Bill Martin (cyclist)

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Bill Martin (ca.1890)

William Walker "Bill" Martin (* 1860 in Dublin ; † March 28, 1942 in Perth ) was an Irish- American cyclist .

biography

Bill Martin was born in Dublin; when he was three years old, his family immigrated to the United States. The family lived in Maine for six years , then in Lawrence , Massachusetts . Martin left school at the age of 14, became assistant to exotic merchants and traveled to Europe , South America and Africa in their service . After returning to the United States, he was a professional runner in the Midwest for three years , and in 1885 he began cycling as an amateur in Nebraska . In 1890, at the age of 30, he became a professional cyclist and suffered a serious fall that same year, after which one of his legs was shorter than the other.

Martin won four six-day races on the penny farthing , which at that time were still contested by individual athletes and not by teams of two: three times - in 1890, 1891 and 1892 - that of Minneapolis and in 1891 that of New York , in which he achieved 2360 in 142 hours Kilometers drove. For this final victory, he received $ 1,000 in gold. In 1895 Bill Martin traveled to Europe, where he won 40 races. The following year, attracted by the high prize money there, he went to Australia for the first time . He won the Australian championship over a mile at the Melbourne Cricket Ground . In 1899, at a similar meeting, he won eight of nine races on the first day, the ten-mile race on the second day, and two other races on the third day.

Martin became extremely popular in Australia, which was due to his successes, but also to his personality. He was nicknamed several times , including Castiron Man ( cast iron man ), but he was best known as Plugger Bill ( Malocher Bill ), referring to his consistent and self-sacrificing driving style. He was stocky and muscular, hot-tempered and quick with his fists. On the other hand, he was financially adept, with a nose for promotional campaigns to "offer people something for their money". In 1896, Martin was suspended for two months after attacking another cyclist in Adelaide . The following year he was abused by a spectator in Sydney : he jumped off his bike, chased the man through the crowd and hit him. In 1897 he was sanctioned after a series of misconduct, which did not prevent him from beating up a competition judge who had banned him the year before.

Between 1895 and 1901, Plugger Martin raced in all parts of Australia; it is said that he won 249 races. His greatest success was the victory in the Austral Wheel Race in Melbourne in December 1901, which was bought after later knowledge. This handicap race involved larger sums of money, both prizes and winnings, and rumors of bribery and intimidation. After an investigation shortly after the race, a cyclist was banned for having set the pacemaker for Martin . In 1907, a report appeared in Lone Hand magazine in which Martin's then supervisor, Henry "General" Gordon, stated that underworld great John Wren had bought the result of the race to influence betting. Then the now 43-year-old Martin called the other drivers one by one into his hotel room, next to him on the bed with the bribe he had received from Wren and a loaded revolver, and signed them up to two or three drivers not to contest him for victory, which they had to confirm with a signature on a contract. Because of this, he got into an argument with Gordon, to whom he subsequently failed to pay his fee of $ 50 and who therefore sued him.

Martin is also said to have had a positive influence on the development of cycling in Australia by using technical innovations that were subsequently in great demand by customers. He is also said to have had the idea for the discipline of one's pursuit .

Until 1903 Martin raced in New Zealand and the USA. In the same year he married 19-year-old Alice Eva West from Victoria in Balaclava . He then ran several hotels in Australia until he moved to New Zealand in 1909. His last public appearance was attending a veterans meeting at the Melbourne Cricket Ground . He spent the last six years of his life in western Australia while his family - wife, three daughters and two sons - stayed in New Zealand. He tried his hand at prospecting at Marble Bar and Sandstone , most recently as a salesman for optical goods. Bill Martin died on March 28, 1942 at the Royal Perth Hospital and is buried in Karrakatta Cemetery.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Geoff Browne: Biography - William Walker (Bill) Martin - Australian Dictionary of Biography. In: adb.anu.edu.au. Retrieved December 7, 2015 .
  2. ↑ America's Grand Tour and its Irish winner. In: Cyclismas. April 25, 2012, accessed December 9, 2015 .
  3. ↑ Les 6 jours individuels. In: Memoire du Cyclisme. Retrieved December 7, 2015 .
  4. ^ The Austral Wheel Race: the world's oldest track race. In: Cycling Tips. December 19, 1905, accessed December 8, 2015 .
  5. ↑ James Morton: Kings of Stings. Victory Books, 2011, ISBN 978-0-522-85859-4 ( limited preview in Google Book Search).
  6. ↑ "Plugger Bill" Martin Influence on cycling. The Sydney Morning Herald, April 2, 1942, p. 8 , accessed December 8, 2015 .
  7. ↑ "Plugger Bill" Martin - Noted Cyclist's Death. In: The Sydney Morning Herald. March 31, 1942, accessed December 8, 2015 .
personal data
SURNAME Martin, Bill
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Martin, William Walker (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Irish-American cyclist
DATE OF BIRTH 1860
PLACE OF BIRTH Dublin
DATE OF DEATH March 28, 1942
Place of death Perth