{"product_id":"major-taylor-the-extraordinary-career-of-a-champion-bicycle-racer-9780933201149","title":"Major Taylor: The Extraordinary Career of a Champion Bicycle Racer","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMajor Taylor: The Extraordinary Career of a Champion Bicycle Racer\u003c\/strong\u003e by Ritchie, Andrew. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780933201149.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWorld champion at 19... One of the first black athletes to become world champion in any sport... 1-mile record holder... American sprint champion in 1898, 1899, 1900... triumphant tours of Europe and Australia... Victories against all European champions...\nUntil now a forgotten, shadowy figure, Marshall Walter \"Major\" Taylor is here revealed as one of the early sports worlds most stylish, entertaining, and gentlemanly personalities. Born in 1878 in Indianapolis, the son of poor rural parents, Taylor worked in a bike shop until prominent bicycle racer \"Birdie\" Munger coached him for his first professional racing successes in 1896. Despite continuous bureaucraticâ and, at times, physicalâ opposition, he won his first national championship two years later and became world champion in 1899 in Montreal. This beautifully illustrated, vividly narrated, and scrupulously researched biography recreates the life of a great international athlete at the turn of the century. Based on ten years of researchâ including extensive interviews with Major Taylors 91-year old daughterâ this is the dramatic story of a young black man who, against prodigious odds, rose to fame and stardom in the tempestuous world of international professional bicycle racing a century ago.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Brand: Bicycle Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44964477304885,"sku":"ByrdShop_0933201141","price":58.92,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780933201149_c37255fd-353f-431b-bba6-ecb177b9e2ca.jpg?v=1781297395","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/major-taylor-the-extraordinary-career-of-a-champion-bicycle-racer-9780933201149","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}