Archie McEachern (25 December 1873 – 13 May 1902) was a Canadian track cyclist. He was the Canadian National Champion of middle-distance races and was also the first Canadian to win the New York Madison Square Garden Six-Day Bicycle Race, in 1901.[1] In 1902 he broke the world's indoor bicycle record for 5 miles in a motor paced race.[2]
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 25 December 1873 Lindsay, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | 13 May 1902 (aged 27) Atlantic City, New Jersey |
| Team information | |
| Discipline | Track |
| Role | Rider |
Biography
editMcEachern was training at the Atlantic City, NJ velodrome prior to it officially opening. During training he was being paced by a tandem motorcycle (driven by his two trainers Bobby Thompson and Alfred Boake).[3] While riding close to his pacers, McEachern was injured when the bike's drive chain broke and died shortly thereafter.[4][5]
In 1999 the Canadian Cyclist website put McEachern in 9th place on their list of Top 25 Canadian Cyclists of the Century.[4] The Journal of Sport History stated that he "was one of Canada's most famous professional cyclists" of his day.[6]
Achievements
edit- 1899
- 2nd Six Days of New York[citation needed]
- 1900
- 2nd Six Days of New York[citation needed]
- 1901
- 1st Six Days of New York (with Bobby Walthour[7]
See also
editList of racing cyclists and pacemakers with a cycling-related death
References
edit- ^ Balf, Todd (2009). Major: A Black Athlete, a White Era and the Fight to Be the World's Fastest Human Being. Random House. p. 199. ISBN 978-0-307-23659-3.
- ^ "Broke Record Beating Freeman". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 26 January 1902. Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
- ^ "M'Eachern Killed". The Baltimore Sun at Newspapers.com. 14 May 1902. Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
- ^ a b Arnold Devlin. "Canada's First Six-Day Star". 6-day Racing. Archived from the original on 26 August 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
- ^ Michael Gabriele (2011). The Golden Age of Bicycle Racing in New Jersey: The final Chapter of the Golden Age of Cycling. The History Press. ISBN 978-1-59629-427-1. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
- ^ History, North American Society for Sport (1974). Journal of sport history, Volume 1. p. 37. Archived from the original on 10 February 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
- ^ Homan, Andrew M. (July 2016). Iron Mac: The Legend of Roughhouse Cyclist Reggie McNamara. University of Nebraska Press. p. 112. ISBN 9780803290556. Retrieved 4 November 2021.