Frank Kramer (cyclist)

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Frank Kramer

Frank Louis Kramer (born September 15, 1880 in Evansville , Indiana , † October 8, 1958 in South Orange , New Jersey ) was an American cyclist .

Frank Kramer was the son of a timber merchant and worked in his father's business, he himself stated that he was a merchant. Together with his two younger brothers, he went cycling and boxing in his spare time. At the age of 17 he took part in his first amateur races and was American champion in 1899.

In 1900 he became a professional - against the resistance of his father. His biggest rival was Major Taylor , so that the American cycling world was soon divided into "Kramerists" and "Taylorists". During his racing career, which lasted until 1922, Kramer won 18 US championships and in 1912 was world champion in aviation . In 1905 Kramer started competitions in Europe for the first time. It had its first start in Germany at the Grand Prix of Cologne , which was held that year as an invitation race for the drivers Kramer, Otto Meyer , Willy Arend and Henry Mayer ; Kramer won the Grand Prix. A little later he also won the Paris Grand Prix. In 1906 he won the renowned classic Grand Prix de Paris again. During his career he won more than 500 races.

Kramer was generally known for his strict lifestyle: he went to bed punctually at 9 a.m. every evening, so he only drove a few six-day races. He was considered stingy, had hardly any friends among his competitors and only married after the end of his career, at the age of 42. The marriage remained childless.

After the end of his active career, Kramer worked as a cycling official. An attempt to run for the US House of Representatives failed.

literature

  • Wheel world. Sports album. A cycling yearbook. 4th year, 1905, ZDB -ID 749618-7 .
  • Hans Borowik : 300 racing drivers in one volume. Short biographies. Deutscher Schriftenverlag, Berlin 1937.
  • Peter Nye: Hearts of Lions. The History of American Bicycle Racing. Norton, New York NY et al. 1988, ISBN 0-393-02543-8 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Fredy Budzinski: Taschen Rad-Welt. A cycling lexicon . Verlag der Rad-Welt, Berlin 1921, p. 30 .
  2. Interest group for cycling (ed.): The cycling . No. 19/29/1948 . Sportdienst Verlag Zademack and Noster, Cologne, p. 2 .
  3. ^ Peter Joffre Nye: The Six-Days Bicycle Races . Van der Plas Publications / Cycle Publishing, San Francisco 2006, ISBN 1-892495-49-X , p. 58 (English).