Probably The Greatest Athlete You've NEVER Heard Of

[steve B]

Originally Posted by Michael B

Waltham was a center of cycle racing from 1893 to just before WWI. A velodrome, was built just to the west of South Street. Most people in the area know it as Nipper Maher Park, a series of 3 little league fields and an older league field (Connie Mack league when I was growing up). To many people it is still known as 'Bike Park'. Concrete blocks that were part of the grandstands are still visible in the woods on the edge of the park. Waltham Manufacturing Company (bikes and cars) was based in Waltham. They build a very popular and fast bike (Orient and Waltham) and sold about 100,000 of them from the 1890's to 1910's. The Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation website has some good videos and articles about cycling. https://www.charlesrivermuseum.org/the-bicycle-craze

My alma mater U/Mass Boston (Go Beacons!), besides being the home of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, houses the largest cycling archive in the U.S.

besides the general company info I didn't know that. And it's local to me too.

Now I have to go find those cement blocks, and when things get back to normal find some excuse to see those archives at U Mass.