The Dollop with Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds - 333 - Major Taylor (Live in Indianapolis)

Episode Date: June 26, 2018

Comedians Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds examine the life of Major Taylor. SOURCES OFFICIAL MERCH TOUR INFO

When you're staying at an Airbnb you might be like me wondering could my place be an Airbnb and if it could what could it earn? You could be sitting on an Airbnb and not even know it. That in-law sweet guest house where your parents stay only part-time Airbnb it and make some money the rest of the year whether you could use a little extra money to cover some bills or for something a little more fun your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at Airbnb.ca slash host. There's my microphone on. I did it I ran my own tech it's all good. Hi everybody how the hell are you Dave say a word

god damn it. Hello Ohio. Oh boy. He hit his head pretty hard earlier. He just kept saying this is for sure Ohio. Yep. Congratulations on Larry Bird. Um you're listening to the dollop. This is a biannual American History podcast. It's really slow. Twice a year. I read a story. Dave Anthony. What? Dave Anthony. Dave. Galaxy. Nope. Eight note owner. Xbox owner. Long pause there because it sounds like you're an Xbox. Mountain Hiker. Hiker. Dave Anthony. Read the story from American history to some guy. No. No. No. I want it better. Okay to a fucking ginger. Thank you.

Why do you get that negative rap? November 26, 1878. Marshall Taylor was born into poverty in Indianapolis in 1878. Okay. Celebrated poverty. He was one of uh yep he was one of eight children. Sure obviously. His father Gilbert was the son of a Kentucky slave and had fought for the union in the Civil War. Okay. In 1887 Gilbert began working as a coachman for the Southerts a super super rich white family in Indianapolis. Okay. He started as a coachman. Yeah. Okay. Sure. Yep. Great. And charge a coach. We got we got hung up early on something we shouldn't get hung up on. I'm starting to make

starting choppy. Just want to make sure you know he's a coachman. Okay. So you got the dad's job down. We're gonna move past that shit. I don't know Dave. I don't read these stories before we come out here. So this could be a story about a coachman. I'm gonna tell you right now it's not. Right now it kind of is. Marshall would often go with his father to work and help exercise the horses. You mean the coachman horses? Interesting. Yep. Over this time he became close friends with Dan Southerd the son of the rich white family who was the same age. Okay. He spent more and more time there and when Marshall was eight they

invited him into their home and he lived with them and was tutored along with Daniel and had living arrangements that his parents could never provide. Okay. So he's eight. He's moved into a rich white family's. Sure. It's like a different strokes kind of situation. Sure. Sure. One of the great great heartwarming shows of the 80s 70s 70s while you're getting white white man rich white guy just a couple of young black kids and Dana whatever name is in a play. Yeah. I don't think that was a name on the show. Yeah. But that was as heartwarming and awkward as this. Sure. This is where he first experienced being excluded because of his

race when the boys would go to the YMCA to play. Marshall was not allowed to play. Only white kids could play. So he was forced to sit and watch Daniel. That's fun too though. That's also there's also a sport to that. Yeah. That looks great. You learn to watch and how great that is. Yeah. But when Marshall was about 13 the Southerners moved to Chicago. Okay. They were happy to take Marshall with them but his mother could not bear the idea of parting with them. So quickly his life changed. Quote I was dropped from the happy life of a millionaire kid to that of a common errand boy within a few weeks. Yeah. Time to be a coachman. Yeah.

Well that was great. What an awesome four years of my life. It's good because now it makes the real world so much worse. Fantastic. One thing the Southerners did do was before they left was give Marshall a bicycle. Okay. I genuinely thought you're gonna say bison. I don't know why. Okay. They gave him a bison. Would be weird. But a boy in a bike. No. Not at all weird. He made money delivering newspapers as he rode barefoot for miles each day. Fuck that. Just the worst. What riding barefoot. Riding bikes barefoot just fucking freaks me out. That's what's getting you. It's the worst thing I've ever read on the dollop. What are you

talking about. Oh my god. It drives me insane. Dave. God. Just your little toes getting the spike. It's like a. So much worse than the penguins. She can't handle it. I can't handle barefoot bike riding. Just everybody. Is this genuine. Yeah. You are genuinely this. I can't barefoot bike rider. Fuck me. It's horrible. What are you talking about. I never knew the 1800s were this bad. 1800. This happened in like the 40s. Today. God. What are you talking about. Are we alive. I mean. All right. Just one wrong turning your toes off. What. A dude was double fisting lobotomies on this show. That's fine. That's fucking normal.

Everybody knows about that. That's just human nature. Okay. So he had to ride it back by foot. We've all got our thing. There was once a girl on a daytime talk show that couldn't go near Almonds and they made her stick her hand in an almond. You're first of all. She screams. She screams like she was dying. You're talking about the Tyra Banks show. And second of all, you're burying the lead because they also did it with pennies and then someone chased one girl with pickles. Tyra Banks was under the impression that the way you get rid of a phobia is assault someone with the phobia. She was like, you're afraid of

pennies. Well, there's a watch at the bottom of this fish tank of pennies. And the woman was like, okay. Why? I mean, the almond woman was like, like it was unfucking believable. Well, that's in that. So I could be on that show and a guy would ride by on a bike with no feet. Wait, it's not even your phobia? He's going to hurt his toes. Yes. He's going to hurt his toes. That guy's going to hurt his hand and probably his toes. Bad. It's a bad, bad thing, man. By the way, Mori, that's the pickle girl. Mori. Mori. Mori chases her with a pickle, I believe. That was a good time for television. Golden age. So Marshall taught himself to do tricks on

his bike. Like wear shoes. In 1892, he was so good at doing tricks that Tom Hale, a local bike shop owner, hired Marshall to do bike stunts in front of the Hay and Willets bike shop. Marshall will get $6 a week for doing stunts and cleaning the shop. Okay. I liked, I liked it. They were like, well, you're blacks. You got to clean the shop too. You can't just, you can't just do your skill. Can't all be roses. You'll be sweeping too. So. But can I just do tricks? I'm a trick guy. No, you can do tricks. Yeah. You got a new trick. You sweep. What? You sweep. It's a new trick you're doing. You do it before you do your other tricks. New trick. Look at

you. Two new tricks. Get in there. Do your tricks. Think about it. Do your tricks. We're white. He was also given a new bicycle worth $35. So he would just do his tricks all day in front of the store. Oh, and then they had him dressed in a military uniform. Sure. Absolutely. Sure. Why not? Yeah, why wouldn't you? No, no question there. And he got the nickname Major. Okay. So now he's called Major Thomas. Okay. That's interesting. That's an interesting way to get in the ranks. Yep. I wear a uniform. I'm a major now. Major of bike tricks and cleaning. Yeah, and cleaning. Yeah. Tom Hay then came up with another idea to promote the bike

shop. Enter Major Taylor in a 10 mile bike race. Okay. Major had never even seen a bike race and was terrified of the idea. But Hay told him, quote, I know you can't go the full distance. Just ride up the road a little ways. It will please the crowd and you can come back as soon as you get tired. Okay. So that's a great pep talk. Yeah. You have no shot. Okay. Just quit as late as possible. Hey, can I throw something in here? You're shit. Yeah. Terrible. You're shit. Yeah. And you got to sweep while you do this. Yeah. While you're racing sweep. Yeah. Ground's dirty. So just go in the race, go up the hill, jump off, come back, crying or

whatever you do. Yeah. Sweep on your way back. Yeah. Clean the toilets. That's a trick. That is a trick. So turns out Major Taylor was a natural. He pushed his legs beyond anything he thought he was capable of doing and he finished six seconds ahead of everyone else. Okay. He collapsed and quote fell in a heap on the runway. But he soon had a gold medal pinned on his chest. Major Taylor had found his calling at 13. He started competing in races across the Midwest. He was even mentioned in the New York Times, but although they didn't bring up his age. Okay. Why would you bring that up? No, that's not important. No, who

cares? Man rides bike. That's enough. That's the story's done, gentlemen. Keep it quick. Yeah. Tight. Sweep artist gets on bike. World's greatest sweeper. Second skill possible. While white promoters allowed Major to compete in trick riding competitions and races, he was not allowed to join any local riding clubs because they were all white. Right. Fun. Fun run. That all had, huh? Yeah. Yeah. Many white cyclists were far from welcoming to a young black rider who was better than them. Yeah. In 1893, a depression hit and competitions for jobs was brutal. Black people, of

course, took the hardest hit of all and desperate whites took out their anger on blacks, particularly those who excelled. Black jockeys had long dominated horse racing, but were soon pushed out of the sport or had to move overseas. Right. Bicycling governing body, the bicycling's governing body was the League of American Wheelmen. Of course. Of course. The law. Yeah. We are the law. It's an acronym. No one's under arrest. Yeah, you're all fine. But we're the law. Influential men in the organization began trying to stop African American infiltration into their sport. As they should. You got to be careful. Yeah.

Kidding me. Might come in there and play the sport. You have ruined bikes. In Louisville, a man named Colonel Watts, you know, fuck. I just, I don't mind the name Major, but I just think anyone named Colonel would go fuck himself. Oh, he's a gent named Colonel. Yeah, it's a guy named Colonel. Like I am a Colonel. Okay. Can we just start doing that? Yeah, I think you can just start calling yourself Sergeant Gareth. Yeah. Oh, general. I'm General Anthony. How are you? General Anthony. Nice to see you. Good to see you're doing so well, General. Oh, it's pretty good. Yes, life seems pretty good indeed.

Oh, we are at the make it up army. I'm missing my troops, by the way. They're around, I think. Well, now you're buying way too far into this. I'm going to invade Nicaragua. Okay. Why don't you settle down, please? That guy got it. That guy listened to old episodes. Got it a lot. I think he's dead now. Yeah, he died. He super got it. That was a man's last. Yeah. So Colonel Watts from Louisville tried putting exclusionary language into the racing bylaws. If successful, they would have stopped blacks from racing on Kentucky tracks and then nationwide. Okay. Watts ran for mayor of Louisville on the slogan, quote,

no discrimination against wheelmen. Wait, so he thinks there are wheelists? Wheelmen. Yes, but he's basically saying that wheelmen are getting discriminated against. So he's accusing people of being wheelists. Yeah. Well, he's, but he's actually doing the discrimination. So he's discriminating against blacks. Yeah, no, of course. But he's saying no discrimination. Yes. No, he is saying like people on bikes need rights. Well, only white people. Right. Yes. White people. Yes. Whites. White rights. Whites. That's what I said. Right. The Wheelmen's Convention was held in Kentucky and he pushed hard to get blacks

excluded on a national level. He won the vote 127 to 54, but then a delegation from Massachusetts blocked it at the last minute. Okay. Bison started blowing up across America. Major Taylor kept working at Hay and Willets, mostly giving riding lessons and then riding in some amateur races. He really excelled in track sprints. And then he met Louis Birdie Munger. Louis Birdie Munger. Birdie's his nickname. His name is Louis Munger. Louis Munger's nickname. Just got lucky with that one. Okay. Munger was a former high wheel bicycle racer. So he was one of the guys with a giant wheel. Wait, wait, racer. Those guys used

to race? Oh, fuck yeah, they did. Oh my God. It was called, it was called the Falling Down Guys. Yeah. What a fun race that is. Oh, they're all dead and they've all died. Every time I think about those bikes, though, I was reading a story. What is the deal with them? I was reading a story in the paper and there was a couple who was trying to live like they're in the 1800s and they like lived in Silver Lake or some shit and the guy had one of those bicycles and I like I've never wanted to punch anyone so hard in my life. Like we've moved past it. Yeah, there's a reason that those aren't used. But in the era of bikes, surely that

came after regular bikes. No, those were first. Those were first. Yeah. What was the, what? Don't look at me. What are they, who was the guy's like, what if one of the tires wasn't crazy? What about a giant one and then a little tiny one? I think that, um, I'm pitching against that actually. I'm saying two regular ones. No, no, no. There's a big one you sit on and then there's a little one behind you. What? And the little one goes wee wee wee wee wee wee. Oh, this is easy. Ah. When I fall down, I fall far. Honey, I've perfected the bicycle. Can't get better than this. Get the ladder. I want to get off. I'm very frightened. I've

no, I've got to do this thing now. So he's a, he's Munger's a former high wheel bicycle racer and the owner of the Munger Cycle Manufacturing Company, a racing bicycle factory in Indianapolis. The two became friends and Munger hired major tailor to work at his factory. Okay. And Munger saw greatness in major quote mate. He made up his mind to make Taylor a champion. He became major's racing coach. So bicycle racing at this point is fucking huge, legitimately huge sport. Arthur Zimmerman was considered the best. He won money and received gifts that may have exceeded the earnings of other athletes at the

time. His haul on 1892 included 29 bicycles, several horses and carriages, six pianos, tons of household furniture, silver plates, metals, and endless amounts of jewelry. I mean, we're all flagging the same thing here, Dave. What's that? What did he play piano? I don't know. I don't know. Did he break them after he played them? I don't know. He probably had one for each room. Yeah. Six. Oh, congratulations. You want another piano? No, no, no, no, no. Give me some god damn money. It's a piano. Oh, it needs money when we got you another piano winner. I don't want any more goddamn pianos. Maybe don't race on the piano circuit. I'm trying not to.

I was told this was a cash prize. I don't want... Look, I have nine pianos. I have nine pianos. Yeah, it's great. No, it's not. I don't know how to play. I actually, I have quite a distaste for pianos now, if I'm being totally honest with you. I really, I'm not a fan. What about an organ? Hi. Talking about something else. Hi. I like racing. Okay. So you're talking about playing my organ for a piano, right? Sorry, did I misread this? Are you talking like a legit organ? Yeah, I was

talking about an organ you play. I'd like one. Yeah, I'd like one. What were you talking about? Huh? It was a different time. What? Huh? Also, Raleigh Bike Company stocks. Zimmerman got royalties from Zimmy shoes, Zimmy toe clips, and Zimmy clothing. Zimmy toe clips are great. Yeah. Holy, holy fucking Zimmy. He made ten grand in 1893, which would be up 300k today, and these were the guys major got to meet because it was a relationship with Munger. Zimmerman treated major like a fellow racer, not a black kid like so many others did. In 1895, a local realtor and railroad magnet decided to

sponsor an annual 75 mile race from Indianapolis to Matthews, Indiana. That's where you guys get really excited. Nobody. Nobody. Nobody. No. Not one person. No one was like, okay, keep going. Why is he pausing? Yeah, right here. Keep going. Nope. Usually one person goes, whoo. Yeah. Well, that guy's head exploded. In this case, nothing. The magnet wanted a major to enter the race, but because of possible racial racial tension, the racism of races, he major and Munger decided to keep his entry a secret. They thought they thought of white racers knew a black kid is going to get in because I think he's like 14 now. They

would drop out if they knew that this black teenager jumped in the race. Okay. So after the starting pistol goes off, major comes running out from behind a tree and jumps out of a bike and into the race. Okay. Sure. Sure. Sure. Sure. Sure. So he stuck to the back of the pack for a while. I mean, I can't race. He's just like, I just got to hang in there till they're not looking. So if you guys are about if you guys don't know about rising, racing, racing. So there's a pack and then the guys in back get like behind them to like hide in the little vacuum. Yeah. Pack that's there back pocket. I don't know if it's a back draft. It's the

little draft situation. The guys in front are called pacers in this. They're like blockers, wind blockers. Yeah, they're called wind blockers. No breakers. That's what it is. Well, then here they're called pacers. So the guys in front are pacers and then the other guys tuck in behind. Wait, the Indiana Pacers. Yeah. Dave. So, so he y'all. Yeah, I told you Larry Bird, don't bring it up. So he he tucks in back and he starts drafting the pack. But after a while, one of them looked back and we're like, fuck, there's a black guy. Hey, hey, hey Ted, look back there real quick. My crazy is that guy black. Holy shit. Right. That can't be

right. How can he keep up with us? He's black. I'm freaking out. This isn't right. I don't know what's going on. Call the police. So they immediately just started fucking yelling racist shit at him and whatever they can think of. And soon they're making threats to hurt him after the just yelling racist names. I've doesn't work. So then they try to knock him off his bike, but they couldn't. And then they surrounded him and he's stuck in the middle of the race is the stop. We're not raised. We're going to beat him up. So he's stuck in the middle of the pack just surrounded by these white guys and he starts to think, Oh, well,

I'm out in the middle of nowhere on a race so they could actually just fucking kill me. It'll be super easy to do. So at the halfway point to keep himself from being harmed, he just started going as fast and hard as he could to separate himself from the pack of white racists. Right. And as he did the racing racists, the racing racists, as he did, it starts pouring rain, right? He breaks through and the and the the roads are unpaved and they're soon just racing in mud and it's splattering into their eyes and all over their bikes and he takes the lead and slowly they just all fall away. And then he, as he gets near the end of the race,

he's just been going as fast and crazy as he can. He looks back and they're just all gone and he wins. And then he was the only racer to finish the race. Yeah, that's like a mental advantage in a race if you're actually being chased. Yeah. That's like the mental edge the athlete strives for. One dude's like, no, I literally need to get the fuck out of here. Okay, so here's your motivation. Uh-huh. Lynching. Yeah, let's go, go, go. I'll run up from behind this tree when I hear that gun. So the winner of the race won a deed to a lot in the center of town of Matthews,

so he won a piece of land. Which is full of pianos. When he got home, he told his mother and she was happy. He won, but made him promise to never take part in a long race again on country roads because white people would kill him. And he agreed. Yes. Oh, mom, for sure. Yeah, I'm not doing that again. Are you kidding me? Blessing learned. It got weird. Yeah. He joined a black only local organization called the seesaw cycling club. Okay. He won a black only 10 mile event that the club held in Indianapolis that sent him to the black national championships in Chicago. Okay. Chicago's bike crazy.

Almost everyone there had a bike. They would race bikes. They would have a bike parade or a bike show was going on every day. Packs of men would just ride around all day and on bikes and then at night they would drink. Man, it's a different time. It's a different time. Like if we could just take our fascination with bikes and bring that to now, I think, you know, because bikes were so new. Yeah, that's fucking crazy. But yeah, but it was like, yeah, as opposed to like the gut. Anyway, I'm about to talk about the phone like a grandpa. If we could just replace every phone with a bike, we'd be better. We were saying today that if it'd

be funny if an alien came down and was like what we can totally save your planet and people were like, yeah, what is it? We're in trouble. We need it. And then the alien just made all phones disappear and left. What? No, wait. Yeah, that's it. That's all it actually takes. No, no, no. Well, no, but I need my GPS and my Instagram. I'm unable to... Yeah, right. No, I just saved your civilization. Yeah, rid of it. Yeah, but I mean, I... Maybe don't save our civilization. Well, I mean, can we do it with like two apps each phone? Yeah. Now you need to get rid of the whole thing. We want to... We would rather have a demise. Yeah, I want to die. We'd

rather die. I want to die. We'll die instead. Thank you. Oh my God. Oh, two likes. So at the National Black Championships, he faced the best black riders there, including the most famous of all, Henry Stewart, aka the St. Louis Flyer. Wow, that did not... She's from there. Nobody cared. Literally, everyone was like, whoa. Stewart was a huge man, often described as a, quote, brick shit house. Oh, nice. Okay. Yeah. Okay. He tried to intimidate Major, but it just backfired, and Major Taylor became the new black champion of America. The National Press did not give two shits. Back in Indianapolis, he was at the mercy of white

track owners. He could only train when they said he could, and he was often kicked off tracks. Major was just faster and faster and faster as time went on, and word spread. The local wheelman in Indianapolis knew of his times, and reporters started writing about his results. Some people were amazed he could do what he was able to do at just 17 years old, but most just criticized him and made degrading comments. Sure. Sure. Right. Forgot what era we were in. And what country? Keep going. He was a black man who clearly was not staying in his lowly status. Right. Indianapolis became a cold, inhospitable, and outwardly hostile

place toward Major Taylor. Also, also towards Munger for having the audacity to help a black guy become something. Munger's business relations and his friends started harassing him. So Munger finally decided that the two of them had to leave Indianapolis if Major was going to be successful and get the training he deserved. And Munger decided to move his factory to Worcester, Massachusetts. Okay. Yeah, okay. It's quite a move. Yeah. I'll bring the factory. Well, you really like me. I really like you. Yeah, I'm gonna move the whole factory for you. I think you're really great at this. Yeah. Can you sweep the factory?

Come on. Gotta sweep still. Keeps you humble. That's why I'm doing it. No, it isn't. No, it isn't. No, it isn't. It's because it's dirty. Okay. On Munger's last day in town, a bunch of his friends and associates came down to the now empty factory to see him off. They sat around drinking beers. And finally, one of them could not take it anymore. And he asked why on earth was Munger leaving a great business in a city that loved bicycling to partner with, quote, that little darky. Munger said, quote, someday he will return to the city as the champion bicycle rider of America. His friends all thought he was crazy and just turned around and walked out.

In Worcester, major train at the YMCA and on the streets, he joined another all black bicycle club called the Albion. He then started racing and found New England to be far less focused on race than Indianapolis had been. Interesting. That dude's head went, he was like, also for that to be true, he was bicycling like he was avoiding Boston, obviously. He was not going to hit Boston. Quote, I was in Worcester only a very short time before I realized that there was no such race prejudice existing among the bicycle riders there as I had experienced in Indianapolis.

When I realized I would have a fair chance to compete against them in races, I took a new lease of life. Okay. So he, he had to, he had to learn to love life again. And to do that, he had to leave your city Indianapolis. It's great to be here. I just so that to speak, if I may put a finer point, he raced in a 25, what did he say? Either Mike Pence or nice pants. Oh yeah, Mike Pence. Yeah, that's a good thing to bring up. Why don't you just scream handmade tail? I mean, they would like, it is all, you almost want to see what Pence would be like for a minute.

He'd be like, finally we got that lunatic out of there. He'd be like, right, we're burning them at stakes again, boys. There's witches out here. We're going to crucify people on Pennsylvania Avenue. He raced in a, I don't know why they're upset with us. Yeah, that's where we're going. So major race in a 25 mile race in New Jersey that had, had racial issues in the past. Okay. Arthur Zimmer came to watch him. It was major in 153 white riders. Okay. Sure. So you know where major is. You're like, okay. There's a crowd of 20,000 people and he was holding his own in the last

half mile. It was just him and one other racer until someone stepped out and threw a pail of ice water in major's face. Major went down and finished 23rd. Oh my God. And that was the last road race he would ever take place in. Wow. Cool. Yeah. Was it maybe just like a deranged water guy? Major's so thirsty. I thought he was hot. I thought it was helping. He's my favorite bicyclist. I was trying to cool him down. You guys, I'm here every year on the ice bucket guy. Yeah. Ice bucket Larry. Come on. I do the song and the dance. I help the guys, Larry. Ice bucket Larry. Oh my God. He's here to cool you down.

When you need it, at least. Okay. So that guy cool. Yep. Very cool. Apparently. In August 1896, Munger signed Major up for an event in Indianapolis. The railroad magnet was back and helped get Major into the white's only races at the Capital City Cycling Club. Major couldn't officially compete against the white pros, but his time could be measured. Okay. So he was allowed to beat them but couldn't win? That's correct. Interesting whites. Interesting. I see what you've done there, whites. I see what you've done. I figured out how to do this. Okay. In the first heat,

he beat the track mile record by eight seconds. Okay. Which we will not take into account. Holy shit. Did you see that thing that just didn't happen? That was amazing. I can't believe what we're not going to write down. Wow. The crowd went ape shit. Then Major took a rest and he came back to the track to try the one fifth mile race. He flew around the track and set a world record by two fifths of a second. But he was black. Yeah. His time could not be turned in for official recognition. Oh boy. Would this be a big moment if you were white and you know, you did something almost great. Wow. Wow. But you're black. So nobody saw it. Yeah. Oh my God. White people are great. This is how we keep records.

We're cool. We're cool. Still the crowd loved it. Crowd went ape shit. Crowd's going fucking nuts because he sets a world record. And then the white racers came out of the locker room to see what all the excitement was because they weren't watching when the black guys racing like, you guys want to get a beer? Yeah. Let's go out here. And he broke the world record. What did he do? Is that possible? They saw Major Taylor. And as he walked past them, they let fly with every racist name they could think of and made threats of violence. They also then yelled and swore at the railroad magnet for letting a black man on the track. Jesus Christ. But Major Taylor had returned

to Indianapolis and made them all know that he was the best. And then he hopped on a train and left. It'd be great if he was peddling the train. Jesus. Look at him go. Set a train record. Look at those calves. But the stunt that was pulled by Munger infuriated so many local cycling officials. Major Taylor was quickly banned from the Indianapolis tracks. Right. Well, he was the best. So you can't be there. You can't let that guy there. They were worried he was push away fans or that white cyclists would refuse to race if he raced on tracks. Well, he'd make it like, if a black guy's on a track, you can't, you can't, you can't have a white guy go there then. It's all. Yeah. Well, and you can't have the best, you can't have the best athlete because then the

white may not show up. And that's not okay. Oh my God. Imagine. What are we doing without the white? We need the white ones. So they're the best ones. But at that point, it kind of didn't matter. He really didn't give a flying fuck about Indianapolis because he was starting to take off in the racing world. Right. Later that year, Major talked his way into a professional race at New York's Madison Square Garden. This is his first pro race. It is still amazing to me. What was, what used to go into Madison Square Garden back in the day? The Walkathon. People were like, Oh shit, drop everything. The Great Hat Toss. Oh my God. Madison Square Garden. Well, Gareth, hold on to your asshole.

Uh, Major needed a race jersey and was given one that had been laying around forever because it had the number 13 on it. Here, take this unlucky rag. Riders were superstitious and no one wanted to wear it. But Major did and he wore the number for the next 14 years. And of course, he won his very first race, which was a sprint. Next Munger signed him up for a six day race. Jesus. Where in Madison Square Garden? Oh my God. And then it's okay. There were 28 riders. Okay. To keep the fans excited, the racers would do sprints in the middle of the race. So because they're just going around a track for six days. Yeah. No, it sounds pretty monotonous. Every once in a while, they'd race each other for like

half of whatever track and people would be like, whew. I'm glad I stuck around for day five. Do you see the hustle there? I missed my family a little. Six days. Major pack a lot of food because this is batshit crazy. Major knew how to entertain the crowd and he did a lot of sprints for them. But by day three, he was really getting tired. Okay. Boy, well, you got to remember. Yeah. Pace yourself six days. Can't act like it's three and be sprinting all the time. He drifted back to ninth place. And then he came up with the idea to fasten a pillow to his handle bars to rest his chest on. And then all the other riders saw this and copied him. Wait, what?

They like they're all they're all right. Yeah, they're like just laying on it. They're like made a little bed. Wait. So he, yeah, what? What? He made a chest bed? Yeah. And everyone else was like, that's genius. How did he get me a chest? Oh, I might not, I might not off over here. Oh, I'm like a getting drowsy under there. Good call, dude, but you can't win. Oh, I just don't get it off there. Yeah. That would to me, that'd be the problem is that you might fall asleep. There's a lot of problems with what I'm hearing about this. After three days, major had ridden 900 miles. It's just okay. Yep. Okay, nine. The experienced riders, the guys who were

experienced in a several day race would sleep one or two hours a day and then keep riding. So they had like a little tent in the middle of the track and they would go and take a nap. Just the, I mean, what? It's like a, it's like what a race car, like an Indianapolis race car pulls into the pit. It's like that, except you're a human and you go take a nap. So just four guys grab you by all like every limb and they're just like, there you go. Get him. Get him. Move over here. They just start putting water in your mouth. Like, all right. He's got it. Jerk him off. Jerk him off, guys. Come on. Jerk him off. There we go. All right. Let him sleep. Let him sleep. Put chocolate in his mouth. Chew it for him.

Chew it for him. Chew it for him. He's sleeping. But major was different. Major would sleep one hour for every eight hours he wrote. So he's sleeping like three hours a day compared to one or two. Okay. He's now luxury, huh? Oh yeah. He must have been well rested. So now he, or maybe four, I guess. So now he's a hundred miles off the leader, right? So he's okay. He's struggling to eat as many calories as he's burning. During short breaks, he would eat two fried chickens, four and a half pounds of red meat, pots of beef tea, tons of vegetables, and jars of milk. What is he a cheetah? What? What? He's a hungry boy. Yeah. Yeah. I mean,

you know, he's burning. Read again what he would eat. Okay. Two fried chickens. I mean, that's crazy. Four and a half. That's what Jake Blues orders in the Blues Brothers. Okay. So two whole fried chickens. Right. Four and a half pounds of red meat. Four and a half pounds. Is it cooked or is it just raw in a bucket? I mean. I'm hoping it's cooked. Yeah. Pots of beef tea, beef, tons, tons of vegetables, and jars of milk. I mean, yeah. And then he would still be hungry and want more. Hungry still. But wait, there's a hole coming out. Oh, that's a problem. My cork fell out. Okay. That makes sense. Hey, I ate one of the other riders. So famished. So hungry.

I ate my pillow. So hungry. Riders started dropping out of the race. By day four, there were only 15 left. At one point, he and another rider got their handlebars tangled and they both crashed. At the end of day, feathers everywhere. At the end of day five, major had ridden 1,608 miles and was 153 miles behind. Still, the crowd was loving. The fans are still there. They're not. Well, don't look at me like that. There, there's no. So what it is, is that people are coming and going. So you go, so it's, it's, it's a, it's a way to sell

shitloads of tickets for one event. Right. So people, every time you go in, you're paying money. So people stay for a day and then they leave and then other people come in for a couple hours and they have to just selling shitloads of tickets. Okay. I would want to be there for the eating. Yeah. Like, I want to watch that guy eat again. That's the best part of the show. He just spit out a bone. And major, is it day five? Is that what I said? He's still doing sprints and the crowd will whistle loud and even chant. Oh, no, wait. He'd whistle loudly. Sorry, I got that wrong. He would do sprints and then he'd whistle loudly. It's like one of the things he did to get the crowd fired up. Holy shit,

you see that guy? He's fucking whistling. I love racing. I love it. I love it. It's so great. He would also, he would also ride up close to the crowd and chat with them. Hey, what's up? Let's put a pin in this. Wow. He's really cares about what's going on with me. So you said you're a shoe salesman. I'll be right around. The New York Times said, quote, the wonder of the race is major tailor. By the final day, word was out and people were flocking to the event. Six thousand. Well, you got to get there for day six. I mean, that's the big game. Yeah, that is game day. Yeah.

Yeah. Six thousand were now on hand. Even more people were packed in because there were no fire codes. Of course not. The fire marshal was like, no, people can run through that crowd. That'll be fine. And by the way, if America was really a free country, you wouldn't have fire codes. Bingo. Because I don't need some fucking government telling me whether or not I can sit in a house that's on fire or whatever. Yeah. You mean the wood liberals? That's what I'm talking about. Man can't build a house anymore that's made out of gasoline. No, sure as hell can't. Back in the day, you used to be able to build a gas house. That's right. People would let you be stupid. That's right. Now people call you stupid. Yeah. And that's fake news.

Yeah. All right. So six thousand people there. Even more people were packed in because there's no fire codes. So there's people who genuinely can't see to or probably just like, what's happening? Yeah. I mean, cops were set up along the top railing for extra seating and napping costs. Yeah. They finally started turning people away and fights broke out in the streets. The cops had to come in swinging their billy clubs to calm everything down. I mean, that's probably not the right way to phrase that. No, no, no, no. The cops came in there with their billy clubs to suggest a calm atmosphere. Settle down. Now there's so many people in there and the auditorium filled up with smoke because everyone is smoking cigars and cigarettes.

Whoa. I wonder what that would be like. And now the writer's lungs are seared and their eyes are burning. So much smoke. Hey, I wonder what that would be like. Not yet. Okay. Stop it. Okay. I got it. I got it. You'll see. The writers started to crack on day six. Literally. No. Well, maybe. Terry shattered. Some of them started having muscle fits and just shaking while they're writing. Sure. They try eating five pounds of beef. Major totally lost it. He started crying in his tent and pleading with his trainer to let him quit. Oh my God. He said incoherently, quote, you fellows want me to stay here until my legs drop off so you can sell it to a doctor.

That is, we're not sure that's not happening, but we're not sure what you're saying it is, but that is not happening. I don't know if you know what a doctor is. The guy who buys legs. I'm not an idiot. The leg buyer. So he's just like drained and just talking a little weird. He keeps going. Okay. Doki. At one point he's riding around and he hops off his bike and leans it up against a fence that's there and then he sits down on railing and falls asleep. Oh my God. So the fan starts screaming and yelling at him until he wakes up and he wakes up and a reporter comes over and major says to him, quote, I cannot go on with safety for there's a man chasing me around the ring with a knife in his hand. Okay. So he's taken a little acid. No,

they're, he's not the only one. They're, they're like hallucinating now. They're so out of there. They've been six days riding. They're hallucinating. Hey, you don't need to tell me. I would never sign off on the goddamn idea. So they're all just now. So now this race has just sort of turned into a race against dementia, your own personal mental prison. I mean, theater Roosevelt was part of the government, maybe mayor, or he had some sort of position in the government of New York and he, he had people come down like for humanity reasons, they were trying to stop the race, but they had no legal authority to well for a while. They were probably looking for the dude with the knife. Hell is I don't know where he is. He's right behind him. I love that. They're

trying to stop the race and no one was like, Hey, let's stop the smoking. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So they're just in this like snow globe of smoke, just racing and just picturing villains, chasing them. Yeah. What a fun run. It's a good race. Tell you what, cap it at five days. That's what I always say. That's the time. Look at this. Look at this production value. What other podcast is giving you smoke podcast gives you smoke? Okay. So the atmosphere, it was sort of like this ish. We should start doing this more. Yeah. And I don't mean like, you know, setting the scene. I mean, literally just letting smoke plumes come out on stage. Yeah. I'm fine with it. Okay.

So all the spectators think he's finished because he's talking about a guy with a knife chasing him, but he did not stop. He keeps going. He finished the race. Yeah. Well, that dude with the knives after him. Yeah. They actually call, they actually called it two hours early because they were getting worried about the riders then. Yeah. Okay. I love that too. All right. Okay. Okay. This is crazy. One of them made his arm. This is too much. The winner had ridden a 1,910 miles. Taylor finished eighth and had gone 1,732 miles. He made $325. What's good? It's equal to a year's wages working in the factory. I've learned to not react to money on this podcast. She's like, whatever he says, you wait for the follow up. It's like $10. That's bullshit. He's

like, it was a million. Then you're like, good for him. Good for him. So he becomes his popular hero because of this bike race. He receives coverage in the press that was unheard of for a black man at the time. And the fans too, quote, his age writing won him many friends among people ordinarily opposed to the colored race. So even people that hate black people like, well, that one's all right. Right. Yeah. Right. Which really seems to be how our acceptance of race has gone. That still happens. Just slowly. We're like, well, we found one good one. And then you're like, okay, well, we got an opening so we can maybe try to do something. Nope. Doesn't work like that. But manufacturers weren't sure what to do

with them. Would sponsoring him cause people to buy their bikes or boycott them? It's a tough call. They decided not to take the risk and they did not sponsor him. Always, always sponsored him. The sponsors have always been great. Yeah. One thing major knew was that he would never ride in a six day race again. Day fives when the knife man shows up for me. So I'm fine with the race. It's the fucking guy with the knife. This guy with the knife because he emerges out of the ground and that is what makes him so frustrating. And he has a lizard head. So he's not a man. He's a part snake stabbing machine who emerges from, from ground. And I don't know what to tell you. Right. Here's the other thing. The track doctor tries to buy legs.

Oh yeah. Oh yeah. This guy's all about the limb count. I think the knife man might work for the doctor the more I think about it. Yes. I think he's cutting the limbs of the doctors buying them. Anyway, I love it. I'm still doing it. He sets it. He set it sights on winning the American sprint championship. A racer would win it by collecting points throughout the season. So it's like a fucking NASCAR deal. Right. Wherever he went, crowds showed up. He's a big, he's a big draw. By 1897, bicycle racing was the number, it says number two, but I thought it was number one, whatever. It's a huge sport. How about this? I think it's number one and nobody will check. Yep. Number one.

Number one. Eight million people attended races that year. Eight million people. Yeah. And major, a bunch of losers. Yes. And major was winning. But as the public came to love him, his fellow racers came to hate him because he was black and they started to work against him. And a race in Worcester, he was crowded out by a group of riders and driven into a post and he crashed. He complained and the stewards agreed and they kicked the guy out who had done it. And then the next race, the riders worked in two man teams against him and he was shoved against a poll again. By the time he won the opening heat at Waverey Park, he refused to come out for the race because he was so terrified of the other racers. The fans started chanting his name at the same

time as fellow riders were threatening to hurt him in the locker room if he raced. That's awkward. Yeah. Very awkward. Yeah. But listen to them. Yeah. We don't like that. They like you. So he says he doesn't want to race and the stewards asked for proof. Like you're gonna have proof. Wait, what do you mean? He's like, they're threatening to kill me. And they're like, what's your proof? Well, do you have evidence? Well, no, I have the words that ring inside my head constantly. That's not enough. Do you have something from the future that records? Do you have? Did they write any of these threats down and sort of pass them to you? No? Oh man, I wish they had. Go and get them. What else could we do?

So he couldn't provide any evidence and they made him race. One said, quote, a little more exercise might cure you. He purposely came in last in that race. So now he's losing out on championship points, even though before he was doing great. He's greatly hurting his chances to win that year. His nerves are clearly getting frayed. Everyone can see it. A newspaper headline, Taylor's life in danger. Major told the papers the white riders were threatening to injure him. The next race in Massachusetts, he finished in second. The third place writer, Becker, was so furious that he had passed him that at the end of the race,

he grabbed Major off his bike and threw him to the ground. And then he started choking Major. Minutes passed and Becker was still choking him. Fans slowly started to realize what was happening and screamed for someone to do something, but no one did anything. And then the fans came out of the stands and grabbed Becker, but he still would not let Major Taylor's neck go. And the color drained from Major's face and his eyes shut and his body went limp. And then the police arrived and they pulled Becker off. But now the fans wanted to kill Becker. So the police started protecting Becker from the fans while Major is just laying there unconscious and motionless. Okay.

And then they got Becker wherever safe. And then the cops came back to revive Major. Okay. 10 minutes have passed since he's gone. Sorry, was the order of that the cops protect Becker then save Major? Yep. Just wanted to put a finer point on that. Yep. Becker's okay. The guy who almost killed him is okay. Yeah. Yeah. We saved him. He's fine. Let's take a look at him. So the doctor wants to look at those limbs. I don't know why. He's drooling. I don't know why. So 10 minutes have gone by since he's gone limp and then 15 minutes. Now the police did common techniques to revive someone that they used back then. Oh, God. Yeah, Dave. Talk about a tee up. They slapped him. I knew slap was first. They screamed

at him. They hit the soles of his feet. Oh my God. And they massaged his neck and chest. Okay. So they did all the things you're supposed to do. Get up! Get up! I don't think he's in bad shape. I'm hitting his feet as much as I can. Punch him. Punch him in the face. I'm hitting his feet. His feet are not even doing anything. I think he's gone. Look at his feet. They're not moving. I've slapped him maybe a hundred times. I'm rubbing his chest a bunch and I got nothing. Hey, I jammed his stick up his nose. Wait. Sorry. We weren't. Becker, get out of here. I cut his eyes. This'll work. After 20 minutes, Major came to. Okay.

Becker was suspended from racing pending a review of the incident. Yeah. No, you want to make sure you get it right when an almost murder happens at your sport. For some reason, Major was now terrified of racing. Now, interesting thing is that sports writers were all on Major Taylor's side. They loved Major Taylor. Writers wanted Becker thrown out of the sport for life and they wrote about it constantly. This went on for a while as the governing board comes to their decision. And then they finally did. Becker got no suspension. It was fine. $50. Which was a lot of money back then. You know what? You know what though? Yeah, you don't know what. No. Oh, you do know what? Okay. Yeah. I was going to say

bike racing is tough and sometimes you crash and sometimes a guy chokes you to death for seven minutes. Like it's just, you know how many guys Lance Armstrong killed? Like 40. Minimum 40. In France, you can kill your opponent at the end of a race. As long as you're smoking. Major Taylor then learned the fine was paid by Becker's fellow white racers. Cool. The circuit was scheduled to head to the south home of lynchings and the murder of blacks, particularly at this time. Major was seventh in the standings, a good showing and he could pull off the whole thing. But in town after town, he was refused entry by racist promoters and

writers who banded together and said they wouldn't race against him even in his hometown of Indian apolis. Now you're taking credit in new Albany, Indiana. Oh no. After open threats against him, major was after major threats against him and being banned from the tracks, he was reduced to racing against a horse on a horse track on the other side of town. Wait, what kind of consolation race? They're like, what about that? That's like that. You want to want to go against that, that? Raise the horse. It's on a horse. It's also on like a horse. It's not like a fucking

it's dirt. No, it's dirt. Sure. Yeah. No, it's for some reason he wasn't up for it. He lost. Major was now just reading about the racers he had been recently competing with as they won. His point total was frozen and he dropped further behind. He was now too far back to win. His absence caused his name to drop out of the papers. At the same time, bicycle manufacturing was taking a hit and consolidating. The little guy couldn't get by anymore and Munger's factory closed and he had to focus on taking care of himself. So now he wasn't his coach or sponsor. Major is totally alone. Time for a beer. Are you celebrating? Okay, cool. It's a good story.

Indianapolis, as if this isn't all of America. So by the end of 1897, some reporters began suggesting Major should leave the country to have a fair shot. They say that about the dollop. Then a promoter named William Brady stepped up and became Major's manager. Brady was Irish and had been on the other end of bigotry and he knew Major was a fan favorite and could make money. Also around this time, Major's mother died, which led Major to religion. Okay. He became a devoted member of the John Street Baptist Church, which meant he would no longer, that's fine, you can boo religion here. We're that kind of place. Everyone's free to hate

whatever they want. Blindly, whatever kind of baptism boo. No, you know, as funny as he likes the Baptist Church, but not the John Street Baptist Church. Yeah. No, that's what I mean. Yeah. Yeah. They got it all wrong over there. Once you cross ninth, they don't get it. So this meant he could no longer ride on Sundays. Okay. And my guess is that was a big day for racing. Yeah, it was. Brady hired Major a trainer. Now riders during January and February all went south to attract in Savannah, Georgia, to train those that did not go and train where it's significant disadvantage once the season started. Okay. So his new trainer decided to get Major down there in Savannah. Is that a good idea?

Why not? Well, I just feel like we've seen maybe it turns around right now. I doubt it highly. So he gets him into a boarding house, but when the other borders found out a black man was staying in the house, they complained and he was kicked out. One night Major had to sleep in a horse stable. They finally got him lodging with a local black family. And when he went to the track to train, he and the trainer were kicked off the track. So Major decided to train on local roads. Okay. But local white riders became, started to complain that he quote had the gall to pass them on the streets, on the streets. Like they're like riding and they're like, how dare you? You go as fast as our slowest.

One day Major was riding alone when he saw three riders up ahead on a bicycle built for three. What? Well, Dave, I don't mean to jump in early, but we don't hear about those today for a reason, I feel like. He caught up to them and he recognized them. Hey, you're the idiots. Who do this? They were Savannah's top three-man bicycle team. What? I mean, against who? Who's the other? It just, it must have been a thing. There must have been tons of three-man bicycles. Oh, we're number one for three.

It's just the fact that he recognized them. Hey, you guys are the three. That's right. It's us. And you know steering guys like without me. These guys are nothing. I run the brakes and the steering. So he slipped in behind them and they started yelling at him that they had no intention of placing a black man. So he blew past them and they tried to keep up. But they're a bicycle built for three, so they're not gonna. Yeah, it makes you wonder like could a bicycle, because there's three guys, would they go faster?

I just think it, well, I think when you're talking about him specifically, no, but also I just think there's like, but there's three of them. I understand, but they're trying to get us Barney and Fred in the car and they're doing this. I think they go faster than if it's just. Yeah, but you've also, right, but on a bicycle built for three. Think of like taking a corner. I just use a cartoon as an example for reality. God love you for it, but like you're a left turn away from leaving them way behind. Yeah, you're like, I'll take this left. They're like, shit, come on guys.

Guys, laugh. Go out, why? Oh, shit. Okay. I'm gonna do a U turn. No UEs. Oh, shit. Here we go. So he blows past them and leaves them behind. And the next morning, he finds an envelope at his door. Inside was a letter, quote, Mr. Taylor. If you do not leave here before 48 hours, you will be sorry. Clear out if you value your life. Signed white writers. Just all of them, I guess. They're speaking for all, speaking for all white writers. It's cool. I really would have been better if it was a threatening note from a bicycle built for

three games. Sincere three us. We're coming for you. So as long as you don't hit any hard rights. So major immediately left Georgia. Word got out and a war of words broke out between northern and southern press over major Taylor. When the season started, once again, major was doing well in the races. Even the top racers like Eddie Bald were getting angry at him. Major was under constant threat in the races being elbowed, sandwiched, dumped or made to ride in a pocket. He started trying to shelter himself in the back of the pack. And when he tried to pass, he would put his head and body deep into his handlebars to avoid all the elbows. In New Jersey, Zimmerman came out to watch him race and gave him tips on how to deal with the assholes on the track.

Like a skill you never think you're going to have to develop when you enter the world of bike racing. How do I deal with the combat? He should just put on a fucking crazy metal helmet. It's like fucking, you know, pillows, more pillows. Major won that race. The fact that Zimmerman had come out to support him and been so happy to see him win turned something around in major. He was major. He was more motivated. Now Brady wanted to prove major was the best and said he would put up $5,000 to anyone who would race major one-on-one. That's smart. No white racer would. Even though these guys were all racing for a thousand bucks one-on-one all over the country, they wouldn't do it for $5,000.

Yeah. They can't knock them down. They all had excuses. They were too sick. They were too busy. I'm too white. Oh, yeah. The thing is, I'm so white. I feel like that's not a good thing. Super white guys. Yeah. Eddie Bald was more blunt saying competing head-to-head with a black man would quote, affect me socially. Wow. Okay. Look, I like the parties I go to. So if they knew I raced against a black guy, wow. Brady then reached across the Atlantic to see if Jimmy Michaels would race him. Jimmy was nicknamed midget because he was so small. Okay. Back when nicknames were whatever goes. He was one of the most talked about riders in the world. I believe he's Welsh.

Didn't he do the one big wheel one small? No. Okay. He agreed to race major for $22,000. Oh my God. Okay. Who is this little nugget? Let's go. Michaels was the favorite. Major beat him by 20 yards. Okay. Wow. Michaels handled it very well, threatening to quit racing completely. Okay. What kind of a threat is that after you lose? It's like, or I don't know what we can do. You will lost already. I'm going to quit if what's a threat? Anyone know? Meanwhile, his major stock was now soaring. He got offers from all over America and all over Europe. Cigarette makers now wanted to sponsor him. God damn, they had some fun with cigarettes. They really had a good little run where they were

like, I remember in the seventies, if I recall all the Playboy magazines, I looked at, they're used to like, like tennis players used to be sponsored by these two sponsors. Cigarette. It's amazing. Yeah. He suddenly had the potential to be one of the highest paid athletes in the world. Now could track owners or race promoters bar him? Okay. Yes, they could. But then there was a problem with the law. People were upset about the way it was being run and a rebel group of racers were breaking away from the league. They didn't like how they were being treated. Though most of them were racists and the ones major been dealing with, he broke off with them. They promised him if he came on board, they would have no Sunday racing.

And that's why that was his main. Yeah. And they needed him because he was a big draw. He was such a draw. Right. Okay. Although some racers in the group protested his inclusion, like the guy who tried to strangle him to death. Oh, so he's on, he's on, he's back with Becker. That's cool. Yeah. The first race was in St. Louis and major was barred from the hotel. The other races were staying in. No one in the city would give him a room and he spent that night sleeping on a tree in the rain. Oh my God. He's like draws like fucking 20,000 people and he has to sleep under a tree. He ate at a local restaurant. They let him eat the first day and then the next day they made him eat in the kitchen and then on the third day he came in and the

manager told a waiter who was black not to serve major, but major was now a huge inspiration for black people all over the country and the waiter refused to obey the order of his manager and the two argued and the waiter was fired. But what the waiter had done was written about all over the country. That's good. As soon as the season finals got close, an important race was rained out and they rescheduled it for Sunday Sunday. Major was major Soros. So major is furious. He said the agreement was no Sunday races, but they said the rain out created a loophole. And so major left and returned home and when he got home, he discovered he had been fined $400 for abandoning the race. Wow. But still he went on. He was offered

oh, he's called $10,000 to break the one mile record and he immediately did it. And then another racer broke his record. So major went right back and broke the record again. Jesus. And he kept drawing huge crowds. Finally, the championship was held in Montreal and his star power helped bring in 45,000 fans. The first race, it was like a, like it would be called a photo finish now, but everyone was like, oh, he clearly won and they gave it to the other guy. Oh, wow. Right. Okay. And then the second race for the, if he wins that, he won the whole thing. He clearly had won and they're like, oh, it's a photo finish again. And they, they start gathering the stewards or whatever they are and the whole fans are like,

fuck you. Yeah, my life. Fuck. No, he won. He won. He won that time because I would like to live today. Right. Wow. So he was the first African American world champion of cycling. The champion, the champion in the other league, the one that they broke away from was named Tom Cooper. Sure. And the press and promoters hounded Cooper to race major, right? Because the two leagues have champions, so they have to race each other, but he always had excuses. He was like, oh, I got a thing, my foot. And then my mom, oh, I gotta wash my dog. I can do Sundays, Sundays work for me. Yeah, I can do Sundays. Sunday's the only damn wide open. I can do that. Oh, I ate a bunch of pepper. So I'm a racist. And I love pepper. But white pepper. Wepper. Yeah. Finally, he agreed

after months and months of being hounded. But just before the race started, he was riding around and he fell and he got up and started screaming that there was a splinter in the track. Oh my god. And as they were looking at the splinter, it started to rain and the race was called off. Cooper delayed racing him again for five months or splinters. He finally agreed to race major Taylor in Indianapolis. Major had not been, I would leave them to. She's like, I don't want to hear one more thing about this fucking town. So he had not been back to Indianapolis for a couple of years since he really took off. And when he came back, he was fucking toasted as the local homeboy done good. We always loved you. We treated you so great.

Major, get over here, darling. Yeah, could you sweep the floor over here? God damn it. A course major beat Tom Cooper and his hometown, the place that had barred him from racing on tracks now celebrated him. But still, he was just not treated as he should be in America and Europe wanted him. The strongest riders in the world were there anyway, and a black athlete could ride without fear of racist attacks. The French pushed major to leave the US, but he refused. The big problem was that the French held their races on Sundays. So to get him over, French motors shifted events from Sundays to French national holidays just to accommodate major Taylor. We will do whatever you need, Major. We will... We could easily... How about this? Sunday is not Tuesday.

Tuesday is Monday. And Monday is not Sunday. All right, Major, work with us. We are removing Sundays. They no longer exist. So it's just a really big Saturday. It's crazy long Saturday now, okay? Two Saturdays. Yeah. No Sunday, six-day week. Tuesday is Crescent Day. We're also going to make the switch from dinner to breakfast. We're fucking crazy. And then we run from to Germans. So they make this major shift. He goes over. In 1902, he finally competed on his first European tour. He completely dominated and won the majority of races he entered. His reputation as the fastest cyclist in the world increased. He married Daisy Morris that year and kept traveling.

They had a daughter in 1904. She was named Rita Sidney after the city in Australia where she was born. But they're racist. Let's not pretend like things are great there. Major Taylor raced for the rest of the decade, pulling in $30,000 a year, which made him one of the wealthiest athletes of his day, black or white. But then came the automobile. And people stopped giving a shit about bikes and bike racing, and they started running over children in the street. Shifts us to another era we've already talked about. So Major Taylor retired in 1910 at the age of 32. Nice. Things did not end well. He made a bunch of terrible investments with his money, and when Wall Street crash hit, he was completely wiped

out. His marriage fell apart and became sickly. He wrote an autobiography called the fastest bicycle rider in the world, and he self published it. Wow. And then he spent his last years of his life going door to door selling his biography in Chicago. Dave, you better have something good coming up, buddy. Major Taylor died in 1932 at the age of 53. His body was unclaimed in a morgue, and he was buried in a popper's grave in Chicago. When former racing stars learned what had happened, members of the old timers athletic club of the South Wabish Avenue YMCA talked Frank Schwinn to pay to have majors remains exhumed and transferred to the cemetery Memorial Garden of the Good Shepherd. He was buried with a bronze tablet that reads

world's champion bicycle racer who came up the hard way without hatred in his heart, an honest, courageous, and Godfaring, clean living, gentlemanly athlete, a credit to his race who always gave out his best, gone but not forgotten. It must be nice to feel respected when you die. It's so great to have a talent and have that talent rewarded. Yeah, once you're no longer aware. Boy, boy. America's good. Yeah. Well, at least we treat people better now. Unless you're a, unless you're a 13 year old with a fake gun or no gun. Oh, we're doing good. How does everybody feel? Everybody feel good? Pumped up?

Did you pumped up? You fired up? Is that what you came for? Hey, the people in Australia got penguins. It's crazy, man. That really, I mean, yeah, like... Well, it's one of those things like, it's one of those things where like, man, the story fucking sucks, but shouldn't everyone know his name now? Oh, for sure. Yeah. I mean, there's truly no, yeah. I mean, absolutely. Like that. It, I don't know how, you know, when you just feel like you cannot undo enough of this shit, and then you feel like you get away from it. Like these stories, even since we've been doing this,

used to seem crazier. And then now they're starting to not seem as crazy. Right. And when I got like, oh, that's how it was. But not even that. And the time since we've been doing it, it's like, shit is not going further away from this stuff. Yeah. Like we've reached our peak of getting away from it. And now, at least for now, and now we're starting to undo the shit. We've peaked away. We're away peaked. Yeah. I don't know. I don't have a joke. Well, at least there's no one on Fox News telling LeBron James to shut up, right? Yeah. Just shut up and dribble. I mean, truly.

She's one of those fucking racers. She's no different. It's the same fucking thing. Shut up and dribble. It's no different. Yeah. Like you could say that for, like Scott Baio, shut up and don't act, but you don't. Whoa, whoa, whoa. He never acted. That's why I said don't act. I mean, you could say it for literally anything, but then you just, yeah, shut up and dribble. What the fuck? Oh, shit. Who's got a car to sign? First one was funner. And about fun, that's a good story. But yeah, I mean, I don't know. Like you,

you, uh, what the fuck? You were at the level as a white person where you're like, I can't process what has happened with a, like, what the fuck to what end? Well, they got what they wanted. Like how great would it be if there was just one white racer in all this who was like, hey, I'll block for you. Well, there was Zimmerman. Yeah, but there's not, no, there weren't enough, but also he did go. He did have fucking glory years in Europe. Like he did have 10 years. Yeah. Where you got to live a high life.

In Europe. You just had to go to another country. Like a lot, like a lot of fucking people. Yeah. Like a lot of people are like, oh, thank God. Whoo. Oh, so there is a place. Oh, that's nice. Yeah. There's no Applebee's, but whatever. No Applebee's. I'm out. Yeah. No. Are you sure there's not Applebee's in France by now? There absolutely has to be. And welcome to Applebee's.

So Perry, Applebee's. Would you like simply platter and a pen or paper? Do you like my flair? Ah, chicken wing. I've got 15 leaves of flair on. Welcome to TGAV. Thank God it's Vendredi. Sure. Okay. Well, thank you guys very much for coming. We really appreciate it. Had a lot of fun. So thank you guys. We'll be back. Thank you.