Before Muhammed Ali and Michael Jordan transcended sports, Marshall “Major” Taylor blazed the trail as the first-ever Black athlete to gain international superstardom – in the 1890s. His cycling successes smashed barriers across a racially divided world dominated by Jim Crow laws.
Teenage Prodigy Set New Records of Speed
Taylor earned his “Major” moniker from stunt riding in military garb to promote Indianapolis bike shops as a teen. His pure explosiveness and speed soon dominated professional cycling’s mostly white ranks.
At just 18, Taylor awed crowds at New York’s Madison Square Garden in a brutal 6-day endurance race – only months after the notorious “separate but equal” Supreme Court decision. His prowess fueled calls for him to race elite White competitors around the nation.
Won Mile Sprint World Championship in 1899
Despite relentless racism threatening his life, Taylor persevered to capture cycling’s 1-mile sprint World Championship in 1899. He set multiple speed records up to 45 miles per hour, hailed as the “fastest human alive” and certainly the world’s fittest athlete.
“When you think about that era, there was a real fascination with speed,” says author Todd Balf. “That’s certainly what he was known for.”
Toured Europe and Australia as Global Icon
Though Taylor still faced discrimination overseas, his dignified manner alongside cycling artistry attracted adoration across Europe and Australia at his peak. He earned today’s equivalent of $350,000 yearly – exceeding baseball and boxing stars.
Taylor also penned poetry and an autobiography hoping to inspire the oppressed. “My color is my fortune,” he boldly declared, using sports celebrity for social change.
When age and waning public interest ended his career, Taylor drifted into obscurity after his 1932 death. But his pioneering journey from prodigy to barrier-breaking world champion stands immortalized today as a triumphal American story for the ages.
