Page:The fastest bicycle rider in the world - 1928 - Taylor.djvu/124

 wich, the one hundred meter free style Olympic champion swimmer and Harry Devine, American bantam-weight prize fighter.

I was given an honored position in that group of celebrities by reason of being the world’s one-mile professional champion and by virtue of the fact that I held the world’s one-mile paced record. Also the championship of America title.

The Worcester program was sanctioned by the L. A. W. and included my five-mile pursuit race with Casey, the one-mile professional handicap, one-half mile open and two one-mile amateur events. The match pursuit race between Casey and myself was advertised as the feature of the meet and the purse of $200, winner take all, was hung up for the victor. Casey rode that day under the colors of the Vernon Bicycle Club, one of the most famous organizations in Worcester. Since I had never ridden on the flat oval track nor won in a pursuit race, Casey was the favorite to win.

However, I won the pursuit race and the half-mile open and was well up with the leaders in the mile handicap race when a spill in the last lap put me out of the racing. Incidentally, I assumed a new role on that afternoon when I appeared in racing togs to race Charlie Raymond, a widely known Worcester bicycle rider and 100-yard dash man, at 50 yards, best two heats in three to determine the winner. I won in straight heats the time for each being 5 4/5 seconds.

Frank Butler of the famous trio of brothers from Boston was the heaviest money winner among the six professionals who competed at this meet. He took second prize in the half-mile and won the mile handicap from the 20-vard mark. Casey was second in the mile handicap and third in the half-mile open.

In the half-mile open the starters were Frank Butler, Watson Coleman, Hugh McLean, James Urquhart, Nat Butler, Jimmie Casey, Charlie Bly, Alec McLean and myself.

I quote from a Worcester newspaper of the following day:

“At the sound of the pistol the men left the tape with a rush, Jimmie Casey taking the lead and Major Taylor following closely. These positions were held throughout the first lap and around the second on the back stretch with the bunch following the leaders. At the 220-yard mark Casey cut out a hot clip for the tape. Taylor had the best position, next to Casey, who was doing all the donkey work, and when the field turned into the home stretch Taylor jumped Casey, closely followed by Frank Butler who had never left his rear tire. He tried hard to pass Taylor on the home stretch but the latter was sprinting like a fiend and passed Casey without any trouble, winning by two lengths with Butler second by inches only. The time was 1:11 4/5 which is very fast for the Oval.

“But for the spill in the mile handicap that race would have been