Had an ancester who raced the “High Wheel.” In 1883 held 7 American Records.
Jack McMastors (trainer) was from Scotland. His group was called the “Demons,”
and was based at the Williamsburgh Athletic Club in Brooklyn. They were also
part of the Kings County Wheelmen Team and raced against Harvard, Yale,
Princeton and Annapolis.
Any further information would be greatly appreciated.
JZMills
RE: What’s the History of Unicyle Racing in New York City?
> Had an ancester who raced the “High Wheel.” In 1883 held 7 American Records.
> Jack McMastors (trainer) was from Scotland. His group was called the “Demons,”
> and was based at the Williamsburgh Athletic Club in Brooklyn. They were also
> part of the Kings County Wheelmen Team and raced against Harvard, Yale,
> Princeton and Annapolis.
That’s fascinating historical information. Were the “High Wheel” guys on bikes
or unicycles?
The only unicycle racing I know of in NYC was what we call the “first
American unicycle meet”, or first of the modern era, or the one the USA
counts as number 1. It was in October 1971 in Central Park, sponsored by the
Stelber company (makers of cheap unicycles at the time) and lasted one day.
Most of the unicycles there were probably 20" and 24" Schwinns, Stelbers and
Japanese models.
Stay on top, John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
Re: What’s the History of Unicyle Racing in New York City?
It was the “FIRST WORLD UNICYCLE INVITATIONAL”, in Central Park, October 2, 1971
and it was sponsored by Stelber. The participants were by no means
“international”. Out of approximately 50 unicyclists, more than 40 were from New
York City.
John Foss wrote:
>
> > Had an ancester who raced the “High Wheel.” In 1883 held 7 American Records.
> > Jack McMastors (trainer) was from Scotland. His group was called the
> > “Demons,” and was based at the Williamsburgh Athletic Club in Brooklyn. They
> > were also part of the Kings County Wheelmen Team and raced against Harvard,
> > Yale, Princeton and Annapolis.
>
> That’s fascinating historical information. Were the “High Wheel” guys on bikes
> or unicycles?
>
> The only unicycle racing I know of in NYC was what we call the "first
> American unicycle meet", or first of the modern era, or the one the USA
> counts as number 1. It was in October 1971 in Central Park, sponsored by the
> Stelber company (makers of cheap unicycles at the time) and lasted one day.
> Most of the unicycles there were probably 20" and 24" Schwinns, Stelbers and
> Japanese models.
>
> Stay on top, John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
>
> --------------------------------------------
> jfoss@unicycling.com http://www.unicycling.com