingness to challenge racial prejudice as an African American athlete in the white-dominated sport of cycling. He was also hailed as a sports hero in France and Australia. Taylor, who became a role model for other athletes facing racial prejudice and discrimination,<ref name="hay" /> was "the first great black celebrity athlete" and a pioneer in his efforts to challenge [[Race and sports|segregation in sports]]. He also paved the way for others facing similar circumstances.<ref name="year1899" /> Taylor explained in his autobiography that he had no other African Americans to offer him advice and "therefore had to blaze my own trail."{{sfn|Taylor|1928|p=427}}


===Honors and tributes===
===Honors and tributes===
{{Multiple image
| header = Honors and tributes
| align = right
| direction =
| total_width = 300
| perrow = 2/1
| image1= Major Taylor Velodrome (14524049980).jpg
| caption1 = A plaque commemorating the 1982 dedication of the [[Major Taylor Velodrome]] in [[Indianapolis]], [[Indiana]]
| image2= Major Taylor Memorial, Worcester, MA.jpg
| caption2 = Memorial to Taylor outside the [[Worcester Public Library]]
| image3 = Major Taylor Blvd in Worcester, Massachusetts.jpg
| caption3 = Major Taylor Boulevard in Worcester
| image4 = Major Taylor Museum in Worcester, Massachusetts.jpg
| caption4 = Major Taylor Museum in Worcester
}}
Taylor's legacy remained largely unknown until 1982, when the [[Major Taylor Velodrome]] in Indianapolis opened for the city's hosting of the [[U.S. Olympic Festival]].{{sfn|Gray|2003|p=188}} Annual events taking place in the velodrome or the wider Indy Cycloplex named in honor of Taylor include the Major Taylor Racing League track series, and from 2015, the Major Taylor Cross Cup second division UCI [[cyclo-cross]] event.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cyclocross |url=http://indycycloplex.com/cyclocross/ |website=Indy Cycloplex |access-date=February 7, 2019}}</ref> Taylor was posthumously inducted into the [[United States Bicycling Hall of Fame|U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame]] in 1989.<ref>{{cite web|title=Marshall 'Major' Taylor|url=http://www.usbhof.org/inductee-by-year/8-marshall-major-taylor|publisher=[[United States Bicycling Hall of Fame|U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame]]|access-date=April 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406110734/http://www.usbhof.org/inductee-by-year/8-marshall-major-taylor|archive-date=April 6, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1996 and 1997, Taylor was posthumously awarded with the [[USA Cycling]] Korbel Lifetime Achievement Award and the Massachusetts Hall of Black Achievement, respectively.<ref>{{cite news|last=Tolman|first=Lynne|title=Major Taylor's influence continues|url=http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/influence.htm|publisher=Major Taylor Association|access-date=April 11, 2017|date=February 8, 1998|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228201935/http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/influence.htm|archive-date=December 28, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Marshall Walter "Major" Taylor|journal = Massachusetts Hall of Black Achievement|date = January 1997|url=http://vc.bridgew.edu/hoba/18/#_ga=1.207269971.1717511477.1491506822|publisher=[[Bridgewater State University]]|access-date=April 11, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170522061951/http://vc.bridgew.edu/hoba/18/#_ga=1.207269971.1717511477.1491506822|archive-date=May 22, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2002, he was one of the nine track cyclists inducted into the [[UCI Hall of Fame]], created to commemorate 100 years of the [[Paris–Roubaix]] one-day road race and the inauguration of the [[World Cycling Centre]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Paris-Roubaix 100 Years Old and the UCI's WCC Inauguration in Aigle|url=http://oldsite.uci.ch/english/news/news_2002/20020413_comm.htm|access-date=April 8, 2017|work=[[Union Cycliste Internationale|UCI]]|date=April 14, 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120817045320/http://oldsite.uci.ch/english/news/news_2002/20020413_comm.htm|archive-date=August 17, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2003, he was named a Sports Ethics Fellow by the Institute for International Sport.<ref>{{cite news|title=Major Taylor recognized for sportsmanship|url=http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/news/mar03.htm|access-date=April 11, 2017|date=March 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228061217/http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/news/mar03.htm|archive-date=December 28, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> During the [[2005 UCI Track Cycling World Championships]] in Los Angeles, a [[Cycles Peugeot|Peugeot bicycle]] that Taylor had owned, and then was donated to the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame, was put on display inside the [[VELO Sports Center|ADT Event Center]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Maloney|first=Tim|title=Major Taylor's bike displayed at Track World's|url=http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/major-taylors-bike-displayed-at-track-worlds/|access-date=February 6, 2019|work=[[Cyclingnews.com]]|publisher=[[Immediate Media Company]]|date=March 22, 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207043848/http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/major-taylors-bike-displayed-at-track-worlds/|archive-date=February 7, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2009, a [[state historical marker]] was installed as a tribute to Taylor near the [[Indiana State Fair]]grounds in Indianapolis, where the Capital City track once stood, and where he had set an unofficial track record in 1896.<ref name=IHBmarker/> In 2018, he was honored with a special tribute award at the International Athletic Association's [[Jesse Owens Award]]s held at the [[National Museum of African American History and Culture]].<ref>{{cite press release |title=Olympic Gold Medalist Bob Beamon & World Champion Cyclist Marshall "Major" Taylor Receive 2018 Jesse Owens Awards |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/olympic-gold-medalist-bob-beamon--world-champion-cyclist-marshall-major-taylor-receive-2018-jesse-owens-awards-300729755.html |access-date=May 23, 2019 |publisher=[[Hennessy]] |agency=[[PR Newswire]] |date=October 11, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523231430/https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/olympic-gold-medalist-bob-beamon--world-champion-cyclist-marshall-major-taylor-receive-2018-jesse-owens-awards-300729755.html |archive-date=May 23, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Taylor's legacy remained largely unknown until 1982, when the [[Major Taylor Velodrome]] in Indianapolis opened for the city's hosting of the [[U.S. Olympic Festival]].{{sfn|Gray|2003|p=188}} Annual events taking place in the velodrome or the wider Indy Cycloplex named in honor of Taylor include the Major Taylor Racing League track series, and from 2015, the Major Taylor Cross Cup second division UCI [[cyclo-cross]] event.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cyclocross |url=http://indycycloplex.com/cyclocross/ |website=Indy Cycloplex |access-date=February 7, 2019}}</ref> Taylor was posthumously inducted into the [[United States Bicycling Hall of Fame|U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame]] in 1989.<ref>{{cite web|title=Marshall 'Major' Taylor|url=http://www.usbhof.org/inductee-by-year/8-marshall-major-taylor|publisher=[[United States Bicycling Hall of Fame|U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame]]|access-date=April 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406110734/http://www.usbhof.org/inductee-by-year/8-marshall-major-taylor|archive-date=April 6, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1996 and 1997, Taylor was posthumously awarded with the [[USA Cycling]] Korbel Lifetime Achievement Award and the Massachusetts Hall of Black Achievement, respectively.<ref>{{cite news|last=Tolman|first=Lynne|title=Major Taylor's influence continues|url=http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/influence.htm|publisher=Major Taylor Association|access-date=April 11, 2017|date=February 8, 1998|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228201935/http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/influence.htm|archive-date=December 28, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Marshall Walter "Major" Taylor|journal = Massachusetts Hall of Black Achievement|date = January 1997|url=http://vc.bridgew.edu/hoba/18/#_ga=1.207269971.1717511477.1491506822|publisher=[[Bridgewater State University]]|access-date=April 11, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170522061951/http://vc.bridgew.edu/hoba/18/#_ga=1.207269971.1717511477.1491506822|archive-date=May 22, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2002, he was one of the nine track cyclists inducted into the [[UCI Hall of Fame]], created to commemorate 100 years of the [[Paris–Roubaix]] one-day road race and the inauguration of the [[World Cycling Centre]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Paris-Roubaix 100 Years Old and the UCI's WCC Inauguration in Aigle|url=http://oldsite.uci.ch/english/news/news_2002/20020413_comm.htm|access-date=April 8, 2017|work=[[Union Cycliste Internationale|UCI]]|date=April 14, 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120817045320/http://oldsite.uci.ch/english/news/news_2002/20020413_comm.htm|archive-date=August 17, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2003, he was named a Sports Ethics Fellow by the Institute for International Sport.<ref>{{cite news|title=Major Taylor recognized for sportsmanship|url=http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/news/mar03.htm|access-date=April 11, 2017|date=March 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228061217/http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/news/mar03.htm|archive-date=December 28, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> During the [[2005 UCI Track Cycling World Championships]] in Los Angeles, a [[Cycles Peugeot|Peugeot bicycle]] that Taylor had owned, and then was donated to the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame, was put on display inside the [[VELO Sports Center|ADT Event Center]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Maloney|first=Tim|title=Major Taylor's bike displayed at Track World's|url=http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/major-taylors-bike-displayed-at-track-worlds/|access-date=February 6, 2019|work=[[Cyclingnews.com]]|publisher=[[Immediate Media Company]]|date=March 22, 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207043848/http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/major-taylors-bike-displayed-at-track-worlds/|archive-date=February 7, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2009, a [[state historical marker]] was installed as a tribute to Taylor near the [[Indiana State Fair]]grounds in Indianapolis, where the Capital City track once stood, and where he had set an unofficial track record in 1896.<ref name=IHBmarker/> In 2018, he was honored with a special tribute award at the International Athletic Association's [[Jesse Owens Award]]s held at the [[National Museum of African American History and Culture]].<ref>{{cite press release |title=Olympic Gold Medalist Bob Beamon & World Champion Cyclist Marshall "Major" Taylor Receive 2018 Jesse Owens Awards |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/olympic-gold-medalist-bob-beamon--world-champion-cyclist-marshall-major-taylor-receive-2018-jesse-owens-awards-300729755.html |access-date=May 23, 2019 |publisher=[[Hennessy]] |agency=[[PR Newswire]] |date=October 11, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523231430/https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/olympic-gold-medalist-bob-beamon--world-champion-cyclist-marshall-major-taylor-receive-2018-jesse-owens-awards-300729755.html |archive-date=May 23, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>


In 1998, in Taylor's adopted hometown of Worcester, where he lived for 35 years, the Major Taylor Association was formed by locals with the goal of erecting a permanent memorial to Taylor outside the [[Worcester Public Library]] and telling his story.<ref>{{cite news |last=Tolman |first=Lynne |title= "Worcester Whirlwind" overcame bias |url=http://www.ltolman.org/taylor4.htm |access-date=February 7, 2019 |work=[[Telegram & Gazette]] |date=July 23, 1995 |location=Worcester, MA |via=LTolman.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170107103607/http://www.ltolman.org/taylor4.htm |archive-date=January 7, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="cn-monument">{{cite news|title=A Major Monument|url=http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/a-major-monument/|access-date=February 6, 2019|work=[[Cyclingnews.com]]|publisher=[[Immediate Media Company]]|date=May 26, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207044203/http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/a-major-monument/|archive-date=February 7, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Tolman |first=Lynne |title=Put a lid on bike injuries |url=http://www.ltolman.org/helmet.htm |access-date=February 6, 2019 |work=[[Telegram & Gazette]] |date=June 7, 1998 |location=Worcester, MA |via=LTolman.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170107111118/http://www.ltolman.org/helmet.htm |archive-date=January 7, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Nony |first1=Céline |title=Black sports stars – Major Taylor, so long forgotten |url=http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/news/Lequipe-13-Aug-2018-English.pdf |work=[[L'Équipe]] |date=August 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207190116/http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/news/Lequipe-13-Aug-2018-English.pdf |archive-date=February 7, 2019|url-status=live|via=LTolman.org}}</ref> On July 24, 2006, the city renamed the Worcester Center Boulevard, a high-traffic downtown street, to Major Taylor Boulevard.<ref name="tg-tribute">{{cite news |title=A proper tribute – Major Taylor Boulevard honors cycling champ |url=http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/news/tg-editorial-06july25.pdf |work=[[Telegram & Gazette]] |date=July 25, 2006 |location=Worcester, MA |via=Major Taylor Association, Inc. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724093842/http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/news/tg-editorial-06july25.pdf |archive-date=July 24, 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Schworm|first=Peter|title=A black athlete changed the gears of cycling's world|url=http://archive.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/07/24/a_black_athlete_changed_the_gears_of_cyclings_world/|access-date=April 5, 2017|work=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=July 24, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170407053619/http://archive.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/07/24/a_black_athlete_changed_the_gears_of_cyclings_world/|archive-date=April 7, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> At the same time, funding for the memorial was secured with the [[Massachusetts Legislature]] approving $205,000, signed by governor [[Mitt Romney]].<ref name="tg-tribute" /> The opening ceremony took place on May 21, 2008, attended by [[Tour de France]] winner [[Greg LeMond]].<ref name="cn-monument" /> The memorial features a [[bronze sculpture]] of Taylor surrounded by [[granite]] was created by [[Antonio Tobias Mendez]], who was chosen from over more than 60 others.<ref name="mta-statue">{{cite web |title=The Statue |publisher=Major Taylor Association Inc. |url=http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/statue.shtml |access-date=February 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616040548/http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/statue.shtml |archive-date=June 16, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> At the grand opening of Worcester's [[Applebee's]] restaurant in 2000, Taylor was selected as their "hometown hero", and has a display of his memorabilia.<ref name="bike-culture">{{cite magazine |last=Tolman |first=Lynne |date=May 2007 |title=The Major |url=http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/bikeculture-coverstory-May2007.pdf |magazine=Bike Culture Magazine |issue=138 |location=Lexington, MA |publisher=Deb Fries |via=Major Taylor Association, Inc. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019183423/http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/bikeculture-coverstory-May2007.pdf |archive-date=October 19, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2002, the Educational Association of Worcester and the [[Worcester Public Schools]], together with the Major Taylor Association, developed a [[curriculum]] guide on Taylor,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Walsh |first1=Virginia |last2=Dufault |first2=Janet |last3=Pulda |first3=Arnold |title=Major Taylor curriculum guide – 2011 |url=http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/curric2011.pdf |work=Major Taylor Association, Inc. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207045506/http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/curric2011.pdf|archive-date=February 7, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> which has since been expanded and used in schools nationwide.<ref name="bike-culture" /> Since 2003, Worcester has hosted the annual "George Street Bike Challenge for Major Taylor" amateur [[Hillclimbing (cycling)|hillclimb]] event.<ref>{{cite news |last=Conti |first=Mark |title=Cycling: Major Taylor-era bike to make George Street climb |url=http://www.telegram.com:80/sports/20170708/cycling-major-taylor-era-bike-to-make-george-street-climb |access-date=February 7, 2017 |work=[[Telegram & Gazette]] |date=July 8, 2017 |location=Worcester, MA |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170714051801/http://www.telegram.com/sports/20170708/cycling-major-taylor-era-bike-to-make-george-street-climb |archive-date=July 14, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>
In 1998, in Taylor's adopted hometown of Worcester, where he lived for 35 years, the Major Taylor Association was formed by locals with the goal of erecting a permanent memorial to Taylor outside the [[Worcester Public Library]] and telling his story.<ref>{{cite news |last=Tolman |first=Lynne |title= "Worcester Whirlwind" overcame bias |url=http://www.ltolman.org/taylor4.htm |access-date=February 7, 2019 |work=[[Telegram & Gazette]] |date=July 23, 1995 |location=Worcester, MA |via=LTolman.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170107103607/http://www.ltolman.org/taylor4.htm |archive-date=January 7, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="cn-monument">{{cite news|title=A Major Monument|url=http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/a-major-monument/|access-date=February 6, 2019|work=[[Cyclingnews.com]]|publisher=[[Immediate Media Company]]|date=May 26, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207044203/http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/a-major-monument/|archive-date=February 7, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Tolman |first=Lynne |title=Put a lid on bike injuries |url=http://www.ltolman.org/helmet.htm |access-date=February 6, 2019 |work=[[Telegram & Gazette]] |date=June 7, 1998 |location=Worcester, MA |via=LTolman.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170107111118/http://www.ltolman.org/helmet.htm |archive-date=January 7, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Nony |first1=Céline |title=Black sports stars – Major Taylor, so long forgotten |url=http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/news/Lequipe-13-Aug-2018-English.pdf |work=[[L'Équipe]] |date=August 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207190116/http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/news/Lequipe-13-Aug-2018-English.pdf |archive-date=February 7, 2019|url-status=live|via=LTolman.org}}</ref> On July 24, 2006, the city renamed the Worcester Center Boulevard, a high-traffic downtown street, to Major Taylor Boulevard.<ref name="tg-tribute">{{cite news |title=A proper tribute – Major Taylor Boulevard honors cycling champ |url=http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/news/tg-editorial-06july25.pdf |work=[[Telegram & Gazette]] |date=July 25, 2006 |location=Worcester, MA |via=Major Taylor Association, Inc. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724093842/http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/news/tg-editorial-06july25.pdf |archive-date=July 24, 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Schworm|first=Peter|title=A black athlete changed the gears of cycling's world|url=http://archive.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/07/24/a_black_athlete_changed_the_gears_of_cyclings_world/|access-date=April 5, 2017|work=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=July 24, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170407053619/http://archive.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/07/24/a_black_athlete_changed_the_gears_of_cyclings_world/|archive-date=April 7, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> At the same time, funding for the memorial was secured with the [[Massachusetts Legislature]] approving $205,000, signed by governor [[Mitt Romney]].<ref name="tg-tribute" /> The opening ceremony took place on May 21, 2008, attended by [[Tour de France]] winner [[Greg LeMond]].<ref name="cn-monument" /> The memorial features a [[bronze sculpture]] of Taylor surrounded by [[granite]] was created by [[Antonio Tobias Mendez]], who was chosen from over more than 60 others.<ref name="mta-statue">{{cite web |title=The Statue |publisher=Major Taylor Association Inc. |url=http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/statue.shtml |access-date=February 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616040548/http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/statue.shtml |archive-date=June 16, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> At the grand opening of Worcester's [[Applebee's]] restaurant in 2000, Taylor was selected as their "hometown hero", and has a display of his memorabilia.<ref name="bike-culture">{{cite magazine |last=Tolman |first=Lynne |date=May 2007 |title=The Major |url=http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/bikeculture-coverstory-May2007.pdf |magazine=Bike Culture Magazine |issue=138 |location=Lexington, MA |publisher=Deb Fries |via=Major Taylor Association, Inc. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019183423/http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/bikeculture-coverstory-May2007.pdf |archive-date=October 19, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2002, the Educational Association of Worcester and the [[Worcester Public Schools]], together with the Major Taylor Association, developed a [[curriculum]] guide on Taylor,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Walsh |first1=Virginia |last2=Dufault |first2=Janet |last3=Pulda |first3=Arnold |title=Major Taylor curriculum guide – 2011 |url=http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/curric2011.pdf |work=Major Taylor Association, Inc. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207045506/http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/curric2011.pdf|archive-date=February 7, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> which has since been expanded and used in schools nationwide.<ref name="bike-culture" /> Since 2003, Worcester has hosted the annual "George Street Bike Challenge for Major Taylor" amateur [[Hillclimbing (cycling)|hillclimb]] event.<ref>{{cite news |last=Conti |first=Mark |title=Cycling: Major Taylor-era bike to make George Street climb |url=http://www.telegram.com:80/sports/20170708/cycling-major-taylor-era-bike-to-make-george-street-climb |access-date=February 7, 2017 |work=[[Telegram & Gazette]] |date=July 8, 2017 |location=Worcester, MA |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170714051801/http://www.telegram.com/sports/20170708/cycling-major-taylor-era-bike-to-make-george-street-climb |archive-date=July 14, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>


The first of the many cycling clubs named in Taylor's honor was organized in Columbus, Ohio, in 1979.<ref>{{cite web|title=Major Taylor Cycling Club|url=http://www.longstreettour.com/mtccc.html|publisher=Long Street Tour|access-date=April 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406120415/http://www.longstreettour.com/mtccc.html|archive-date=April 6, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Directory |url=http://majortaylordirectory.com/clubdirectory/ |website=Major Taylor Cycling Clubs of America |access-date=February 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207044229/http://majortaylordirectory.com/clubdirectory/|archive-date=February 7, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2008, a number of these clubs joined with other African-American clubs to form the National Brotherhood of Cyclists (NBC), a nonprofit organization that aims to further diversity in cycling.<ref name="prnewswire-nbc">{{cite press release |title=Hennessy Partners with National Brotherhood of Cyclists to Promote Diversity in Sports in the Name of Cyclist Marshall "Major" Taylor |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hennessy-partners-with-national-brotherhood-of-cyclists-to-promote-diversity-in-sports-in-the-name-of-cyclist-marshall-major-taylor-300735225.html |access-date=January 25, 2019 |publisher=[[Hennessy]] |agency=[[PR Newswire]] |date=October 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190125130946/https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hennessy-partners-with-national-brotherhood-of-cyclists-to-promote-diversity-in-sports-in-the-name-of-cyclist-marshall-major-taylor-300735225.html |archive-date=January 25, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Major Taylor Trail, a {{convert|6|mi|km|spell=in|adj=mid|-long}} [[rail trail]] that navigates through South Side, Chicago, opened in 2007. Eleven years later, Chicagoan artist Bernard Williams oversaw the creation of a {{convert|400|ft|m|adj=mid|-long}}
The first of the many cycling clubs named in Taylor's honor was organized in Columbus, Ohio, in 1979.<ref>{{cite web|title=Major Taylor Cycling Club|url=http://www.longstreettour.com/mtccc.html|publisher=Long Street Tour|access-date=April 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406120415/http://www.longstreettour.com/mtccc.html|archive-date=April 6, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Directory |url=http://majortaylordirectory.com/clubdirectory/ |website=Major Taylor Cycling Clubs of America |access-date=February 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207044229/http://majortaylordirectory.com/clubdirectory/|archive-date=February 7, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2008, a number of these clubs joined with other African-American clubs to form the National Brotherhood of Cyclists (NBC), a nonprofit organization that aims to further diversity in cycling.<ref name="prnewswire-nbc">{{cite press release |title=Hennessy Partners with National Brotherhood of Cyclists to Promote Diversity in Sports in the Name of Cyclist Marshall "Major" Taylor |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hennessy-partners-with-national-brotherhood-of-cyclists-to-promote-diversity-in-sports-in-the-name-of-cyclist-marshall-major-taylor-300735225.html |access-date=January 25, 2019 |publisher=[[Hennessy]] |agency=[[PR Newswire]] |date=October 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190125130946/https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hennessy-partners-with-national-brotherhood-of-cyclists-to-promote-diversity-in-sports-in-the-name-of-cyclist-marshall-major-taylor-300735225.html |archive-date=January 25, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Major Taylor Trail, a {{convert|6|mi|km|spell=in|adj=mid|-long}} [[rail trail]] that navigates through South Side, Chicago, opened in 2007. Eleven years later, Chicagoan artist Bernard Williams oversaw the creation of a {{convert|400|ft|m|adj=mid|-long}} community mural honoring Taylor along the metal siding of the [[Little Calumet River]] bridge, which the trail crosses.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Henderson |first1=Audrey F. |title=New Mural Brings Spotlight to Chicago Bike Trail |url=https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/new-mural-chicago-bike-trail-major-taylor-trail |access-date=February 6, 2019 |work=[[Next City]] |date=September 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180905154905/https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/new-mural-chicago-bike-trail-major-taylor-trail |archive-date=September 5, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Taylor is also celebrated along the [[Alum Creek State Park|Alum Creek]] Greenway Trail in [[Columbus, Ohio]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Alum Creek Greenway Trail |url=https://www.traillink.com/trail/alum-creek-greenway-trail/ |access-date=January 25, 2019 |work=TrailLink |publisher=[[Rails-to-Trails Conservancy]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190125130858/https://www.traillink.com/trail/alum-creek-greenway-trail/ |archive-date=January 25, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2009, the [[Cascade Bicycle Club]] community organization of [[Washington (state)|Washington]] state launched The Major Taylor Project, a youth cycling program.<ref>{{cite news|title=Teens from the Major Taylor Project will bicycle 200 miles on July 9 and 10 from Seattle to Portland|url=http://www.westseattleherald.com/2011/07/01/features/teens-major-taylor-project-will-bicycle-200-m|access-date=April 8, 2017|work=[[West Seattle Herald]]|publisher=Robinson Communications, Inc|date=July 1, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170409110850/http://www.westseattleherald.com/2011/07/01/features/teens-major-taylor-project-will-bicycle-200-m|archive-date=April 9, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>


A small museum devoted to Taylor opened in 2021 in the former [[Worcester County Courthouse]].<ref name="Shih" /> Taylor's great-granddaughter attended the dedication.<ref name="Shih"> {{cite news |last1=Shih |first1=Nicole |title=City honors 'Worcester Whirlwind' again with new Major Taylor Museum |url=https://www.telegram.com/story/news/2021/10/29/major-taylor-rides-again-new-museum-honors-worcester-world-cycling-champ/6192060001/ |access-date=January 8, 2023 |publisher=Telegram & Gazette |date=October 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523152529/https://www.telegram.com/story/news/2021/10/29/major-taylor-rides-again-new-museum-honors-worcester-world-cycling-champ/6192060001/ |archive-date=May 23, 2022 |location=Worcester, MA}} </ref>
community mural honoring Taylor along the metal siding of the [[Little Calumet River]] bridge, which the trail crosses.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Henderson |first1=Audrey F. |title=New Mural Brings Spotlight to Chicago Bike Trail |url=https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/new-mural-chicago-bike-trail-major-taylor-trail |access-date=February 6, 2019 |work=[[Next City]] |date=September 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180905154905/https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/new-mural-chicago-bike-trail-major-taylor-trail |archive-date=September 5, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Taylor is also celebrated along the [[Alum Creek State Park|Alum Creek]] Greenway Trail in [[Columbus, Ohio]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Alum Creek Greenway Trail |url=https://www.traillink.com/trail/alum-creek-greenway-trail/ |access-date=January 25, 2019 |work=TrailLink |publisher=[[Rails-to-Trails Conservancy]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190125130858/https://www.traillink.com/trail/alum-creek-greenway-trail/ |archive-date=January 25, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2009, the [[Cascade Bicycle Club]] community organization of [[Washington (state)|Washington]] state launched The Major Taylor Project, a youth cycling program.<ref>{{cite news|title=Teens from the Major Taylor Project will bicycle 200 miles on July 9 and 10 from Seattle to Portland|url=http://www.westseattleherald.com/2011/07/01/features/teens-major-taylor-project-will-bicycle-200-m|access-date=April 8, 2017|work=[[West Seattle Herald]]|publisher=Robinson Communications, Inc|date=July 1, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170409110850/http://www.westseattleherald.com/2011/07/01/features/teens-major-taylor-project-will-bicycle-200-m|archive-date=April 9, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>
A mural was dedicated in Indianapolis, in September 2021, to honor his legacy. <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bicycling.com/news/a37545933/major-taylor-mural-indianapolis/|title=A Mural of Legendary Cyclist Major Taylor Is Unveiled in Indianapolis|date=September 10, 2021|website=Bicycling.com|access-date=July 30, 2024}}</ref>
[[File:Buste de Major Taylor en 3D au vélodrome de Roubaix..jpg|alt=Major Taylor 3D bust, Jean Stablinski vélodrome, Roubaix, France.|thumb|131x131px|Major Taylor 3D bust at Jean Stablinski vélodrome, Roubaix, France.]]
A small museum devoted to Taylor opened in 2021 in the former [[Worcester County Courthouse]].<ref name="Shih" /> Taylor's&nbsp;great-granddaughter attended the dedication.<ref name="Shih">{{cite news |last1=Shih |first1=Nicole |title=City honors 'Worcester Whirlwind' again with new Major Taylor Museum |url=https://www.telegram.com/story/news/2021/10/29/major-taylor-rides-again-new-museum-honors-worcester-world-cycling-champ/6192060001/ |access-date=January 8, 2023 |publisher=Telegram & Gazette |date=October 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523152529/https://www.telegram.com/story/news/2021/10/29/major-taylor-rides-again-new-museum-honors-worcester-world-cycling-champ/6192060001/ |archive-date=May 23, 2022 |location=Worcester, MA}}</ref>


===In popular culture===
Turgot and Louis Loucheur, two French professional high schools from Roubaix and 3D sculptor, Gauthier Decroix designed a 3D bust of Major Taylor. Its inauguration took place during the 2023 UCI French national track cycling championships in Roubaix.
Actor [[Phil Morris (actor)|Philip Morris]] portrayed Taylor in the 1992 television mini-series ''[[Tracks of Glory]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tracks of Glory (TV mini-series)|date=July 5, 1992|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103113/|publisher=[[IMDb]]|access-date=August 14, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110906011129/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103113/|archive-date=September 6, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> Blues musician [[Otis Taylor (musician)|Otis Taylor]] (no relation) recorded "He Never Raced on Sunday," a song about Taylor for his 2004 album ''Double V''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Otis Taylor|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2004/05/11/otis-taylor-3/|access-date=April 5, 2017|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|publisher=[[Tronc]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406022444/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-05-11/features/0405110009_1_blues-african-americans-robert-johnson|archive-date=April 6, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2007, [[Nike, Inc.|Nike]] produced the Major Taylor "premium" collection of their most iconic [[sneakers]] in a light brown/neon yellow/white colorway.{{sfn|Dalloni|2013|loc=chpt. 75}} In the same year, [[SOMA Fabrications]] began making a set of [[bicycle handlebar]]s called the Major Taylor Bar, which is a replica of 1930s drop handlebar that was named for Taylor.<ref>{{cite news |title=Why the 'Walker Racer' Is Not Named the 'Lawson Racer' |url=http://somafab.blogspot.com/2007/11/why-walker-racer-is-not-named-lawson.html |access-date=February 5, 2019 |work=[[SOMA Fabrications]] |publisher=[[Blogger (service)|Blogger]] |date=November 2, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171229220051/http://somafab.blogspot.com/2007/11/why-walker-racer-is-not-named-lawson.html |archive-date=December 29, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title =Major Taylor Bar | publisher =[[SOMA Fabrications]] | url =http://www.somafab.com/archives/product/major-taylor-handlebar | access-date =February 22, 2017 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20170331114300/http://www.somafab.com/archives/product/major-taylor-handlebar | archive-date =March 31, 2017 | url-status =live | df =mdy-all }}</ref> Dewshane Williams portrayed Taylor in the 2013 episode of television drama series ''[[Murdoch Mysteries]]'', "Tour de Murdoch".<ref>{{cite web| title = Murdoch Mysteries – Tour de Murdoch | url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3095642/?ref_=ttep_ep2 | work=[[IMDb]]|date = October 7, 2013| access-date =August 31, 2017}}</ref>


On April 12, 2018, at a private exhibition in the [[The New York Times Building|TheTimesCenter]] in New York City,<ref name="wwd">{{cite news |last=Palmieri |first=Jean E. |title=Hennessy Taps Jean-Raymond for First Apparel Capsule |url=https://wwd.com/menswear-news/mens-designer-luxury/hennessy-taps-jean-raymond-for-first-apparel-capsule-1202646487/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=February 5, 2019 |work=[[Women's Wear Daily]] |date=April 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615042027/http://wwd.com/menswear-news/mens-designer-luxury/hennessy-taps-jean-raymond-for-first-apparel-capsule-1202646487/ |archive-date=June 15, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> cognac brand [[Hennessy]] announced that Taylor would become the subject of the company's fifth instalment of their "Wild Rabbit" [[advertising campaign]], created with agency [[Droga5]], which through a series of partnerships tells inspirational the stories of culturally influential people, with the slogan "Never stop. Never settle."<ref>{{cite press release |title=Hennessy Spotlights World Champion Cyclist Marshall "Major" Taylor in Newest "Wild Rabbit" Campaign |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hennessy-spotlights-world-champion-cyclist-marshall-major-taylor-in-newest-wild-rabbit-campaign-300630414.html |access-date=February 5, 2019 |publisher=[[Hennessy]] |agency=[[PR Newswire]] |date=April 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180416181534/https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hennessy-spotlights-world-champion-cyclist-marshall-major-taylor-in-newest-wild-rabbit-campaign-300630414.html |archive-date=April 16, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> The event included the unveiling some of the partnerships including [[Kadir Nelson]]'s [[bronze sculpture]] of Taylor, ''The Major''.<ref name="wwd" /> The campaign launched to the public with a television commercial during the [[2018 NBA Finals]] in April.<ref name="wwd" /> The ''Major'' directed by [[Derek Cianfrance]], which has cuts in various lengths, features a voiceover from rapper [[Nas]] and recreates Taylor racing in an indoor velodrome.<ref name="outside">{{cite news |last=Balf |first=Todd |title=Why Haven't You Heard of Marshall "Major" Taylor? |url=https://www.outsideonline.com/2299381/why-havent-you-heard-marshall-major-taylor |access-date=February 5, 2019 |work=[[Outside (magazine)|Outside]] |date=April 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207044139/https://www.outsideonline.com/2299381/why-havent-you-heard-marshall-major-taylor|archive-date=February 7, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Hennessey: Major by Droga5 |url=https://www.thedrum.com/creative-works/project/droga5-hennessey-major |website=The Drum |access-date=February 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629090526/http://www.thedrum.com/creative-works/project/droga5-hennessey-major |archive-date=June 29, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> The 30-second cut was shown during third and fourth quarters of the [[Super Bowl LIII]] in February 2019, Hennessy's first appearance in a [[Super Bowl commercials|Super Bowl commercial]].<ref>{{cite press release |title=Hennessy Celebrates Those Who Push the Limits of Potential in First-Ever Game Day Ad |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hennessy-celebrates-those-who-push-the-limits-of-potential-in-first-ever-game-day-ad-300788340.html |access-date=February 7, 2019 |publisher=[[Hennessy]] |agency=[[PR Newswire]] |date=April 1, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207055121/https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8487951-hennessy-never-stop-settle-game-day-commercial/|archive-date=February 7, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Price |first1=Satchel |title=Cycling great Major Taylor gets tribute during Super Bowl ad |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/super-bowl-2019-ads-major-taylor-hennessy/ |access-date=February 5, 2019 |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |date=February 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190205121254/https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/super-bowl-2019-ads-major-taylor-hennessy/ |archive-date=February 5, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> On April 22, 2018, [[ESPN]] premiered the Hennessy-sponsored television documentary short ''The Six Day Race: The Story of Marshall "Major" Taylor''; directed by Colin Barnicle, it features interviews with contemporary African-American athletes, road cyclist [[Ayesha McGowan]] and BMX rider [[Nigel Sylvester]].<ref name="outside" />
Turgot high school also has a makerspace named: Major Taylor.

Actor [[Phil Morris (actor)|Philip Morris]] portrayed Taylor in the 1992 television mini-series ''[[Tracks of Glory]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tracks of Glory (TV mini-series)|date=July 5, 1992|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103113/|publisher=[[IMDb]]|access-date=August 14, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110906011129/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103113/|archive-date=September 6, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> Blues musician [[Otis Taylor (musician)|Otis Taylor]] (no relation) recorded "He Never Raced on Sunday," a song about Taylor for his 2004 album ''Double V''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Otis Taylor|url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-05-11/features/0405110009_1_blues-african-americans-robert-johnson|access-date=April 5, 2017|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|publisher=[[Tronc]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406022444/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-05-11/features/0405110009_1_blues-african-americans-robert-johnson|archive-date=April 6, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2007, [[Nike, Inc.|Nike]] produced the Major Taylor "premium" collection of their most iconic [[sneakers]] in a light brown/neon yellow/white colorway.{{sfn|Dalloni|2013|loc=chpt. 75}} In the same year, [[SOMA Fabrications]] began making a set of [[bicycle handlebar]]s called the Major Taylor Bar, which is a replica of 1930s drop handlebar that was named for Taylor.<ref>{{cite news |title=Why the 'Walker Racer' Is Not Named the 'Lawson Racer' |url=http://somafab.blogspot.com/2007/11/why-walker-racer-is-not-named-lawson.html |access-date=February 5, 2019 |work=[[SOMA Fabrications]] |publisher=[[Blogger (service)|Blogger]] |date=November 2, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171229220051/http://somafab.blogspot.com/2007/11/why-walker-racer-is-not-named-lawson.html |archive-date=December 29, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title =Major Taylor Bar | publisher =[[SOMA Fabrications]] | url =http://www.somafab.com/archives/product/major-taylor-handlebar | access-date =February 22, 2017 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20170331114300/http://www.somafab.com/archives/product/major-taylor-handlebar | archive-date =March 31, 2017 | url-status =live | df =mdy-all }}</ref> Dewshane Williams portrayed Taylor in the 2013 episode of television drama series ''[[Murdoch Mysteries]]'', "Tour de Murdoch".<ref>{{cite web| title = Murdoch Mysteries – Tour de Murdoch | url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3095642/?ref_=ttep_ep2 | work=[[IMDb]]|date = October 7, 2013| access-date =August 31, 2017}}</ref>

On April 12, 2018, at a private exhibition in the [[The New York Times Building|TheTimesCenter]] in New York City,<ref name="wwd">{{cite news |last=Palmieri |first=Jean E. |title=Hennessy Taps Jean-Raymond for First Apparel Capsule |url=https://wwd.com/menswear-news/mens-designer-luxury/hennessy-taps-jean-raymond-for-first-apparel-capsule-1202646487/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=February 5, 2019 |work=[[Women's Wear Daily]] |date=April 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615042027/http://wwd.com/menswear-news/mens-designer-luxury/hennessy-taps-jean-raymond-for-first-apparel-capsule-1202646487/ |archive-date=June 15, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> cognac brand [[Hennessy]] announced that Taylor would become the subject the company's fifth instalment of their "Wild Rabbit" [[advertising campaign]], created with agency [[Droga5]], which through a series of partnerships tells inspirational the stories of culturally influential people, with the slogan "Never stop. Never settle."<ref>{{cite press release |title=Hennessy Spotlights World Champion Cyclist Marshall "Major" Taylor in Newest "Wild Rabbit" Campaign |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hennessy-spotlights-world-champion-cyclist-marshall-major-taylor-in-newest-wild-rabbit-campaign-300630414.html |access-date=February 5, 2019 |publisher=[[Hennessy]] |agency=[[PR Newswire]] |date=April 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180416181534/https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hennessy-spotlights-world-champion-cyclist-marshall-major-taylor-in-newest-wild-rabbit-campaign-300630414.html |archive-date=April 16, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> The event included the unveiling some of the partnerships including [[Kadir Nelson]]'s [[bronze sculpture]] of Taylor, ''The Major''.<ref name="wwd" /> The campaign launched to the public with a television commercial during the [[2018 NBA Finals]] in April.<ref name="wwd" /> The ''Major'' directed by [[Derek Cianfrance]], which has cuts in various lengths, features a voiceover from rapper [[Nas]] and recreates Taylor racing in an indoor velodrome.<ref name="outside">{{cite news |last=Balf |first=Todd |title=Why Haven't You Heard of Marshall "Major" Taylor? |url=https://www.outsideonline.com/2299381/why-havent-you-heard-marshall-major-taylor |access-date=February 5, 2019 |work=[[Outside (magazine)|Outside]] |date=April 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207044139/https://www.outsideonline.com/2299381/why-havent-you-heard-marshall-major-taylor|archive-date=February 7, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Hennessey: Major by Droga5 |url=https://www.thedrum.com/creative-works/project/droga5-hennessey-major |website=The Drum |access-date=February 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629090526/http://www.thedrum.com/creative-works/project/droga5-hennessey-major |archive-date=June 29, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> The 30-second cut was shown during third and fourth quarters of the [[Super Bowl LIII]] in February 2019, Hennessy's first appearance in a [[Super Bowl commercials|Super Bowl commercial]].<ref>{{cite press release |title=Hennessy Celebrates Those Who Push the Limits of Potential in First-Ever Game Day Ad |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hennessy-celebrates-those-who-push-the-limits-of-potential-in-first-ever-game-day-ad-300788340.html |access-date=February 7, 2019 |publisher=[[Hennessy]] |agency=[[PR Newswire]] |date=April 1, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207055121/https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8487951-hennessy-never-stop-settle-game-day-commercial/|archive-date=February 7, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Price |first1=Satchel |title=Cycling great Major Taylor gets tribute during Super Bowl ad |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/super-bowl-2019-ads-major-taylor-hennessy/ |access-date=February 5, 2019 |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |date=February 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190205121254/https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/super-bowl-2019-ads-major-taylor-hennessy/ |archive-date=February 5, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> On April 22, 2018, [[ESPN]] premiered the Hennessy-sponsored television documentary short ''The Six Day Race: The Story of Marshall "Major" Taylor''; directed by Colin Barnicle, it features interviews with contemporary African-American athletes, road cyclist [[Ayesha McGowan]] and BMX rider [[Nigel Sylvester]].<ref name="outside" />


In 2019, two Taylor-inspired brand collaborations were released, with part of the proceeds going to the NBC. [[Kerby Jean-Raymond]], under his ''[[haute couture]]'' fashion label Pyer Moss, designed a five-piece collection "MMT 140", and Affinity Cycles made limited-run of a modern replica Taylor-era [[track bicycle]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Meschke|first=Jacob |title=The Unsung Story of Major Taylor Gets a Voice With Hennessy Cognac Campaign |url=https://www.bicycling.com/news/a24116769/major-taylor-hennessy-campaign/ |access-date=February 5, 2019 |work=[[Bicycling (magazine)|Bicycling]] |date=February 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207044145/https://www.bicycling.com/news/a24116769/major-taylor-hennessy-campaign/|archive-date=February 7, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> In partnership with the NBC, a series of tribute bicycle rides took place across the U.S. in November and December marking Taylor's birth date, and the creation of the $25,000 "MMT Higher Education Scholarship", awarded to one winner with the best "Never stop. Never settle." story.<ref name="prnewswire-nbc" /><ref name="outside" /> Also in 2019, Taylor's name and likeness was licensed to Major Taylor Cycling Wear of Columbus Ohio to manufacture and distribute official sports- and cycling-wear bearing the image of Major Taylor.
In 2019, two Taylor-inspired brand collaborations were released, with part of the proceeds going to the NBC. [[Kerby Jean-Raymond]], under his ''[[haute couture]]'' fashion label Pyer Moss, designed a five-piece collection "MMT 140", and Affinity Cycles made limited-run of a modern replica Taylor-era [[track bicycle]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Meschke|first=Jacob |title=The Unsung Story of Major Taylor Gets a Voice With Hennessy Cognac Campaign |url=https://www.bicycling.com/news/a24116769/major-taylor-hennessy-campaign/ |access-date=February 5, 2019 |work=[[Bicycling (magazine)|Bicycling]] |date=February 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207044145/https://www.bicycling.com/news/a24116769/major-taylor-hennessy-campaign/|archive-date=February 7, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> In partnership with the NBC, a series of tribute bicycle rides took place across the U.S. in November and December marking Taylor's birth date, and the creation of the $25,000 "MMT Higher Education Scholarship", awarded to one winner with the best "Never stop. Never settle." story.<ref name="prnewswire-nbc" /><ref name="outside" /> Also in 2019, Taylor's name and likeness was licensed to Major Taylor Cycling Wear of Columbus Ohio to manufacture and distribute official sports- and cycling-wear bearing the image of Major Taylor.


[[Graphic novel]] publisher [[Drawn & Quarterly|Drawn and Quarterly]] plans to publish a biography of Taylor by comic artist [[Frederick Noland]] in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Blackburn|first=Kaiya Smith|date=December 8, 2020|title=D+Q Acquires Major Taylor by Fred Noland|url=https://drawnandquarterly.com/news/dq-acquires-major-taylor-fred-noland/|access-date=February 22, 2022|website=drawnandquarterly.com}}</ref>
[[Graphic novel]] publisher [[Drawn & Quarterly|Drawn and Quarterly]] planned to publish a biography of Taylor by comic artist [[Frederick Noland]] in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Blackburn|first=Kaiya Smith|date=December 8, 2020|title=D+Q Acquires Major Taylor by Fred Noland|url=https://drawnandquarterly.com/news/dq-acquires-major-taylor-fred-noland/|access-date=February 22, 2022|website=drawnandquarterly.com}}</ref>


==Marriage and family==
==Marriage and family==

[[File:Marshall Taylor family.jpg|thumb|upright|Taylor with his wife, Daisy, and daughter, Sydney, {{circa|1906–1907}}]]
[[File:Marshall Taylor family.jpg|thumb|upright|Taylor with his wife, Daisy, and daughter, Sydney, {{circa|1906–1907}}]]
Taylor's wife, Daisy Victoria Morris, was born on January 28, 1876, in [[Hudson, New York]]. Taylor married Morris in [[Ansonia, Connecticut]], on March 21, 1902. Taylor met her around 1900 when she was living in Worcester, with her aunt and uncle.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=178}}{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=180}}{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=253}}{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=338}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|pp=191–192}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=255}}
Taylor's wife, Daisy Victoria Morris, was born on January 28, 1876, in [[Hudson, New York]]. Taylor married Morris in [[Ansonia, Connecticut]], on March 21, 1902. Taylor met her around 1900 when she was living in Worcester, with her aunt and uncle.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=178}}{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=180}}{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=253}}{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=338}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|pp=191–192}}{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=255}}
Line 208: Line 212:
While in Australia in 1904, Taylor and his wife had their only child, a daughter that they named Rita Sydney in honor of Sydney, where she was born on May 11.<ref name="daughter">{{cite news |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-aug-06-1904-996895/ |title=Wheel Notes |location=Mansfield, Ohio|date=August 6, 1904 |newspaper=The Mansfield News |via=[[NewspaperARCHIVE.com]]}}</ref>{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|pp=201–202}} When Taylor, his wife, and daughter were not traveling, they lived in a large home on Hobson Avenue in Worcester that Taylor had purchased in 1900.{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=138}}
While in Australia in 1904, Taylor and his wife had their only child, a daughter that they named Rita Sydney in honor of Sydney, where she was born on May 11.<ref name="daughter">{{cite news |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-aug-06-1904-996895/ |title=Wheel Notes |location=Mansfield, Ohio|date=August 6, 1904 |newspaper=The Mansfield News |via=[[NewspaperARCHIVE.com]]}}</ref>{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|pp=201–202}} When Taylor, his wife, and daughter were not traveling, they lived in a large home on Hobson Avenue in Worcester that Taylor had purchased in 1900.{{sfn|Ritchie|1988|p=138}}


After his retirement from racing in 1910 and the failure of subsequent business ventures in the 1920s, Taylor and his wife became estranged. She left him in 1930 and moved to New York City. Around the same time Taylor left Worcester and moved to Chicago; he never saw his wife or daughter again.{{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=328}}
After his retirement from racing in 1910 and the failure of subsequent business ventures in the 1920s, Taylor and his wife became estranged. She left him in 1930 and moved to New York City. Around the same time Taylor left Worcester and moved to Chicago; he never saw his wife or daughter again. {{sfn|Kerber|Kerber|2014|p=328}}


Taylor's daughter, who graduated from the Sargent School of Culture in [[Boston]] in 1925 and the [[University of Chicago]] in 1936, taught physical education at West Virginia State University. She died in 2005 at age 101; her survivors include a son, Dallas C. Brown Jr., and his five children.<ref name="Odgen42" />{{sfn|Brill|2008|p=92}} In 1984, Taylor's daughter donated an extensive scrapbook collection on her father to the [[University of Pittsburgh]] Archives.<ref>{{cite book|title=Marshall W. "Major" Taylor Scrapbooks, 1897-1904, AIS.1984.07|url=http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=ascead&cc=ascead&rgn=main&view=text&didno=US-PPiU-ais198407|publisher=[[Archives Service Center]], University of Pittsburgh|access-date=November 12, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131210233552/http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=ascead&cc=ascead&rgn=main&view=text&didno=US-PPiU-ais198407|archive-date=December 10, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>
Taylor's daughter, who graduated from the Sargent School of Culture in [[Boston]] in 1925 and the [[University of Chicago]] in 1936, taught physical education at West Virginia State University. She died in 2005 at age 101; her survivors include a son, Dallas C. Brown Jr., and his five children.<ref name="Odgen42" />{{sfn|Brill|2008|p=92}} In 1984, Taylor's daughter donated an extensive scrapbook collection on her father to the [[University of Pittsburgh]] Archives.<ref>{{cite book|title=Marshall W. "Major" Taylor Scrapbooks, 1897-1904, AIS.1984.07|url=http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=ascead&cc=ascead&rgn=main&view=text&didno=US-PPiU-ais198407|publisher=[[Archives Service Center]], University of Pittsburgh|access-date=November 12, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131210233552/http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=ascead&cc=ascead&rgn=main&view=text&didno=US-PPiU-ais198407|archive-date=December 10, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> The original scrapbooks were donated to the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites in 1988. <ref name="auto"/>


==World records==
==World records==

{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|+List of world records set by Major Taylor
|+List of world records set by Major Taylor
Line 436: Line 439:
|first1=Michael |last1=Kranish |isbn=9781501192593 |date=May 7, 2019 |location=New York |publisher=[[Simon and Schuster]], [[Charles Scribner's Sons|Scribner]] |ref=none}}
|first1=Michael |last1=Kranish |isbn=9781501192593 |date=May 7, 2019 |location=New York |publisher=[[Simon and Schuster]], [[Charles Scribner's Sons|Scribner]] |ref=none}}
* {{cite book|last=Scioscia|first=Mary|title=Bicycle Rider|series=Trophy Picture Bks|publisher=[[Harper (publisher)|Harper & Row]]|year=1993|location=New York City|url=https://archive.org/details/bicyclerider00mary|url-access=registration|isbn=978-0-06-443295-5}}
* {{cite book|last=Scioscia|first=Mary|title=Bicycle Rider|series=Trophy Picture Bks|publisher=[[Harper (publisher)|Harper & Row]]|year=1993|location=New York City|url=https://archive.org/details/bicyclerider00mary|url-access=registration|isbn=978-0-06-443295-5}}
* {{cite journal |author=Warden, Ian |date=February 2007 |title=The fastest bicycle rider in the world |journal=National Library of Australia News |volume=XVII |issue=5 |pages=15–18 |url=https://web.archive.org.au/awa/20120205171952mp_/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/131760/20120120-0944/www.nla.gov.au/pub/nlanews/2007/feb07/story-4.pdf <!--|access-date=2024-09-07-->}}
* {{cite book|last=Wilds|first=Mary|title=A Forgotten Champion: The Story of Major Taylor, Fastest Bicycle Racer in the World|series=Avisson Young Adult Series|publisher=Avisson Press|year=2002|location=Greensboro, NC|url= https://archive.org/details/forgottenchampio00mary|url-access=registration|isbn=978-1-888105-52-0}}
* {{cite book|last=Wilds|first=Mary|title=A Forgotten Champion: The Story of Major Taylor, Fastest Bicycle Racer in the World|series=Avisson Young Adult Series|publisher=Avisson Press|year=2002|location=Greensboro, NC|url= https://archive.org/details/forgottenchampio00mary|url-access=registration|isbn=978-1-888105-52-0}}
* {{cite book|last=Whimpress|first=Bernard|author-link=Bernard Whimpress|title='Major' Taylor at Adelaide Oval|publisher=Bernard Whimpress|year=2005|location=Adelaide, Australia|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Z3JuAAAACAAJ|isbn=978-0-9750491-2-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Whimpress|first=Bernard|author-link=Bernard Whimpress|title='Major' Taylor at Adelaide Oval|publisher=Bernard Whimpress|year=2005|location=Adelaide, Australia|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Z3JuAAAACAAJ|isbn=978-0-9750491-2-9}}
Line 444: Line 448:
* [http://majortaylorassociation.org The Major Taylor Association]
* [http://majortaylorassociation.org The Major Taylor Association]
* [http://majortaylor.com The Major Taylor Society]
* [http://majortaylor.com The Major Taylor Society]
* [https://www.indianamuseum.org/experiences/major-taylor-fastest-cyclist-in-the-world/ Major Taylor: Fastest Cyclist in the World]


{{UCI Track Cycling World Champions – Men's sprint}}
{{UCI Track Cycling World Champions – Men's sprint}}
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[[Category:Sportspeople from Worcester, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Worcester, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:UCI Track Cycling World Champions (men)]]
[[Category:UCI Track Cycling World Champions (men)]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American people]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American sportspeople]]
[[Category:History of cycling in the United States]]

Latest revision as of 19:57, 9 September 2024

Major Taylor
Taylor in July 1907
Personal information
Full nameMarshall Walter Taylor
NicknameWorcester Whirlwind
Born(1878-11-26)November 26, 1878
Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
DiedJune 21, 1932(1932-06-21) (aged 53)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Team information
DisciplineTrack
RoleRider
Rider typeSprinter
Amateur teams
1894–1895See-Saw Cycling Club
1895Albion Cycling Club
Professional teams
1896Worcester Cycle Manufacturing Company
1899E. C. Stearns Bicycle Agency
1900Iver Johnson's Arms & Cycle Works
Major wins
  • LAW Sprint Championship (1899)
  • National Sprint Championship (1900)
Medal record
Men's track cycling
Representing  United States
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1899 Montreal Sprint

Marshall Walter "Major" Taylor (November 26, 1878 – June 21, 1932) was an American professional cyclist. Even by modern cycling standards, Taylor could be considered the greatest American sprinter of all time.

He was born and raised in Indianapolis, where he worked in bicycle shops and began racing multiple distances in the track and road disciplines of cycling. As a teenager, he moved to Worcester, Massachusetts, with his employer/coach/mentor and continued his successful amateur career, which included breaking track records.

Taylor turned professional in 1896, at the age of 18, living in cities on the East Coast and participating in multiple track events including six-day races. He moved his focus to the sprint event in 1897, competing in a national racing circuit, winning many races and gaining popularity with the public. In 1898 and 1899, he set numerous world records in race distances ranging from the quarter-mile (0.4 km) to the two-mile (3.2 km).

Taylor won the 1-mile sprint event at the 1899 world track championships to become the first African American to achieve the level of cycling world champion and the second Black athlete to win a world championship in any sport (following Canadian boxer George Dixon, 1890[1]). Taylor was also a national sprint champion in 1899 and 1900. He raced in the U.S., Europe and Australia from 1901 to 1904, beating the world's best riders. After a 2+12-year hiatus, he made a comeback in 1907–1909, before retiring at age 32 to his home in Worcester in 1910.

Towards the end of his life Taylor faced severe financial difficulties. He spent the final two years of his life in Chicago, Illinois, where he died of a heart attack in 1932. Throughout his career he challenged the racial prejudice he encountered on and off the track and became a pioneering role model for other athletes facing racial discrimination. Several cycling clubs, trails, and events in the U.S. have been named in his honor, as well as the Major Taylor Velodrome in Indianapolis and Major Taylor Boulevard in Worcester. Other tributes include memorials and historic markers in Worcester, Indianapolis, and at his gravesite in Chicago. He has also been memorialized in film, music and fashion.

Major Taylor's Signature
Major Taylor's Signature

Early life

[edit]

Marshall Walter Taylor was the son of Gilbert Taylor, a Civil War veteran, and Saphronia Kelter Taylor. His parents migrated from Louisville, Kentucky, and settled on a farm in Bucktown, a rural area on the western edge of Indianapolis, Indiana. Taylor, who was born on November 26, 1878, in Indianapolis was one of eight children in the family that included five girls and three boys. Around 1887, his father began working in Indianapolis as a coachman for a wealthy white family named Southard.[2][3][4][5]

When Taylor was a child, he occasionally accompanied his father to work. Taylor soon became a close friend of the Southards' son, Daniel,[5] who was the same age. Approximately from the age of 8[6] until he was about 12,[7] Taylor lived with the family and along with Daniel was tutored at their home. Taylor's living arrangement with the Southards provided him with more advantages than his parents could provide; however, this period of his life abruptly ended when the Southards moved to Chicago.[8][9][10][7] Taylor, who remained in Indianapolis, returned to live at his parents' home and "was soon thrust into the real world."[5]

The Southards provided Taylor with his first bicycle. By 1891 or early 1892, he had become such an expert trick rider that Tom Hay, an Indianapolis bicycle shop owner, hired him to perform bicycle stunts in front of the Hay and Willits bicycle shop. Taylor earned $6 a week for cleaning the shop and performing the stunts, plus a free bicycle worth $35.[8][3][11] It is likely that Taylor received his nickname of "Major" because he performed the cycling stunts wearing a military uniform.[8][a]

Harry T. Hearsey's bicycle shop in Downtown Indianapolis in 1896, where Taylor worked as a bicycle instructor

Taylor left the Hay and Willits shop in 1892 or early 1893 to take a job as head trainer for Harry T. Hearsey's bicycle shop in Indianapolis, teaching local residents how to ride. While working at Hearsey's shop, Taylor got to know Louis D. "Birdie" Munger,[13] a former high-wheel bicycle racer who owned the Munger Cycle Manufacturing Company, a racing bicycle factory in Indianapolis. (Munger later established the Worcester Cycle Manufacturing Company factory in Worcester, Massachusetts.) With a shared interest in bicycle racing, the two became friends and Munger hired the teenaged Taylor to work odd jobs that included sending Taylor to area high schools and colleges to train cyclists and promote Munger's line of racing bicycles.[14][15][16][17] Munger had also "made up his mind to make Taylor a champion" and coached him to become a racer.[18]

Early years and East Coast move

[edit]

Although he competed in both road and track races during his amateur career, Taylor excelled in the track sprints, especially the one-mile (1.6 km) race.[19][20] The first cycling race Taylor won was a ten-mile (16 km) amateur event in Indianapolis in 1890.[21][22] He received a 15-minute handicap (head start) in the road race because of his young age. Taylor subsequently traveled to Peoria, Illinois, to compete in another meet, finishing in third place in the under-16 age category.[23][24]

Taylor encountered racial prejudice throughout his racing career from some of his competitors. In addition, some local track owners feared that other cyclists would refuse to compete if Taylor was present for a bicycle race and banned him from their tracks.[25] In 1893, for example, after 15-year-old Taylor beat a one-mile amateur track record, he was "hooted" and then barred from the track.[18] Taylor joined the See-Saw Cycling Club, which was formed by black cyclists of Indianapolis who were unable to join the local all-white Zig-Zag Cycling Club.[26][27]

Major Taylor won his first significant cycling competition on June 30, 1895, when he was the only rider to finish a grueling 75-mile (121 km) road race near his hometown of Indianapolis. During the race Taylor received threats from his white competitors, who did not know that he had entered the event until the start of the race. A few days later, on July 4, 1895, Taylor won a ten-mile road race in Indianapolis that made him eligible to compete at the national championships for Black racers in Chicago. Later that summer, he won the ten-mile championship race in Chicago by ten lengths and set a new record for Black cyclists of 27:32.[28][25][29][30]

The earliest press image of Taylor, aged 18, from the July 6, 1895, edition of Indianapolis News[31]

In 1895, Taylor and Munger relocated from Indianapolis to Worcester. At that time it was a center of the U.S. bicycle industry that included half a dozen factories and thirty bicycle shops. Munger, who was Taylor's employer, lifelong friend, and mentor, had decided to move his bicycle manufacturing business to the state of Massachusetts,[18][32] which was also a more tolerant area of the country.[33]

Munger and Charles Boyd, a business partner, established the Worcester Cycle Manufacturing Company with factories in Worcester, and Middletown, Connecticut. For Taylor, who continued to work for Munger as a bicycle mechanic and messenger between the company's two factory locations,[18][34][35] the move to the East Coast offered "higher visibility, larger crowds, increased sponsorship dollars, and greater access to world-class cycling venues."[36] After Taylor's relocation to Massachusetts, he joined the all-Black Albion Cycling Club in 1895 and trained at YMCA in Worcester.[37][38] Taylor is first mentioned in The New York Times on September 26, 1895, as a competitor in the Citizen Handicap event, a ten-mile race on Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn, New York. Taylor raced with a 1:30 handicap in a field of 200 competitors that included nine scratch riders.[39]

In 1896, Taylor entered numerous races in the Northeastern states of Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Connecticut. After winning a ten-mile road race in Worcester, Taylor competed in the 25-mile (40 km) Irvington–Millburn race in New Jersey, also known as the Derby of the East. Within half a mile (0.8 km) of the finish line, someone startled Taylor by tossing ice water into his face and he finished in 23rd place. Taylor's first major East Coast race was in a League of American Wheelmen (LAW) one-mile contest in New Haven, Connecticut, where he started in last place but won the event.[40][41] In August 1896, Taylor made a trip to Indianapolis, where he set an unofficial new track record of 2:11 15 for a distance of one mile at the Capital City velodrome, beating Walter Sanger's official track record of 2:19 25. (Taylor could not compete with Sanger, a professional racer, in a head-to-head contest because he was still an amateur.)[42][43][44][45] Taylor's final amateur race took place on November 26, 1896, in the 25-mile Tatum Handicap at Jamaica, New York. Taylor finished the race in 14th place.[46][47]

Professional career

[edit]

1896: First races

[edit]
Madison Square Garden II (pictured in 1908) in New York City, the venue of Taylor's first professional race in 1896

Taylor turned professional in 1896, at the age of eighteen, and soon emerged as the "most formidable racer in America."[18] Taylor's first professional race took place in front of 5,000 spectators on December 5, 1896. He competed in a half-mile handicap event on an indoor track at New York City's Madison Square Garden II on the opening day of a multi-day event.[48][49] Although the main event was a six-day race from December 6–12, other contests in shorter distances were held on December 5 to entertain the crowd. These races included the half-mile handicap for professionals in which Taylor competed, a half-mile race between Jay Eaton and Teddy Goodman, and a half-mile scratch race. In addition, there were half-mile scratch and handicap races for amateurs.[50]

Taylor began the half-mile handicap race on December 5, with a 35-yard (32 m) advantage over the scratch racers. He beat a field of competitors that included Tom Cooper, Philadelphia's A.C. Meixwell, and scratch rider Eddie C. Bald, who represented New York's Syracuse, and rode a Barnes bicycle. Taylor won the race riding Munger's "Birdie Special" bicycle and beat Bald by 20 yards (18 m) in a sprint to the finish.[51][52][53]

From December 6–12, 1896, Taylor participated as one of 28 competitors in a six-day event at Madison Square Garden. Although Taylor had just become a professional, he had achieved enough notoriety, possibly because of his stunning win on December 5, to be listed among the "American contestants" that also included A.A. Hansen (the Minneapolis "rainmaker") and Teddy Goodman. In addition, many "experts from abroad" participated in the meet such as Switzerland's Albert Schock, Germany's Frank J. Waller, Frank Forster, and Ed von Hoeg, and Canada's Burns W. Pierce. Several countries were represented in the event, including Scotland, Wales, France, England, and Denmark.[50][53]

As the fascination with six-day races spread across the Atlantic from its origins in the United Kingdom, their appeal to base instincts attracted large crowds. The more spectators who paid at the gate, the bigger the prizes, which provided riders with the incentive to stay awake–or be kept awake–in order to ride the greatest distance. To prepare for the event, Taylor went to Brooklyn, where he became a member of the South Brooklyn Wheelmen. An estimated crowd of 6,000 spectators attended the final day of the Madison Square Garden races in December 1896.[54][55] During these long, grueling races, riders suffered delusions and hallucinations, which may have been caused by exhaustion, lack of sleep, or perhaps use of drugs.[56][49][57][b]

Madison Square Garden's six-day event in 1896 was the longest race Taylor had ever entered. After Taylor refused to continue racing on the final day of the long-distance competition, exhausted from physical exertion and lack of sleep, a Bearnings reporter overheard him comment: "I cannot go on with safety, for there is a man chasing me around the ring with a knife in his hand."[59] Taylor completed a total of 1,732 miles (2,787 km) in 142 hours of racing to finish in eighth place.[60] Teddy Hale, the race winner, completed 1,910 miles (3,070 km) and took home $5,000 in prize money. Taylor never competed in another race that long.[61]

After Taylor's move to the East Coast in 1896, he initially lived in Worcester, where he worked for Munger, and in Middletown, the site of another of Munger's cycle factories.[39] Taylor also lived in other eastern cities, such as South Brooklyn, where he once trained,[50] but it is not known how long he still resided in New York after he became a professional racer.[62]

1897–1898: Fame and records

[edit]
Taylor with the Boston pursuit team of 1897; one of the first known photographs of an integrated American professional sports team[63]

Taylor initially raced for Munger's Worcester Cycle Manufacturing Company. After the company went into receivership in 1897 he joined other racing teams.[64] Taylor competed in his first full year on the professional racing circuit in 1897.[65] Early in the season, at the Bostonian Cycle Club's "Blue Ribbon Meet" on May 19, 1897, Taylor rode a Comet bicycle to win first place in the one-mile open professional race.[66] On June 26, he won a quarter-mile (402 m) race at the track at Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn. Taylor also beat Eddie Bald in a one-mile race in Reading, Pennsylvania, but finished fourth in the prestigious LAW convention in Philadelphia.[67][68][69]

As a professional racer Taylor continued to experience racial prejudice as a black cyclist in a white-dominated sport.[60] In November and December 1897, when the circuit extended to the racially-segregated South, local race promoters refused to let Taylor compete because he was black. Taylor returned to Massachusetts for the remainder of the season and Eddie Bald became the American sprint champion in 1897. Despite the obstacles, Taylor was determined to race.[70]

In the early years of his professional racing career, Taylor's reputation continued to increase as he competed in and won more races. Newspapers began referring to him as the "Worcester Whirlwind," the "Black Cyclone," the "Ebony Flyer," the "Colored Cyclone," and the "Black Zimmerman," among other nicknames. He also gained popularity among the spectators.[71][72][73] One of his fans was President Theodore Roosevelt who kept track of Taylor throughout his seventeen-year racing career.[18]

Taylor on the front of the November 1, 1898, edition of the French sports magazine La Vie au grand air [fr]

Early in the 1898 racing season Taylor beat Bald at Manhattan Beach, but lost to Eddie McDuffie at Cambridge, Massachusetts, in a 30-mile (48 km) paced race. On July 17 at Philadelphia, Taylor won his biggest victories of the season: first place in the one-mile championship and second place in the one-mile handicap races. On August 27, in a head-to-head race with Jimmy Michael of Wales, Taylor set a new world record of 1:41 25 for a one-mile paced match and beat the Welsh racer to the finish by 20 yards (18 m).[74][75]

Taylor was among several top cyclists who could claim the national championship in 1898; however, scoring variations and the formation of a new cycling league that year "clouded" his claim to the title.[18] Early in the year a group of professional racers that included Taylor had left the LAW to join a rival group, the American Racing Cyclists' Union (ARCU), and its professional racing group, the National Cycling Association (NCA). During the ARCU sprint championship in St. Louis and Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Taylor, who was a devout Baptist, refused to compete for religious reasons in the finals of the championship races because they were held on a Sunday. As a result of Taylor's decision not to race in the finals at Cape Girardeau, the ARCU suspended him from membership. Taylor petitioned the LAW for reinstatement in 1898 and was accepted, but Tom Butler, who had remained a LAW member after the break-up, was declared the League's champion that year.[76][77][78][c]

During 1898–99, at the peak of his cycling career, Taylor established seven world records;[33][18] the quarter-mile, the one-third-mile (531 m), the half-mile, the two-thirds-mile (1.1 km), the three-quarters-mile (1.2 km), the one-mile, and the two-mile (3.2 km) distances. His one-mile world record of 1:41 from a standing start stood for 28 years.[60]

1899: World sprint champion

[edit]
Taylor became the first Black American to win a world championship in any sport at the 1899 track world championships at the Vélodrome de Queen's Park in Montreal, Canada.

At the 1899 world championships in Montreal, Canada, Taylor won the one-mile sprint, to become the first African American to win a world championship in cycling. Taylor was the second black athlete, after Canadian bantamweight boxer George Dixon of Boston, to win a world championship in any sport.[33][45] For decades he was the only black athlete to be a world champion in cycling.[80][81] Taylor won the one-mile world championship sprint in a close finish a few feet ahead of Frenchman Courbe d'Outrelon and American Tom Butler.[82][83] In addition, Taylor placed second in the two-mile championship sprint at Montreal behind Charles McCarthy and won the half-mile championship race.[18][84][85][86] Because the finals were held on Sundays, when Taylor refused to compete for religious reasons, he did not compete in another world championship contest until 1909 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Taylor lost in a preliminary heat at Copenhagen and did not compete in the finals.[87]

After Taylor's world championship win in 1899, many claimed that the event "had been a farce, because Taylor had not competed against the strongest riders."[88] World cycling's governing body, the International Cycling Association (replaced with the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) in 1900), did not allow NCA racers to compete at the world championships in Montreal. As a result, Taylor's accomplishments were somewhat diminished. Because the rival organizations (LAW and the NCA) would not recognize each other, two American champions were crowned in 1899. Tom Cooper was the NCA champion and Taylor was the LAW champion.[89][90]

In addition to the world championship wins in the one-mile and two-mile distances at Montreal and the LAW Championship, which he won on points, Taylor's victories in 1899 included twenty-two first-place finishes in major championship races around the U.S. Taylor's record-setting times were impossible to dismiss. No other rider had matched the "range and variety" of his winning performances, which made him an international celebrity.[18][91][88][92] In 1899, Taylor made several unsuccessful attempts to recapture his world record for a one-mile paced distance in two "strenuous record-breaking campaigns," before he finally achieved the new world record of 1:19 in November to regain the title of "the fastest man in the world."[93][94]

For the 1899 racing season, Taylor went to Syracuse and with Munger's assistance he signed a contract to race for the E. C. Stearns Company. Taylor, Munger, and Harry Sager, who was Taylor's bicycle parts sponsor, initially planned to negotiate a deal with the Olive Wheel Company; however, the men were able to work out a more lucrative contract with Stearns, who agreed to build Taylor's bicycles using a chainless gear mechanism that Sanger had designed. The bicycles only weighed about 20 pounds (9.1 kg) and had an 88-inch (2,200 mm) gear for sprinting and a 120-inch (3,000 mm) gear for longer, paced runs.[95][96] Stearns "also agreed to build Taylor a revolutionary steam-powered pacing tandem, behind which he could attack world records and challenge the leading exponents of paced racing."[97] Although the tandem was temperamental, it helped Taylor break Eddie McDuffie's one-mile world record on November 15, 1899, with a time of 1:19 at a speed of 45.56 mph (73.32 km/h).[98] In late 1899, Taylor signed a contract to race with the Iver Johnson's Arms & Cycle Works team of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, during the 1900 racing season.[99]

1900: American sprint champion

[edit]

In 1900, when the LAW no longer governed professional bicycle races in the U.S., Taylor's future as a professional racer was in jeopardy. Fortunately, the ARCU and the NCA, who had banned Taylor from competing in their leagues, readmitted him after payment of a $500 fine.[93][100] Taylor won the American sprint championship on points in 1900. He also beat Tom Cooper, the 1899 NCA champion, in a head-to-head match in a one-mile race at Madison Square Garden in front of 50,000 to 60,000 spectators. In addition, Taylor set world records in the half-mile and two-thirds-mile sprints and raced indoors using a "home trainer" in head-to-head competitions with other riders as a vaudeville act.[101][102][103] Taylor eventually settled in Worcester, where he purchased a home on Hobson Street in 1900.[62]

1901–1904: Europe and Australia

[edit]
Taylor racing against Edmond Jacquelin at Paris' Parc des Princes in 1901

Following his record-setting successes in the U.S. and Canada, Taylor agreed to a European tour. In 1901, Taylor made his first trip to Europe, but returned to compete in the U.S. after the conclusion of the European spring racing season. During his European tour Taylor still refused to race on Sundays, when most of the finals were held, because of his religious convictions.[104][105][106][107] It was reported that Taylor took a Bible with him when he travelled and began each race with a silent prayer because of his religious beliefs.[18] [108]

Trophy presented to Major Taylor at Parc des Princes, Paris on May 27, 1901, in the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites Collection

Taylor was popular among the European race fans and news reporters: "Everywhere he went he was mobbed, talked about, or written up."[109] In 1901, Taylor won 18 of the 24 European races he entered, notching up 42 victories when the individual heats are counted.[110] A highlight of Taylor's European tour in 1901 was the two match races with French champion Edmond Jacquelin at the Parc des Princes in Paris, the winner in each decided over the best of three heats. Jacquelin won the first match, on May 16, two heats to nil, a wheel length sealing the win in the first heat, two lengths the gap in the second. Taylor triumphed in the second match, on May 27, two heats to nil, four lengths his margin of victory in the first heat, three the gap in the second.[110]

Taylor also participated in a European tour in 1902, when he entered 57 races and won 40 of them to defeat the champions of Germany, England, and France.[18] In addition to racing in Europe, Taylor also competed in Australia and New Zealand in 1903 and 1904. In February 1903, for example, Taylor, lured by a £1,200 appearance fee and a world record 1st prize of £750, competed in the inaugural Sydney Thousand handicap. His fee the next year hit £2,000.[111][112] During his world tour in 1903, Taylor earned prize money estimated at $35,000 ($923,352 in 2015 chained dollars).[113]

1907–1910: Later years

[edit]
Taylor and Léon Hourlier at a standstill during a race at Paris' Vélodrome Buffalo in 1909

Following a collapse from the mental and physical strain of professional competition, Taylor took a 2+12-year hiatus from cycling between 1904 and 1906, before returning to race in France. He set two world records in Paris in 1907 for the half-mile standing start at 0:42 15 and the quarter-mile standing start at 0:25 25. Taylor also returned to Europe for the racing season in 1908 and in 1909. He finally broke his long-standing decision to avoid Sunday races in 1909 when he was nearing the end of his racing career. Taylor's last professional race took place on October 10, 1909, in Roanne, France, in a match race against French world champion Charles Dupré. Taylor won the race, but he did not return to Europe for the 1910 season and retired from competitive cycling.[114][115][116]

Taylor was still breaking records in 1908, but his age was starting to "creep up on him."[18] He retired from racing in 1910 at the age of 32. When Taylor returned to his home in Worcester at the end of his racing career, his estimated net worth was $75,000 ($1,978,611 in 2015 chained dollars) to $100,000 ($2,638,148 in 2015 chained dollars). Taylor won his final competition, an "old-timers race" among former professional racers, in New Jersey in September 1917.[117][118][119]

Racism in cycling

[edit]
A caricature published in the edition of February 23, 1894, of The Bearings cycling magazine, illustrating the ban of blacks from membership to the League of American Wheelmen

As Taylor gained notoriety as an amateur and a professional, he did not escape racial segregation. In 1894, the LAW changed its bylaws to exclude blacks from membership; however, it did permit them to compete in its races. Although Taylor's cycling was greatly celebrated abroad, particularly in France, his career was still restricted by racism, particularly in the Southern U.S., where some local promoters would not permit Taylor to compete against white cyclists.[120][121][122][123] Some restaurants and hotels also refused to serve him or provide him lodging.[8]

Taylor asserted in his autobiography that prominent bicycle racers of his era often cooperated to defeat him, such as the Butler brothers (Nat and Tom) were accused of doing in the one-mile world championship race at Montreal in 1899. At the LAW races in Boston, shortly after Taylor had won the world championship, he accused the entire field that included Tom Cooper and Eddie Bald, among others for fouling him.[124][125] Taylor complained after the event that he had been "bumped, jostled, and elbowed until I was sorely tried."[126][127][128] Racing promoter William A. Brady, who was also Taylor's manager, chastised the other riders for their "rough treatment" of Taylor during the race.[125]

While some of Taylor's fellow racers refused to compete with him, others resorted to intimidation, verbal insults, and threats to physically harm him.[8] While racing in Savannah, Georgia, in the Winter of 1898, he received a written threat saying "Clear out if you value your life"; the previous day Taylor had challenged three riders together to a race after one of them had said they "didn't pace niggers."[129] Taylor recalled that ice water had been thrown at him during races and nails were scattered in front of his wheels. Taylor further stated in his autobiography that he had been elbowed and "pocketed" (boxed in) by other riders to prevent him from sprinting to the front of the pack, a tactic at which he was so successful.[130][131][127][128]

Taylor's competitors also tried to injure him. One incident occurred after the one-mile Massachusetts Open race at Taunton on September 23, 1897; at the conclusion of the race, William Becker, who placed third behind Taylor in second place, tackled Taylor on the race track and choked him into unconsciousness. Becker, who claimed that Taylor had crowded him during the race, was temporarily suspended while the incident was investigated. Becker received a $50 fine as punishment for his actions, but was reinstated and allowed to continue racing. In another incident, which occurred in February 1904, when Taylor was competing in Australia, he was seriously injured on the final turn of a race when fellow competitor Iver Lawson veered his bicycle toward Taylor and collided with his front wheel. Taylor crashed and lay unconscious on the track before he was taken to a local hospital and later made a full recovery. Lawson was suspended from racing anywhere in the world for a year as a result of his actions.[8][132][133]

Life is too short for any man to hold bitterness in his heart and that is why I have no feeling against anybody.

Marshall Taylor[134]

Taylor explained that he included details of these incidents in his autobiography, along with his comments about his experiences, to serve as an inspiration for other African American athletes trying to overcome racial prejudice and discriminatory treatment in sports. Taylor cited exhaustion as well as the physical and mental strain caused by the racial prejudice he experienced on and off the track as his reasons for retiring from competitive cycling in 1910.[135][136] His advice to African American youths wishing to emulate him straightforward was that although bicycle racing had been the appropriate route to success for him, he would not recommend it in general. He suggested that individuals "practice clean living, fair play and good sportsmanship" and develop their best talent with a strong character, significant willpower, and "physical courage."[137] Despite many obstacles, Taylor rose to the top of his sport and became "one of the dominant athletes of his era."[22]

Retirement and death

[edit]
Taylor in 1926, aged 47–48
1914 newspaper ad offering shares of the Major Taylor Manufacturing Company
Taylor's grave at Mount Glenwood Memory Gardens South

After retiring from competition, Taylor applied to Worcester Polytechnic Institute to study engineering, despite the fact that he did not have a high school diploma, but he was denied admission[138] and took up various business ventures.

Nearly 20 years after his retirement, Taylor wrote and self-published his autobiography, The Fastest Bicycle Rider in the World: The Story of a Colored Boy's Indomitable Courage and Success Against Great Odds: An Autobiography (1928).[d] According to his book, Taylor was upbeat about his retirement: "I felt I had my day, and a wonderful day it was too." Taylor also claimed he had no regrets and "no animosity toward any man," but his autobiography included hints of bitterness in regard to his treatment as a competitor: "I always played the game fairly and tried my hardest, although I was not always given a square deal or anything like it."[140]

By 1930, Taylor had experienced severe financial difficulties from bad investments (including self-publishing his autobiography), the stock market crash, and businesses that proved unsuccessful. Taylor's home in Worcester and some of the family's personal property were sold to pay off debts. He also suffered from persistent ill health in his later years.[141][142][143]

Little is known of Taylor's life after the failure of his marriage and his move to Chicago around 1930. Taylor spent the final two years of his life in poverty, selling copies of his autobiography to earn a meagre income and residing at YMCA Hotel in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood.[144]

In March 1932, Taylor suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized in the Provident Hospital. After an unsuccessful heart operation, he was moved to Cook County Hospital's charity ward in April, where he died on June 21, at age 53. The official cause on his death certificate is "nephrosclerosis and hypertension," contributed by "Chronic myocarditis".[145] His wife and daughter, who survived him, did not immediately learn of his death and no one claimed his remains. He was initially buried at Mount Glenwood Cemetery in Thornton Township, Cook County, near Chicago, in an unmarked pauper's grave.[146] In 1948, a group of former professional bicycle racers used funds donated by Frank W. Schwinn, owner of the Schwinn Bicycle Co. at that time, to organize the exhumation and reburial of Taylor's remains in a more prominent location at the cemetery.[147][148] The plaque at the grave reads: "World's champion bicycle racer who came up the hard way without hatred in his heart, an honest, courageous and God-fearing, clean-living gentlemanly athlete. A credit to his race who always gave out his best. Gone but not forgotten."[149]

Legacy

[edit]

Taylor's legacy lies in his willingness to challenge racial prejudice as an African American athlete in the white-dominated sport of cycling. He was also hailed as a sports hero in France and Australia. Taylor, who became a role model for other athletes facing racial prejudice and discrimination,[8] was "the first great black celebrity athlete" and a pioneer in his efforts to challenge segregation in sports. He also paved the way for others facing similar circumstances.[60] Taylor explained in his autobiography that he had no other African Americans to offer him advice and "therefore had to blaze my own trail."[137]

Honors and tributes

[edit]
Honors and tributes
A plaque commemorating the 1982 dedication of the Major Taylor Velodrome in Indianapolis, Indiana
Memorial to Taylor outside the Worcester Public Library
Major Taylor Boulevard in Worcester
Major Taylor Museum in Worcester

Taylor's legacy remained largely unknown until 1982, when the Major Taylor Velodrome in Indianapolis opened for the city's hosting of the U.S. Olympic Festival.[150] Annual events taking place in the velodrome or the wider Indy Cycloplex named in honor of Taylor include the Major Taylor Racing League track series, and from 2015, the Major Taylor Cross Cup second division UCI cyclo-cross event.[151] Taylor was posthumously inducted into the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame in 1989.[152] In 1996 and 1997, Taylor was posthumously awarded with the USA Cycling Korbel Lifetime Achievement Award and the Massachusetts Hall of Black Achievement, respectively.[153][154] In 2002, he was one of the nine track cyclists inducted into the UCI Hall of Fame, created to commemorate 100 years of the Paris–Roubaix one-day road race and the inauguration of the World Cycling Centre.[155] In 2003, he was named a Sports Ethics Fellow by the Institute for International Sport.[156] During the 2005 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Los Angeles, a Peugeot bicycle that Taylor had owned, and then was donated to the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame, was put on display inside the ADT Event Center.[157] In 2009, a state historical marker was installed as a tribute to Taylor near the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis, where the Capital City track once stood, and where he had set an unofficial track record in 1896.[45] In 2018, he was honored with a special tribute award at the International Athletic Association's Jesse Owens Awards held at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.[158]

In 1998, in Taylor's adopted hometown of Worcester, where he lived for 35 years, the Major Taylor Association was formed by locals with the goal of erecting a permanent memorial to Taylor outside the Worcester Public Library and telling his story.[159][160][161][162] On July 24, 2006, the city renamed the Worcester Center Boulevard, a high-traffic downtown street, to Major Taylor Boulevard.[163][164] At the same time, funding for the memorial was secured with the Massachusetts Legislature approving $205,000, signed by governor Mitt Romney.[163] The opening ceremony took place on May 21, 2008, attended by Tour de France winner Greg LeMond.[160] The memorial features a bronze sculpture of Taylor surrounded by granite was created by Antonio Tobias Mendez, who was chosen from over more than 60 others.[165] At the grand opening of Worcester's Applebee's restaurant in 2000, Taylor was selected as their "hometown hero", and has a display of his memorabilia.[166] In 2002, the Educational Association of Worcester and the Worcester Public Schools, together with the Major Taylor Association, developed a curriculum guide on Taylor,[167] which has since been expanded and used in schools nationwide.[166] Since 2003, Worcester has hosted the annual "George Street Bike Challenge for Major Taylor" amateur hillclimb event.[168]

The first of the many cycling clubs named in Taylor's honor was organized in Columbus, Ohio, in 1979.[169][170] In 2008, a number of these clubs joined with other African-American clubs to form the National Brotherhood of Cyclists (NBC), a nonprofit organization that aims to further diversity in cycling.[171] The Major Taylor Trail, a six-mile-long (9.7 km) rail trail that navigates through South Side, Chicago, opened in 2007. Eleven years later, Chicagoan artist Bernard Williams oversaw the creation of a 400-foot-long (120 m) community mural honoring Taylor along the metal siding of the Little Calumet River bridge, which the trail crosses.[172] Taylor is also celebrated along the Alum Creek Greenway Trail in Columbus, Ohio.[173] In 2009, the Cascade Bicycle Club community organization of Washington state launched The Major Taylor Project, a youth cycling program.[174]

A small museum devoted to Taylor opened in 2021 in the former Worcester County Courthouse.[175] Taylor's great-granddaughter attended the dedication.[175] A mural was dedicated in Indianapolis, in September 2021, to honor his legacy. [176]

[edit]

Actor Philip Morris portrayed Taylor in the 1992 television mini-series Tracks of Glory.[177] Blues musician Otis Taylor (no relation) recorded "He Never Raced on Sunday," a song about Taylor for his 2004 album Double V.[178] In 2007, Nike produced the Major Taylor "premium" collection of their most iconic sneakers in a light brown/neon yellow/white colorway.[179] In the same year, SOMA Fabrications began making a set of bicycle handlebars called the Major Taylor Bar, which is a replica of 1930s drop handlebar that was named for Taylor.[180][181] Dewshane Williams portrayed Taylor in the 2013 episode of television drama series Murdoch Mysteries, "Tour de Murdoch".[182]

On April 12, 2018, at a private exhibition in the TheTimesCenter in New York City,[183] cognac brand Hennessy announced that Taylor would become the subject of the company's fifth instalment of their "Wild Rabbit" advertising campaign, created with agency Droga5, which through a series of partnerships tells inspirational the stories of culturally influential people, with the slogan "Never stop. Never settle."[184] The event included the unveiling some of the partnerships including Kadir Nelson's bronze sculpture of Taylor, The Major.[183] The campaign launched to the public with a television commercial during the 2018 NBA Finals in April.[183] The Major directed by Derek Cianfrance, which has cuts in various lengths, features a voiceover from rapper Nas and recreates Taylor racing in an indoor velodrome.[185][186] The 30-second cut was shown during third and fourth quarters of the Super Bowl LIII in February 2019, Hennessy's first appearance in a Super Bowl commercial.[187][188] On April 22, 2018, ESPN premiered the Hennessy-sponsored television documentary short The Six Day Race: The Story of Marshall "Major" Taylor; directed by Colin Barnicle, it features interviews with contemporary African-American athletes, road cyclist Ayesha McGowan and BMX rider Nigel Sylvester.[185]

In 2019, two Taylor-inspired brand collaborations were released, with part of the proceeds going to the NBC. Kerby Jean-Raymond, under his haute couture fashion label Pyer Moss, designed a five-piece collection "MMT 140", and Affinity Cycles made limited-run of a modern replica Taylor-era track bicycle.[189] In partnership with the NBC, a series of tribute bicycle rides took place across the U.S. in November and December marking Taylor's birth date, and the creation of the $25,000 "MMT Higher Education Scholarship", awarded to one winner with the best "Never stop. Never settle." story.[171][185] Also in 2019, Taylor's name and likeness was licensed to Major Taylor Cycling Wear of Columbus Ohio to manufacture and distribute official sports- and cycling-wear bearing the image of Major Taylor.

Graphic novel publisher Drawn and Quarterly planned to publish a biography of Taylor by comic artist Frederick Noland in 2023.[190]

Marriage and family

[edit]
Taylor with his wife, Daisy, and daughter, Sydney, c. 1906–1907

Taylor's wife, Daisy Victoria Morris, was born on January 28, 1876, in Hudson, New York. Taylor married Morris in Ansonia, Connecticut, on March 21, 1902. Taylor met her around 1900 when she was living in Worcester, with her aunt and uncle.[191][192][193][194][195][146]

While in Australia in 1904, Taylor and his wife had their only child, a daughter that they named Rita Sydney in honor of Sydney, where she was born on May 11.[196][197] When Taylor, his wife, and daughter were not traveling, they lived in a large home on Hobson Avenue in Worcester that Taylor had purchased in 1900.[62]

After his retirement from racing in 1910 and the failure of subsequent business ventures in the 1920s, Taylor and his wife became estranged. She left him in 1930 and moved to New York City. Around the same time Taylor left Worcester and moved to Chicago; he never saw his wife or daughter again. [198]

Taylor's daughter, who graduated from the Sargent School of Culture in Boston in 1925 and the University of Chicago in 1936, taught physical education at West Virginia State University. She died in 2005 at age 101; her survivors include a son, Dallas C. Brown Jr., and his five children.[113][199] In 1984, Taylor's daughter donated an extensive scrapbook collection on her father to the University of Pittsburgh Archives.[200] The original scrapbooks were donated to the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites in 1988. [108]

World records

[edit]
List of world records set by Major Taylor
Date Distance Pacing/start Time Location Refs
September 2, 1896 15 mile (0.32 km) Unpaced, flying start 0:23 35 Capital City Track, Indianapolis [201][202]
August 27, 1898 1 mile (1.6 km) Paced, standing start 1:43 25 Manhattan Beach, New York City [203][204]
1 mile (1.6 km) Paced, standing start 1:41 25
September 5, 1898 12 mile (0.80 km) Single-paced competition 0:58 45 Hampden Park, Springfield, MA [205][206]
November 4, 1898 1 kilometer (0.62 mi) Paced 0:57 35 Woodside Park, Philadelphia [207][208]
November 5, 1898 14 mile (0.40 km) Paced 0:22 25 [208][209]
2 miles (3.2 km) Paced 3:13 35
November 12, 1898 1 mile (1.6 km) Paced 1:32 [210][211]
12 mile (0.80 km) Paced 0:45 45
12 mile (0.80 km) Paced 0:45 35
November 14, 1898 13 mile (0.54 km) Paced 0:29 45 [212]
November 15, 1898 12 mile (0.80 km) Paced 0:45 25 [213][214]
1 mile (1.6 km) Paced 1:32
14 mile (0.40 km) Paced 0:22 15
13 mile (0.54 km) Paced 0:29 35
12 mile (0.80 km) Paced 0:45 25
34 mile (1.2 km) Paced 1:08 35
1 mile (1.6 km) Paced 1:32
November 16, 1898 14 mile (0.40 km) Paced 0:22 15 [215][216]
13 mile (0.54 km) Paced 0:29 35
12 mile (0.80 km) Paced 0:45 25
23 mile (1.1 km) Paced 1:00 45
1 mile (1.6 km) Paced 1:31 45
12 mile (0.80 km) Paced 0:45 15
34 mile (1.2 km) Paced 1:08 25
August 3, 1899 1 mile (1.6 km) Motor-paced 1:22 25 Garfield Park, Chicago [217][218]
November 9, 1899 14 mile (0.40 km) Motor-paced 0:20 [219][220]
November 10, 1899 12 mile (0.80 km) Motor-paced 0:41 [221][222]
November 15, 1899 1 mile (1.6 km) Motor-paced 1:19 [223]
December 14, 1900 14 mile (0.40 km) Unpaced 0:25 45 Madison Square Garden, New York City [224]
August 1908 12 mile (0.80 km) Standing start 0:42 15 Vélodrome Buffalo, Paris [225][226]
14 mile (0.40 km) Standing start 0:25 25
August 26, 1908 1 mile (1.6 km) Motor-paced 1:33 25 [227]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Andrew Ritchie, one of Taylor's biographers, offers other potential explanations for Taylor's nickname, but his military uniform appears to be the most likely reason, although Taylor never confirmed it.[12]
  2. ^ The extent of drug use during the era in which Taylor raced is "uncertain," but it was "not uncommon." At that time, many narcotics and pharmaceutical drugs, including opium, laudanum, morphine, heroin, and cocaine, among others, could be obtained legally.[58] Their exhaustion was countered by soigneurs (French: carers), helpers akin to seconds in boxing. Nitroglycerine, a drug used to stimulate the heart after cardiac attacks and was credited with improving riders' breathing, was also among the treatments supplied to riders.[56]
  3. ^ Earl Kiser, nicknamed the "Little Dayton Demon," raced for the Stearns "Yellow Fellow" team during the same era as Taylor. Kiser became a two-time world cycling champion and competed all across Europe in the late 1890s. After Taylor was barred from racing, Kiser petitioned the ARCU to have him included.[79]
  4. ^ The original version of Taylor's autobiography, printed by The Commonwealth Press in Worcester, Massachusetts, has a copyright date of 1928; however, other sources indicate that it was not published until 1929.[139][45]
  5. ^ Thomas Gascoyne was a dual world-recordholder from England who defeated Taylor twice in one day at Boston on July 20, 1901.[228]

References

[edit]
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Bibliography

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Further reading

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