Reggie McNamara

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Reggie McNamara (l.) With his partner Eddie Seufert in Madison Square Garden in 1934

Reginald "Reggie" McNamara (born November 7, 1888 in Grenfell , † October 10, 1971 in Belleville , New Jersey ) was an Australian track cyclist who later took on American citizenship. He was one of the most prominent personalities of the six-day races worldwide from 1911 to 1937. In total, he competed in 3000 track races on three continents with 700 victories and set numerous records. Because of his numerous falls and injuries, he was called "Iron Man".

Cycling career

At the age of 16, Reggie McNamara began racing at local events; to finance the entry fee, he hunted kangaroos and sold their skins. He later toured Australia and New Zealand to race everywhere. In 1911 McNamara took part in his first six-day race in Sydney and finished third with Frank Corry ; In 1913 he achieved his first six-day victory, also in Sydney with Corry. With this victory, he was noticed by a racing manager who signed him for races in the USA.

In the course of his cycling career, Reggie McNamara drove 109 six-day races, of which he won 19, with various partners, including Piet van Kempen , Pietro Linari and Bob Spears . He achieved seven victories in New York's Madison Square Garden . He celebrated his last victory in January 1933 at the age of 46 in Cleveland with the 26-year-old Norman Albert Hill , who was born in the year in which McNamara had started professional cycling.

In 1946, McNamara recapitulated in a look back at his life that he had broken his collarbone 17 times due to falls, suffered a concussion five times, broke his nose and leg and had to be stitched around 500 times. The numerous falls also occurred because of his reckless driving style, with which he provoked many falls himself. He used to say to journalists: "" I picked up enough splinters to build my own board track. "" I had so many splinters [in my body] that I could build my own cycling track. "

Childhood and family

Reggie McNamara grew up in poverty as one of 13 siblings in rural Australia. At the age of nine he was bitten by a poisonous snake, after which one of his older brothers spontaneously severed his finger with an ax. The family owned a single bicycle that the children had to share.

At the first training after his arrival in the United States McNamara crashed on the cycling track of Newark and was hospitalized. There he met a nurse whom he married, and he became an American. The couple had two daughters and settled in Belleville.

Even during his active time, McNamara, who was also said to have been heavily doped , was known for his large whiskey consumption. After the end of his cycling career, his alcoholism became apparent. Friends finally got him a job as a doorman in Madison Square Garden, where he had once celebrated his greatest triumphs. At the age of 83, Reggie McNamara died of a stroke.

literature

  • Peter Joffrey Nye: The Six-Day Bicycle Races. America's Jazz-Age Sport. Van der Plas Publishing et al., San Francisco CA 2006, ISBN 1-892-49549-X .
  • Roger de Maertelaere: De Mannen van de night. 100 years of zesdaagsen. De Eecloonaar, Eeklo 2000, ISBN 90-74128-67-X .

Web links

Commons : Reggie McNamara  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Grenfell.org.au: "Grenfell's history" accessed on May 18, 2010 (English)
personal data
SURNAME McNamara, Reggie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES McNamara, Reginald
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American cyclist
DATE OF BIRTH November 7, 1888
PLACE OF BIRTH Grenfell (Australia)
DATE OF DEATH October 10, 1971
Place of death Belleville, New Jersey