Floyd Alfred MacFarland (July 9, 1878 – April 17, 1915) was an American

track cyclist Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles. History Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its infancy, it wa ...

and pioneer of

six-day racing Six-day cycling is a track cycling event that takes place over six days. Six-day races started in Britain, spread to many regions of the world, were brought to their modern style in the United States and are now mainly a European event. Initiall ...

Career

MacFarland competed mainly in sprint events early in his career, having won the national championships in this discipline. One of his biggest rivals was

Major Taylor Marshall Walter "Major" Taylor (November 26, 1878 – June 21, 1932) was an American professional Cycle sport, cyclist. He has been called "the first Black American global sports superstar." He was born and raised in Indianapolis, where he wor ...

, whose grandparents had been slaves. MacFarland, who was the descendant of a Virginia plantation owner, was known to be racist. He even founded his own national racing association, the Cycle Racing Association, to exclude Taylor from competitions. In the following years, MacFarland concentrated on six-day races and

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States * Madison (footballer), Brazilian footballer Places in the United States Populated places * Madi ...

races. After retiring from competition, he became one of the leading race promoters and managers in the nation up until his death in 1915.

Death

In April 1915, MacFarland was stabbed to death with a screwdriver while training at the Newark Velodrome, after being involved in a dispute with David Lantenberg, a refreshments seller who had used screws to put up a billboard by the track. MacFarland, who was the director of the track, had forbidden this as the screws would often come loose and pose a danger to cyclists. When MacFarland tried to take the screwdriver from Lantenberg, the latter accidentally stabbed him in the back of the head with the tool; horrified by his own deed, Lantenberg took MacFarland to the hospital in his car, however he died there. 1,500 people followed the funeral procession at the funeral. Lantenberg was charged with manslaughter but acquitted in June of that year.

Major results

;1896 : 1st MaillotUSA

Sprint, National Amateur Track Championships ;1900 : 1st

Six Days of New York The Six Days of New York was a former six-day cycling event, held in New York City, in Madison Square Garden's velodrome. Between 1899 and 1961, a total of 73 editions were held, sometimes three per year.Gabriele, Michael C. (2011), The Golden Ag ...

(with Harry Elkes) ;1901 : 1st MaillotUSA

Madison,

National Track Championships National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

;1902 : 1st Six Days of Boston (with Otto Maya) ;1904 : 1st MaillotUSA

Madison,

;1908 : 1st

(with

Jim Moran James Patrick Moran Jr. (born May 16, 1945) is an American politician who served as the mayor of Alexandria, Virginia, from 1985 until 1990, and as the U.S. representative for , including the cities of Falls Church and Alexandria, all of Arl ...

) ;1909 : 1st

Six Days of Berlin The Six Days of Berlin is a six-day track cycling race held annually in Berlin, Germany. The event was first held in 1909. In its first edition, 15 teams of two cyclists each competed in the exhibition hall at Berlin Zoo for glory and, not leas ...

(with

)

References

External links

* 1878 births 1915 deaths American male cyclists Sportspeople from San Jose, California American track cyclists Deaths by stabbing in the United States American murder victims People murdered in New Jersey {{US-cycling-bio-stub