A Century Later, Marshall Taylor Inspires

The inspiring April 26 article about Marshall W. “Major” Taylor, the African American who was world champion cyclist and multi-record holder more than 100 years ago, left the reader with a profound sense of sadness that Taylor died in a hospital charity ward and was buried in an unmarked pauper’s grave in 1932.

I found it heartwarming to read in the cited website, majortaylorassociation.org, that the Schwinn Bicycle Co. owner donated money to a group of former bike pros who had Taylor’s body reburied 16 years later in a more prominent part of the cemetery with a marker that says “World champion bicycle racer who came up the hard way without hatred in his heart, an honest, courageous, and God-fearing, clean-living, gentlemanly athlete. A credit to his race who always gave out his best. Gone but not forgotten.” Make that the human race.

Ray Stefani

Lake Forest