Fast Digs Update: The First Great Los Angeles to Santa Monica Road Race
The Fourth of July. It is a date that brings up images of many festive traditions - parades, barbecues, red, white and blue, flags and bunting, fireworks. And bike racing. If you lived in the Los Angeles area during the 1890s bike racing on the 4th meant one thing - the Great Los Angeles to Santa Monica Road Race.
Raced along an eighteen mile route between the two cities, the first race of what would become an annual event through the final decade of the 1800s, was held in 1891, and was organized by the Los Angeles Wheelmen. For the Wheelmen, 1891 was their inception year, the club being founded during a meeting of thirty riders on the 14th of May. The new club, with all the enthusiasm that accompanies a "beginning" looked forward to the race becoming "the greatest bicycling event ever held in Southern California," and noted that a drought of three years had passed since the last organized road race in the city. Racing was in many ways a different monster back then. While a hierarchy of what we today refer to as "categories" was being developed, road races employed the "overall" winner designation, and determining who that person was, meant that a system of handicaps had to be established. The handicaps were race specific, and determined on a case by case basis by a committee appointed by the organizing club; in practice, the handicaps made the race very similar to what we today call a time trial. A wide range of bikes were ridden in this first race, from a 58-inch Victor to a 39-inch Star, a far cry from today's highly regulated standards that govern racing machines.
With fifteen racers scheduled to start, the first road race was not a large affair. Never-the-less several hundred spectators, officials, and supporters were assembled around the start at Spring and Second Streets, outside the Los Angeles Athletic Club, early on Saturday morning, July 4. Among the crowd were Stimpson, the referee, J. Phil Percival, the starter, and race judges, J. S. Thayer, E. B. Tufts, J. F. Plank, G. A. von Brandes, and B. Benjamin of the Los Angeles Herald. Though the crowd had congregated across the road, the officials were able to part them in time for the first riders - Al Brooks and H. B. Cromwell - to get underway at exactly 9:10. The next riders started off at irregular intervals (based upon their handicap) until at 9:20 the final riders, D. L. Shrode, and P. L. Abel made their start.
From this point the race was on, not just for the participants, but for the officials as well who had to rush to catch the 9:30 train leaving the Arcade Station bound for Santa Monica. While they, and the crowd, made the station on time the Southern Pacific greatly underestimated the size of the gathering and had to add extra cars delaying the trains' departure. As a result the racers arrived at the finish before the officials did. Fortunately, and though not mentioned in the story, there must have been timers at the finish already, because times were taken as the racers came in.
"The race was a scorcher from the start. The limit men [Cromwell and Brooks] started off at a merry gait and had a start of fully two miles before the scratchmen [Shrode and Abel] got agoing. Abel was the first man to give up. Shrode heard a 'Good Bye' and abel retired about four miles out of town. It was learned afterwards that he broke his wheel... At the Palms at least half the field was well bunched. Young Jenkins forged ahead and two miles from Santa Monica looked all over the winner. Will Tufts in the meantime had been closing up the gap that Jenkins had made in his seven-minute start... He leaned over his machine and pedaled fast and furiously. He was overtaking Jenkins very rapidly, but the goal was very near... Jenkins looked back and saw that he was being sorely pressed. He made a final effort, and struggled manfully to win the coveted honor... Half a mile from the winning post, Tufts was within fifty yards of the leader. The race was all over, for Tufts passed his wiry opponent, and won the first road race given by the Los Angeles Wheelmen in gallant style."
Finishing 1st in 1 hr 17 min was W. A. Tufts, 2nd W. M. Jenkins (1.24:20), 3rd W. A. Taylor (1.25:40), 4th W. J. Allen (1.20:50), 5th E. E. Russell (1.24:40), 6th Al Brooks (1.30:40), 7th Stephen Wicks (1.30:55), 8th G. W. Simpson (1.30:40), 9th D. L. Shrode (1.22:55), 10th Fay Stephenson (1.31), 11th H. B. Cromwell (1.36:15), 12th King McComber (1.33:27), 13th F. H. Talbot (1.56:20). You will notice that the times given do not correspond to the placings, for instance W. J. Allen had the second fastest time, yet only finished 4th; this, of course, goes back to the handicap system and its staggered starts.
It is alway interesting to check out the list of prizes awarded from those early days, olde time races, so: For 1st Place Will Tufts won a gold medal, 2nd Place W. M. Jenkins won a bicycle lamp, 3rd Place W. A. Taylor won a League pin, 4th Place W. J. Allen won a silver-headed cane, 5th Place E. E. Russell won a meerschaum cigar holder, 6th Place Al Brooks won a bicycle cap, 7th Place Stephen Wicks won a box of fruit, 8th Place G. W. Simpson won a box of bric-a-brac. W. J. Allen, the first racer to cross the line on an ordinary bicycle also won a cyclometer. And finally, the last man in, F. W. Talbot, took home a Lily ham for the honor.
Raced along an eighteen mile route between the two cities, the first race of what would become an annual event through the final decade of the 1800s, was held in 1891, and was organized by the Los Angeles Wheelmen. For the Wheelmen, 1891 was their inception year, the club being founded during a meeting of thirty riders on the 14th of May. The new club, with all the enthusiasm that accompanies a "beginning" looked forward to the race becoming "the greatest bicycling event ever held in Southern California," and noted that a drought of three years had passed since the last organized road race in the city. Racing was in many ways a different monster back then. While a hierarchy of what we today refer to as "categories" was being developed, road races employed the "overall" winner designation, and determining who that person was, meant that a system of handicaps had to be established. The handicaps were race specific, and determined on a case by case basis by a committee appointed by the organizing club; in practice, the handicaps made the race very similar to what we today call a time trial. A wide range of bikes were ridden in this first race, from a 58-inch Victor to a 39-inch Star, a far cry from today's highly regulated standards that govern racing machines.
With fifteen racers scheduled to start, the first road race was not a large affair. Never-the-less several hundred spectators, officials, and supporters were assembled around the start at Spring and Second Streets, outside the Los Angeles Athletic Club, early on Saturday morning, July 4. Among the crowd were Stimpson, the referee, J. Phil Percival, the starter, and race judges, J. S. Thayer, E. B. Tufts, J. F. Plank, G. A. von Brandes, and B. Benjamin of the Los Angeles Herald. Though the crowd had congregated across the road, the officials were able to part them in time for the first riders - Al Brooks and H. B. Cromwell - to get underway at exactly 9:10. The next riders started off at irregular intervals (based upon their handicap) until at 9:20 the final riders, D. L. Shrode, and P. L. Abel made their start.
From this point the race was on, not just for the participants, but for the officials as well who had to rush to catch the 9:30 train leaving the Arcade Station bound for Santa Monica. While they, and the crowd, made the station on time the Southern Pacific greatly underestimated the size of the gathering and had to add extra cars delaying the trains' departure. As a result the racers arrived at the finish before the officials did. Fortunately, and though not mentioned in the story, there must have been timers at the finish already, because times were taken as the racers came in.
"The race was a scorcher from the start. The limit men [Cromwell and Brooks] started off at a merry gait and had a start of fully two miles before the scratchmen [Shrode and Abel] got agoing. Abel was the first man to give up. Shrode heard a 'Good Bye' and abel retired about four miles out of town. It was learned afterwards that he broke his wheel... At the Palms at least half the field was well bunched. Young Jenkins forged ahead and two miles from Santa Monica looked all over the winner. Will Tufts in the meantime had been closing up the gap that Jenkins had made in his seven-minute start... He leaned over his machine and pedaled fast and furiously. He was overtaking Jenkins very rapidly, but the goal was very near... Jenkins looked back and saw that he was being sorely pressed. He made a final effort, and struggled manfully to win the coveted honor... Half a mile from the winning post, Tufts was within fifty yards of the leader. The race was all over, for Tufts passed his wiry opponent, and won the first road race given by the Los Angeles Wheelmen in gallant style."
Finishing 1st in 1 hr 17 min was W. A. Tufts, 2nd W. M. Jenkins (1.24:20), 3rd W. A. Taylor (1.25:40), 4th W. J. Allen (1.20:50), 5th E. E. Russell (1.24:40), 6th Al Brooks (1.30:40), 7th Stephen Wicks (1.30:55), 8th G. W. Simpson (1.30:40), 9th D. L. Shrode (1.22:55), 10th Fay Stephenson (1.31), 11th H. B. Cromwell (1.36:15), 12th King McComber (1.33:27), 13th F. H. Talbot (1.56:20). You will notice that the times given do not correspond to the placings, for instance W. J. Allen had the second fastest time, yet only finished 4th; this, of course, goes back to the handicap system and its staggered starts.
It is alway interesting to check out the list of prizes awarded from those early days, olde time races, so: For 1st Place Will Tufts won a gold medal, 2nd Place W. M. Jenkins won a bicycle lamp, 3rd Place W. A. Taylor won a League pin, 4th Place W. J. Allen won a silver-headed cane, 5th Place E. E. Russell won a meerschaum cigar holder, 6th Place Al Brooks won a bicycle cap, 7th Place Stephen Wicks won a box of fruit, 8th Place G. W. Simpson won a box of bric-a-brac. W. J. Allen, the first racer to cross the line on an ordinary bicycle also won a cyclometer. And finally, the last man in, F. W. Talbot, took home a Lily ham for the honor.
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