BICYCLING THROUGH THE 1890's

BICYCLING THROUGH THE 1890's
By: Louise Pettus

The first modern-type bicycle was produced in 1887. In a few years bicycling was the rage of the country. Every town seemed to have bicycle clubs (the leading club in Rock Hill was the Rambler Bicycle Club) that built and maintained tracks for racing.

Rock Hill had a one-quarter mile bicycle race track on the south side of Hampton Streets with grandstands that seated 1,000 people. The grandstands were always filled and, in fact, drew larger crowds than baseball games or any other sporting event. The Athletic Association of Rock Hill organized the various events and awarded prizes.

On May 17, 1898 Yorkville showed off its new track with bicycle races, a waterworks display and a military display on wheels. The military display was furnished by local guardsman under Capt. W. B. Moore. The uniformed men executed various routines while riding bicycles which were decorated in red, white and blue. The waterworks display was put on by the local fire department which was described as “the reel company throwing water”.

The Yorkville races included a famous bicyclist of the day, Fred Shade of Washington, D. C. along with bicyclists from Marion, S. C. and some from North Carolina. About 50 Rock Hill spectators came into Yorkville on a special train.

On July 4th of the same year, Rock Hill’s Athletic Association put on a special event at Oakland Park, an area now part of the back campus of Winthrop University. There were five races, all offering prizes to the top three wheelers, as they were called.

The first July 4th race was won by the youthful mayor of the town of Sumter who covered a half mile in 1 minute, 14 1/2 seconds. His prize was a diamond ring worth $25. W. Ben Ardrey of Fort Mill came in second and won a $5 Kodak. The next race was a mile race and was won by J. E. Ardrey of Fort Mill who covered the ground (one must remember there was no pavement) in 2 minutes 53 and 1/4 seconds. He also received a diamond ring worth $25 and before the day was over had also garnered diamond studs ($10 value), a second $25 diamond ring and the main event’s prize, a $30 diamond watch.

The main event, won by J. E. Ardrey, was a very exciting 5-mile handicap race. S. L. Meacham came in second and W. Ben Ardrey, third. It was an all-Fort Mill triumph. The mayor of Sumter and Willie C. White of Rock Hill were the only other winners though James Spratt White, Adolphus Friedheim, and Edgar E. Poag were frequent winners when the Fort Mill champions were not participating. In fact, three years previously, James Spratt White had won the championship of York, Lancaster and Chester counties.

Bicycle riding was not limited to men and boys. There were some women’s bicycling clubs. This changed women’s fashions. Skirts were shortened several inches; however, the shorter skirts were weighted with lead. In Rock Hill it became a fad for the girls to don all-white costumes and bicycle in the moonlight.

Winthrop girls were not allowed to attend the races downtown. The usual reason was given: attendance by a “rough element” which included gamblers. Still, there were bicycling clubs on campus and when the Winthrop Training School building was erected in 1912 it included an inside wooden banked race track on the fourth floor.

What displaced the bicycle in popularity? The automobile played its part and so did other spectator sports, especially football and basketball. As early as 1897 it was written, “Basketball, a kind of effeminate foot ball game, is quite popular at Winthrop.”