Woody Headspeth

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Woody Headspeth (1904)

Woody Headspeth (born June 14, 1881 in Indianapolis , † April 16, 1941 in Lisbon ) was an American cyclist .

biography

Woody Headspeth was one of the first black cyclists in history, albeit never as successful as the first black world champion in 1899 , Major Taylor . He has been called the "fastest colored rider in the country" alongside Taylor. Headspeth, like Taylor, three years his senior, was from Indianapolis and the two men were friends. His greatest success was in 1898 when he won the six-day race in Dayton , which at that time was contested by one driver for six days around the clock. On July 31, 1902, he set a world hour record over 26 miles 19 yards (= 41.86 kilometers) in Dayton , but this was not officially recognized. In the New York Six Days of 1903 he finished eleventh and last in a team of two with a driver named Dove.

Before 1905, Headspeth went to Europe because he repeatedly had problems in the USA to get a racing license as a black man. There he competed in the lucrative standing races , especially in Germany, France, the Netherlands and Belgium. In 1903 he started the 24-hour race Bol d'Or in Paris , but gave up. In 1906 he finished second with the Bohemian Emanuel Kudela in a 24-hour race on the Steglitz cycle track . In Europe, the racial reservations were less strong than in the USA, even if they did exist: When he took part in a race in Amsterdam around 1905 , the nationality was noted in the program behind the names of the drivers, behind Headpeth's name was "Neger" . Headspeth raced until he was 50. He also worked as a helper and mechanic on cycle tracks, including for the world champion Victor Linart .

Woody Headspeth married in the United States in 1899. In France he was in a relationship with a French ballet dancer or married and lived in Paris . The couple had a daughter. When the Wehrmacht occupied Paris in June 1940 during World War II , he fled to Portugal, where he was looked after by the Red Cross as a "Member of the Repatriation Group 14 from Paris". He died of typhoid and tuberculosis in 1941 in the Curry Cabral Hospital in Lisbon, where he was also buried. His belongings, which were described as "poor", were burned for medical reasons.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c d Reinette Jones: Notable Kentucky African Americans - Headspeth, Woody. In: University of Kentucky Libraries. Retrieved May 31, 2017 .
  2. ↑ Les 6 jours individuels. In: Memoire du Cyclisme. Retrieved December 7, 2015 .
  3. ^ A b The Bicycling world and motorcycle review . In: archive.org. June 27, 1902, accessed June 8, 2015 .
  4. ↑ 6 jours de New York on memoire-du-cyclisme.net
  5. ↑ 9ième Bol d'Or 1903 on memoire-du-cyclisme.net
  6. ^ De Kampioen , June 1, 1906
  7. ↑ a b Zwarte renner in eerste Parijs-Roubaix. In: Stuyfssportverhalen. March 26, 2011, accessed May 22, 2015 (Dutch).

Web links

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personal data
SURNAME Headspeth, Woody
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American cyclist
DATE OF BIRTH June 14, 1881
PLACE OF BIRTH Indianapolis
DATE OF DEATH April 16, 1941
Place of death Lisbon