Siah Albison (1840–1891) was a professional

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

runner Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

who set a world record in the mile in the 1860s. A weaver from

Bowlee Bowlee is a village in Greater Manchester, England. Bowlee is situated along the Heywood Old Road ( A6045) on the outskirts of Middleton between Rhodes and Heywood. Historically it forms part of Lancashire. RAF Bowlee The RAF acquired of land ...

near

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

, Albison earned the mile championship belt of England in 1859. The belt was a creation of Copenhagen Grounds proprietor Tommy Hayes who had earlier declared

Thomas Horspool Thomas Horspool (born 22 May 1830) was a British runner who set several world records in the mile soon after relatively precise running tracks and accurate timing devices came into use in the mid-19th century. Born in Liverpool, but living in ...

"English champion" in the era before

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...

organizations standardised events and championships. When Horspool retired from running shortly after setting a world record in the mile in 1858, Hayes sought out new talent to fill the stands. On 27 October 1860, he arranged a race between Albison and William Lang. Held at the Copenhagen Grounds in

, Albison prevailed by a little more than a yard in 4:22, a new world record. From 1860 to about 1865, Albison raced at the Copenhagen Grounds and at other Manchester race venues, such as the City Grounds and the Royal Oak Grounds, drawing thousands. He was regularly challenged by Lang, their first rematch coming in March 1861, a race won by Albison. He won four more challenge races in 1861 and 1862, and over-all won seven of eight championship races. His mile record was surpassed by Lang in 1863, and he finished in sixth place when Lang and

William Richards William, Bill, or Billy Richards may refer to: Sportspeople * Dicky Richards (William Henry Matthews Richards, 1862–1903), South African cricketer * Billy Richards (footballer, born 1874) (1874–1926), West Bromwich Albion football player * B ...

set a joint world record of 4:17 on 19 August 1865, a record which would stand for nearly 16 years. Albison became an inn proprietor when his running career ended.

References

British male middle-distance runners 1840 births Sportspeople from Manchester 19th-century English people 1891 deaths {{UK-athletics-bio-stub