The Newark Velodrome was a wooden
bicycle track in the
Vailsburg neighborhood of
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, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...
, located at the northeast corner of the intersection of South Orange Avenue and Munn Avenue. It opened in 1911 and measured six laps to the mile, or 293 yards per lap. It replaced another 1/6-mile wooden velodrome that was located to the south,
[
] in the northwest corner of the current Vailsburg Park. That velodrome opened on May 10, 1908, and replaced a 1/4-mile wooden velodrome
that had opened in 1897 on the same site.
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 fro ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
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 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...
beat the Tornadoes, 14–0; a week later on October 26, the
Staten Island Stapletons
The Staten Island Stapletons, also known as the Staten Island Stapes, were a professional American football team. Founded in 1915, they played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1929 in sports, 1929 to 1932 in sports, 1932. The team was ...
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; ) is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland.
The UCI issues racing licenses to riders and enforces di ...
, 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 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 b ...
in the professional men's sprint at the venue that year.
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
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 and was demolished on December 4, 1930.
[
]
See also
*
New York Velodrome
The New York Velodrome was a state-of-the-art bicycle track at 225th Street, between Exterior Street and Broadway within the Kingsbridge and Kingsbridge Heights neighborhoods of the Bronx. It bordered the Marble Hill neighborhood. After the ...
References
External links
Newark: Cradle of Cycling in the Sport's Golden AgeUS Bicycling Hall of Fame Inductees -20041930 NFL season summary
{{Defunct NFL stadiums
Orange/Newark Tornadoes
Velodromes in the United States
Defunct NFL venues
American football venues in New Jersey
Defunct sports venues in New Jersey
Sports venues in Newark, New Jersey