The Newark Velodrome was a bicycle track located on South Orange Avenue in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat, seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and the second largest city within the New Yo ...
. It measured six laps to the mile, or 293 yards per lap. The track was built in 1907. The
Newark Tornadoes
The Orange Tornadoes and Newark Tornadoes were two manifestations of a long-lived professional American football franchise that existed in some form from 1887 to 1941 and from 1958 to 1970, having played in the American Amateur Football Union from ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...
also played several "home" games on the track's grassy infield, during the
1930 season, while the other "home" games were played at
Newark Schools Stadium
Newark Schools Stadium (originally named City Field, nicknamed "The Old Lady of Bloomfield Avenue") is the name of two stadiums that were both located on Bloomfield Avenue between Abington and Roseville Avenues in the Roseville section of Newark, ...
.
Football
The Tornadoes played two NFL games at the Velodrome in 1930, both defeats for Newark. On October 19, the
Brooklyn Dodgers
The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Californi ...
beat the Tornadoes, 14–0; a week later on October 26, the
Staten Island Stapletons downed Newark, 6–0.
Cycling
The
1912 UCI Track Cycling World Championships were held in Newark. The event was sanctioned by the
Union Cycliste Internationale
The ''Union Cycliste Internationale'' (UCI; ; en, International Cycling Union) is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland.
The UCI issues raci ...
, the world governing body for the cycling sport. The 1912 event was estimated to draw 20,000 fans, even though the seating capacity of the venue was just 12,500.
Frank Louis Kramer
Frank Louis Kramer (1880-1958) was an American gold medal cyclist. He won 16 consecutive national championships from 1901 to 1916. He was inducted into the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame in 1988.
Biography
He was born on September 15, 188 ...
won a
gold medal
A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture.
Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have be ...
at the venue that year.
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
n cyclist,
Reggie McNamara set five world records from one to 25 miles at the velodrome in 1915, 1916 and 1917.
Demolished
The Newark Velodrome closed in 1930 after its lease expired. It was demolished that same year.
See also
*
New York Velodrome
References
External links
Newark: Cradle of Cycling in the Sport's Golden AgeUS Biking -Hall of Fame Inductees -20041930 NFL season summary
Orange/Newark Tornadoes
Velodromes in the United States
Defunct National Football League venues
American football venues in New Jersey
Defunct sports venues in New Jersey
Sports venues in Newark, New Jersey
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